VARIETIES OF APPLES. 43 



this section, especially in the Blue Ridge region, and to be worthy of attention by 

 those who are planting orchards or even small collections for home use. 



In Virginia, on Cecil sandy loam, at 900 feet, it is especially satisfactory, particu- 

 larly in view of the fact that these conditions are unfavorable to most varieties. So 

 grown, it is said to keep until the holidays. Cecil clay and Porters clay at elevations 

 of 1.000 to 1.500 feet, in the northern Piedmont and Blue Ridge regions, usually com- 

 bine conditions which are favorable to this variety. At 1.500 feet altitude on Porters 

 clay it becomes an early winter variety of very line appearance and good dessert 

 quality. As a rule, it is considered especially well adapted to sandy soil. On Por- 

 ters black loam at 2.300 feet, it is considered of more than usual value. It is highly 

 prized in western North Carolina, where it occurs at an altitude of 3,000 feet on a deep 

 porous mountain loam. It is. however, somewhat inclined to drop. This is its 

 greatest weakness, but with good cultural conditions it appears worthy of more general 

 planting in the future. 

 Roxbury. Synonym: Roxbury Russet. 



While grown considerably in the northern fruit districts, the Roxbury is an un- 

 important sort in the South and is in only the older orchards. It produces fairly 

 abundant crops in the mountain orchards, and the fruit usually reaches a compara- 

 tively high degree of perfection for the variety, but it lacks the long-keeping qualities 

 for which it is especially valued in the North. 

 Shockley. 



This is another one of the widely distributed varieties of the older plantings. It 

 possesses many characteristics of merit in nearly the entire Piedmont region from 

 Virginia to Georgia. Its small size makes it undesirable for commercial purposes, 

 and its poor dessert quality renders it unfit for a high-class dessert apple, but its 

 abundant and regular bearing proclivities under most Piedmont conditions and its 

 unusually good keeping qualities make it worthy of some consideration, even though it 

 is lacking in some other particulars. Doubtless the conditions under which it grows 

 influence its flavor to a noticeable degree. The claim has been made in one com- 

 parison that on Porters black loam with northern exposure it is small and of very 

 poor flavor, while at the same elevation on a red clay soil with southern exposure it is 

 of good size for the variety and its flavor greatly improved over that on Porters black 

 loam. In some instances the fruit has been severely attacked by apple seal) and 

 cedar rust, especially the latter. This susceptibility to disease does not appear to be 

 influenced by location. 



At 1.500 feet altitude in Albemarle County. Va.. on Porters clay, this variety is not 

 considered of special value, but at the same elevation in Georgia on a soil containing 

 rather more sand than Porters clay does, with good culture it comes to a high degree of 

 perfection, and when held until midwinter it generally brings very satisfactory prices 

 in local markets. In the southwestern part of North Carolina, at 1.700 feet elevation, 

 on a friable, porous loam, with good culture it bears annual crops of highly colored 

 fruits, which develop to a larger size than under most conditions. In North Carolina 

 at 3.500 to 3.800 feet, while the Shockley apple bears heavily and colors well, it is 

 usually too small to be of much value, especially as other more desirable sorts succeed 

 at these elevations. The clay and clay loam soils of the Piedmont region with the 

 usual elevations of those soils may be expected, as a rule, to produce this variety in a 

 fair degree of perfection. 

 Smith. Cider. 



In a number of orchards at widely separated points in these regions, the Smith 

 Cider apple is grown more or less. While it does not rank high as a commercial sort 

 it has frequently been a profitable variety. The fruit is more subject to bitter-rot 

 than many sorts are, but this disease has not been very serious as a rule. Its season is 

 late fall or early winter, depending upon the conditions under which it is grown. 

 L35 



