53 



other varieties are so cosmopolitan with regard to climate, 

 aud from New York to Alabama these apples have numerous 

 advocates. 



Soils as heavy and moist as described for the Rhode Island 

 Greening are not desirable for either the Ben Davis or Gano. 

 The tree is naturally of strong growth, hence this character- 

 istic should not be intensified by planting on an excessively 

 rich soil, both on account of the growth of the tree and the 

 poor quality and color of the fruit. At the same time, the 

 opposite extreme is not desirable, for if the soil be too sandy 

 the tree grows straggling. 



Both of these varieties as planted in ISTew York, Peim- 

 sylvania and States farther south in the Appalachian region 

 are bound to prove profitable, but they are not altogether 

 satisfactory. Soils adapted to the Baldwin, York Imperial 

 or Winesap will grow good trees and fruit of both Ben Davis 

 and Gano. Hence there are extensive soil areas, particularly 

 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, the mountainous areas of Vir- 

 ginia and West Virginia that are well adapted to these varie- 

 ties, and they are also profitable sorts in western jSTew York 

 and in the Hudson valley. But many orchards have been 

 planted, especially in West Virginia, on thin shale hills, 

 where the soils are so poorly adapted to apple growing that 

 not even the cosmopolite, Ben Da\ns, can bring satisfactory 

 results. This is not the fault of the variety, and in fact the 

 Ben Davis will probably bring better returns from such soils 

 than any other variety. In the southern Piedmont region the 

 Ben Davis drops so early in the season that it is not of com- 

 mercial importance. In the southernmost Appalachian dis- 

 tricts it may be grown, but only for the late fall trade in the 

 extreme southern markets, as there is no call for it farther 

 north. 



From careful obsen^ation it is believed that the Ozark Ben 

 Da\ds is a little larger than the Appalachian-grown fruit, 

 and that under the same conditions the Ozark fruit is suffi- 

 ciently superior to the latter to bring a slightly higher price 

 in market. As a commercial proposition, however, the greater 

 number of crops secured in the Appalachian region in any 

 considerable period, such as a decade, enables that section to 



