2214 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



Mountain Rose, Champion, Elberta, Belle of Georgia, 

 Heath Free, Reeves, Oldmixon, Chairs, Fox Seedling, 

 Pickett Late, Stevens, Salway and Bilyeu. 



The natural conditions for the production of apples 

 are unsurpassed and the apple industry is growing 

 steadily. On the Eastern Shore the early summer 

 varieties thrive. Ripening as they do in June and early 

 July, they bring high prices in the northern markets. 

 The northern tier of counties have soil and climatic 

 conditions favorable to the production of fall and win- 

 ter varieties of the highest quality. Because of the 

 great range of climate, a long list of varieties is available 

 to select from. In western Maryland the best northern 

 varieties like Spy, Tompkins King, Baldwin and Rhode 

 Island Greening thrive on the higher elevations, while 

 such excellent varieties as Grimes Golden, Jonathan, 

 Winesap, Stayman Winesap, Paragon, Nero and 

 Delicious can be grown to perfection in practically all 

 parts of the state. At the present time the largest 

 number of bearing trees are Ben Davis and York Imper- 

 ial, but the planting out of these varieties has prac- 

 tically ceased. The present plantings are mostly 

 Grimes, Jonathan Stayman, Winesap and Delicious. 

 These varieties will soon be produced in large quantities. 

 During the past ten years, large tracts of wild mountain 

 land, considered worthless for agricultural purposes, 

 have been converted into orchards. Some of these 

 newly planted orchards are of considerable size. Near 

 Cumberland on the Green Ridge Mountains and over- 

 looking the Potomac River is probably located the 

 largest single orchard project in the world. This pro- 

 ject is converting 40,000 acres of wild mountain land 

 into an apple orchard. Over 1,000,000 trees are already 

 planted and the first plantings are now in bearing, This 

 entire tract contains only three varieties, namely, 

 Grimes, Jonathan, and Stayman Winesap. The largest 

 full bearing apple orchard in the state is located near 

 Hancock, in Washington County, and contains 900 

 acres. Orchards containing several hundred acres are 

 common in this section. A large number of these 

 newly planted apple orchards contain peaches as fillers. 



Pears thrive throughout the state, and the planting 

 of pear orchards has been on the increase. Kent and 

 Anne Arundel counties lead in this industry. 



Plums are grown only to a limited extent. They can 

 be grown with ease but the other fruits are more profit- 

 able. Those grown are mostly of the Japanese and Wild 

 Goose type. The production of sour cherries is on the 

 increase. 



In the production of grapes, Prince George's County 

 leads. The production of grapes is steadily increasing 

 throughout the state. Grapes ripen here at a time when 

 the southern-grown grapes are off the market and before 

 the northern grapes come on. The leading commercial 

 varieties grown are: Moore Early, Concord, Niagara 

 and Delaware. Besides these, Campbell Early, Lutie, 

 Worden, Woodruff Red and Catawba are also grown 

 in appreciable quantities. 



The large fruit and vegetable industries have given 

 rise to another large industry, namely, canning and 

 preserving. According to the Twelfth Census, there 

 were 468 such establishments, in 1909, turning out a 

 product valued at $13,709,449. Of this amount, $12,- 

 538,862 was vegetables and fruits. Several of the larger 

 plants continue to operate as fish and oyster canneries 

 when the fruit and vegetable season is over. In canning, 

 Maryland leads the other states. The tomato is the 

 chief item. According to statistics compiled by the 

 National Canners' Association, Maryland canned 41.6 

 per cent of all the tomatoes canned in the United States 

 from 1908 to 1914. 



The long growing season and the deep mellow soils 

 make Maryland well adapted to production of nursery 

 products. In 1914 there were fifty-two such establish- 

 ments inspected by the State Horticultural Depart- 

 ment. Most of these are small and are operated in 



connection with other farming operations. The number 

 fluctuates from year to year. Some farmers grow a 

 nursery crop only occasionally. The largest nursery 

 in the state is located near Berlin, in Worcester County, 

 and covers a tract of 2,500 acres devoted chiefly to the 

 production of nursery products, fruit trees being the 

 chief output. The second largest nursery is located near 

 Baltimore and contains 1,200 acres. 



Maryland abounds in beautiful scenery. The vicinity 

 of Baltimore is surrounded by charming suburbs, 

 beautifully landscaped and planted with trees, shrubs 

 and flowers. Druid Hill Park, laid out by the Olmsted 

 brothers, is one of the finest parks in the United States. 

 The Green Spring Valley, north of Baltimore, is noted 

 for its magnificent country homes and large estates. 



One of the most influential horticulturists of Maryland 

 was J. W. Kerr, a sketch of whose life will be found in 

 volume III, page 1582. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The Maryland Agricultural College was established 

 as a private institution in 1856, and opened for instruc- 

 tion in 1859. After Congress passed the Land-Grant 

 Act in 1862 the General Assembly of Maryland for- 

 mally accepted the grant and the Maryland Agricul- 

 tural College was named as beneficiary. This made the 

 College in part a state institution, and in the fall of 

 1914 it was entirely taken over by the state. The Agri- 

 cultural College and Experiment Station are located at 

 College Park. There are ten men on the staff of the 

 College and Experiment Station devoting themselves 

 to horticultural work. 



Maryland has two horticultural societies; namely, 

 the Peninsula Horticultural Society, founded in 1886, 

 and the Maryland State Horticultural Society, founded 

 in 1898. The object of both these societies is the pro- 

 motion of horticulture in all its branches. Both societies 

 receive some state aid. The Peninsula Society is pri- 

 marily intended for residents of Delaware and the 

 Eastern Shore of Maryland. 



Statistics (Thirteenth Census). 



The approximate land area of Maryland in 1910 was 

 6,362,240 acres. The land in farms numbered 5,057,140 

 acres, which was 79.5 per cent of the land area. Of the 

 land in farms, 3,354,767 acres were improved; 1,467,333 

 acres were in woodland; and 235,040 acres was other 

 unimproved land in farms. The number of all the farms 

 in 1910 was 48,923. The average acreage to a farm was 

 103.4. [The total area is 12,327 square miles.] 



The leading agricultural crops of Maryland are 

 cereals, hay and forage, forest products of the farms and 

 tobacco. The acreage of cereals in 1909 was 1,329,201, 

 and the value of the products $21,908,730, which was 

 49.9 per cent of the total value of all crops. The acre- 

 age of hay and forage increased from 374,848 in 1899 

 to 398,842 in 1909, when the products were valued at 

 $6,011,749, which was 13.7 per cent of the total value 

 of all crops. The value of the forest products of the 

 farms increased from $1,170,362 in 1899 to $2,349,045 

 in 1909. The acreage of tobacco in 1909 was 26,072, 

 and the value of the production, $1,457,112. 



Horticultural crops grown in Maryland are fruits and 

 nuts, small-fruits, flowers and plants and nursery prod- 

 ucts, and vegetables. The value of the fruits and nuts 

 produced in 1909 was $1,577,978, as compared with 

 $1,311,386 in 1899. Small-fruits decreased in acreage 

 from 17,522 in 1899 to 16,595 in 1909, when the value 

 of the products was $1,227,548. In 1909 the total acre- 

 age of potatoes and other vegetables was 155,339, and 

 their value $7,996,105. In 1899 the acreage was 133,- 

 344. Flowers and plants and nursery products increased 

 in acreage from 1,449 in 1899 to 4,718 in 1909, an in- 

 crease of 225.6 per cent, when the value was $1,053,901. 



The total quantity of orchard fruits produced in 1909 

 was 2,577,359 bushels, valued at $1,517,400. Apples 



