2-244 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



jiH't to inundation from the Mississippi Kivoi'. lii this 

 pjirt of the stuto are nimiennis lakes, bayous ami 

 swamps. Ti»ere are about ti,l)(M),(M)() acres of these 

 lower-tyiiij; hiiuis, of Iilioundiui; fertihty, iieeiliii;; only 

 drainajn^ to make them auious; the most proihulive in 

 the world. Alons; the lower valley of the .Vrkaiisas the 

 soil grades into blaek sandy and "biiek-shot," the 

 richest soils of the state. Along the southern border of 

 the dzarks and duaehila elevations is a belt which, 

 while belonging to the highland area, represents an 

 intennediate zone between that and the lowland coun- 

 try of the state. It is especially adapted to growing 

 peaches. 



In the lower parts of the state there are also loca- 

 tions affording air-<irainage and soils suited to comnier- 

 ciiil peach-growing. t)n the whole, however, this region 

 will be found best adapted to truck-farming. Some 

 crops, like onions, spinach, and kale, may be planted 

 here in the fall months. l''igs, .Japanese persimmons, 

 l>ecans, and some varieties of grai)es offer good oppor- 

 tunities, while selected varieties of most north-tem- 

 perate fruits may be grouii successfully for home use. 



The principal horticultural industry is tlie jjroduction 

 of winter api)les. The leading counties are Benton, Wash- 

 ington and Madison in northwest Arkansas. Transpor- 

 tation facilities have been an important factor in stimu- 

 lating development. Other counties in the Ozarks 

 equally good for fruit lack railroad transportation and 

 for this reason are less developed horticulturally. Quan- 

 tities of second-grade apples go to driers or are con- 

 verted into vinegar. Some fifty-six varieties of apples 

 have originated in Arkansas, some of them being of 

 great commercial value, not only in this state, but else- 

 where. A recently introiluced variety is the King David 

 which originated in 1903 near Durham, Washington 

 County. Formerly about 9.5 per cent of plantings were 

 Ben Davis. More recently there has been a noticeable 

 tendency to plant varieties of better quality. Lead- 

 ing winter varieties of apples at present are Ben Davis, 

 Clano, Black Ben, Wincsap, Jonathan, Arkansas, York 

 Imperial, Grimes Golden, Ingram, Givens, Collins, 

 Beach, Stayman's Wincsap, Delicious and King David. 



For the past several years, increased attention h:is 

 been given summer apples. These are grown with 

 success southward a-s well as in the hill country. Lead- 

 ing varieties are Maiden's Blu.sh, Duchess, Horse, 

 Buckingham, Summer Champion, Red June, Red 

 Astrachan and Yellow Transparent. While an excellent 

 market variety, the last is very subject to "twig- 

 blight," especially in the lower part of the state. 



Second only to the ap|)le-orchard interests is the 

 commercial production of peaches. To S. B. Wing and 

 his brother belong the credit of having shipped the fir.st 

 carload of Elbcrta jwaches out of Arkansas. Thus began 

 the commercial peach industry which has assumed such 

 vast proportions in the state in the past ten years. The 

 Elberta is not so reliable in the higJier districts as in 

 some of the counti(!S lying along the .southern slopes of 

 the Ozark.s and Ouachita Mountains. Here the air- 

 drainage, .soil and other conditions are such as to bo 

 especially favorable for almf)st atinual crops and peaches 

 of splendid color and (luality. The record in Crawford 

 County is about .s(^ven crops in ten years. In 1911, 

 orchards in Pike and Sevier counties wen; i)ractically tlie 

 only peach orchards in the United States which jiroiluced 

 crops. The fruit from the.se orchards brought j)rob- 

 ably the highest prices on record for peaches in carlots. 

 The two first cars shipj)ed to New York brought $2,0.S0 

 a car, and later averaged .S1,.5(K) a car. Kxtciisive peach- 

 orchard interests have in recent years ditvelopcd rajjidly 

 in Pike County. Omimercial plantings are chiefly 

 Elbcrtas. The .shipping .sejuson follows that of T(!x;is 

 and Georgia when the markets are slack, which provc'sto 

 be a great aflvantage. Very early peaches for shipment 

 have not proved profitable. Northwest Arkansas will 

 have to find a variety hardier in burl than Elberta. 



