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LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

No._iI548____OATE.L-_ISg.2:.
SOURCE Sec'u o-f state.

iFer "

/

/ Bulletin No. i.

MASSACHUSETTS

CEOP EEPOET

MONTH OF MAY, 1891

COMPILED BY

WM. R. SESSIONS,

Secretary State Board of Agriculture.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Offick Square.

1891.

fer

I z^ I

CROP REPOET POE THE MONTH OF MAY, 1891.

Compiled from Returns to the Office of the State Board of
Agriculture, May 28, 1891.

Office State Board of Agriculture,

Boston, Mass., June 2, 1891.

With this number commences the series of crop reports
for the season of 1891. It is the intent to issue at least six
monthly bulletins during the season. These bulletins are
compiled from data received from selected correspondents
in different parts of the State by means of blanks sent to
them monthly. For this issue one hundred and sixty such
blanks were sent out.

Arrangements have also been made with weather observers
in some seventeen localities in the State, and their data is
received and compiled by an expert in such matters.

The l)ulletins will be mailed as issued to those who have
received them in past seasons and to any others who make
application for them. It is believed this kind of work is of
value to those engaged in agricultural pursuits, and every
effort will be made to make it as valuable as possible.

In the circular to correspondents returnable to this office
May 28 the first question asked was, Hoiv does the j^'^f^f^ent
season compare, agricuUuralhj speaking, with last season?
Replies to this question were quite varied, and it is difficult
to classify them. The general opinion seemed to be that
the month of June this year opens under less favorable con-
ditions, agriculturally speaking, than it did last year. The
month of April was quite favorable. The month of Ma}'-,
1890, was cool and wet, and several frosts occurred. This
year May was decidedly cool and dry, with occasional frosts,
which did c()nsideral)lc damage to fruit and early crops in
many sections of the State.

The second question asked was, Does tJie season noio
jrromise to he a favorable one for the farmer 9 The corre-
spondents were about evenly divided in their opinion as to
the outlook for the future. In general, with much needed
rain and warmer weather, the outlook would be fairly favor-
able.

The third question asked was. What insects are doing the
most damage in your neighborhood, and what measures, if
any, are being taken to prevent their ravages'^ Almost every
correspondent reports the presence of the tent caterpillar.
Some state that steps are taken by many farmers to destroy
this pest, while others let it have its own way. Among the
measures used to destroy it are burning, brushing down the
nests, kerosene, smearing with gas tar, Paris green, and by
using the hand bare or protected by gloves or sacking to tear
the nests off. " The Holyoke Transcript," in a recent issue,
says : " It is surprising that the farmers of this section per-
mit their fruit trees to be stripped of leaves and young fruit,
destroyed by the tent caterpillar. Not only is considerable
damage done by the various worms, but the trees look
unsightly, and give to the farms the appearance of being
owned by a lazy man. In some trees as many as fifteen of
these ' tents' can be seen, and whole branches of trees denuded
of their leaves. They can be gotten rid of easily. The little
care taken will more than pay for itself by the return of fruit
and the appearance of the tree."

The fourth question asked was. Is it difficult to get first-
class help, and what wages are paid such per month? Nearly
all the correspondents report that it is quite difficult to get
first-class farm help, and $20 to $25 per month and board
would be a fair average of the wages paid.

The fifth question asked was. What proportion of the neat
stock in your vicinity is, in your opinion, affected with tuber-
culosis? The answers to this question indicate that either
the disease is far from being as common as has been sup-
posed, or else it is so insidious in its nature that the majority
of those having to do with cattle do not detect it until it is
far advanced. Most of the correspondents state that very
few, if any, cases exist in their vicinity, and none place the
proportion over five per cent. A correspondent in southern

