NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2217 



of Piedmont but the industry has languished in recent 

 years. It has been fully demonstrated, however, that 

 the growing of table grapes is profitable in many parts 

 of the state. There are several large nurseries and many 

 small ones located in the state. Taken as a whole, the 

 nursery business is of considerable importance. The 

 state, also, has a number of large seed-houses and the 

 growing of pedigreed seed is now important. The cut- 

 flower [industry has assumed considerable proportions 

 near the large cities, while the same may be said for the 

 forcing industry. 



The development of fine country estates belongs 

 chiefly to Colonial and ante-bellum days. However, 

 many of these old estates have been preserved for the 

 present generation, among which may be mentioned, 

 Mount Vernon, Monticello and Montpelier. Through- 

 out the state may be found less noted establishments 

 which are, nevertheless, prized for their beauty. 



The history of horticulture in Virginia is meagre. 

 Beyond the fact that fruits and flowers have been 

 prized from Colonial days, little is known of the evolu- 

 tion of the present horticultural industries. The 

 strictly commercial phases of horticultural develop- 

 ment are recent or are yet in their infancy. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The land-grant college of Virginia, known as the 

 Virginia Polytechnic Institute, is located at Blacks- 

 burg in the southwestern part of the state. The State 

 Experiment Station is a department of the College. 

 The staff of the horticultural department consists of 

 four horticulturists. 



The inspection work for orchards and nurseries is 

 administered by the Crop Pest Commission, which is 

 directed by the same board as the Experiment Station. 

 This office is essentially a department of the Agricul- 

 tural College. Three trained officers devote practically 

 their entire time to this work. There are also a large 

 number of county inspectors engaged in orchard and 

 nursery inspection under the direction of the Com- 

 mission. 



The Virginia State Horticultural Society is one of the 

 influential agricultural associations of the state. 



A Truck Experiment Station was organized in 1907 

 and located hi the trucking district near Norfolk. 

 This Station is supported and controlled conjointly by 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, the 

 Virginia Experiment Station, the State Department of 

 Agriculture and the Southern Produce Exchange. Much 

 valuable experimental and research work has already 

 been carried out for the benefit of the trucking industry. 



The State Department of Agriculture has its head- 

 quarters at Richmond, and devotes a considerable 

 part of its efforts to the fruit-growing and trucking 

 industries. 



Statistics (Thirteenth Census). 



The approximate land area of Virginia in 1910 was 

 25,767,680 acres. The land in farms was 75.7 per cent 

 of the land area, or 19,495,636 acres. Of this land in 

 farms, the improved land numbered 9,870,058 acres: 

 the woodland, 8,414,680 acres; and other unimproved 

 land in farms, 1,210,898 acres. The total number of 

 farms in the state in 1910 was 184,018, and the average 

 acreage to a farm, 105.9. [The total area of the state is 

 42,627 square miles.] 



The leading agricultural crops of the state are cereals, 

 tobacco, and hay and forage. The acreage devoted to 

 the production of cereals decreased from 3,166,332 in 

 1899 to 2,841,114 in 1909, when the production was 

 valued at $39,993,929, which was 39.8 per cent of the 

 total value of all crops. Tobacco increased in acreage 

 from 184,334 in 1899 to 185,427 in 1909, when the pro- 

 duction was valued at $12,169,086. Hay and forage 

 increased from 612,962 in 1899 to 773,577 in 1909, when 

 the production was valued at $10,256,998. Forest 



products of the farms were valued at $10,118,851 in 

 1909, as compared with $3,797,116 in 1899. 



