226 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 



or take most interest in. These are the ones with 

 which you will most likely succeed. 



2. Obtain a clear and specific ideal of the pur- 

 pose for which the fruit is to be grown, whether 

 for dessert, for canning, for a local market, for ex- 

 port, for evaporating, and the like. Then choose the 

 varieties which are best suited to meet these ideals. 



3. Do not covet a variety simply because it is 

 eminently successful in another region. Varieties 

 have distinct adaptations to geographical areas. If 

 a given variety is a universal success in the plains 

 regions, the probabilities are that it will not thrive 

 equally well in New England. The farmers of the 

 east have learned that they cannot compete with 

 those of the west in the growing of wheat, but 

 they have not yet learned that one region may not 

 be able to compete with another in some particular 

 variety _ of fruit, even though the variety thrive well 

 in both. It is a question if the northeastern states 

 can compete with the mid -western states in the 

 growing of the Ben Davis apple. The south and 

 mid -south are being planted extensively to the 

 Kieffer pear, largely because it thrives better over a 

 large area than most other varieties. It is doubt- 

 ful, then, if it is wise to plant it extensively in 

 the north, where other pears will thrive which do 

 not succeed in the Kieffer region. Diversification 

 must come to be more and more important in 

 fruit-growing; and any region should grow that 

 type of fruit most freely which other regions can- 

 not grow so well. 



