DECIDUOUS FRUITS 181 



Pliny mentions the apple in his writings. A score of varie- 

 ties were known at that time, but they were, of course, inferior 

 to the modern apple. There is abundant evidence that the 

 fruit was brought to Great Britain from the mainland at the 

 time of the Roman conquest, and in 1688 Ray enumerated 

 seventy-eight varieties in cultivation. 1 



The geographical distribution of the apple is greater than 

 that of any other fruit, but the United States and Canada 

 lead the world in its production. In the United States the 

 eight leading apple-producing states, arranged according to 

 acreage are: New York, Washington, Virginia, Pennsyl- 

 vania, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, and 

 Oregon. The warm Gulf section and a portion of the 

 western prairies do not yield apples on a commercial scale. 

 In Canada, the region beginning with Nova Scotia and 

 extending westward along the St. Lawrence River and the 

 Great Lakes has long been famous for its apples. The follow- 

 ing provinces of Canada grow apples commercially : Ontario, 

 Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick, 

 Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba. Alberta and Sas- 

 katchewan also produce some apples. 



Apples grow on almost any type of soil, but a deep, fertile, 

 well-drained soil is best. The apple does better on rather 

 heavy loam than it does on sand. The tree will tolerate a 

 considerable amount of gravel, if the soil itself is of good 

 fertility. 



In his Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, Bailey has 

 the following to say concerning varieties: "Each great geo- 

 graphical area has varieties that are particularly adapted to 

 it. In the northern .Mississippi Valley, there are few of the 

 eastern-states apples that thrive. Varieties have been intro- 

 duced from Russia with the expectation that they will be 

 adapted to the region; but more is to be expected of their 

 progeny than of themselves. Varieties of local origin, coming 



1 Encyclopaedia Britannica. 



