NEW MEXICO— NEW YORK 



1413 



1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent. 



New York 



New York state is most fortunately 

 situated in relation to markets and 

 transportation. It touches the Atlantic 

 seaboard on the east and the Great Lakes 

 on the west. The Hudson river is navig- 

 able for considerable distance inland, and 

 the railroad and electric lines penetrate 

 all the good farming districts. 



New York city has a population, ac- 

 cording to the census of 1910 of 4,776,- 

 883, while the state as a whole had 9.- 

 113,614. The mountain features of the 

 state are a continuation of the Appalach- 

 ian range and the Adirondacks. Most of 

 the best farming lands are west of the 

 mountains: however, in the mountain re- 

 gions are small rich valleys and on the 

 Atlantic coast are considerable areas of 

 level or undulating lands which pro- 

 duce well, and being near the best mar- 

 kets are of considerable value. 



The best fruit-growing district, ac- 

 cording to present statistics, is along the 

 lakes on the west, and the next best dis- 

 trict is along the Hudson river. How- 

 ever, scattered throughout the state are 

 many small lakes such as Canandaigua, 

 Skaneateles, Cayuga. Seneca, Oneida, 

 Onondaga and others of glacial origin, 

 and with sufficient bodies of water to 

 protect the fruit in some degree from 

 frost. In these sections the soil and 

 climate are adapted to the growing of 

 fruits and the industry is profitable. 



New York state was settled more than 

 100 years ago. The hardy pioneers clear- 

 ed the land, built cabins, made farms and 

 planted orchards. There are apple and 

 pear trees in almost all parts of the 

 state planted by these first families, trees 

 that are 100 years old and still in bear- 

 ing. Of course, as compared with the 



number of trees planted, the number that 

 live to be 100 years old are a little like 

 the number of the human family who 

 live to be the same age. Trees that live 

 to such an age first of all are of vigor- 

 ous stock; then they must be favorably 

 situated with reference to soil and cli- 

 mate. 



It is interesting to note under what 

 conditions an apple or a pear tree will 

 live and bear fruit for 100 years. In 

 every case I have examined there has 

 been a deep soil which enabled the roots 

 to penetrate to sufficient depth to obtain 

 an abundance of food. Further, there 

 has been sufficient water. Generally 

 there was drainage from the hillsides 

 above and toward the trees, and a gravelly 

 or sandy subsoil, that insured good drain- 

 age away from the roots. The mixture 

 of clay loam, sandy loam and gravelly 

 loam found so often in the glacial de- 

 posits of New York are favorable con- 

 ditions for the growing of trees of large 

 size and long life. There are consider- 

 able areas in New York state where there 

 is a strong admixture of limestone, and 

 this adds to its value for general farm- 

 ing, as well as for the growing of fruits. 



In a review of the state of New York, 

 Long Island deserves special mention. It 

 occupies about one-twentieth of the state, 

 begins at a point near New York city, 

 is about an average of 16 miles wide and 

 125 miles long. It extends in a northeast- 

 erly direction along the coast of Connecti- 

 cut, and being entirely surrounded by the 

 waters of the Atlantic ocean, is well pro- 

 tected from frosts. According to Pro- 

 fessor P. W. Hooper, it has about the 

 same area and population as Holland, yet 

 the produce taken out of the soil of Hol- 

 land is 21 times as great as that taken 

 out of the soil of Long Island. He 



