NEW JERSEY 



1405 



The total quantity of orchard fruits 

 produced in 1909 was 1,165,000 bushels, 

 valued at $720,000. Apples constituted 

 over 95 per cent of this quantity; peaches 

 and nectarines and pears most of the re- 

 mainder. The production of grapes and 

 nuts was relatively unimportant. The 

 nuts consisted chiefly of butternuts. 



The production of all orchard fruits 

 together in 1909 was 42.3 per cent less 

 in quantity than that in 1899, and there 

 was also a decrease in grapes. The 

 value of orchard fruits increased from 

 $708,000 in 1899 to $720,000 in 1909, 

 while that of grapes declined from $14,- 



462 in 1899 to $10,926 in 1909. It should 

 be noted in this connection that the 

 values for 1899 include the value of 

 more advanced products derived from or- 

 chard fruits or grapes, such as cider, 

 vinegar, dried fruits, and the like, and 

 may therefore involve some duplication, 

 while the values shown for 1909 relate 

 only to the products in their original 

 condition. 



The following table shows the quanti- 

 ties of the more advanced products manu- 

 factured by farmers from orchard fruits 

 and grapes. Values were not called for 

 on the schedule. 



PRODUCT 



Farms reporting, 1909 



Quantity produced 





Number 



ii'er cent ut 

 all farms 



Unit 



1909 



1899 



Cider 



Vinegar 



Wine and grape juice 



Dried fruits 



5,794 



1,835 



236 



63 



21.4 

 6.8 

 0.9 

 0.2 



Gals 



Gals 



Gals .... 



Lbs 



671,684 



115,894 



2,846 



1,768 



764,410 



98.469 



2,642 



18,870 



New Jersey 



Erosions from the rocks of the Al- 

 leghany mountain range and glaciers have 

 largely determined the character of the 

 soil in the western and northern parts 

 of New Jersey, while the coastline and 

 adjacent territory are sandy. In the 

 higher elevations back from the coast 

 are considerable mixtures of clay suit- 

 ed to general farming such as the grow- 

 ing of corn, wheat, oats, hay and grass. 

 The extremely sandy soils along the coast 

 are not the most productive, but the 

 sandy loams with a considerable mix- 

 ture of humus are very fertile and adapt- 

 ed to the growing of potatoes, sweet po- 

 tatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, toma- 

 toes, strawberries, etc. 



New Jersey, more than any other state 

 except perhaps Florida and California, 

 is devoted to fruit growing and truck- 

 ing. About 22 per cent of the farming 

 area is devoted to fruits, while 35 per cent 

 is devoted to vegetables. 



Several years ago, the principal fruit 

 grown was peaches. In The New Cyclo- 

 pedia of American Horticulture, A. T. Jor- 



dan, on the basis of the census of 1900, 

 wrote as follows: 



"The fruit of the state of New Jersey 

 is the peach. The area devoted to its 

 culture exceeds that of all other fruits 

 combined, by about 100 acres. The next 

 fruit in importance is the apple, although 

 the area devoted to its culture is less 

 than one-third that of peaches." 



Diseases of different kinds soon af- 

 ter affected the trees, so that the grow- 

 ing of peaches became less profitable 

 than formerly and many orchards were 

 cut down. Later discoveries were made 

 as to how to destroy the enemies of the 

 peach, and the industry again became 

 profitable. However, it has not regained 

 its relative importance. In 1909 the 

 total quantity of orchard fruits was 2,- 

 372,000 bushels, valued at $1,975,000. Of 

 this amount apples contributed about 

 three-fifths, and peaches, nectarines and 

 pears, most of the remainder. The ap- 

 ple trees of bearing age, according to the 

 census of 1910, were 1,053,626; peach 

 trees of bearing age, 1,216,467. This 

 shows very little difference between ap- 

 ples and peaches, but the apples not of 



