ON PRACTICAL PLANS 



It goes without saying that the varieties to be 

 selected must be of a character adapted to the 

 climate and soil of the chosen region. As to this, 

 the restrictions imposed by Nature are more or 

 less familiar to every fruit grower. In general, 

 you may judge to a certain extent from observa- 

 tion of what is already grown in your neighbor- 

 hood as to what kinds of trees will thrive there. 

 The chief restrictions are those imposed by con- 

 ditions of temperature, and of course temperature 

 is influenced not merely by the latitude but by dis- 

 tance above the sea level and the neighborhood of 

 large bodies of water. 



The presence of moisture in the air has a pro- 

 tecting influence, chiefly in that it prevents radia- 

 tion of heat at night. Every orchardist knows that 

 the danger from frost increases in proportion as 

 the night is clear. The now familiar method of 

 fighting frost by burning brush or oil supplies 

 direct heat, but also supplements this by filling 

 the air with smoke, which retards the radiation 

 of heat. 



It is familiarly known that seaboard regions 

 have much milder winters than inland regions of 

 the same latitude. 



Again, inland regions of low altitude, such as 

 the Mississippi Valley, may be adapted to the 

 growth of a fruit that would inevitably winter- 



[57] 



