NEW YORK— NORTH CAROLINA 



1421 



Nitrogen, Gain of, per Acre and Mar- 

 ket Value. See Soils. 



Nitrogen. See Apple Orchard, Fertili- 

 zation of. 



North Carolina 



North Carolina is about as large as 

 England, and in size, is the seventeenth 

 state in the Union. It is divided natural- 

 ly into three parts, namely, the eastern 

 part which is level and swampy; the cen- 

 tral part or hilly region; and the west- 

 ern part which is mountainous. 



The eastern division was once a part 

 of an ocean bed, and now contains many 

 deposits of sand which are shifted by 

 the winds and storms. In the western 

 portion, the highest elevation is Mount 

 Mitchel, which is 6,68S feet above the 

 sea, the highest east of the Rocky moun- 

 tains. There are no less than 24 peaks 

 higher than Mount Washington, which is 

 the highest peak in the White mountains, 

 and with the exception of the mountains 

 of North Carolina, is the highest east of 

 the Rocky mountains. 



The climate Is mild, though somewhat 

 varied, on account of the different de- 

 grees of elevation. It is on the same 

 isothermal line as California, Southern 

 France and Northern Italy. 



The temperature of the lowlands is hot 

 and humid, but in the interior, especially 

 in the Piedmont and mountain section, 

 the air is singularly pure, dry and elastic. 

 The mean annual temperature at Raleigh 

 is 60 degrees, at Asheville 50 degrees, at 

 Wilmington 63 degrees. The average 

 rainfall is from 45 to 58 inches, depend- 

 ing on the point of observation. In the 

 northern portion there are sometimes 

 severe frosts, which must be taken ac- 

 count of in the planting and growing of 

 commercial fruits. 



Notwithstanding that the eastern part 



along the coast is in a considerable de- 

 gree sandy, along the rivers is a rich 

 clay loam, and occasional swamps. About 

 these swamps are beds of peat, and it 

 was from one of these beds that the boy 

 who is now called "The Corn King" ob- 

 tained the fertilizers that enabled him to 

 produce the corn which won the prize 

 at the Interstate Contest, for the largest 

 yield, and the best quality of corn, grown 

 on one acre in the United States. On 

 land that had formerly grown 26 bushels 

 per acre, this boy, by the aid of fertili- 

 zers, grew 212 bushels, thus proving that 

 North Carolina has within her own bord- 

 ers a fertilizer that will make her worn- 

 out lands of exceeding value. 



North Carolina is well adapted to 

 fruits, because it has a good soil, good 

 air drainage in the hill and mountain 

 regions, and a mild climate. However, 

 there is a great deal of cloudy weather, 

 and on this account certain fungous dis- 

 eases are more prevalent, and apples, 

 peaches, and the fruits that are prized 

 for the richness of their color, will not 

 take on as deep a coloring as in the arid 

 regions where the light is more intense. 

 Yet the horticultural interests are rapid- 

 ly developing and are proving to be very 

 profitable. 



In the "Sand Hill Region," where it 

 was formerly supposed crops could not 

 be grown, peaches, grapes and small 

 fruits have been grown to a high state 

 of perfection. Here large quantities of 

 peanuts are grown, and besides yielding 

 profitable crops are of value to the soil 

 as nitrogen gatherers. 



Apples 



The commercial apple growing is prin- 

 cipally in the hill and mountain region. 

 The rich mountain soil, the cool climate, 

 and protection from winds as well as the 