Horticultural crops grown in Virginia are fruits and 

 nuts, small-fruits, vegetables, including potatoes and 

 sweet potatoes and yams, and flowers and plants and 

 nursery products. The value of the fruits and nuts 

 produced in 1909 was $3,770,491, as compared with 

 $2,755,487 in 1899. Small-fruits decreased in acreage 

 from 8,796 in 1899 to 7,295 in 1909, when the produc- 

 tion was 11,342,980 quarts, valued at $671,843. The 

 total acreage of potatoes and other vegetables in 1909 

 was 252,119, and then- value, $17,338,496. Excluding 

 potatoes, and sweet potatoes and yams, the acreage 

 of the other vegetables increased from 99,002 hi 1899 to 

 124,354 in 1909, when the production was valued at 

 $8,989,467. Peanuts increased in acreage from 116,914 

 in 1899 to 145,213 in 1909, when the production was 

 4,284,340 bushels, valued at $4,239,832. Flowers and 

 plants and nursery products decreased in acreage from 

 1,343 in 1899 to 944 in 1909, when the production was 

 valued at $522,480. 



The total production of orchard-fruits hi 1909 was 

 6,581,101 bushels, valued at $3,582,359. Apples con- 

 tributed more than nine-tenths of this quantity, peaches 

 and nectarines and cherries most of the remainder. The 

 apple trees of bearing age hi 1910 numbered 7,004,548; 

 those not of bearing age, 3,435,591, and the production 

 in 1909 was 6,103,941 bushels, valued at $3,129,832. 

 Peach and nectarine trees of bearing age in 1910 num- 

 bered 1,585,505; those not of bearing age, 780,551. The 

 production of peaches and nectarines hi 1909 was 

 243,446 bushels, valued at $227,141. Cherry trees of 

 bearing age in 1910 numbered 352,783; those not of 

 bearing age, 83,323. The production hi 1609 was 132,- 

 671 bushels of cherries, valued at $134,428. The pro- 

 duction of other orchard-fruits in 1909 was: 74,486 

 bushels of pears, valued at $63,424; 22,597 bushels of 

 plums and prunes, valued at $22,772; 3,443 bushels of 

 quinces, valued at $4,037; and 515 bushels of apricots, 

 valued at $723. 



The production of grapes in 1909 was 4,108,694 

 pounds, as compared with 3,608,903 pounds, the pro- 

 duction in 1899. The value of the grapes produced in 

 1909 was $156,266. The vines of bearing age in 1910 

 numbered 424,701; those not of bearing age, 136,026. 



The production of nuts was 841,572 pounds, valued 

 at $22,161. The nuts produced in 1909 were: 600,141 

 pounds of black walnuts, valued at $9,723; 210,364 

 pounds of chestnuts, valued at $9,686; 10,568 pounds 

 of pecans, valued at $1,356; and 22,512 pounds of 

 Persian or English walnuts, valued at $1,231. 



Figs were the only tropical fruit of importance in 1909, 

 the production being 234,057 pounds, valued at $9,652. 



Strawberries are the most important of the small- 

 fruits, with blackberries and dewberries ranking second 

 hi quantity and third hi value, while raspberries and 

 loganberries are third hi quantity, but second in value. 

 The acreage of strawberries decreased from 7,821 in 

 1899 to 6,606 in 1909, when the production was 10,761,- 

 381 quarts, valued at $626,649. Blackberries and dew- 

 berries decreased in acreage from 444 hi 1899 to 344 in 

 1909, when the production w r as 273,551 quarts, valued 

 at $16,485. Raspberries and loganberries decreased hi 

 acreage from 365 in 1899 to 276 in 1909, when the pro- 

 duction was 257,322 quarts, valued at $24,853. Other 

 small-fruits were: 23,447 quarts of gooseberries, valued 

 at $1,909; 18,112 quarts of cranberries, valued at $1,- 

 050; and 8,127 quarts of currants, valued at $791. 



The potatoes and sweet potatoes and yams rank far 

 ahead of the other vegetables in importance. Potatoes 

 increased in acreage from 51,021 in 1899 to 86,927 in 

 1909, when the production was 8,770,778 bushels, 

 valued at $5,667,557. Sweet potatoes and yams 

 increased in acreage from 40,681 in 1899 to 40,838 in 

 1909, when the production was 5,270,202 bushels, 

 valued at $2,681,472. Other vegetables of importance 



