21,-SO NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



}ytst \orlh Catlral States. — Minnosotii, iiiigo 21i)0; 

 Iowa. p:»go '2VXi: Missouri, pajw 219(>; North Djikota, 

 p:\KO -l'.>;': Soutli Dakota, psifto 2202; Nobnuska, pane 

 22t»">: K:ms;is. paj-o 2207. 



South Atlantic Statin. — Dclawarp, jiapp 2210; Mar.\- 

 lanii. page 2212; N'irginia, pafji' 221."); Wost Virpinia, 

 p!ip> 221S; North Carolina, pafto 2220; South Carolina, 

 pjipi' 2223; CJoorgia, pajtc 2221); I'lorida, ))a{io 2229. 



East South Central Statc.t. — Kentucky, paj;o 22;{2; 

 Tennessee, psige 2235; Alabama, page 2237; Missis- 

 sippi, p;\ge 2240. 



West South Central Slates. — Arkansas, page 22t;i; 

 Louisiana, page 2240; Oklahoma, page 2249; Tcxius, 

 page 22.51. 



Mountain Stales. — Montana, page 2255; Idaho, 

 page 2257; Wyoming. i)age 22()0; Colorado, page 22()li; 

 New Mexico, page 22t)('); .\rizona, page 22G9; Utah, 

 page 2272; Nevada, page 2275. 



J'acijic Stales. — \\'!Ushington, page 2278; Oregon, 

 page 22S1; California, page 2284. 



Alaska, page 2287. 



The .statistics concluding the articles, compiled by 

 Editor, are taken from the Thirteenth Census, 1910 

 (products of 1909). This is with the i)uri)().se not 

 only to give the statistics of each state but to afford 

 a basis of comparison between the states and to present 

 the facts for the I'nion. A.s a basis of comparison, the 

 main agricultural products are also given. The categories 

 of fruits are those used in tlie Cen.sus classifications. It 

 does not necessarily follow that "jjeaehes and necta- 

 rines" means that there are nectarines growing in com- 

 mercial quantities in tl)e given state, or that logan- 

 berries are grown when the category is "raspberries 

 and loganberries." In some cases in which these and 

 other incidental fruits are known not to be grown, the 

 names have been eliminated, but not always so. The 

 statements are chissificatory. 



The Canal Zone (Fig. 2486). 



\\Tien Balboa followed the narrow jungle trails of 

 the Indians from one rambling settlement to another 

 across the Isthmus, he probably noted, if he took any 

 horticultural notes at all, that the economic flora was 

 deplorably meager. The palm-thatched "bohios," as 

 they called their one-room dwellings, were scattered 

 along the high banks of the rivers, just above flood- 

 mark; and the patches of root-crops and grains were 

 massed clo.se uj) under the watcliful eye and ear of the 

 planter, — to avoid depredations by the ])lentiful game 

 animals, the deer, tapirs, agoutis, paca-s, and their 

 kind. This .sort of make-believe horticulture, however, 

 had been improving very slowly for thousands of years 

 when the first Spaniard appeared on the scene. 



If we hold, with O. F. Cook, that the first ideas of 

 agriculture originated in the old Caribbean region, if 

 we place the birth of the science back to the first pur- 

 poseful covering of an ot6 tuber in a half-ck'arixl plat 

 Sfimewhere about here soin(" 50,000 years ago, then we 

 must needs offer .some exijlanation for the undeniable 

 backwardness of tropical Amt'rican horticultun! at 

 the beginning of the sixteenth century. We may 

 rightly ignore all ethnological [joints in the ca.se and 

 as.scrt that in this region a little; more than anywhere 

 else on the earth's surface did the food-plant growers 

 have a pitiably laborious and precarious stniggle with 

 the primeval jungle. Indeed, it is doubtful whether 

 even the pre.s<mt inhabitants of the Ch.igres Valley 

 could eke out enough to live on from their little semi- 

 cultivated patches if they were deprived of the machete 

 and their few other "civilized inventions." 



In point of fact, however, the indigenes of this 

 region ha^l a fairly large number of f|u;isi-<:conomics in 

 iine, not to say in cultivation. They probably ilepended 

 upon the larger game animals to a great extent, with 

 fi.fh, .snakfsi, and iguanas also en menu; their main 



root-crop was "yuca," or cassava (Manihol dulcis var. 