Worcester, however, states that it is said by relial)le people
that nearly one-tenth is affected. Quite a number state
that they have never known of a case in their vicinity, while
others believe it to exist but are unable to state to what
extent. Some correspondents state that such cattle are
becoming more common than formerly. A correspondent
in central Franklin states that the disease is almost unknown
in that ofjcn country. A correspondent in Essex states
that ver}^ little is said of this disease in swine ; that he kills
nearly all the hogs in his town, and finds very many of them
affected with tuberculosis in all stages of the disease, and
that it grows more common every year. He thinks it safe
to say that twenty-five per cent of all the hogs he has killed
the .past season were more or less affected with tuberculosis.
The sixth question asked was, Does (his disease ajjpeai' to
be more common in any 2Jorticular breed of cattle, and under
what system of care and feeding do you consider it most com-
mon? A large number of the correspondents did not answer
this question for the reason that they did not feel competent
to do so intelligently. There was insufficient evidence offered
to warrant the statement that the disease is confined to any
particular breed of cattle. It is found more or less in all
cattle, from the cow to the working ox. A correspondent
in western Hampshire says it is often aggravated by
exposure to inclement weather and diet of musty and
unwholesome food. Another in central Hampshire says
high feeding with concentrated feed and tight, warm barns
tend to breed the disease. Another in central Worcester
says, under the old systen of cold barns and low feedins:.
Anot^her in northern Worcester saj's high feed and tight
stables and crossing with a feeble breed. Another in central
Worcester says he thinks excessive high feeding with want
of suitable ventilation is likely to develop the disease. One
in southern Middlesex says that cows that are deep milkers
seem to be more liable to the disease than poor milkers
or dry stock. Another in northern Middlesex says profuse
feeding and grain to stimulate the production of milk is evi-
dently a cause of the disease. A correspondent in central
Franklin says close confinement and filth. Another in
eastern Hampden says the weaker the natural system the

6

more liable to have it ; still fat cattle have it. A corre-
spondent in central Norfolk says those high fed and kept in
close barns. Another correspondent in western Worcester
says his observation convinces him that the disease is not
especially partial to any particular breed, but will be found
more common among cows kept for milk. Another in
central Essex says it is confined to no particular breed,
but he believes it is most common where cattle are kept in
badly ventilated stables and in large herds. Another in
western Worcester does not believe the breed has anything
to do with it, but that close confinement in poorly ventilated
stables is the main cause. Another in western Franklin
states that, so far as his observation goes, it is not confined
to any particular breed, and is most common under the high
pressure system of feeding and among animals kept closely
confined without proper ventilation. Another in eastern
Franklin, that it is most common with the Jerseys under
hio:h feedinof and close confinement. Another in eastern
Worcester, that high feeding or forcing in close stables,
without exercising, and that we hear little of it during warm
weather. Another in western Worcester, that it is not con-
fined to any particular breed, but an animal that has not a
particularly strong constitution and is of a great milking
capacity fed high would, he thinks, be more likely to be
affected than a beef animal. Another in southern Worcester,
that the Jerseys are perhaps more affected, and that warm,
close stables with a floor under which winter winds circulate
are the places where the disease most prevails ; also that cat-
tle seem to thrive better if they have a warm floor to lie on,
even if the air where they stand is below the freezing point.
Another in central Hampden says, from ol)servation should
say most common m the Channel Island breeds under too
close In'eeding and a forcing system of feeding. Others
state that they do not think the feed has anything to do
with it.

An article on the subject of tuberculosis will be found
printed in the last pages of this IjuUetin.

The Weather.

Meteorological Data for May.

Pkeci

Clocdinrss.

Temperatcre. Deo.

F.

t (0 to 10.)

•a

No. OP Days.

STATION.

.c

.|

>^

s

s

-1

^•-

M

c

m

5

3
'P,

1

6

1

Im

'5

■5"

3

"

c-<

a

c^

^'

Ch

o

Amherst,

54.8

86

10

25

6

1.82

8

N.W.

9

13

9

Boston,

5.0.8

81

11

33

6

1.56

8

S. \V.

8

16

7

Concord,

55.3

87

10

28

5

1.63

7

S. W.

15

4

^9.

Dudley,

^56 2

87

11

27

6

1.24

6

s.

14

14

3

Fitchburf^,* .

55.6

82

10,11

35

5

1.79

7

w.

