64 BULLETIN 1189, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



PLUMS. 



No large orchards of plums are found in this area. Several small 

 ones supplying local markets have been studied; also one orchard 

 near Chattanooga, Tenn., in which the Abundance has proved to be 

 a profitable variety to ship to the general markets, because it ripens 

 before the plums from California come in. With the exception of 

 the Shropshire (damson) and occasionally some variety of the Jap- 

 anese type, the plums which are succeeding in Kentucky and 

 Tennessee are horticultural varieties of native American species. 

 The Wildgoose, a variety originating in Tennessee, is grown more 

 than any other. Various seedlings of the Wildgoose have proved 

 desirable in some parts of this area. In a collection of nearly 50 

 varieties near Louisville, Ky., the Wildgoose, Milton (a seedling 

 of the Wildgoose), Newman (belonging to the same species), Golden 

 (supposed to be a hybrid between a variety of the same species and 

 the Abundance), and De Soto (a variety belonging to another Amer- 

 ican species) are among the most desirable varieties. 



In northern West Virginia varieties of European origin seem to 

 be better adapted than they do farther south but are grown in home 

 orchards or for local markets only. Commercial orchards of plums 

 which have been planted in this part of the area have not proved a 

 success. 



In this area plums should be planted at present for home use and 

 local markets only. For these purposes in West Virginia at the 

 higher altitudes the European varieties, including the Bradshaw, 

 Moore, Shropshire, Imperial Gage, and Lombard, may be planted. 

 Some native American varieties also succeed. In Kentucky and 

 Tennessee the Golden, Shropshire, and the native varieties succeed 

 best and should be planted in preference to others. 



SMALL FRUITS. 



The principal small fruit in this area is the strawberry. It is 

 widely grown and forms an important commercial industry. Black- 

 berries and raspberries are also raised to some extent throughout 

 most of the area. The blackberry, however, seems better adapted to 

 all regions in this area than the raspberry, as might be expected, 

 since its wild forms are found in abundance in all sections, while 

 the wild black raspberry is less common and the red raspberry is 

 found only in the higher mountains and in the northern part. Wild 

 forms of the gooseberry and currants are rarely found, and their 

 cultivated forms are likewise grown but very little. 



BLACKBERRIES. 



The wild forms of the blackberry seem especially adapted to the 

 southern part of the Appalachian Mountain Range. Many of the 

 hillsides from which the timber has been cut and which later may 

 be covered with second-growth trees are first covered with black- 

 berry bushes. Under such conditions the berries grow large and 

 sweet, as the ground is covered with decaying organic matter which 

 retains an abundant moisture supply for the plant and the fruit. At 

 many points in the hills and mountains canneries have been estab- 



