1084 



NEW MEXICO 



NEW YORK 



the other hand the late kinds, and especially the winter 

 apples, are more largely attacked by this insect. 



The pear grows as well as the apple, but not in such 

 large areas. In most of the apple-growing sections the 

 pear can be found in very limited quantities. However, 

 there is a bright future for a more extensive cultiva- 

 tion of this fruit, as wherever it thrives it grows to a 

 large size, and is fine in quality. The pear blight, which 

 is so bad in other states, is not in the way of pear cul- 

 ture in New Mexico. 



Perhaps the fruit that is second in importance at 

 present is the peach, which is grown with more or less 

 success throughout the territory. In the agricultural 

 districts of southern New Mexico the large commercial 

 peach orchards are located, and the Mesilla valley, on 

 the lower Rio Grande, has the most and largest of them. 

 From this valley many car-loads of early peaches are 

 shipped to the markets of Chicago, Kansas City and 

 Colorado. The early-ripening kinds, such as the Alex- 

 ander, Waterloo, Hynes Surprise, are the most success- 

 ful. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, the early- 

 ripening peaches bloom later than the late-ripening va- 

 rieties, and thus they escape the late spring frosts, 

 which are so common in this territory and which are 

 often so fatal to the late peaches. The late spring frost 

 is the worst drawback to peach-growing in New Mexico. 

 No diseases or insect pests have yet threatened the 

 peach crop. 



While the apricot grows as well as the peach, and has 

 no insect enemies or fungous diseases, it has failed to 

 be a commercial success on account of its blooming too 

 early. If some late-blooming variety could be found, 

 this fruit would, no doubt, be one of our best fruits to 

 grow. The trees grow to a great age. There are many 

 apricot seedlings on the lower Rio Grande that were 

 planted by the Mexicans forty or fifty years ago. 



The plum is making a place for itself in New Mexico. 

 It has been but a comparatively short time since plums 

 were considered to be of any importance, and even now 

 the areas planted to plum trees are very small. How- 

 ever, conditions are changing, and there is a growing 

 demand for them. The plum tree seems to be perfectly 

 hardy in this climate. The Japanese plums are vigor- 

 ous growers, but are not a success owing to the liability 

 to late spring frosts. Their fruit buds seem to be stimu- 

 lated to growing during the warm spells in February 

 and March, and thus they bloom before the danger of 

 frost is over. On the other hand, the Prunus domes - 

 tica and Prunus Americana varieties are, as a rule, 

 late bloomers. The former group is gaining in popu- 

 larity throughout the territory. Imperial Gage, Yellow 

 Egg, Coe Golden Drop, Damson and German Prune seem 

 to be among the best varieties in the northern part of the 

 territory. In the southern part, the above-mentioned 

 varieties, with the addition of the Silver Prune, Clyman, 

 Pond Seedling, Jefferson, and Robe de Sergent, are 

 among the best. 



Cherries grow well in the territory, but in the southern 

 part they do not grow as large nor as fine as they do in 

 the northern part. 



Quinces and nectarines thrive in many of the horti- 

 cultural districts, but as yet they are only grown for 

 family use. 



Perhaps the distribution of the grape is less extensive 

 than that of the other fruits . Wherever the grape is 

 grown it thrives. The American varieties are not of any 

 commercial value. The fruit is usually small, bunches 

 loose, and vines are poor bearers. The European kinds 

 are a success, and are the grapes grown for market. 

 Their culture is confined to the southern and hotter val- 

 leys, and particularly to the lower Rio Grande valley. 

 The varieties planted in the commercial vineyards in 

 this valley are the Mission or El Paso grape, Muscat of 

 Alexandria, and more or less the Gros Colman and Flame 

 Tokay. Other varieties are being introduced. The grape 

 is free from fungous and insect pests. Even the phyl- 

 loxera has not yet made its appearance. The Mission 

 grape, which has been in cultivation for over a hundred 

 years, shows how free the grape is from any pests. The 

 only thing that injures the vines is the dry, cold win- 

 ters. In order to obviate this trouble the vines are 

 heeled up with earth 6 to 12 inches above the last 

 year's growth. The stump method of pruning is prac- 



ticed altogether in the grape culture. Attempts have 

 been made to trellis the vines, but have not been very 

 satisfactory. 



