peaches: peodtjctioh estimates, etc. 21 



Varieties. — The varieties principally grown are tlio widely dis- 

 I ribiited sorts,' the most prominent being the Carman, Ililey, Belle, 

 Early Crawford, Oldmixon Free, Elberta, Late Crawford, Heath, 

 Salwey, and Bilyeu (Comet). 



\VK,ST VIUGTNIA, 



DlsfriJniflon. — Wliile peaches arc grown locally more or less in 

 many places throughout West Virginia, the important commercial 

 interests are located chiefly in the counties that make the eastern pan- 

 handle region of the State, including Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, 

 Hampshire, IMineral, Hardy, and Grant Counties. Of these, Mor- 

 gan, Hampshire, and Mineral Counties are by far the most impor- 

 tant from the standpoint of peach production. In comparison with 

 them the peach interests in Jefferson and Berkeley Counties are 

 rather small. The orchards in these two counties are somewhat 

 widely distributed, however, being located with reference to the rail- 

 loads that cross them in various directions. It is true, likewise, 

 that in the other counties named the locations of orchards have been 

 determined largely by the transportation facilities, and accordingly 

 \ hey are less widely distributed than in Jefferson and Berkeley Coun- 

 ties. In Morgan and Mineral Counties peach growing is confined to 

 locations within a very few miles of the Potomac River, while in 

 Hampshire, Hardy, and Grant Counties, wdiich are traversed by the 

 south branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the orchards occupy 

 sites on the ridges of the mountains which characterize the topog- 

 raphy and parallel with which the railroad is located. 



Peaches are also a commercial crop of limited proportions at points 

 in the western part of the State along the Ohio River. Cabell and 

 Wood Counties, in which are located, respectively, the cities of Hunt- 

 ington and Parkersburg, are relatively important in that part of the 

 State. 



Varieties. — While much the same varieties are grown in West Vir- 

 ginia as are produced in the peach-growing districts to the south- 

 ward, the relative importance of different varieties is not the same 

 as it is in most other districts. In most of the orchards in the 

 Potomac River valley and adjacent sections the varieties have been 

 selected and planted with a view to furnishing a fairly uniform 

 and continuous supply of fruit throughout a long shipping season. 

 It is important, therefore, from the producer's standpoint to have 

 the fruit ripening in a uniform sequence in order that the crews may 

 be regularly and economically employed. The following varieties are 

 the ones largely grown: Carman, Connet {Southern Earhj)^ Cham- 

 pion, Hiley, Belle, Oldmixon Free, Elberta, Late Crawford, Stevens, 

 Beers Smock, Heath, Salwey, and Bilyeu. 



