2218 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



\vcn»: ll.iX>"i acres of tomatoes, vahiod at §105,77.'?; 

 3.aVi aen^s of siiinarli, valued at S4Si),l7(); S,()SO ai-irs 

 of oabbage. \aliieil at S-lS7,:{i54; l,7tilj acres of ciicuiu- 

 bers, valued at .?177.2r>4: 2.S07 acres of green beans, 

 ViUued at SUi7.HW; I>,1.")',) acres of watermelons, vahied 

 at S130.S9S: 1.013 acres of kale, valued at $1 l.'i.tMS; 

 JHW acres of cantaloupes and musknielons, valued at 

 $S;5,U,>n; 2,101 acres of sweet corn, valued at .?73,0.'')0; 

 and 7S7 acres of onions, valued at S.")',),.')2 1. X'egctablcs, 

 the value of which was between S10,(K)0 and .¥.")0,00(), 

 arc as follows: iusparagus, $31 ,20.") cgs))lant , $20,430; let- 

 tuce, S24,1S7: ra<lishes, .?1<),S42; and turnips, $22,.'')S2. 

 \'epetables of less importance arc beets, jiarsley, pum])- 

 kins, riuibarb, nitabagas, and sriuash, 



The acreage devoted to the )>roduction of flowers imd 

 plants increased from 1 13 in hs99 to 37.") in liHlO. The 

 area under glass in 1009 was 1,413,170 square feet, of 

 which 1,31.'>,3SS were covered by greenhouses, and 

 97,7S2 by s;\shes and frames. The value of the Howers 

 and plants produced in 1909 was $302,488, as compared 

 with $238,712 in 1899. 



Nurserj- products decre;used in acreage from 1,200 

 in 1899 to .569 in 1909, when tiie production was valued 

 at Sl.59,992, as compared with .$214,988, the value in 

 1899. H. L. Price. 



West Virginia. 



From a horticultural standpoint. West Virginia 

 (Fig. 2511) presents many unique features and unde- 

 veloped pcssibilities. From the crest of the Alleghany 

 Mountains to the waters of the Shenandoah River on 

 the cast and the Ohio River on the west, there is a dif- 

 ference in elevation of about 4,000 feet. The cfTect of 

 this range in elevation is to furnish a climate with as 

 much variation as might nonnally be found between 



COf^MCfC'AL ^PfLC ftCOlOf^ 



2511. West Virginia, showing the regions of horticultural 

 adaptabilities. 



Vermont and the Carolinas. As might be expected, the 

 horticultural flora of the state is very extensive and the 

 matter of varietal adaptation is one of great importance. 

 The Baldwin and Nortliem Spy apples, when grown in 

 Preston County at an elevation of 3,000 feet or more, 

 are similar to the well-knowTi New York and New 

 England product, but when grown in the Shenandoah 

 Vallej' they attain a verj- large size, ripen with the 

 early fall varieties, are coar.se in texture, poor in quality 

 and can be kept only a few weeks evcai in storage. 



West Virginia hji-s long been known as a producer of 

 coal, oil, gas, and lumVjer, but in recent years the r.apicl 

 development of the orchard industry has riiised the 

 state to a place of importance among the lea<ling fniit- 

 producing states. The Cen.sus report for 1910 indicated 

 that Wc«t Virginia ranked twelfth among the states in 

 the production of apples, and the government estipiate 



for 1911 showed only .seven other states exceeding 

 West N'irginia in the production of apples for that year. 

 The ijcach industry is making similar gains, but is less 

 extensive a.s a whole than the ai)))le inchistry. 



The horlicull viral industries of the state are unequally 

 divi<le(l between fr\iil-growing and trucking, the former 

 predominating. The leading fruits are th(» apple and 

 jjcach, with the clu'rry forming a poor third. Pears, 

 jilums, grapes, and berries are growni in some sections 

 to quite an extent, but the commercial plantings are 

 somewhat scattered and the products are largely sold 

 locally. The commercial apple districts are found in 

 the eastern Panhandle, the northcin Panhandle and 

 along the Ohio River, and a small district is located near 

 the southern boundary of the state. This does not 

 mctin that these are the only parts of the state pro- 

 ducing a]i])les, for scattering commercial orchards, 

 many of them containing 100 acres or more, are found 

 here and there in nearly every county. The peach 

 industry, on the other hand, belongs to six counties of 

 the eastern Panliandle, Hampshire, Mineral, Morgan, 

 Berkeley, Hardie, and Grant. Outside of this region, 

 with the exception of a few orchards along the Ohio 

 River, the industiy is purely local. The orchards of the 

 state are all located upon rather rough mountain or 

 hill land, with the exception of those in the Shenandoah 

 Valley, where they are grown upon comparatively level 

 or gently rolling limestone or shale soils. 



The varieties of fniit vary somewhat with the sec- 

 tion of state in which they are grown. In the Shen- 

 andoah Valley the York Imperial has long been the 

 favorite. The "big, red, lopsided apple" finds a ready 

 market in the southern and eastern cities and is also 

 highly esteemed for exijort purposes. It sometimes 

 scalds badly in storage, and more recent plantings have 

 cut down the proportion of this variety. Next to the 

 York Imjierial rank the Ben Davis and its first cousin, 

 the Gano, but these are planted in relatively small 

 numbers at the present time. The Stayman Winesap, 

 y\rkansas (Mammoth Black Twig), Grimes, Winesap, 

 .lonathan, Delicious, and Northwestern follow in about 

 the order named. As one ascends the slope of the Alle- 

 ghanj' Mountains, the Rome and Baldwin appear, while 

 in the highest altitudes the Baldwin, Tomi)kins King, 

 Rhode Island, Fallawater, and Northern Spy are found 

 in abundance. Along the Ohio River and, in fact, over 

 the entire western slope of the Alleghanies, the Rome 

 finds a home perfectly adapted to its needs and con- 

 sequently it is a ruling favorite in this whole region. 

 Following the Rome, the other varieties are much the 

 same as are found in the eastern Panliandle. Hancock 

 County, at the northern extremity of the state, is 

 peculiar in that it grows the Willow almost exclusively. 

 This county early developed a system of common 

 storage to which the long-keeping Willow was admi- 

 rably adapted. The major part of the fruit from this 

 county is placed in cellars, caves, and frame storage 

 houses and is taken out in April and May in first-class 

 condition for market. In the southern part of the state, 

 the Stayman Winesap, Rome, York Imperial, Ben Davis, 

 Grimes, and Jonathan are the best commercial varieties. 

 In none of the regions are summer varieties grown exten- 

 sively upon a commercial scale, although a few scattered 

 plantings of Yellow Trans])arent may be found. 



The peach industry is confined to a single section and 

 embodies two very general soil tj'pes, chert and shale. 

 Tlie former is endowed with more abundant fertility 

 and produces large, heavy-bearing trees. The shale 

 soils reciuire feeding but respond readily to apiilications 

 of nitrate of soda or manure. The varieties are very 

 much the same in all orchards and consist largely of the 

 following: Cannan, Champion, Belle, Elberta, Smock, 

 and Sal way. 



Peach- anri apple-orcharding in West Virginia has 

 developed along extensive rather than intensive lines. 

 Individual growers frequently oijerate 200 to 300 acres, 