Chamiiicm, Carman, Slai)py, Belle of Georgia, Madison 

 County Mammoth, General Lee, C'rosby, and possibly 

 .some others are 7uucli more reliable varieties for north- 

 west .Arkansas, although not so satisfactory for ship- 

 ment as the Jslbcrta. 



I'cars are not receiving much attention on account of 

 their su.sceptibility to "fire blight." Kieffer, Garber, 

 LeC^onte, Winter |)ear (Sand pear), Seckel and Duchess 

 are among the varieties least susceptilile to blight. 



Cherries are of comparatively little commercial 

 im])ortance at present. The sour cherries are the most 

 satisfactory. There are but few large cherry orchards 

 in the Ozark region. Leading varieties are English 

 Morello, Early Richmond, Montmorency and May 

 Duke. 



Plums were represented in 1909 by 731,276 bearing 

 trees. Leading varieties are Burbank, Red June, Gokl, 

 W'ild Goose, Poole's Pride, Damson, German Prune. 



Pecan trees are found growing wild in abundance in 

 the cotton section of the state, especially in river-bot- 

 toms. The interest in pecans has rapidly increased in 

 the ])ast three or four years. Some recent single plant- 

 ings contain as high as 400 acres of grafted trees. Some 

 pecans are being grafted on the common hickory. Such 

 trees are knomi to thrive and bear as well as on their 

 own roots. The Schley and Moneymaker are known to 

 do well in the state. 



English walnuts are receiving practically no atten- 

 tion. How well they Wf)uld succeed remains to be 

 determined. The black walnut and hickories are com- 

 mon growing wild and occasionally large sweet chest- 

 nut trees are found, although the chinquapin is much 

 more frequent. Some attempts have been made to use 

 the latter as a stock for the sweet chestnut with good 

 success, especially in the case of the large Japan 

 chestnut. 



Grapes thrive in Arkansas. The output of vine- 

 yards at present is used chiefly for wine. The Cynthiana, 

 a variety of native origin, is the most highly valued 

 wine-grape. Saline County some years ago was an 

 important grape- and wine-producing county, the in- 

 dustry being conducted chiefly by German citizens. 

 Owing to state laws against the sale of alcoholic drinks, 

 the inilustry declined. At present the law allows the 

 producer to sell native wine in quantities of not less 

 than five gallons, not to be consumed at the place where 

 sold, nor .sold in the localities having the "five-mile" law 

 or local prohibition. The bottling of unfermented grape- 

 juice offers excellent ojiportunities. Grapes receive 

 special attention at Tontitown, Altus, Silver Springs, 

 Highland and other points. In the past few years 

 extensive plantings have been made at some points 

 southward. Joseph Bachman, of Altus, has been the 

 originator of several varieties of great merit (Sunrise, 

 Banner, Stark's Star and others). 



Strawberries have been commercially grown in a 

 large way for many years in northwest Arkansas, as 

 well as in counties southward. George P. Murrell, of 

 Austin, shipped the first crate of strawberries to St. 

 Louis some forty years ago. Mr. Bauer, of Judsonia, 

 was also one of the pioneer growers. About 1893, C. H. 

 Gregory commenced the strawberry industry in Craw- 

 ford County, and it has extended northward along the 

 Frisco and Kansas City Southern Railroads in north- 

 west Arkansas and has become one of the mo.st impor- 

 tant branches of fruit-growing in the Ozarks. Leading 

 vari(!ties at present are Excelsior, Klondyke and Aroma. 



Blackberries are canned extensively and grown 

 throughout the state for home use. While shipped to 

 some extent, they arc not important as a commercial 

 croj). Currants seem not to thrive. Of gooseberries, 

 Smith and Houghton only prove satisfactory, and these 

 only in tlu^ mountain region. 



In the west where irrigation is necessary, orchards are 

 I)lanfed in the valleys. In the Ozarks where the rain- 

 fall is amjile for the needs of crops, apple and other 



