Leading Apple Regions of the United States 29 



the United States is produced in these relatively few re- 

 stricted districts. In many parts of this country there is 

 scarcely a farm that has not a small home orchard of apple 

 trees. As has heen emphasized elsewhere, production 

 from these home orchards is having less and less commer- 

 cial significance and interest centers in a few well-defined 

 regions. 



By describing each important apple region and pointing 

 out its individual characteristics, it is hoped to convey to 

 the reader a mental picture of the commercial apple indus- 

 try as it has been developed in these well-favored regions. 



WESTERN NEW YORK ( PLATE i) 



From the standpoint of quantity production and total 

 acreage, western New York is the most important apple 

 region in the United States. As early as 1860 the produc- 

 tivity of this section became apparent, and the high qual- 

 ity apples outsold those from other localities. Good qual- 

 ity and high yields were sufficient to overcome the^ad- 

 vantages which many other regions may have enjoyed from' 

 being closer to the Atlantic seaboard cities ; and the center 

 of commercial barreled apple production was established 

 and has remained in western New York; 



Previous to 1919, one-fourth of the normal commercial 

 apple crop of the United States was produced in the state 

 of New York, but the Northwest now produces so many 

 apples that this will probably never be true again. Heav- 

 iest plantings are in Niagara, Monroe, Orleans and Wayne 

 counties which border on Lake Ontario. Each of these 

 counties has an apple acreage of 25,000 to 35,000 \acres 

 and each is capable of producing from a half to a million 

 barrels of apples annually. Counties of less importance 



