THE FRUIT DISTRICTS OF NEW YORK 



r. P. HKDIUCK 

 Horticulturist, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva. X. Y. 



New York ranks first in the culture of 

 deciduous fruits among the states of the 

 Union. It is prominent in this division 

 of agriculture chiefly because its climate 

 and soil are so diverse and so favorable as 

 to make possible highly specialized pomo- 

 logical areas. It is most desirable to know 

 the boundaries of these areas in order that 

 the fruit-grower may be able to specialize 

 more closely, for each fruit and each 

 variety of fruit has a set of conditions best 

 suited to it. We wish, then, to set forth briefly in this article the 

 condition of soil and climate to be found in the several physio- 

 graphic divisions of New York in which fruit growing is a prom- 

 inent feature of agriculture. First, let us glance at the state as 

 a whole. 



New York extends east and west 412 miles, and north and 

 south 310 miles. It contains within its borders 30,498,560 acres, 

 about three-fourths of which is farmed land. The state has a 

 wide range in altitude, as may be seen by the following figures : 

 One-twentieth of the total area, chiefly comprising Long Island, 

 lies below an altitude of 100 feet; sixteen-twentieths between an 

 elevation of 100 and 1,500 feet; while three-twentieths rise above 

 1,500 feet, the maximum altitude being above 5,000 feet in a few 

 places in the Adirondacks. 



New York is drained by five water systems. The drainage 

 water in a small area in the southeast passes off through the 

 Delaware; the Hudson and the Mohawk drain the eastern part 

 of the state; the excess waters in central and western New York 

 pass to the ocean through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence ; 

 the drainage of the southwestern part is through the Allegheny 

 into the Mississippi system; while the Susquehanna carries the 



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