VIRGINIA 



VII EX 



1947 



Astraehan, Maiden's Blush, Summer (^ueen and Pen- 

 nock, followed l>v Bonum, Smoke House, Fall Pippin, 

 Fallawater, Sweet Winter Paradise, and Virginia 

 Beauty as leading fall apples, and concluded by York 

 Imperial, Albemarle Pippin. Ben Davis and Winesap, 

 which extend tin- season through winter. 



The planting of pears for commercial purposes has 

 largely increased with the introduction of Kieffer, Le 

 Conte and others of this type, while Seckel, Bartlett, 

 and Duchess remain the favorites for garden purposes. 

 In peaches the varieties largely planted are Sneed, 

 Alexander, Greensboro, .Mountain Rose, Early Rivers, 

 Bishop Earlv, Chinese Cling, Crawford Early and 

 Late Elberta, Slump the World, Heath Cling, Levy 

 Late, Bilyeu October and Albright Winter. It is the 

 general experience that in early peaches white-fleshed 

 varieties do best. Sweet cherries probably grow to 

 greater perfection in Virginia than elsewhere east of 

 the Rocky Mountains, $60 worth of fruit from an indi- 

 vidual tree in a season being no unusual occurrence. 

 The most popular varieties are Early Purple, Black 

 Tartarian, Napoleon Windsor and Gov. Wood. It is 

 considered among observant growers that Mahaleb is a 

 failure as a stock for sweet cherries for orchard pur- 

 poses in Virginia, and the most successful stock is the 

 Mazzard, which grows with such luxuriance as often to 

 become a striking feature of a Virginia landscape. 



With the advent of the Japanese types, the plum in- 

 dustry is taking on renewed life and plum orchards of 

 considerable size are being planted. Red June, Abun- 

 dance, Yellow Japan, Burbank, and Wickson have 

 proved profitable about in order named. Satsuma pre- 

 serves well. The Damson and a blue plum of the 

 "Horse" plum type are very commonly disseminated 

 throughout the state. The latter reproduces itself in 

 the same manner as the Damson, and seems to be ex- 

 empt, from black knot. Only a few trees of the last two 

 kinds are grown at any one place, but the aggregate of 

 fruit is considerable. Nearly all the pome and stone 

 fruits adaptable to this climate are grown in the state, 

 but few on a commercial scale except as noted. 



Vineyards.— That section of Piedmont Virginia near 

 Charlottesville has taken the lead in grape-growing, 

 and extensive vineyards of wine grapes have been 

 planted, and a wine cellar established, whose product 

 has been favorably compared with the best French 

 wines of same character. 



Small fruits. — Raspberries are grown in sufficient 

 quantities to supply local demands, with Cuthbert as 

 the leading variety. The same may be said as to goose- 

 berries and currants, with Houghton and Downing popu- 

 lar varieties of the former and Cherry and Fay of the 

 latter. Strawberries are grown extensively in a number 

 of localities both for local and distant markets, with 

 the vicinity of Norfolk the center of production. From 

 Norfolk they are shipped by boat- and train-loads, and 

 "the patches" are often 100 acres or more in size. 

 Blackberries and dewberries are furnished so bounti- 

 fully by nature that stimulus for cultivation is held in 

 check, as is the case so far as home consumption goes 

 with many other fruits, for from early spring strawber- 

 ries, service berries, dewberries, blackberries, huckle- 

 berries, Mazzard cherries, haws, wild grapes, plums, 

 seedling apples, pears and peaches follow each other in 

 such reckless profusion in field and forest that all who 

 wish have but to pluck to eat. Commercially, however, 

 the horticulture of Virginia is making rapid strides in 

 methods and increased plantings. 



Trucking.— Tidewater ranks first in its trucking and 

 small fruit interest. With its mild climate, tractable 

 soil, abundatice of labor, thorough transportation facili- 

 ties, low freight rates, and nearness to great eastern 

 markets, it has in the last 36 years become the " Market 

 Garden of the World," the section adjacent to Norfolk 

 producing over six millions of dollars worth of truck 

 per annum. See Vegetable Gardening. 



Nurseries.— The 50 or more nurseries in the state are 

 well distributed, with the largest establishments at the 

 junction of the Tidewater and Middle Virginia sections. 

 These nurseries comprise plants of from 350 acres 

 down. The apple is their leading specialty. 



