16 ORCHARD LANDS 



any deep, well-drained soil, on liill or slope, is adapted to apple growing. 

 Data from a large number of orchards in many of the States east of the 

 Mississippi show this definition of a good apple soil to be fraught with 

 danger. Dcptli and good drainage of soil are, without doubt, fundamental 

 essentials, but a very considerable percentage of soils in the Appalachian 

 Mountain region and associated foothills is so excessively ' deep and well 

 drained,' on account of its sandy character, that it can not compete with 

 better soils in orchard production. 



" Unfavorable Soil Conditions. — A still greater danger lies in the 

 fact that so many men assume every hillside to be well drained. Shales and 

 sandstones nialce up 'a large part of tlie Appalachian system. On level areas 

 these rocks are flat, or nearly so, but on hillsides they range from gently 

 to very steeply inclined. On such slopes erosion has prevented tlie accumu- 

 lation of a soil covering of great depth. Much of the water from heavy 

 rains rushes down the slopes, while that which soalcs into the soil percolates 

 down to the underlying shale, and if in excess flows along laterally and 

 seeps out to the surface, giving rise to many spots of ill-drained soil. The 

 same unfavorable condition is caused by a subsoil too clayey, or for some 

 other reason too compact to allow ready downward percolation of moisture. 



•' Notwithstanding all that has been said, too, about selecting a deep 

 soil, many orchards are still being planted on soils of so little depth above 

 the underlying unbroken rock that little profit can ever come from them. 



" The loss from choosing a soil for orchard planting that is not 

 adapted to the purpose is so much more serious than a similar mistal^e with 

 an annual crop that too much care can scarcely be taken in selecting the 

 most suitable soils located on sites otherwise favorable. Because of the 

 importance of such selection, investigations have been carried on to 

 determine in so far as possible the types of soil most favorable to the 

 different varieties of apples. . 



" It is recognized that these data are far from complete, and that 

 the beliavior of the dift'erent varieties under a range of soil conditions 

 must be observed carefully for a long term of years before statements of 

 adaptedness may be made positively, but enough facts have already been 

 secured to make the indications of value to tlie planter; and it is hoped, 

 in addition, so to arouse interest in the subject that growers and others 

 will observe and collect data as occasion presents itself. 



" Baldwin Soils. — If soils are thought of as grading from heavy to 

 light, corresponding to the range from clay to sand, then soils grading 

 from medium to semi-light fulfil best the requirements of the Baldwin. 

 Following definitely the classification standards of the Bureau of Soils 

 with reference to the proportions of clay, silt and sands, this grouping 

 would include the medium to light loams, the heavy, sandy loams, and 

 also tlie medium, sandy loams, provided tliey were underlain l)y soil 

 material not lighter than mediimi loam nor heavier than a light or medium 

 clay loam of friable structure. 



