4 The Commercial Apple Industry 



tance from market so that the center of commercial apple 

 production was established and has remained in western 

 New York. (See Plate 1.) 



Despite the rapid centralization of commercial plantings 

 in more favored regions, the apple is adapted to a wide 

 variation of soil and climatic conditions, and is widely cul- 

 tivated throughout the United States. A great many 

 farms produce a few more apples than are needed at home. 

 Many of these go to waste, but sometimes the surplus is 

 pressed into cider, used for other by-products, or in some 

 quantity finds its way into commercial channels during the 

 years when prices warrant. Just how great a part the 

 last factor plays in the commercial apple industry is diffi- 

 cult to determine, but obviously in the aggregate it is of 

 no little importance. Particularly is this true throughout 

 such states as Iowa, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania where 

 apples from farm orchards are hauled to nearby towns and 

 supply the market which might otherwise exist for the 

 so-called " strictly " commercial crop. The line of dis- 

 tinction between commercial and non-commercial produc- 

 tion is being more and more closely drawn, however, so 

 that the strictly commercial crop stands out in sharp con- 

 trast. 



Practically speaking, the spraying operation gives rise 

 to one of the first sharp distinctions between commercial 

 and non-commercial orchards. Insect pests and diseases 

 have exacted a heavy toll from unsprayed orchards and 

 to-day thousands of acres of farm orchards, especially east 

 of the Mississippi River and in such states as Pennsyl- 

 vania, Ohio and Kentucky are slowly dying out. When 

 it is known that more than 90 per cent of the orchards in 

 some states have never been sprayed, the wide disparage- 



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