FRUIT REPORTS. 
181 
cial crops, are confined to a few limited areas in the Penobscot, Kennebec, 
and Androscoggin valleys. The section of the State best adapted to commer- 
cial orcharding is found south of the 45th parallel of latitude and west of the 
Penobscot river. The industry is at present most prominent in Androscoggin, 
Cumberland, Kennebec, Sagadahoc, Oxford and York, together with the 
southern parts of Franklin, Somerset, Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. 
There are very few large orchards in the State, but fruit, as a market product, 
supplements other farm crops. 
The soil best adapted for the apple— particularly the Baldwin, which is 
the most important variety— is a strong, rocky loam, preferably upon a hill- 
side where perfect drainage is assured. The best fruit is obtained at an ele- 
vation of 300 to 800 feet. Land suitable for orchard culture, and in favorable 
localities, may be obtained for from $5.00 to $50.00 per acre, depending on 
the condition as to freedom from rocks and distance from railroads. Bear- 
ing orchards are worth $40.00 to $75.00. 
The varieties of fruits of greatest importance in Maine may be briefly 
summarized as follows: 
Apples— Baldwin**, Ben Davis**, Roxbury Russet *, Hubbardston*, North- 
ern Spy**, Rhode Island Greening*, Tompkins King*, Yellow Bellflower**, 
Gravenstein*, Starkf, Suttonf. Pears— Angouleme**, Anjou*, Bartlett**, Bose 
*, Diel*, Lawrence**, Louise Bonne**, Sheldon*. Plums — Burbankf, Ilmperial 
Gage**, Lombard*, Bradshaw**, Bavay*, Arctic*. Cherries — Tartarian, Black 
Early Richmond, Montmorency (Ordinaire), Morello. Blackberries — Agawam 
**, Snyder. Currants — Fay**, Albert, Prince**, Victoria*, White Grape*, 
Gooseberries— Downing**, Smith*, Whitesmithf. Raspberries — Cuthbert**, 
Loudonf. Strawberries— Bubach**, Crescent, Clyde**, Greenville*, Haver- 
land*, Warfield*, Sharpless*, Carrief. Dewberries, grapes and quinces are 
not grown commercially. 
Thorough cultivation is exceptional in the orchards of Maine. This lack 
of culture is partly due to the fact that orcharding is made simply a part of 
the general farming operations, and partly to the character of the soil used 
for orchard purposes— many of the most productive orchards being upon 
rocky hillsides which cannot be plowed. 
In the few instances where clean culture is practiced, a cover crop of rye 
is sometimes used with good effect. The ground does not “wash” during 
the winter, and is ready for working earlier in spring. Small fruits are 
usually given a winter protection of marsh hay or evergreen boughs. 
Concentrated fertilizers have been used but little. Stable manure, and 
wood ashes are frequently used and many growers mulch the trees heavily 
every few years with hay. . 
Among the more important insect enemies of the apple, the apple maggot 
Trypeta pomonella, the American and forest tent-caterpillars, CUsiocampa 
Americana and C. ddsstria, with the bud moth, Tmetocera ocellana, and the 
leaf roller, Teras minuta are the most destructive. For the first named pest 
there is no satisfactory remedy. The most effective treatment of affected 
orchards is to pasture with hogs or sheep, that all windfalls may be 
destroyed and the number of insects thus reduced. For destroying the 
other insects named, systematic spraying with arsenical poisons is usually 
effective. The forest tent-caterpillar frequently migrates from the neighbor- 
ing forests in destructive numbers and some method besides spraying must 
be employed to save the orchards. A band of tarred paper placed about the 