5

7

19

Framingham,

57 3

85

11

30

6,19

217

6

_

_

_

_

Lawrence, .

57.1

89

10

30

6

2.48

7

s. w.

11

9

11

Middleboro',

54 0

82

10

24

6

2 19

8

s. w.

9

10

^'>,

Kew Bedford,

54.1

78

10,22

31

6

2.22

12

_

Princeton, .

-

-

-

26

6

2.10

6

\I.,M.

_

_

_

Provinceto'n,

53 6

75

11

35

6

1.69

7

—

_

_

_

Royalston, .

56.6

82

10

38

6

-

3

s. w.

17

11

3

Springfield, .

58.1

84

10,11

31

6

2.18

7

s.

7

18

fi

Taunton,

55.9

87

11

25

6

2.62

9

s. w.

10

12

9

Worcester, .

53.8

84

11

29

6

"

5

■"

—

~

~

* Temperature data from thermometer not self-registering.

t 0 to 3, cloudless; 4 to 7 inclusive, partly cloudy; 8 to 10, cloudy.

Sinnmari/.
Temjjerature (F). — Monthly mean, 51.9°, Highest
monthly mean, 58.1° at Springfield; lowest monthly mean,
53.6° at Provincetown ; maximum, 89° at Lawrence on the
10th ; minimum, 24° at Middleborough on the 6th ; range,
65° ; greatest local monthly range, 62° at Taunton ; least
local monthly range, 40° at Provincetown ; greatest daily
range, 49° at Amherst on the 10th ; least daily range, 4° at
Eoyalston on the 3d. Average temperature for May at
Springfield for twenty-four years, 59.3°; average for May,
1891,58.9°; departure, — 0 4°. Average temperature for
May at Boston for twenty-one years, 56.2°; avera^-e for
May, 1891, 55.8°; departure, —0.4°.

Precipitation. — Average, 1.97 inches; greatest, 2.62 at
Taunton; least, 1.24 at Dudley. Average for May at
Springfield for forty-four years, 4.08 ; for May, 1891, 2.18 ;
departure, — 1.90. Average for May at Boston for twenty-
one years, 3.49; for May, 1891, 1.56; departure, — 1.93.

8

Prevailing Wind. — South-west.
Thunder-storms. — llih, 12th, 15th, 16th, 2fith.
Frost. — 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 19th, 24th, 28th.
EartUqucike. — 1st (7.06 and 7.09 p.m.).

Remarks.

The weather for Massachusetts for the month of May, 1891,
was cold and dry, with a small number of rainy days and a
slight excess of sunshine. The mean temperature was only
slightly below the normal, but there were several extensive
and severe frosts, the temperature on several mornings going
below the freezing point of water. Ice formed, and ground
froze to the depth of one inch in places on the 4th. On the
19th, frost was especially severe except on the immediate coast.
The lowest temperatures were recorded on the 6th. The
maximum temperatures occurred generally on the 10th or 11th.

The precipitation at seven stations in Massachusetts having
records for more then ten years was 1.37 inches below the
average.

The storms were, with one exception, poorly defined, and
there were no marked changes in the barometric pressure, it
remaining nearly normal throughout the month. The excep-
tion was the storm of the 16th, which ran north-easterly up
our coast. Light snow squalls occurred in sections on the 6th.

The weather for New England since Jan. 1, 1891, may
be characterized as warm and wet. January and February
had an excess of temperature and precipitation and of cloudy
weather ; March had also an excess of temperature and pre-
cipitation, but the number of rainy days was below the
average and there was an excess of sunshine. At the end of
March, the spring was considered to be from a week to ten
days ahead of the average. April was warm and dry, and
the sunshine was in excess. The maximum and minimum
tem[)eratures for each month at the Boston Signal Oflice
were: January, maximum, 56"^ ; minimum, 4°; February,
maximum, ^'l'^ ; minimum, 5° ; March, maximum, 55^ ;
minimum, 3°; April, maximum, 78° ; minimum, 27° ; May,
maximum, 81° ; minimum, 33°. A heavy thunder-storm
occurred in south-eastern Massachusetts on the evening of
February 28, doing much damage by lightning. The snow-
fall has been slightly in excess.

l!^OTES OF CORRESPONDENTS.

