458 Agricultural Manual, 



Lockport. Some of the orchards set about 100 years ago are 

 still thrifty and productive. The large, vigorous trees have 

 trunks two and a half to three feet in diameter, with a limb 

 expanse of sixty to seventy feet. The capacity of these old trees 

 runs between sixteen and twenty-one barrels:. One of these 

 original orchards, composed of about seventy Greening trees, 

 averaged sixteen barrels of apples to the tree in 1912. 



About 1845 there began to be a demand for winter apples 

 in the then newly-settled states of the West, which stimulated 

 the growers to graft their almost worthless varieties with those 

 then in demand for shipping. A rapid increase of apple grow- 

 ing at once began. Up to the present time Xiagara has led all 

 other counties of the state in intensive management of its 

 orchards. Probably no section of the country is giving more 

 attention to the apple and peach orchards in the form of cultivat- 

 ing, pruning, and spraying than is the Ontario plain of Xiagara 

 County. 



Xext to the apple, the peach is grown more extensively than 

 any other fruit, many considering it their most profitable crop. 

 Pears, quinces, plums, grapes, and other fruits are also grown 

 extensively, the census of 1918 placing Xiagara at the head in 

 the production of peaches, quinces, and cherries, and second in 

 the production of pears. The area bordering the lake is devoted 

 largely to peaches. Just back of this section is one that, besides 

 producing quantities of peaches, has also many young plantings 

 of apples throughout the length of the zone. The eastern and 

 western thirds of the lake front, having larger areas of clay loam 

 soils, are adapted to growing a larger number of pears, plums, 

 and prunes. A little further south, three miles from the escarp- 

 ment, is a gravelly, sandy ridge — a deposit, or bar, made in 

 pre-historic time. The farms along this ridge are usually small 

 and devoted to mixed fruit growing with gardening a close second 

 in important operations. Cherries, both sour and sweet, thrive 

 exceptionally well on the ridge. Between the ridge and the 

 escarpment, an area about three miles in width, farmers engage 

 in fruit growing and general agriculture. Along the escarpment 

 and immediately below the bluff, apples, pears, plums, cherries, 

 and quinces are special crops. Here too, is the grape-producing 

 section of the county. 



