264 THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



such as the Gunnison, Grand Junction, Hood River, Rogue 

 River, Bitter Root, North Yakima, Wenatchee ; the silt loam or 

 loess soils of the hills overlooking the Mississippi River and its 

 tributaries ; the red, gravelly clay loam of the Ozarks in Missouri 

 and Arkansas ; and the deep loam of some of the prairie states 

 and the orange districts of Florida and California. 



340. Climate determines the type of fruit to grow. The 

 climate is the most important factor in determining the loca- 

 tion of an orchard. Each kind of fruit has a northern limit, 

 above which the winters are too severe for it to live ; and most 

 have a southern limit, below which it may become too hot for 

 it to thrive. The Baldwin and Greening apples, for example, 

 thrive best in the Northern states from New England to Michi- 

 gan, while the Ben Davis and Winesap reach their best develop- 

 ment from Virginia westward through Missouri and Arkansas. 

 Humidity also is an important factor. Apples of the Newtown 

 Pippin type are well adapted to the Atlantic and Pacific coast 

 states, while the Duchess and kindred varieties reach their best 

 development in the interior, where the climate is drier. Sweet 

 cherries reach their best development in a moist climate like 

 that of the coast regions and the Great Lakes. The sour 

 cherries thrive best in the drier, continental climates of the 

 Mississippi Valley states. 



341. Orchard soils. Orchards grow well in many different 

 regions, but it does not follow that any good agricultural soil 

 is adapted to fruit trees. Aeration of the soil is necessary for 

 the proper development of fruit trees, because their roots re- 

 quire more air than do the roots of most other cultivated plants. 

 " Fruit trees do not like wet feet." Therefore the soil for an 

 orchard should drain to a greater depth than is required for 

 grains, grasses, or other farm crops, and must not be water 

 soaked for any great length of time at any season of the year. 

 A good orchard soil should be loose, porous, and mellow, so 

 that the water penetrates readily and to great depth. In the esti- 

 mation of many orchardists the subsoil is of more importance 

 than the surface soil. A heavy clay subsoil or a hard pan is 



