2 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
The soil of the southern part is formed 
from drift over cretaceous and sedimen- 
tary rocks which are, in some parts, rich 
in fossils. In the central portion the 
formation is metamorphic and calcareous, 
with silurean sediments and coal meas- 
ures. 
The Valley of the Tennessee is generally 
a deep red calcareous soil, which, in the 
metamorphic region is a red or clay 
loam with a sand or clay subsoil. 
In the north the soil is very generally 
sandy, with a sand or clay subsoil. 
The native trees are mainly the differ- 
ent varieties of oak, pine cedar, chestnut, 
butternut, black walnut, hickory, poplar, 
linden, magnolia and red plum. 
The soil, climate and the facilities for 
transportation justify a larger production 
of fruit for commercial purposes than has, 
up to this time, been developed. As we 
traveled through the northern part of the 
state, and examined the soil and native 
trees, together with the topography of 
the state, we could see no reason why 
commercial horticulture could not be 
brought to a much higher standard than 
at present. In all parts of the state cer- 
tain kinds of fruits are grown for com- 
mercial purposes; but not generally in 
large quantities. In the southern part 
truck farming and gardening are exten- 
sively carried on, with Mobile as the prin- 
cipal shipping point, while in the northern 
part apples, peaches, and pears are grown 
in considerable quantities. Probably 
there is no Southern state where soil, 
climate and natural conditions are better 
adapted to the growing of peaches, pears, 
plums, prunes, cherries, small fruits and 
apples than the mountain and hill regions 
of Alabama. Here too are some of the 
largest nurseries in the United States. 
The fact that those growing nursery stock 
for wholesale purposes find conditions so 
favorable to their business is evidence 
that trees will make a vigorous and heal- 
thy growth in this section; for among 
the large nurseries in Alabama compara- 
tively a small per cent of the stock is 
planted in that state, but is shipped large- 
ly to all fruit growing sections of the 
United States. 
GRANVILLE LOWTHER 
Southern Alabama 
This is one of the oldest truck grow- 
ing sections, as the early French settlers 
met success with their early gardens 
here. The vegetables shipped out of 
Mobile from this area aggregate a mil- 
lion dollars in value every year. Sat- 
suma oranges and pecans are being 
heavily planted in this section, and the 
country is being rapidly filled up with 
northern farmers 
Many attempts have been made at com- 
mercial peach orcharding in different 
sections of the state Where failure was 
made it was due mostly to the lack of 
proper organization in shipping; and per- 
haps aS much was due to the ravages of 
brown rot and late frosts in the spring 
In Baldwin and Mobile counties in the 
southern part of the state, this 1s par- 
ticularly true In the nineties several 
carloads of Elberta, Greensboro and Car- 
man peaches were shipped out from these 
counties. These orchards were located at 
Semmes, Bay Minette, Orchard and other 
small towns in that locality. 
A large fruit growers’ organization 
planted at least 3,000 acres of grapes in 
the vicinity of Fruithurst in Cleburne 
county during 1894-95-96, but owing to 
the ravages of black rot and poor man- 
agement, together with overdoing the 
planting, the venture was not altogether 
successful. However, grapes aie being 
very successfully grown in all sections 
of the state, particularly such varieties 
as Scuppernong, several varieties of the 
Muscadine as James, Flowers and 
Thomas, and also bunch grapes such as 
Concord, Delaware, Niagara and Ives. 
The nursery business in the Hunts- 
ville district in Madison county has stead- 
ily grown and prospered. About 2,000 
acres are now devoted to this industry, 
and Alabama grown nursery stock is 
known for its vigor and cleanliness in 
every fruit section of the country. 
A rather novel horticultural industry 
is one which has been established about 
Evergreen in Conecuh county and at Eu- 
faula and Louisville in Barbour county. 
Southern smilax, or “bamboo vine,” as 
the boys call it, is gathered by whites 
or blacks in one-mule wagons and 
