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



A knowledge of the behavior of fruit varieties under the condi- 

 tions in this area will be valuable not only to those interested in 

 the fruit industry in this area but growers in other parts of the 

 country will have a better knowledge of varieties in their orchards 

 if they know how the same varieties act in other regions. Only 

 through an accumulation of knowledge from a survey of many 

 pomological regions can we hope to be able to state at all accurately 

 the probable value of a variety in any particular section where it 

 has not been tried. 



Already the accumulation of knowledge concerning the adapta- 

 tion and merits of varieties has been sufficient so that comparatively 

 few of the varieties heretofore planted can now be advised for this 

 area. Hundreds of fruit varieties not mentioned here have been 

 tested by growers without the knowledge of what the results of 

 former trials had shown. Such trials are expensive, and it is with 

 the purpose of eliminating this useless duplication of effort that 

 such surveys as this are made. By reference to Tables 6 to 9 a 

 comparison of the number of varieties widely distributed in this 

 area and those which can be recommended is readily made. It is 

 to be expected that some listed for further testing will be discarded, 

 while others may replace widely grown varieties. 



Year by year the knowledge of the adaptation of varieties must 

 be accumulated and tabulated. This work will of necessity never 

 be finished, for progress, in part at least, must be in the origination 

 and introduction of new and better sorts. 



ORCHARD FRUITS. 



APPLE VARIETIES. 



The apple is the most important fruit in all the regions of this 

 area, and recent extensive plantings indicate that it will remain so. 

 The early plantings were made up of varieties that were brought in 

 by the pioneer settlers from many sections of the United States. For 

 this reason the list of varieties described in this bulletin is long, yet 

 it consists of only a small proportion of the number studied. Many 

 of the varieties described should not have a place in future plant- 

 ings in any region of this area. Definite statements, therefore, re- 

 garding the value of each variety are made as far as possible, and 

 of the most important varieties both faults and merits are men- 

 tioned. In Table 6, near the end of this bulletin, a summary is made 

 of the more desirable varieties of apples for each region. 



IMPORTANT VARIETIES OF APPLES STUDIED IN THIS AREA. 



Akin. 



The Akin originated in Illinois from seed produced in Tennessee (63, 1903, 

 p. 268-269). It is not grown extensively in any part of this area, though it is 

 found in many orchards in West Virginia and in some in Kentucky and Ten- 

 nessee. 



The tree is a vigorous, large, upright, open grower. Figure 18 shows a 

 10-year-old tree of this variety. It bears fairly early on chert soil, 6-year-old 

 trees frequently producing a small crop. The fruit is of medium size, glo- 

 bose, and very smooth. The ground color is yellow, almost entirely covered 

 with bright crimson as grown about Huntington, W. Va., but in the higher 

 altitudes of that State it becomes striped and is less highly colored. The skin 

 is tough and thick; the flesh is firm, very crisp, juicy, fine grained, and 



