21C.S NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



sixteon-twontiotlis botwoi-ii :in olov;vtioii of 100 iind 

 l.olK) fct't, while tho mount ainovis regions of the 

 Adirondacks mui Catskills — three-twentieths of the 

 totjU ivrca — rise above l.'iOO feet, the niaxinunn alti- 

 tude being above o,0(X) ft>et in a few jieaks in the 

 Adirondacks. I^xeepting a small area in the sontli- 

 westeni part, the siirfaee of tlie whole state siiows, in 

 a marked degree, llie elTeets of the erosions, ilrifts aiul 

 moraines of the lee Age. 



The state is drained by five water-systems. Excess 

 water in a smiUl sux-a in the southeast pa.sses tln-ough 



A/CtV- YORK\ 



New York, showing the main 

 physical areas. 



the Delaware; the Hudson and the Mo- 

 hawk drain the eastern part of the state; 

 the waters of central and western New 

 York pass to the ocean through the Great 

 Lakes and the St. Lawrence; the drainage 

 of the southwe-stem part is through the Allegheny into 

 the Mis.sis.sippi system; while the Susquehanna carries 

 the waters of soutli-ccntral New York mto Chesapeake 

 Bay. 



Through its pliysical features, the state is divided into 

 nine areas, which are somewhat distinct in natural 

 vegetation and more or less so in their agriculture and 

 horticulture. The nine regions are shown in the 

 accompanying map. The great specialization to be 

 noted in the horticulture of New York is largely 

 accounted for by the differences in the soil and chniale 

 of these natural divisions. They are outlined as fol- 

 lows: (1) The Long Island district, a lowland plain, for 

 most part, covered with a thick moraine dejKjsit, in 

 which sand predominates; (2j the Hudson Valley 

 region, lying on both sides of the Hudson River from 

 its mouth north to Lake George — a region of very 

 uneven tojxjgraphy and of several geological formations 

 so varied in soils and climate that in it several special 

 horticultural interests have developed; (3) the St. 

 LawTence and Champlain region, consisting of high 

 and rolling lands and valleys, adjacent to the St. 

 Lawrence River and Lake Champlain, to which may be 

 abided the tillable land in the Adirondack Mountains; 

 {\) the broad and fertile valley of the Mohawk from 

 Oneida Lake to the Hudson; (.5) the eastern i)lateau, 

 consi.sting of the Catskills and the highlands to the 

 west, rea<:hing to the basin of the Central Lakes; (0) 

 the great basin, in which lie the Central or Finger 

 Lakes, large and deejj Vjodies of water having great 

 influence on the climate of the region; (1) the shore of 

 Lake f Ontario, from the St. J.,awr(a)ce to Niagara River, 

 extending from the lake inland .several miles to and 



inehiding a high escarpment; (S) the Erie shore, a nar- 

 row |)lain from the Niagara River to Pennsylvania, 

 boimded on I lie north by the lake and on the south by a 

 high escarpment; (9) the western plateau, comprising 

 the area west of the basin of the Central Lakes and south 

 of th(^ lOrie and Ontario shore regions. 



The rainfall in New York is exceedingly variable, 

 owing to the imeven surface of the land. It varies 

 greatly, in some ca.ses, even wdthin the limits of a 

 county, the annual i)recipitation being sufficient for 

 most crops in one isart, and in another drought may 

 J'early lie heavily on the land. Irrigation is 

 coining more and more into favor for vege- 

 tables, flowers and small-fruits, but, as yet, is in 

 use only in very limited areas ami with intensive 

 cultivation. Specialization in horticulture de- 

 l)ends much upon the rainfall, both the total 

 amount and its distribution heli5ing to decide the 

 crops that are grown in a region. 



Fruit-growing is chief of the several horti- 

 ctiltural industries in New York, and the apple 

 is the leading fruit. Aijples are grown in all 

 parts of the state, but the great commercial 

 orchards that give New York first rank in the 

 value of this fruit are found in the Ontario shore, 

 the CcTitral Lake and the Hudson Valley regions. 

 Baldwin is the leading variety, with Rhode 

 Island Greening a distant second. Other stand- 

 ard varieties are Northern Spy, King, Twenty 

 Ounce, Wealthy, Oldenburg, Bon Davis, and 

 Mcintosh. The apple industry is in a most 

 prosi)erous condition, with large demands at 

 liome and abroad for boxed and barreled stock 

 and increasing demands for fruit at the many 

 evaporators and cider mills in the 

 state. Apple-culture in New York 

 has been greatly stimulated by the 

 general tuning uj) in agriculture 

 everywhere experienced during 

 the past quarter-century. Good 

 care is now the rule, while but 

 a short time ago it was the excep- 

 tion. 

 The grape is second to the apple in importance in 

 New York. Exclusive of California, New York pro- 

 duces nearly half of the grajies grown in the United 

 States, and the yield in Chautauqua County alone is 

 many times more than that of any other state except- 

 ing California. The industry is centered in the Erie 

 shore. Central Lake and Hudson Valley regions. On 

 the Erie shore, several times as many Concords are 

 grown as all other varieties combined, the product going 

 to the general markets and for the manufacture of 

 grape-juice. About the Central Lakes, Catawba is the 

 leading variety, a large part of the crop being used in 

 the manufacture of wine and champagne. In the 

 Hudson Valley, Concord, Delaware and Niagara are 

 the leading varieties. The most striking feature in the 

 grape industry at present is the rapid development in 

 the manufacture of grape-juice, an industry which did 

 not exist in 1900, but in which it is estimated more 

 than 30,000 tons of grapes were u.sed in 191.'). Improve- 

 ments in grape-cultiire have not kept pace with 

 advances in growing other fruits, growers, in the main, 

 cultivating too many acres from whicli they skim 

 comparatively small returns. 



The j)each takes third jjlace in commercial impor- 

 tance among the fruits of New York. The industry is 

 most highly developed along the shores of Lake 

 Ontario, from Oswego west, but is also in very thriving 

 condition about the Central Lakes and in the valley 

 of the Hudson. Some jieaches are grown on the grape 

 lands bordering Lake Erie. Elberta is the mainstay 

 in all commercial orchards in New York, with no close 

 sei^ond. Peach-growing is a fine art in the state, and 

 nowhere can finer orchards of this fruit be found. 