The small fruits are grown with more or less success 

 throughout the territory, but as yet they are of minor 

 importance in the horticulture of New Mexico. 



FABIAN GARCIA 



NEW TORE, California and Florida may be reckoned 

 as the great horticultural states. In range of species 

 which can be grown, California and Florida excel. 

 California excels in tonnage of many horticultural pro- 

 ducts. New York, however, excels in the great variety 

 of its commercial horticultural interests, for to its fruit- 

 growing must be added the very extensive nursery busi- 

 ness, cut-flower growing, florists' plant-trade, seed-trade, 

 and a great development of the vegetable gardening 

 interests. 



In shape and position New York (Fig. 1483) may be 

 likened to a ship sailing westward, its rudder (Long 

 Island) in the Atlantic and its prow touching the Great 

 Lakes. Its commercial preeminence is supreme. A 

 population of more than six million lives within its bor- 

 ders, and a million more are tributary to it in New 

 Jersey and Connecticut. It has more than 40 cities with 

 populations above 10,000. Great variety of soil and 

 surface invites a varied population. Water-power is 

 abundant and unfailing. All this means extensive mar- 

 kets for horticultural produce. 



The land area of the state is 30,476,800 acres, of which 

 about one-half is readily cultivable. The state has an 

 extreme length east and west of 412 miles, and north 

 and south of about 310 miles. Excepting a small area in 

 the southwestern part, the entire surface is glaciated. 

 In the northeastern part a true mountain system is shown 

 in the Adirondacks, of archaean formation. In the middle 

 eastern part, the Catskill highlands attain the dignity 

 of mountains, although they are in reality eroded table- 

 land-s, having been laid down in the interior sea and sub- 

 sequently uplifted. These highlands extend westward 

 entirely across the state, being pronounced and almost 

 mountainous in the southern half. The northern part 

 of the western half of the state is relatively level, 

 although the tract from Syracuse to Lyons and 

 westward is marked by very bold drumlins, the work of 

 the ice-sheet. The bar-beach of the geological Lake Iro- 

 quois extends from near Niagara Falls to Oswego, par- 

 alleling Lake Ontario at a distance of about 10 miles. 

 This geological beach is a distinct physiographical fea- 

 ture known as "the ridge," and it is the location of one 

 of the notable highways of the state. This ridge marks 

 the southward limit of the best natural peach region. 

 There are fossil beaches on the Erie shore, and these 

 are important to the grape-growing of Chautauqua 

 county. ( See Tarr, Geological History of the Chautau- 

 qua Grape Belt," Bull. 109, Cornell Exp. Sta.) Long 

 Island is a moraine, with an ocean-floor formation on 

 its south, and this latter area comprises practically the 

 only flat land in the state. 



There are five great watersheds in the state. (1) the 

 St. Lawrence system, draining the Great Lakes and the 

 larger part of central and western New York. (2) The 

 Hudson system, draining the southern slopes of the 

 Adirondacks and the Catskill highlands, with its great 

 tributary, the Mohawk, which, in pre-glacial times, was 

 a part of the St. Lawrence system. (3) The Delaware 

 system, draining a part of the southeastern area into 

 Delaware bay. (4) The Susquehanna system, draining 

 some of the southern-central part into the Chesapeake 

 bay. (5) The Mississippi system, which, by means of 

 the Allegheny river, drains the extreme southwestern 

 part of the state. Chautauqua Lake drains into the 

 Gulf of Mexico, but almost in sight from it is Lake Erie, 

 which flows into the St. Lawrence. Along the Hudson 

 and other large streams, special horticultural interests 

 have developed. The broad Mohawk valley is one of the 

 most fertile parts of the state, and it is the site of the 

 hop and broom-corn industries. The shores of the cen- 

 tral New York lakes are the homes of highly developed 

 horticultural interests, particularly those of Keuka and 

 Seneca. These central lakes, of which Cayuga, the 

 largest, is 40 miles long and one to five miles wide, are 

 deep bodies and have great influence in ameliorating 



