MEDLAR— MICHIGAN 



1347 



* Number of trees. 

 > Used as root forage. 



3 Used as coarse forage. 



* Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent. 



McIntosh Apple fob Massachusetts. 

 See Massachusetts. 



McLaughlin, Dr. John. See History of 

 Orcharding in Old Oregon, under Apple. 



Medlar 



The Medlar is a small, spreading Euro- 

 pean tree of the family Rosaceae. 



The fruit resembles a very small apple 

 with the calyx lobes well developed and 

 permanent. It is hard and bitter until 

 it begins to decay, when it becomes agree- 

 ably acid. It is not highly prized as a 

 food but is a relish or delicacy. 



The timber of the Medlar is rather 

 hard and durable. The tree is a slow 

 grower and lives to a very great age. 



Meek, William. See History of Or- 

 charding in Old Oregon, under Apple. 



Melon or Cotton Aphis. See Aphids. 



Melon Aphis. See under Cantaloup 

 Culture. 



Mice. See Rodent. 



Michigan 



The northern part of Michigan is 

 rugged and mountainous. The principal 

 industries are lumbering and mining. 

 There is but little fruit grown in this 

 part of the state and farm lands have not 

 been regarded as very productive when 

 averages are considered. The northern 

 section is separated from the southern 

 by the Straits of Mackinac, connecting 

 Lakes Huron and Michigan. 



The southern part, sometimes called 

 the Southern Peninsula, is a part of an 

 old coastal plain whose layers contain 

 salt, gypsum, sand, clay and glacial de- 

 posits. The soils are for the most part 

 productive, and especially on the western 



coast, bordering on the shores of Lake 

 Michigan, are adapted to fruit-growing 

 on account of protection from frosts by 

 the lake breezes. The soil of Southwest 

 and Southeast Michigan is mainly a dark 

 clay loam or muck; in the north central 

 part of the lower peninsula it is a light 

 sandy loam; in the east along the shores 

 of Lake Huron it is mostly a blue clay. 



The climate, except where the tempera- 

 ture is modified by lake breezes, is cold 

 in winter, the thermometer ranging as 

 low as 49 degrees below zero and as high 

 as 104 degrees above, but in the south- 

 west portion the temperature is much 

 less extreme, so that peaches, pears, ap- 

 ples and all kinds of orchard fruits of the 

 north temperate zone may be grown. 



Celery, potatoes and peppermint are 

 important commercial crops. The total 

 number of fruit trees in the state is re- 

 ported as follows: 



Apples, 7,534,343; peaches and necta- 

 rines, 2,907,170; pears, 1,136,151; plums 

 and prunes, 464,917; cherries, 760,183; 

 grapevines, 11,013,576; strawberries, 8,051 

 acres; raspberries and loganberries, 

 8,786 acres; nuts, 37,297 trees. 



The counties in which the largest 

 number of bearing apple trees is re- 

 ported are as follows: Allegan, 287,761; 

 Berrien, 273,409; Kent, 307,385; Oakland, 

 285,983; Van Buren, 234,134. It will be 

 noted that these counties, with the ex- 

 ception of Oakland, are in the southwest- 

 ern part of the state. All of the great 

 peach-producing counties are along the 

 shores of Lake Michigan, where the soil 

 and climate are both favorable for their 

 production. Gbanville Lowther 



