■2238 NORTH AMI- RTCAX STATES 



ulaptiHi to the prowinji of oarlv si.iiiifj voKotablos for 



or lorn sl.ip.nont. Mobile .-ab^nvse uus boeome ,>o,.u- 



- r the northern market a.ul is. |.erhaps, pown more 



exte s' elv in both BaUiwin an,l Mobile eounfes than 



^HU other" vegetable erop. In 1911), 714 ears of eab- 



bauewm' ship,H-,l north from Mobile. As a rule, soils 



up^n wh?eh eibbape is sro«-n eontain very h.tle hunms 



ami :us a result, consi.lerable quant it le.s of eommerejal 



fertilizer are used. The average ''^'''l^'Se-Srower iindu 



present eonditions. realizes a very snuill net proht on 



his eabbaRe aereage. With se.entihe "f <'^P^"" f"* '>,^ 



bvisiness should pay. There are many farms oi' ^^'^^ ^^ 



the ,x>reentage of elay is high and when "\cr-crops 



are gro^^•n on these soils some excellent, crops have been 



produced. , , . ,i „ n^lf 



Among other important vegetables grmra m the Lniii 



rt>eion are snap beans, cucumbers. I'.nghsh peas, radisheb 



and sweet potatoes, the latter being an ""l'ortf{t crop 



Sweet potato vields average from 2()t) to (.00 busMs 



an acre, and the average net return is 40 cents a bushel. 





HORTICULTURBL DISTRICTS 

 ^MLflBAMA. 



lot) 



2518. Alabama, showing the six leading divisions. 



The storage of large (luantities of sweet potatoes under 

 the old method is not always successful. Ihe newer 

 method of storage in connection with fire-cunng is 

 usually completely successful. At ^'i'"™f ' ;^'f '",1^^'''- 

 win County, a canning factory put up 1 ,<)<)() (00 cans 

 in 191 1 This industry is receiving considerabli; at ten- 

 tion at pre-sent. The Nancy Hall, Dooley, and Early 

 Triumph varieties are commonly grown. . 



Tomatfjes have not been grown on a commercia 

 scale succes-sfully as a rule. "Wilt" and "blossom-c™! 

 rot" are two diseases that are difficult to control and 

 both are prevalent in the Gulf region Also the iexa^ 

 crop is on the market before the Alabama crop and 

 prices are low when the latter comes on. , ,, , , 



Watermelons are grown princii)ally for the local 

 market, although many cars are shipped North. Ihey 

 are planted about March h m the Gulf region and 



mature May 1. ■ iu r',,if 



Peaches have been successfully grown in the Ijuu 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



region, but there are only one or two eominercial peach 

 orchanls now being operate.l. Elsewhere >" /h^ «^t« 

 •ire extensive commereial orchards; one at Atmore 

 Embraces 22.^000 trees; another at Union Spring.s con- 

 tains 1,000 acres. There are also large peach orchards 

 at Blount Springs, Gadsden, an.l Alexander Git>. 

 Brown-rot, ."^an Jos<> scale, the plum curculio and tl e 

 peach tree-borer are the chief pests. San Jose scale 

 h:is frequently done great <laina,ge before the gro«-er 

 became aware of the nature oi the trouble In this 

 reg on !'--'■- '-^i" to ripen May 20 and the season 

 extends to August 1 in the northern part of the state. 



Japanese persimmons and some of the Japanese plums 

 thrive in the Lower Coastal Pl.am The work of the 

 Department of Agriculture and of the Alabama Experi- 

 ment Station in successfully ripening Japanese per- 

 simmons artiliciallv, will give an impetus t^ the plant- 

 ing of this beautiful and splendid fruit Pers.mtnon.s 

 properly ripened are little known outside of the Gult 

 stX .Artificial ripening is chiefly, of advantage in 

 shipping the persimmons. They ripen naturally in 

 October and November. 



Figs i)artieularlv the domestica group, are grown 

 succelssfully over liiost of the state; they are seldom 

 Sr-kiUed and a few old trees will produce from six 

 toten bushels of fruit, and w th the '"troduction of 

 canning factories thi.s fr"^t is being more widely 

 exploited. It is difficult to ship the fre-sh fruit t^ the 

 North but it has been accomplished successfully. 1 flere 

 is a splendi.l market for the preserved Product 



Grapefruit, guavas and so-called 'native sweet 

 oranges are grow-n successfully in the extreme southem 

 part of Baldwin and Mobile counties, but it is doubtful 

 whether grapefruit will ever be grown on a large scale 

 very successfully. A few ponderosa lemons are also 

 planted about homes. . Kuniquats .offer commercial 



Usibil.ties and are being P'^^^^'^^^" f .;"^' f,,e,vl' 

 The fruit makes a delicious marmalade and preserve. 



With the introduction of the Satsuma orange, man> 

 large nurseries have been established in the v^?™^' /« 

 Mobile, and this promises to be a center for this 'ndu-stry 

 owing to the favorable soils and proximity to the 

 ertensive new plantings. Plantings now embrace 

 aW ^500,000 trees, covering 10,000 acres, chiefly 

 in Mobile and Baldwin counties. 



The sand pear, although considered by many quite 

 worthless, finds a ready market and is bemg grown suc- 

 cessfully in this coastal section. It is resistant to bhght 

 and produces enormous yields. 



A few of the early aj)ples, such as Red June, Ked 

 Astrachan and Yellow Transparent, can be grown m a 

 small way successfully even as far south ^ Mobdf 



Both the bunch and muscadine grapes do well in 

 the vicinity of Mobile, one mstance berng known at 

 FlomTton where a grower netted $600 from one acre 



"''n""he?r?ew years, there h.s b-n .an immense 

 increase in the planting of pecans, principally in the 

 territory southward of Montgomery. The varietie^s in 

 favor are Schley, Stewart, Frotscher, Dehnas, Mone>- 

 mlker President, and others. There are now planted 

 S'tt'sfaU., chiefly in the -"them counties between 

 2.50 000 and 300,000 pecan trees. These are grafted 



^'TiruSer Coastal Plain (Fig. 2518, Area No 2) 

 has not been an important section from a horticultund 

 standpoint up to the present The ?o.uthwestern section 

 is rapidly developing as a stock-raising ■"egion. Pecans 

 are also being planted extensively there At Evergreen 

 and (^astleberrv there are large acreages of strawberries, 

 an ttee towns are famous for the quality of berr.es 

 they ship North each sea.son. Berries are ready for 



market from April 1 to 10. i,„rt;piiltnral 



At Evergreen there is a rather novel horticulti^a 



industry Carloads of southern smilax, commonh 



cSbd 'bamboo vine," are gathered in one-mule wagons 