(Mailed to us May 28.)

BARNSTABLE COUNTY.
Dennis. — Think the season is later than the average. The
warm spells are very short, and the nights are cold with frosts in
some localities. The outlook for grass is not good, as we have
had but little rain for six or eiglit weeks. The cranberry-vine
worm is doing the most damage, and tobacco liquid is being used
to a considerable extent. Caterpillars not as plenty as last year.
Not much help hired by the month. Wages about §25 ; day
wages, $1.50. Joshua Crowell.

EastJiam. — Season started at least ten days earlier than last,
but May has been cold and dry with frequent frosts. Fine rain
to-day (29th). An increased acreage of potatoes and asparagus
planted. Asparagus and potato beetles are doing the most dam-
age ; chickens for the former and Paris green for the latter. Help
enougli for the demand at $20 per month. J. A. Clark.

Falmouth. — The hay crop will be very light. Frost the 23d
froze vegetation in some parts of the town. The tent caterpillar
is doing the most damage and is very plenty. I keep them oft'
my trees by hand picking, which is the best way Fve found.
Help is not plenty. D. R. Wicks.

Sandwich. — We have had but a few light showers since March,
and the pastures are short and the prospect is for a very light hay
crop. The frosts have set back early potatoes and damaged cran-
berry bogs considerably. Tent caterpillars are very plenty, and
not much is being done except to burn them. Help mostly hired
by the day^ at $1.50. J. U. Holwav.

r.KRKSIIIRE COUNTY.
Becket. — Vegetation is very backward on account of cold, dry
weather. So far we have had frost most every morning and it has
killed early vegetables. It is difficult to get first-class help and
wages are too high, — $20 to $25 per month and board.

W. H. Snow.

10

Cheshire. — The present season as compared with last is cooler
and more dry. It promises to be favorable for the farmer. The
tent caterpillars are plenty, and in some sections farmers and others
are destroying them while others let them carefully alone. It is
very difficult to obtain first-class help. L. J. Northup.

Dalton. — This season appears better than last season as regards
prices of farm products. Think the season promises to be favor-
able for the farmer. Can see no reason why the farmers are not
prosperous. Beef and butter are higher. More attention is being
paid to horse breeding, using better stallions, and colts are selling
well. Tent caterpillars are doing considerable damage, especially
on wild cherry trees, and nothing is being done to prevent their rav-
ages. First-class help is not plenty, and commands $1.50 per day
and $20 per month (mostly American). W. B. Barton.

Egremont. — Season compares favorably with last, and now
promises to be a favorable one for the farmer. Very little damage
is done by insects at this date. It is difficult to get first-class help
at $20 per mouth and board. J. H. Rowley.

Xee. — Present season compares unfavorably with last as but
very little rain has fallen for weeks, and it is looking discouraging
just at present. Many of the oats sown did not sprout, corn is
slow in coming up ; light frosts and cool weather prevail, but not
severe enough to injure vegetables to any great extent. Help out-
side of regular monthly help is scarce. First-class help get $38
per month and board themselves. A. Bradley.

BRISTOL COUNTY.

Dartmouth. — The season thus far has in this section been one
of uncommon peculiarities, opening wet and cold, then dry and cold,
with frost interspersed with a few very warm days and few showers ;
Sunday, 24th instant, heavy frost in places. The season does not
promise to be a flattering one for the farmer. Tent caterpillars
have been doing the most damage. The most of the inhabitants
do nothing ; others try to kill them by burning and other means,
but it has been slow work they having hatched very unevenly. It
is ditlicult to get first-class help, and such commands $20 to $30
per month. L. T. Uavis.

