VIKGINIA 



Astrachan. ^laideu's Blush. Siinnner (j|uefn and Pen- 

 nock, followed by Houuni, Smoke House, Fall IMpydn, 

 Falhiwater, Sweet Winter Paradise, and Virginia 

 Beauty as leading fall apples, and concluded liy York 

 Imperial, Albemarle Pip|)in, Ben Davis and Winesap, 

 wbioli extend the season tbrt.>ugli winter. 



The planting of pears for commercial purposes lias 

 largely increased witb tbe introduction of Kieft'er, Le 

 Oonte and others of this type, while Seckel, Bartlott. 

 and Duchess remain the favnrites for garden purposes. 

 lu peaches the varieties largely planted are Sneed, 

 Alexander. Greensboro, jMountain Kose, Earlv Kivi-rs, 

 Bishop Early, Chinese Cling, Crawford Early ami 

 Late Elberta, St\im^-) tbe World, Heath Cling, Levy 

 Late, Bilyeu October and Albright "Winter. It is the 

 general experience that in early peaches white-tleshed 

 varieties do best. Sweet cherries probabU^ grow to 

 greater pierfection in Virginia than elsewhere east of 

 tbe Rocky Mountains, $00 worth of fruit from an indi- 

 vidual tree in a season being no unusual occurrence. 

 The most popular varieties are Early Purple, Black 

 Tartarian, Napoleon Windsor and (.iuv. Wood. It is 

 considered among observant growers that Mahaleb is a 

 failure as a stock for sweet cherries feir orchard pur- 

 poses in Virginia, and the most successful stock is the 

 Mazzard, which grows with such luxuriance as often to 

 become a striking feature of a Virginia landscape. 



With the advent of the Japanese types, the plum in- 

 dustry is taking on renewed life and plum orchards of 

 considerable size are being planted. Ked June, Aliun- 

 dance. Yellow Japan, Burbank. and Wickson have 

 proved profitable about in order named. Satsuma pre- 

 serves well. The Damson and a blue plum of the 

 "Horse" plum type are very comnmnh- disseminated 

 throughout the state. The "latter reproduces itselt in 

 the same nu\nner as the Damson, and seems to be ex- 

 empt from black knot. Only a few trees of the last two 

 kinds are grown at any one p)lace, but the aggregate of 

 fruit is considerable. Nearly all the pome and stone 

 fruits adaptable to this climate are grown in tlie state, 

 but few on a commercial scale except as noted. 



rinei/ards. — That section of Piedmont Virginia near 

 Charlottesville has taken tlie lead in grape-growing, 

 and extensive vineyards of wine grapes have been 

 planted, and a wine cellar established, whose product 

 has been favorably compared with the best French 

 wines of same character. 



Small /'>'(u7,';. — Raspberries are grown in sufficient 

 quantities to supply local demands, with Cuthbert as 

 the leading variety. The same may be said as to goose- 

 berries and currants, with Houghton and Downing popju- 

 lar varieties of the former and Cherry and Fay of tbe 

 latter. Strawberries are grown extensively in a number 

 of localities both for local and distant markets, with 

 the vicinity of Norfolk the center of production. From 

 Norfolk they are shipped by boat- and train-loads, and 

 "the patches " are often 100 acres or more in size. 

 Blackberries and dewberries are furnished so bounti- 

 fully by nature that stimulus for cultivation is lield in 

 check, as is the case so far as home consumption goes 

 with many other fruits, for from early spring strawber- 

 ries, service berries, dewberries, blackberries, huckle- 

 berries, Mazzard cherries, haws, wild grapes, plums, 

 seedling apples, pears and peaches follow each otlier in 

 such reckless profusion in field and forest that all who 

 wish have but to pluck to eat. Commercially, howevin-, 

 the horticulture of Virginia is making rapid strides in 

 methods and increased plantings. 



rr^ff/.-H'//.— Tidewater ranks first in its trucking and 

 small fruit interest. With its mild climate, trarialde 

 soil, abundance of labor, thorough trans]M_»rt;(tion facili- 

 ties, low freight rates, and nearness to great eastern 

 markets, it has in the last 36 years become the "Market 

 Garden of the World," tlie section adjacent to Norfolk 

 producing over six milli'Uis of dollars worth of truck 

 per annum. See I'cr/i-foi.lr On nhniiiKi. 



Niirserief<.—'V\vc ~^0 or more nurseries in tbe state are 

 well distributed, with tbe largest establishments at the 

 junction of the Tidewater and Middle Virginia sections. 

 These nurseries comprise plants of from 350 acres 

 down. The apple is their leading specialty. 



Floriculture and landscape gardening have been prin- 

 cipally confined to the larger cities of the state, where 



VITEX 



1047 



there has beeu :t rapid increase of glass acreage in re- 

 cent yt^ars devoted mainly to the production of roses, 

 carnations, violets, and chrysanthemums as cut-fi<twers. 

