OUTLOOK WEST VIRGINIA TYPE STATE 129 



LESSON XLIII 



AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK WEST VIRGINIA AS A 

 TYPE STATE 



Geographical and climatic conditions seem to indi- 

 cate that there are three principal agricultural opera- 

 tions which would pay the farmers of West Virginia to 

 develop : 



1. Fruit-growing. Many hillsides, poorly adapted 

 to grain cultivation, would produce profitable orchards 

 of apple, peach, cherry, and other smaller fruits. Some 

 of the best fruit plantations of the United States are 

 in West Virginia, and what has been done in one place 

 can be done in many other parts of the state, for the 

 conditions of successful fruit culture are similar. It 

 would be better for the soil of many farms, and for 

 the purses of many farmers were their hillsides planted 

 to fruit trees, rather than to grain fields with weed- 

 filled washouts. 



2. Dairying, grazing, and stock raising. West Vir- 

 ginia has ranked among the first states in the produc- 

 tion of fme-wooled sheep, and there is no reason that 

 this rank should not be maintained. The hills will 

 produce the finest of blue grass, timothy, and clover, 

 and there are many natural advantages which may be 

 used in the winter protection of the flock. The in- 

 creased demand for dairy products should encourage 

 grazing and cattle raising. With the improvement of 

 country roads, and the extension of the railroads and 

 trolleys, the sale of milk, butter, and live stock will be 



