Fruits.
Every portion of the State is remarkably well adapted to the growth
of fruits that belong to the warm-temperate and temperate climates.
In Tidewater Virginia, apples, pears, peaches, quinces, plums, cherries,
nectarines, grapes, figs, strawberries, raspberries, running and bush
blackberries, gooseberries, currants and other fruits thrive and produce
abundantly, the quality of the products being unsurpassed, as the awards
of the American Pomological Society attest. The value of the small fruits
alone, annually sent to market from Tidewater, is more than the sums for
orchards and gardens. The trade in early strawberries is one of large
proportions. Especial mention should be made of the wild Scuppernong
grapes, peculiar to the Tidewater country near the sea, which spread over
the forests, and bear large crops of excellent fruit, from which a very
palatable wine is made. The originals of the Catawba, Norton's Virginia,
and other esteemed American grapes grow wild in the forests of Virginia.
All the fruits named above grow in every section of the State, except,
perhaps, figs. Piedmont, the Blue Ridge, and the Valley are famous
apple regions. Peaches flourish in all sections, but Middle and Tidewater
may claim some precedence in adaptability. The Blue Ridge is entitled
to the name of the "fruit belt," and its extensive area is yet to become
the most noted wine and fruit-producing section of the United States east
of the Rocky Mountains. All the fruits of Virginia flourish there in a
remarkable manner, and find special adaptations of soil, climate, and
exposure.
