B. P. I. 797 



APPLES AND PEACHES IN THE OZARK 



REGION. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The past two or three decades have witnessed a remarkable develop- 

 ment and extension of the fruit industry. In fact, the growth during 

 comparatively recent years which has resulted in its present magni- 

 tude constitutes one of the striking features of the agriculture of the 

 United States. Much of this development has taken place along safe 

 and conservative lines. But the extensive planting of orchards in a 

 region whose natural advantages have been overestimated or over- 

 exploited has been too frequent. Probably in most of these instances 

 the development of orchards has been primarily a land-selling propo- 

 sition rather than a carefully planned fruit-growing project. 



In this expansion of the commercial fruit industry of the country 

 the Ozark region has held a conspicuous place. The numerical show- 

 ing of apple and peach trees within this region (PL I) at different 

 census periods is shown in Table I. 



Table I. — Number of apple and peach 2 trees of bearing age in the Ozark region at 



different periods. 



Period. 



Missouri. 



Arkansas. 



Oklahoma. 3 



Apple. 



Peach. 



Apple. 



Peach. 



Apple. 



Peach. 



Eleventh Census. 1890 



2,501.43- 

 8,503.372 

 6.660,761 



1,068,583 

 2,068,494 



3.007.906 



1.600.501 

 6.391.442 

 6.913.903 



1.635,965 

 2,277,627 



4.40S.952 







Twelfth Census, 1900 



Thirteenth Census. 1910 



563.096 

 249.537 



219.762 

 362.446 



i An interesting explanation of the origin of this name is as follows: "The origin of the name 'Ozark' is 

 given by Mr. Featherstonhaugh in his book entitled ' Excursions through the Slave States,' in ls34-35, p. 63. 

 He says: 'It was the custom of the French Canadians to abbreviate all their names. If they were going 

 to the Arkansas mountains they would say that thev were going ' Aux Arcs,' and thus these highlands have 

 obtained the name of Ozarks from American travelers."'— See Shepard, E. M., "A report on Greene 

 County," in Geological Survey of Missouri, vol. 12, pt. 1, p. 17. 



2 Nectarines are grouped with peaches in the census statistics, but in the Ozark region the number of 

 nectarines is so small as to be negligible. 



8 It should be explained that there are no statistics for Oklahoma prior to the Twelfth Census, and that 

 those taken from the Twelfth Census were obtained prior to the admission of Oklahoma and Indian Terri- 

 tories into the Union as one State. The figures for 1900 are those for the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations 

 in the Indian Territory. Those divisions correspond fairly well to the portion of the Ozark uplift which is 

 in Oklahoma. The figures from the Thirteenth Census applv to the counties in eastern Oklahoma which 

 are shown on the map and which are definitely within the region under consideration. The statistics 

 relating to Oklahoma are therefore not strictlv comparable, though the sections covered are so nearlv the 

 same that the figures are of use in a relative way. 



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