 The soil and climate of Middle Virginia have been found 

 especially favorable to violet production and in Louisa 

 county. 2.") or more growers are dev.iting pspeeial effort 

 to vi(det cult ore. Tbe interest in landscape gardening 

 is gradually on the increase. (ij-o. E. Murrell. 



VIRGINIA STOCK. JlafOnoJa. 



VIRGIN'S BOWER. Clemulis. 



VISCARIA. See Lijrlniis. 



VlSCUM is mentioned under PliO-radendron. 



ViSNEA (after a Lisbon merchant). T(^-rii.sfrceniidcem. 

 A genus of one species confined to the Canary Islands. 

 It is a large evergreen shrub or small tree resembling 

 in a general way a tea plant or camellia. The specific 

 name Mocanera was given by the younger Linnaeus be- 

 cause the fruit was supposed to be the "mocan" of the 

 aliorigines, which was made into a kind of syrup and 

 used to a considerable extent. The fls. are only three- 

 eii^hths of an inch across, not very numerous and much 

 shorter than the Ivs., but they are Terj sweet-scented. 

 It has recently been offered in S. California. 



Sepals 5, imbricated; petals 5, imbricate, connate at 

 base; stamens indefinite: ovary 3-loculed, slightly im- 

 mersed in the torus: ovules 3 in each locule, pendulcuis 

 from the apex; fr. an indehiscent berry included by the 

 enlarged and fleshy calyx, which is adherent to the base. 



Mocanera, Linn, f . Tender evergreen shi-ub, 0-9 ft. 

 high, of compact habit and with dark green, shining 

 leathery foliage: Ivs. short-petioled, ovate-lanceolate, 

 serrate: fis. solitarj^, white, ptendulous. Canaries. 



W. M. 



VlXEX (ancient Latin name for this or a similar 

 shrnlj). \'f)-lie>tCiceii . Ornamental deciduous or ever- 

 green trees or shrubs with opposite, digitate or 

 rarely simple leaves and usually with small white, blue, 

 violet or yellowish flowers in axillary cymes often dis- 

 posed in large, terminal panicles. Most of the species 

 are inhal:dtants of tropical and subtropncal regions and 

 0]dy a few can be cultivated outdoors in temperate re- 

 gions. The hardiest seems to be V. inclsa , which stands 

 most ordinary winters as far north as Massachusetts. 

 r. A(/nu.s-casf'iis is hardy as far north as New York, in 

 sheltered positions. These species are p)articularly val- 

 uable for their late-appearing flowers. They grow in 

 almost any kind of soil and prefer ratlier dry, sunny 

 situations. None of the tender kinds seem to be in cul- 

 tivation in this country. They thrive in a sandy com- 

 p'C'st of peat and loam. Propagated by seetbs sown in 

 s]irinir and by greenwood cuttings under glass; also by 

 layers. 



About 60 species are known, distributed through the 

 subtropical and tropical regions of both hemispheres, 

 few in the temperate regions. Lvs. opposite, digitate, 

 with ;!-7, rarely wuth one leaflet: fls. in often pauifted, 

 few- to many-fid. cymes: calyx campanulate, usually 

 .5 -toothed ; corolla tubular- funnelfonn, with 5-lobed, 

 oblique and slightly 2-lipped limb; stamens 4, 2 longer 

 and 2 shorter ones: fr. a small drupe, with a -l-celled 

 stone. Some species, particularly I", n If/.^isiiiia ond F 

 JjeKcoxylon in S. Asia are important timber trees. 



AgTitis-c^stus, Linn. Chaste-tree. Hemp-tkee. 

 M'ink's Pepper-tree. Shrub or small tree, witb a strong 

 aroniatj.*' odor, grayi.-h tomentose : lvs. long-st^dked; 

 Ifts. 5-7, lanceolate, acuminate, narrowed at the birse 

 into a short stalk, entire or with few coarse teeth, gray- 

 ish tomentose beneath, the middle one 3—1 in. long, the 

 fls. in dense, sessile clusters, forming terminal, often 

 p)anicled racemes 5-7 in. long: condla usually pale <'>t 

 libtc, grayish outside, ^?, in. long; stamens and ^t-\ le 

 fxs.^i-red.' .Tulv-Se])t. S. Eu., W.Asia. Mn. 2, ik 44. 

 — Var. alba, Flort. ( F. alhiflnra, Hort.). Fls. wliite. 

 Var. ceerulea, Hort. Fls. blue. 



inclsa, Lam. ( r. hi<-i,iidfa, Hort.). Fiir. 2004. Simi- 

 lar to tbe preceding: Ifts. incisely serrate or almost 