Floriculture and landscape gardening have been prin- 

 cipally confined to the larger cities of the state, where 



there has been a rapid increase of glass acreage in re- 

 cent years devoted mainly to the production of roses, 

 carnations, violets, and chrysanthemums as cut-flowers. 

 The soil and climate of Middle Virginia have been found 

 especially favorable to violet production and in Louisa 

 county. 25 or more growers are devoting especial effort 

 to violet culture. The interest in landscape gardening 

 is gradually on the increase. (j E0 , g. Murrell. 



VIRGINIA STOCK. Matthiola. 



VIRGIN'S BOWER. Clematis. 



VISCARIA. See Lychnis. 



VlSCUM is mentioned under Phoradendron. 



VlSNEA ( after a Lisbon merchant) . Temstr&miacece. 

 A genus of one species confined to the Canary Islands. 

 It is a large evergreen shrub or small tree resembling 

 in a general way a tea plant or camellia. The specific 

 name Mocauera was given by the younger Linnaeus be- 

 cause the fruit was supposed to be the "mocan" of the 

 aborigines, which was made into a kind of syrup and 

 used to a considerable extent. The fls. are only three- 

 eighths of an inch across, not very numerous and much 

 shorter than the lvs., but they are very sweet-scented. 

 It has recently been offered in S. California. 



Sepals 5, imbricated ; petals 5, imbricate, connate at 

 base; stamens indefinite: ovary 3-loculed, slightly im- 

 mersed in the torus: ovules 3 in each locule, pendulous 

 from the apex; fr. an indehiscent berry included by the 

 enlarged and fleshy calyx, which is adherent to the base. 



Mocanera, Linn. f. Tender evergreen shrub, 6-9 ft. 

 high, of compact habit and with dark green, shining 

 leathery foliage: lvs. short-petioled. ovate-lanceolate, 

 serrate: fls. solitary, white, pendulous. Canaries. 



W. M. 



VlTEX (ancient Latin name for this or a similar 

 shrub). Verbenaceee. Ornamental deciduous or ever- 

 green trees or shrubs with opposite, digitate or 

 rarely simple leaves and usually with small white, blue, 

 violet or yellowish flowers in axillary cymes often dis- 

 posed in large, terminal panicles. Most of the species 

 are inhabitants of tropical and subtropical regions and 

 only a few can be cultivated outdoors in temperate re- 

 gions. The hardiest seems to be V. incisa, which stands 

 most ordinary winters as far north as Massachusetts. 

 V. Agnus-castus is hardy as far north as New York, in 

 sheltered positions. These species are particularly val- 

 uable for their late-appearing flowers. They grow in 

 almost any kind of soil and prefer rather dry, sunny 

 situations. None of the tender kinds seem to be in cul- 

 tivation in this country. They thrive in a sandy com- 

 post of peat and loam. Propagated by seeds sown in 

 spring and by greenwood cuttings under glass; also by 

 layers. 



About 60 species are known, distributed through the 

 subtropical and tropical regions of both hemispheres, 

 few in the temperate regions. Lvs. opposite, digitate, 

 w T ith 3-7, rarely with one leaflet: fls. in often panicled, 

 few- to many-fld. cymes: calyx campanulate, usually 

 5- toothed ; corolla tubular -funnelform, with 5-lobed, 

 oblique and slightly 2-lipped limb; stamens 4, 2 longer 

 and 2 shorter ones: fr. a small drupe, with a 4-celled 

 stone. Some species, particularly V. altissima and V 

 Leucoxylon in S. Asia are important timber trees. 



Agnus-castus, Linn. Chaste-tree. Hemp-tree. 

 Monk's Pepper-tree. Shrub or small tree, with a strong 

 aromatic odor, grayish tomentose : lvs. long-stalked; 

 lfts. 5-7, lanceolate, acuminate, narrowed at the base 

 into a short stalk, entire or with few coarse teeth, gray- 

 ish tomentose beneath, the middle one 3-4 in. long, the 

 fls. in dense, sessile clusters, forming terminal, often, 

 panicled racemes 5-7 in. long: corolla usually pale or 

 lilac, grayish outside, % in. long; stamens and style 

 exserted. Julv-Sept. S. Eu., W. Asia. Mn. 2, p. 44. 

 -Var. alba, Hort. ( I'. albi flora, Hort.). Fls. white. 

 Var. cserulea, Hort. Fls. blue. 



incisa, Lam. (T. laeiniata, Hort.). Fig. 2694. Simi- 

 lar to the preceding: lfts. incisely serrate or almost 



