1422 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



air drainage, makes it a favorable loca- 

 tion for tlie growing of apples in com- 

 mercial quantities, and many large or- 

 chards are being planted each year. 

 With the revival of the fruit industry in 

 the state it has been shown that many 

 steep and rough pasture lands that were 

 formerly considered of little value, are 

 well adapted to the growing of apples. 

 Until the planting of these lands to or- 

 chard, they were gradually being de- 

 vastated by the action of the winds, 

 rains and atmospheric erosion, so that 

 they were annually depreciating in value. 

 Now, since the planting of trees, the soil 

 is held by the roots of the trees, and it is 

 considered that a tree grows into value at 

 the rate of about $1 per year. It is easy 

 to count from this that if 40 trees are 

 planted on one acre it will grow into 

 value at the rate of $40 per annum. 



There is considerable difference of 

 opinion as to the varieties best adapted 

 to North Carolina conditions. Professor 

 W, N. Hutt thinks that the Albemarle 

 Pippin, Arkansas Black Twig, Bonum, 

 Buckingham, Rome Beauty, Stayman 

 Winesap and York Imperial are best. 



Peaches 



Peaches are successfully grown in any 

 part of the state, but the largest com- 

 mercial orchards are in the Sand Hill 

 section in Moore and Montgomery coun- 

 ties. There is one orchard near South- 

 ern Pines in Moore county that contains 

 33,000 trees, and one in Montgomery 

 county near Candor that is about the 

 same in area. Besides, there are many 

 orchards of smaller size, which make 

 peach growing one of the important hor- 

 ticultural industries of the state. 



Pears 



Pears are grown in all parts of the 

 state, but in the lowlands they are very 

 susceptible to blight, which fact makes 

 it unprofitable to grow them for com- 

 mercial purposes- They can be grown 

 successfully, for commercial purposes, in 

 the clay soils of the Piedmont region. 

 Here, the Kieffers are the most profitable 

 and find a ready market on account of 

 the quality of the fruit 



Plums 



Plums can be grown successfully in all 

 parts of the state, but are not grown ex- 

 tensively, because the peach brings larger 

 profits in proportion to the cost of pro- 

 duction, 



Grapes 



Grapes are not very choice of location, 

 but succeed where almost any other va- 

 rieties of fruits will grow. In this cli- 

 mate it is necessary to spray them well, 

 in order to protect them from fungous 

 diseases. They are especially susceptible 

 to phylloxera. The Scuppernong grape is 

 an exception to this; being a native of 

 North Carolina, at least so it is claimed, 

 it is the only variety that stands the 

 ravages of this disease. It is claimed 

 that the Rotundifolia type of grapes, of 

 which the Scuppernong and James are 

 the most common varieties, is native to 

 the sandy soils of the Coastal Plain reg- 

 ion. "These grapes are practically free 

 from insect and fungous parasites, and 

 produce enormous quantities of fruit, 

 with the most indifferent tillage." 



Strawberries 



The strawberry is very adaptable, and 

 will grow under very many conditions, 

 yet there are places where the soil and 

 climate -seem specially adapted to the 

 production of the best grades. One of 

 these places is Columbus county. Here, 

 during the whole season, train loads of 

 iced cars of strawberries go out every 

 day to the markets of the Atlantic coast 

 cities. Here they ripen early, are espe- 

 cially bright and firm, and command 

 good prices. From Chadbourn, in Colum- 

 bus county, it is said that more straw- 

 berries are shipped in a single season 

 than from any other strawberry shipping 

 point in the world. The whole route of 

 the Coast Line railroad is dotted with 

 strawberry shipping points where the 

 soil and climatic conditions are similar to 

 those that have made Chadbourn fam- 

 ous. 



On these soils dewberries are very suc- 

 cessfully and profitably grown and 

 bring good prices because they supply 

 the demands of the early markets. 



