1996 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



one4entli. Grapes are of fine quality, 

 but are not grown largely for commer- 

 cial purposes. Near Charlottesville, how- 

 ever, a winery has been erected and the 

 quality of its products is said to be equal 

 to the best of the same kinds manufac- 

 tured in France. 



The counties producing the largest 

 quantities of apples are Albemarle, in 

 the Piedmont section, and Augusta, ad- 

 joining it on the west on the opposite 

 slope of the mountain range in the Val- 

 ley of Virginia. 



Among the advantages claimed for Vir- 

 ginia as a fruit-producing section are its 

 relation to good markets and its ship- 

 ping facilities. 



Situated as it is on the Atlantic coast, 

 with railroads extending in all directions 

 into the interior, it has rather unusual 

 transportation facilities, except in the 

 mountainous regions, where farming is 

 not extensively conducted. 



The census of 1909 showed a smaller 

 number of bearing apple trees in Vir- 



ginia than the census of 1900, but the 

 value of the crop was more in 1909 than 

 in 1900. This is due largely to the fact 

 that the old trees are dying and the com- 

 mercial orcharding is passing into the 

 hands of large producers, who grow bet- 

 ter grades of fruit than formerly. Pears 

 are grown successfully in almost all the 

 fruit sections of the state, but are not 

 grown extensively. 



Cherries grow to a high state of per- 

 fection. The sweet cherries can be very 

 successfully grown for commercial pur- 

 poses, the trees growing to immense size 

 and yielding profitable crops. However, 

 like many other crops that could be 

 grown successfully, they are not grown 

 extensively. 



Among the nuts that can be grown 

 successfully are the English walnut, 

 black walnut, chestnut and pecan. 



Sn^-all fruits, such as strawberries, 

 blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, 

 currants and gooseberries, flourish in all 

 parts of the state. Gbakville Lowther 



Productioii of Fruits in Virginia 



Small fruits: 1909 and 1899. The following table shows data with regard to 

 small fruits on farms: 



CROP 



Small Fruits, total 



Strawberries 



Blackberries and dewberries. 

 Easpbemes and loganberries. 



Currants 



Gooseberries 



Cranberries 



Other berries 



Number 



of farms 



reporting 



1909 



4,651 



1,686 



1,121 



205 



239 



2 



2 



Acres 



1909 



7,295 



6,606 



344 



276 



6 



22 



40 



2 



1899 



8,796 



7.821 



444 



365 



39 



61 



Quantity 



(quarts) 



1909 



11,342,980 



10,761,381 



273,551 



267,322 



8,127 



18.112 

 1,040 



Value 

 1909 



$671,843 



626,649 



16,485 



24,853 



791 



1,909 



1,050 



106 



Strawberries are by far the most im- 

 portant of the small fruits raised in Vir- 

 ginia, with blackberries and dewberries 

 ranking second in quantity and third in 

 value, while raspberries and loganber- 

 ries are third in quantity, but second in 

 value. The total acreage of small fruits 

 in 1909 was 7,295 and in 1899, 8,796, a 

 decrease of 17.1 per cent. The produc- 

 tion in 1909 was 11,343,000 quarts, as 

 compared with 13,474,000 quarts in 1899, 



and the value was $672,000 in 1909, as 

 compared with $765,000 in 1899. 



Orchard fruits, grapes, nuts and tropi- 

 cal fruits: 1909 and 1899. The next 

 table presents data with regard to or- 

 chard fruits, grapes, nuts and tropical 

 fruits. The acreage devoted to these 

 products was not ascertained. In com- 

 paring one year with the other the num- 

 ber of trees or vines of bearing age is 

 on the whole a better index of the gen- 

 eral changes or tendencies than the quan- 



