16 ORCHARD FRUITS IN VIRGINIA AND OTHER STATES. 



ally to the Piedmont region, and to a lesser extent the same thing is 

 true in North Carolina. The soil is mostly a light sandy type. 



The Piedmont region lies between the Coastal Plain and the Blue 

 Ridge. The border line between this region and the Coastal Plain 

 may be said, for present purposes (though not geologically accurate), 

 to extend in Virginia from Alexandria southward, through Rich- 

 mond and Emporia, which is near the southern boundary of the 

 State, across North Carolina and South Carolina in a southwesterly 

 direction in the vicinity of Columbia, S. C, and into Georgia near 

 Augusta. The border line between these two regions marks the 

 position of tne seacoast m former ages, the Coastal Plain being of 

 comparatively recent geological origin. 



The western boundary of the Piedmont region must be indicated 

 in even a more arbitrary manner than the eastern since it is largely 

 a matter of elevation, those points having 1,000 feet or less being 

 generally considered in the Piedmont and those having a greater 

 elevation than this in the Blue Ridge. 



The topography of the Piedmont region is somewhat broken and 

 rolling. (See PI. II, figs. 1 and 2.) The elevation ranges from 150 

 to 500 feet along its eastern extremities adjacent to the Coastal 

 Plain to 1,000 feet in proximity to the Blue Ridge. Numerous hills 

 project above the general level, and some of the spurs of the Blue 

 Ridge extend within its borders. (PI. Ill, fig. 1.) Many streams 

 rising in the mountains cross it, mostly in a southeasterly direction, 

 while a large number of smaller streams and tributaries have their 

 origin within the region itself. 



The section of the map (PL V) indicated by the heavier diagonal 

 hatching represents the pomological region which is most nearly 

 coincident to the Piedmont. Its eastern border follows closely the 

 500-foot contour. Throughout nearly all of Virginia its western 

 extremity has an elevation of about 1,000 feet, except south of 

 the Roanoke River. From this region to its southern extremity in 

 northern Georgia, its division from the adjacent region is made to 

 follow in a general way the 1,500-foot contour because of the behavior 

 of the fruits grown therein. The most common type of soil is a 

 stiff red clay with various modifications containing more or less sand. 



It should be stated in this connection that a majority of the 

 orchards in the Piedmont region are confined to a relatively narrow 

 strip, lying in comparatively close proximity to the mountains, 

 where the elevation ranges from about 800 to 1,000 feet; hence 

 the investigations in this region have been limited in their extent 

 by the distribution of the orchards. 



The Blue Ridge region included in this discussion, as it extends 

 from the northeast to the southwest through Virginia, is contained 

 in the Piedmont and Valley counties which have common boundaries 



135 



