1022 



MISSISSIPPI 



45 inches in the northern part, the amount increasing to 

 about 60 inches in the extreme south. The winter tem- 

 perature is rarely as low as zero in any portion of the 

 state, while the extreme summer heat rarely reaches 100 

 in the northern part; while near the Gulf coast 95 is 

 the usual limit. The first frosts usually occur in Novem- 

 ber, and spring frosts are rare after the middle of March. 

 The soil is extremely variable. The western portion of 

 the state, known as the Yazoo Delta, has one of the 

 Bichest alluvial soils in the world, and one well suited 



1409. Mississippi, 



showing horticultural 



areas. 



for the growing of vegetables. The north-central part 

 of the state consists largely of yellow clay hills, not very 

 fertile and liable to serious injury from erosion, but with 

 very fertile valleys between them, while the northeast- 

 ern section has a strong lime soil which is very produc- 

 tive. Nearly all of the southern half of the state has a 

 sandy loam soil underlaid with clay at a depth of a few 

 inches, making those lands among the most desirable 

 for the cultivation of either fruits or vegetables. 



Although both fruits and vegetables are grown for 

 export in all parts of the state, there are three districts 

 in which horticultural work is specially prominent. 

 These are (Fig. 1409): 



1. The northeastern district, covering the territory 



along the Mobile and Ohio railroad from Boone- 

 ville south to West Point. 



2. The central district, covering the territory along 



the Illinois Central railroad from Durant south to 

 Brookhaven. 



3. The Gulf coast district, covering the territory 



along the Louisville and Nashville railroad from 

 Bay St. Louis east to Orange Grove. 

 Peaches are grown more extensively than any other 

 fruit, and are shipped to northern markets from nearly 

 or quite every county in the state. The long growing 

 season enables the trees to come into bearing rapidly, 

 and a small crop of fruit is usually gathered the second 

 year from planting, while the trees often continue fruit- 

 ful from 15 to 20 years. Although the trees themselves 

 are never injured by cold, the fruit crop is occasionally cut 

 short by spring frosts following warm winter weather, 

 which sometimes brings the trees into bloom before the 

 end of January. The early fruit is ready for market 



MISSISSIPPI 



about the last of May, and shipments continue from thai 

 time until August, or later. Elberta, Mountain Rose 

 Georgia Belle, Lilly Miller and Chinese Cling are amon^ 

 the more popular varieties. 



Pears grow well in all parts of the state, and, unti 

 about 1895, were planted more. widely than any othei 

 fruit trees, but since that time the blight has been sc 

 widespread and so severe that very few new orchards 

 have been planted. Fully nine tenths of the trees are 

 either Le Conte or Kieffer, the latter being the more > 

 resistant to blight. 



Apple trees make a fair growth and bear well for some 

 years, but become less vigorous with age, and are shorter 

 lived than in more northern latitudes. Nearly all varie- 

 ties ripen during the summer and fall, and very few, 

 even of the ''long keepers," can be preserved through 

 the winter. The fruit always commands a high price 

 in the local markets, which makes the trees profitable, 

 even though they last but a few years. Considerable 

 fruit, mostly Early Harvest and Red June, is shipped 

 from the northeastern district, but no other part of the 

 state produces enough for a home supply. 



Plum trees are of uncertain value. The Wild Goose 

 and the Japanese varieties are the more common sorts, 

 and while some trees and some orchards may grow well 

 and bear heavily for many years, the majority succumb 

 after producing two or three crops. Cherries are rarely 

 successful. Figs are grown quite commonly for home 

 use in the central part of the state, and in the Gulf 

 coast district are an important market crop. The fig 

 does not succeed under orchard conditions, but a few 

 trees grown near the house do well, and many of the 

 older trees produce 1,000 pounds or more of fruit an- 

 nually, and this finds a ready market at the canning 

 factories. The Celeste is the common variety, and the 

 demand for the fruit at 4 cents per pound is far in excess 

 of the supply. Oranges are grown along the Gulf coast, 

 but even there the winters are occasionally so cold as to 

 make them unprofitable. 



Among the small fruits strawberries are the most im- 

 portant, being grown by thousands of acres. They are 

 grown more extensively in the central district than else- 

 where, though there is a considerable acreage in the 

 northeastern district also. In the Gulf coast district 

 the plants grow well and bear abundantly, but the fruit 

 grown there is usually softer and less desirable for 

 shipping than that grown in drier localities. Bubach, 

 Crescent, Gandy, Warfield and Michel are the favorite 

 varieties. Shipments begin about the first of April, and 

 the bulk of the crop is gathered during the next six 

 weeks, though occasional shipments ar.e made during 

 every month of the year. 



Grapes grow and bear as well as it is possible for them 

 to do in any part of the country. The long season for 

 growth develops very strong vines which are never in- 

 jured by the cold of winter, and the latest ripening sorts 

 have ample time for maturing. The early varieties ripen 

 about June 20 in the Gulf coast district, and about July 

 10 in the northeastern district, and nearly all the crop 

 is gathered by August 1. This early ripening of the 

 fruit enables the grower to secure high prices for his 

 early shipments, but a crop which matures in the heat 

 of midsummer cannot be kept profitably, even in cold 

 storage, but must be marketed at once, regardless of 

 price. Champion, Ives, Delaware, Niagara, Perkins and 

 Herbemont are among the more popular varieties. The 

 Scuppernong ( Vitis rotundifolia) is a valuable native 

 species which is grown in all parts of the state for home 

 use and for the manufacture of wine, but is not a ship- 

 ping variety. 



Blackberries and dewberries grow spontaneously in 

 all parts of the state and have proved quite profitable 

 in cultivation, the Lucretia, Dallas and other hybrids 

 being the favorite varieties. Neither currants nor goose- 

 berries do well in any part of the state, as they make a 

 new growth and come into bloom soon after the fall rains 

 begin, and soon become so weakened as to be worthless. 

 Raspberries do well when planted on soils containing 

 sufficient moisture, but are seldom grown for market 

 excepting in the northeastern district. Turner is the 

 favorite variety, and the blackcaps are rarely seen. 



The growing of early vegetables for northern market 

 is followed more extensively and is more generally prof- 