 Aipi, M. tililLiMma), and to this day the "small farmer" 

 of the interior of the Isthmus sets great store on 

 "farina," the artificially <lried, grated, peeled root. 

 Ot6, or Yautia (Xanthosoina sj))).) w;is ])robal)ly 

 second in itn|)ortance as a vegetable food and undoubt- 

 edly existed then in many forms. Of yams there were 

 probably several s[)ecies, all inferior to those now in 

 evidence. The inalanga, or taro (Coloe;i.sia), i)robably 

 arrived with the Spaniards. The sweet potato may have 

 been in evidence, but the present dialects of the 

 Panamanian Indians (according to Pittier) contain 

 no word for this root. And the "cacahuate," or peanut, 

 was a prominent ])rehistoric crop from Mexico to Peru. 



.\inong the fruits, the avocado, indigenous from Peru 

 to Mexico (but not in the West Indies), demonstrates 

 its nativeness by attaining a greater size here than 

 elsewhere — 2 feet in diameter, with a height of 65 feet 

 or more, and fruits in proportion; the Mexican black- 

 skinned and the Guatemalan hard-skinned varieties 

 are unfortunately absent. The cashew (Anncardium 

 occidcntalc) is and probably was common everywhere 

 outside of the forests; the sister species, the espav6 

 (A. rhinocarpu-s) is a conspicuous jungle giant. The 

 guavas, though un.ible to compete with the forest 

 species, are among the first to occujiy cleared groimd. 

 The annonas were probably common; three forest 

 species bear edible fruit. Two caimitos, or star-apples 

 (Chrysophylhun spp.) are half or wholly wild. The 

 calabash (Crcseentia Cujele) was probably semi-cult i- 

 vateil for the sake of its fruit-rinds, used in lieu of 

 crockery. 



The i)ineapple probably made its first appearance to 

 the public somewhere in this region. As to the bananas 

 and plantains, it will probably never be known just 

 how or when they wore introduced (from .Africa or, 

 more probably, from the Orient); it seems certain, how- 

 ever, that there were a few varieties (out of the 300 or 

 more) under cultivation when Balboa came. The 

 anotto (Bixn Orellana) w;is doubtless used then, .as 

 now, for decorating the body and, mixed with palm- 

 oil, to keep away mosquitos and the terrible "sand- 

 flies" and ticks. 



There were probably also peppers, ginger, papayas, 

 maize, and beans in those plantations of 4,000 years 

 ago; but unlike their distant neighbors, the Incas and 

 Aztecs, the Isthmian planters neglected to set it down 

 on stone records. 



The first two centuries of civilization brought but 

 little to this region in the way of new economic plants; 

 but !is soon as travel across the Isthmus became a real 

 movement, and with pirates anfl brigands becoming 

 unpopular, Panama horticulture began to improve. 

 The Indian mango and the Polynesian bread-fruit 

 arrived and soon assumed a permanent predominance 

 over all other fruits, except the avocado and the mu.sas. 

 The citrous fruits, various vegetables, rice, sugar-cane, 

 the akec (brought in with the slaves) and, of course, 

 the ubiquitous tropical ornamentals (Aralia, Hibiscus, 

 Acal_ypha, Codia'um, ,Ia.sminum, and others) came in 

 due time. Many first-chuss economics, however, such 

 as sapodillas, star-ajjples, sweetsops, tamarinds, 

 mammee apples, and mammeo sapotas, are still nearly 

 or quite ab.sent within the Zone boundaries. The 

 French brought in a few good tilings. In 1906 to 1908, 

 H. F. Schultz, .OS horticulturist, began the i)ropagation 

 of ornamentals and vegetables; through the auspices 

 of David Fairchild and the writer, a good collection of 

 e(^ononii(\s was sent from the pro[)agating-houses of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, at 

 Washington, D. C, to the Zone, with i)artial .success. 

 About 1908-9, it Wiis considered impracticable to raise 

 fresh vegetables and fruits for the Canal Commissary, 

 and until the native plantations began to be "bought 

 in" by the Land Office, .lanuary 1, 1913 (by Presiden- 

 tial Order of D(>cembcr 5, 1912), Zone horticulture 



