1354 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Ing and too rapid evaporation. A cover- 

 ing of lialf-rotted leaves or straw placed 

 within a radius of three feet around the 

 tree will conserve moisture and keep the 

 soil mellow and cool. Following this plan 

 the writer has had success with trees re- 

 ceived for trial and planted late in 

 March. 



A. B. McKay 



Varieties for Mississippi 



The question of what varieties to plant 

 is one of the hardest to answer, for some 

 varieties are adapted to certain condi- 

 tions while other varieties are not at all 

 suited. Whether selecting for a home or 

 commercial orchard, would determine 

 what varieties to plant. For commercial 

 purposes we would select a few standard 

 varieties of vigorous-growing trees which 

 bear well and produce fruit of a good 

 color and size that ripens evenly, stands 

 storage, and ships well. These charac- 

 teristics are sometimes found in varieties 

 like the Ben Davis and Gano, which are 

 very poor in quality. For home orchards 

 we would choose a larger number of vari- 

 eties with special reference to quality, 

 and without considering shipping prop- 

 erties or appearance. 



There Is only a limited number of va- 

 rieties of apples adapted to the South 

 and only a few of these have been tried 

 in Mississippi. Among the varieties that 

 are adapted to growing in this state are 

 the following: Red June, Early Harvest, 

 Red Astrachan, Yellow Transparent, 

 Champion, Commerce, Black Ben Davis, 

 Day, Yates, Horse, and Roxbury Russet. 

 The first four are early summer varieties 

 while the others are either late summer 

 or fall and winter varieties. There has 

 been so little work done on the apple in 

 this state that very little is known about 

 its adaptability. 



Other Fniits 



While the following is by no means an 

 exhaustive list of good varieties, it in- 

 cludes such as, upon repeated tests, have 

 been found worthy of place in Mississippi 



orchards, vineyards and strawberry plant- 

 ings. Names are given in approximate 

 order of ripening. 



Apple — Red June, Astrachan, Transpar- 

 ent, Carolina Watson, Day, Horse, Bonum, 

 Carolina Greening, Roxbury Russet, Com- 

 merce, Champion, Black Ben Davis, Win- 

 ter Queen, Stevenson's Winter. 



Peach — Alexander, Greensboro, Mamie 

 Ross, Carmen, Belle of Georgia, O. M. 

 Free, Thurber, Family Favorite, Hiley, 

 General Lee, Elberta, Globe, Crawford's 

 Late, Stonewall Jackson, Emma, Colum- 

 bia, Picquet's Late, Indian Blood, Pine- 

 apple or Lemon. 



Plum — Wild Goose, Milton, Abundance, 

 Red June, Burbank, Ogon, Doris, Apple. 



Pear — Koonce, Garber, Duchesse d'An- 

 goulem, Kieffer, Seckle. 



Quince — Anglers, Apple, Chinese, 

 Rea's. 



Fig— Brown Turkey, Celestial, Green 

 Ischia. 



Grape — Moore's Early, Perkins, Dela- 

 ware, Diamond, Concord, Niagara, 

 Goethe. 



Straioberry — Excelsior, Lady Thomp- 

 son, Klondike, Aroma, Gandy. 



If planting cannot be done immediately 

 upon arrival of trees, dig a trench in 

 some well-drained place, stand the trees 

 in the trench and bank well-pulverized 

 soil about the roots, covering deeper than 

 they stood in the nursery. If goods are 

 frozen upon arrival, place in cellar or 

 some other cool, dark apartment and let 

 remain without unpacking until the en- 

 tire package is thawed out. 



When ready to plant inspect each tree 

 carefully and remove any insects that 

 may be found on or beneath the bark of 

 roots or stem. With a sharp knife or 

 pruning shears trim off all bruised parts, 

 leaving a smoothly cut surface at the end 

 of each root. 



For additional information on Orchard 

 Sites and Soils, see Selection of Site, 

 under Apple Orchard. 



