2238 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



adapted to the growing of early spring vegetables for 

 northern shipment. Mobile cabbage has become popu- 

 lar in the northern market and is, perhaps, grown more 

 extensively in both Baldwin and Mobile counties than 

 any other vegetable crop. In 1910, 714 cars of cab- 

 bage were shipped north from Mobile. As a rule, soils 

 upon which cabbage is grown contain very little humus 

 and as a result, considerable quantities of commercial 

 fertilizer are used. The average cabbage-grower, under 

 present conditions, realizes a very small net profit on 

 his cabbage acreage. With scientific management the 

 business should pay. There are many farms on which 

 the percentage of clay is high and when cover-crops 

 are grown on these soils some excellent crops have been 

 produced. 



Among other important vegetables grown in the Gulf 

 region are snap beans, cucumbers, English peas, radishes 

 and sweet potatoes, the latter being an important crop. 

 Sweet potato yields average from 200 to 600 bushels 

 an acre, and the average net return is 40 cents a bushel. 



HORTICULTURAL DISTRICTS 



STATUTE /vt/Lf.t 



2518. Alabama, showing the six leading divisions. 



The storage of large quantities of sweet potatoes under 

 the old method is not always successful. The newer 

 method of storage in connection with fire-curing is 

 usually completely successful. At Summerdale in Bald- 

 win County, a canning factory put up 1,000,000 cans 

 in 1911. This industry is receiving considerable atten- 

 tion at present. The Nancy Hall, Dooley, and Early 

 Triumph varieties are commonly grown. 



Tomatoes have not been grown on a commercial 

 scale successfully as a rule. "Wilt" and "blossom-end 

 rot" are two diseases that are difficult to control and 

 both are prevalent in the Gulf region. Also the Texas 

 crop is on the market before the Alabama crop and 

 prices are low when the latter comes on. 



Watermelons are grown principally for the local 

 market, although many cars are shipped North. They 

 are planted about March 5 in the Gulf region and 

 mature May 1. 



Peaches have been successfully grown in the Gulf 



region, but there are only one or two commercial peach 

 orchards now being operated. Elsewhere in the state 

 are extensive commercial orchards; one at Atmore 

 embraces 225,000 trees; another at Union Springs con- 

 tains 1,000 acres. There are also large peach orchards 

 at Blount Springs, Gadsden, and Alexander City. 

 Brown-rot, San Jose" scale, the plum curculio, and the 

 peach tree-borer are the chief pests. San Jose scale 

 has frequently done great damage before the grower 

 became aware of the nature of the trouble. In this 

 region peaches begin to ripen May 20 and the season 

 extends to August 1 in the northern part of the state. 



Japanese persimmons and some of the Japanese plums 

 thrive in the Lower Coastal Plain. The work of the 

 Department of Agriculture and of the Alabama Experi- 

 ment Station in successfully ripening Japanese per- 

 simmons artificially, will give an impetus to the plant- 

 ing of this beautiful and splendid fruit. Persimmons 

 properly ripened are little known outside of the Gulf 

 states. Artificial ripening is chiefly of advantage in 

 shipping the persimmons. They ripen naturally in 

 October and November. 



Figs, particularly the domestica group, are grown 

 successfully over most of the state; they are seldom 

 winter-killed and a few old trees will produce from six 

 to ten bushels of fruit, and with the introduction of 

 canning factories this fruit is being more widely 

 exploited. It is difficult to ship the fresh fruit to the 

 North but it has been accomplished successfully. There 

 is a splendid market for the preserved product. 



Grapefruit, guavas and so-called "native" sweet 

 oranges are grown successfully in the extreme southern 

 part of Baldwin and Mobile counties, but it is doubtful 

 whether grapefruit will ever be grown on a large scale 

 very successfully. A few ponderosa lemons are also 

 planted about homes. Kumquats offer commercial 

 possibilities and are being planted in a limited way. 

 The fruit makes a delicious marmalade and preserve. 



With the introduction of the Satsuma orange, many 

 large nurseries have been established in the vicinity of 

 Mobile, and this promises to be a center for this industry 

 owing to the favorable soils and proximity to the 

 extensive new plantings. Plantings now embrace 

 about 1,500,000 trees, covering 10,000 acres, chiefly 

 in Mobile and Baldwin counties. 



The sand pear, although considered by many quite 

 worthless, finds a ready market and is being grown suc- 

 cessfully in this coastal section. It is resistant to blight 

 and produces enormous yields. 



A few of the early apples, such as Red June, Red 

 Astrachan and Yellow Transparent, can be grown in a 

 small way successfully even as far south as Mobile. 



Both the bunch and muscadine grapes do well in 

 the vicinity of Mobile, one instance being known at 

 Flomaton where a grower netted $600 from one acre 

 of bunch grapes. 



In the past few years, there has been an immense 

 increase in the planting of pecans, principally in the 

 territory southward of Montgomery. The varieties in 

 favor are Schley, Stewart, Frotscher, Delmas, Money- 

 maker, President, and others. There are now planted 

 in the state, chiefly in the southern counties, between 

 250,000 and 300,000 pecan trees. These are grafted 

 trees mostly. 



The Upper Coastal Plain (Fig. 2518, Area No. 2) 

 has not been an important section from a horticultural 

 standpoint up to the present. The southwestern section 

 is rapidly developing as a stock-raising region. Pecans 

 are also being planted extensively there. At Evergreen 

 and Castleberry there are large acreages of strawberries, 

 and these towns are famous for the quality of berries 

 they ship North each season. Berries are ready for 

 market from April 1 to 10. 



At Evergreen there is a rather novel horticultural 

 industry. Carloads of southern smilax, commonly 

 called "bamboo vine," are gathered in one-mule wagons 



