FRUITS 1ST WEST VIRGINIA, KENTUCKY, AND TENNESSEE. 51 



the mountains of North Carolina and southwestern Virginia its season is early 

 winter to midwinter. It has been seen very little outside the section of 

 Tennessee mentioned above, not sufficiently to properly estimate its value. 

 Because of its high dessert quality it should be tested in West Virginia for 

 its commercial value and for home orchards. 

 Wagener. 



The Wagener variety, widely used in northern regions as a filler because 

 of its small tree and its fine fruit, is rarely found in this area. In northern 

 Alabama it matures with scarcely a trace of the handsome color that char- 

 acterizes it in regions to which it is adapted. There it is also small in size 

 and ranks only good in dessert quality. It is rarely found anywhere in the 

 States of Tennessee and Kentucky. In West Virginia it is found in home 

 plantings, but not in commercial orchards. Although its dessert quality is 

 good and it is high colored, the fruit drops, sometimes badly, and the tree 

 has not been uniformly productive. Further observation may indicate charac- 

 teristics of sufficient value to warrant planting this variety, but it seems to 

 be inferior to many others in productiveness, size of fruit, and dessert quality. 

 Wealthy. 



The Wealthy is one of the most widely grown varieties in the United States, 

 and it is one which has proved successful in nearly all sections of this area. 

 Its weak points as a commercial variety are (1) its foliage is one of the 

 most susceptible of all to cedar rust, (2) it is necessary to harvest the fruit 

 in two or more pickings in order to get it in the best condition, and (3) when 

 the trees become mature the fruit is usually very small. On the other hand, 

 the tree bears at a very early age and is one of the most reliable croppers : 

 the fruit is highly colored and good to very good in dessert quality. In the 

 Interior Low Plateau region in Tennessee it is considered a desirable summer 

 apple, ripening during the latter part of July. In the eastern Panhandle of 

 West Virginia it ripens in August. Because the tree is small it is desirable 

 for planting between other varieties as a filler. When so used, the trees may 

 be cut out by the time the tree becomes mature and the fruit becomes small 

 in size. 

 Willowtwig. 



The Willowtwig is chiefly grown in the northern Panhandle of West Vir- 

 ginia. Outside of this section only occasional trees and small blocks of it 

 have been observed. In the northern Panhandle section of West Virginia, 

 however, it has been the leading variety for more than a generation. The 

 tree is long lived and is an early and regular bearer. The fruit is uniform, of 

 good size, but of only fair color. The fruit, in large part, is placed in cold 

 and common storage houses and kept till spring. Though not of good dessert 

 quality, it holds its flavor better than most varieties. The section in which 

 it is grown most lies close to the Ohio River, and the smoke from factories 

 along that stream affects most varieties severely, dwarfing the fruit. Though 

 Willowtwig is not immune to injury and it is necessary to clean the fruit be- 

 fore sending it to market, it is affected much less than other varieties. Its 

 culture is not being extended outside of this section because of its poor color 

 and poor dessert quality. In this section, however, it has proved to be a profit- 

 able variety on account of its good keeping qualities and its productiveness. 

 Winesap. 



In these States no other variety has yet proved so uniformly profitable and 

 so well adapted to such a wide range of conditions as the Winesap. While 

 known as a " rich-land " variety, it nevertheless develops well in these States 

 on soils of moderate fertility. The Stayman Winesap, a seedling of the Wine- 

 sap, and the Kinnard, which belongs to the Winesap group, are proving valu- 

 able varieties, maturing earlier than the Winesap. The Arkansas {Mammoth 

 Black Twig) is another variety of the Winesap group which matures with the 

 Winesap. However, Arkansas must prove to be more productive before it 

 can take the place of the Winesap, which is an annual bearer in all regions of 

 Tennessee and Kentucky. Certain orchards of the Winesap managed in the 

 most approved manner have produced large crops each year for many years. 

 (Fig. 26.) 



The Winesap tree is one of the most resistant to blight, and only occasionally 

 is blossom blight serious. In neglected orchards the black-rot canker is 

 sometimes serious, and when efforts are made to renovate such orchards this 

 canker may continue to be troublesome. In well-managed orchards no such 



