1911.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 177 



CLIMATIC ADAPTATIONS OF APPLE 

 VARIETIES. 



BY J. K. SHAW, 



I. INTKODUCTION. 



The conditions of soil, climate and culture under which our 

 nianv varieties of fruit succeed are little understood. Most of 

 the publications dealing with varieties concern themselves with 

 histories and technical descriptions, and but very little with the 

 conditions under which the planting of this or that variety is to 

 be recommended. As a result of this lack of information a 

 given variety is planted under widely varying conditions, under 

 some of which it docs well and under others it does poorly. 



At the present time fruit growing, more especially the grow- 

 ing of apples, is entering a new era. The increased demand re- 

 sulting from the lessened production during the past decade ; 

 improved methods of culture, especially a better understanding 

 of the combating of insects and diseases, and better business 

 methods have stirred up growers all over the apple regions to a 

 renewed interest in the business. This movement has had its 

 origin in the Pacific coast and intermountain regions, but will 

 soon, if it has not already, become general over a large portion 

 of North America. 



This movement will result in more or less change in the rela- 

 tive importance of commercial varieties, some becoming less 

 esteemed and others gaining in favor. The consumer will come 

 to prefer varieties of better quality and those better suited to 

 various purposes. The same is true within a variety, where 

 specimens grown to more perfect d(n^elopment will receive pref- 

 erence. 



To attain the highest degree of success it will be more neces- 

 f^avy than in the past for each grower to choose those varieties 

 which he can grow, under his conditions of soil and climate, to 



