130 



the advanta.^e of keepino later than most other varieties except the 

 York. 



A third variety which has given fairly good results under con- 

 ditions similar to yours is the Langford Seedling. The fruit is of 

 medium size, red in color though a little dull, and it is fairly good 

 in quality. If one cares for an apple of this type it is worth trying, 

 especially on your medium soils at the lower altitudes, such as the 

 Penn loam, Penn gravelly loam and Penn shale loam. 



Good Baldwins are only grown where climatic conditions some- 

 what colder than yours obtain. These are found this far south 

 only where higher altitudes compensate for the distance south of 

 normal Baldwin conditions. This makes it possible to grow Bald- 

 wins at altitudes higher than yours along the Blue Ridge in north- 

 ern Virginia. In both places it becomes a fall apple and as such 

 is not as desirable as where it remains a true winter sort. In 

 northern Pennsylvania, New York and New England where it is 

 at home, this variety is best grown on deep friable loams and heavy 

 sandy loams witii loamy subsoils. Farther south heavier soils are 

 better. I hope you will soon find as a result of thorough tests a suf- 

 ficient number of good commercial sorts so that you will not need 

 to use Baldwin, and I believe that in time this will be done. It is 

 well not to try to beat the other fellow at his job, and that is about 

 what you are trying to do in growing- Baldwins. 



Your President asked me to talk about local conditions so far 

 as possible and this covers, I think, your most important varieties. 



To illustrate further the range of soil adaptation to specific 

 uses it may be worth while to mention the effect of soil influence 

 on some other crops. In the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts 

 and Connecticut, for instance, the character of the soil has been 

 the determining factor in crop selection. You will nardon me, I 

 am sure, if I select to illustrate conditions there, my father's farm 

 where most of my life was spent until 21 years old, and where I 

 have been able to follow closely the croDoing conditions and man- 

 agement until the present time. It is a long rectangular farm 

 that is typical of soil conditions over a broad scope of territory. 

 Three types of soil are found, as illustrated in the following dia- 

 gram. ( See Fig. i ) . 



The soils are all alluvial, the range in elevation is in onlv one 

 case as much as 15 feet, and within any one of the soil divisions 

 the surface is nearly level. 



The fine sandy loam at the west end of the farm is the best 

 type of soil for wrapper-leaf tobacco, though worthless for the pro- 

 duction of filler leaf, hence a normal price is $150.00 to $200.00, 

 or even more, per acre. It is also a good onion soil but brings no 

 more profitable returns from that crop than the loam at the east 

 end of the farm which, with the same culture treatment gives a 

 cigar leaf so much thicker and poorer in quality that no one longer 

 persists in trying to grow tobacco on it. Hence, a relative price 

 for this soil type is $100.00 an acre, where the location is in every 

 way equal to the other. The silt loam in the middle of the farm 

 is worthless for tobacco, mediocre for onions, and so used almost 



