Leading Apple Regions of the United States 51 



Strictly commercial areas are largely confined to the 

 southern part of the state. They may be segregated into 

 three fairly well-defined regions: (1) The extreme south- 

 ern portion; (2) the Mississippi Valley region centering 

 about Pike and Calhoun counties; (3) the southeastern 

 part of the state, centering in Marion County. 



Illinois is probably under-estimated from a commercial 

 standpoint. New orchards coming into bearing, and the 

 renovation of old ones have combined in making this the 

 most important middle western apple state. Its central 

 location and proximity to market serve as distinct 

 advantages. 



Southern Illinois early apple region. 



The extreme southern or early apple section in Illinois 

 may be defined to include the eleven southernmost coun- 

 ties, but only Union and Johnson are of great commercial 

 importance. These counties probably comprise one of the 

 most important early apple-producing sections in the 

 United States. J. C. B. Heaton of New Burnside is one 

 of the persons largely responsible for the early develop- 

 ment of this industry. Good returns for apples have 

 stimulated planting and an increasing production may be 

 expected from this region. 



The principal early varieties are Yellow Transparent, 

 Duchess of Oldenburg, Benoni, Ked June, Chenango and 

 Sops of Wine. Summer varieties comprise nearly three- 

 fourths of the total production. 



Prominent among winter varieties are Winesap, Ben 

 Davis, Gano, Jonathan, and Rome Beauty. Early apples 

 are shipped in baskets to Chicago, St. Louis And other 

 nearby cities. The shipping season for these apples 