North Raynham. — Season better in many respects than last,
and now promises to be a favorable one for the farmer. The first
part of the season things advanced rapidly, but a severe cold day

11

or two, with frost, killed early potatoes, corn and nearly all vege-
tables ; and, on account of the cold weather since, much seed has
not germinated. Many orchards are very badly infested with
tent caterpillars, and very little pains are taken to destroy them.
First-class help hard to get. N. W. Shaw.

Somerset. — April was much more favorable than last year, but
May not near as favorable. With the exception of the hay crop
the season now promises to be a favorable one for the farmer.
The severe frosts in May have given vegetation a set back, and
will make all early vegetables and fruits from one to two weeks
later than last season. Tent caterpillars and strawberry tleas are
the insects now doing the most damage. No system is adopted
for exterminating them. First-class help is scarce, and is getting
from $22 to $25 per month. Joseph Gibbs.

Sivaiisea. — We need rain, without which grass will be light.
Do not think the outlook as good as it was at this time last year.
More corn than usual is planted. Many complain that their pota-
toes do not come up well. A frost the 23d did much damage to
the strawberry crop. Tent caterpillars are doing the most damage.
Some have destroyed them, but most people let them have their
own way. First-class help is not plenty ; such get from $20 to
$22 per month. F. G. Arnold.

DUKES COUNTY.

West Tishary. — We suffered from drought until May 20 when
considerable rain fell. Another heavy storm on the 2i)th helped
us still further, insuring nearly an average hay crop. Season not
up to the average. The potato bug is almost the only insect that
is at present injurious. Portuguese labor is quite abundant at
$10 to $20 per month and board. Wm. J. Kotch.

ESSEX COUNTY.

Dancers. — The present season compares unfavorably with the
same period last year. Tlie hay cro[) will be very light ; but, if
we have rain now, other crops may do well. Tent caterpillars
are doing the most damage ; some burn them, some brush them
down and others Paris green them. It is dillicult to get first-class
help ; $20 to $22 for ordinary help. C. H. Pkkston.

Groveland. — Season opened some earlier than last, but has
been dry and cold. Pears, plums, peaches and currants are doing

12

well. Apples not an average blossom. Grass somewhat winter
killed and short for the season of the year. Corn and potatoes
nearly all planted, and more are planted this year. Tent cater-
pillars are doing the most damage. Somewhat difficult to get
first-class help. AVages about S25 per month and board.

Ahei. Stickney.

Haverhill. — We have had a month with but little rain and
seeds come up slow. Late frosts have damaged potatoes, corn,
beans and other early crops. If we have rain the outlook will be
about as usual. Tent caterpillars are about the only insects with
us now. First-class help hard to get at $20 per month and board.
•• Eben Webster.

Ipswich. — Considerable grass roots were killed in this section,
and meadows generally look unusually backward. Some com-
plaint is made that potatoes do not come forward as fast as they
should. Corn is growing well. The tent caterpillar and the
canker worm are doing the most damage. For destroying the
former the nests are taken off by hand, burning them off with a
kerosene torch and by pouring kerosene on them ; for the canker
worm, spraying with Paris green and water. Good help is scarce.
Wages S20 to $25 per month and board. O. C. Smith.

Topsfield. — There is more corn and potatoes planted this year
than last. Season more dry than last ; but, with the exception of
the hay crop, now promises to be a favorable one for the farmer.
Very few blossoms on Baldwin trees ; others medium. Tent
caterpillar most numerous ; destroyed by picking, burning and
spraying with Paris green, but none have been practiced to any
great extent. First-class help hard to get. Wages from $20 to
$25 per month. B. P, Pike.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.

Colrain. — The season was certainly earlier by two weeks, and
had the usual amount of rain fallen would have been far in advance
of former years. The frost of May 18 did much damage to fruit.
The season does not now promise to be a favorable one for the
farmer. It is difficult to get first-class help, and $20 per month
and board is given such. A. A. Smith.

Comvay. — April was very warm and favorable to early crops,
but May has beeji cold, windy and dry, with frosts. On the 18th
a hard frost killed potatoes, corn and tomatoes. The feed in the

13

pasture is not as good as it was earlier. Farmers have generally
planted their corn. Just now the season does not promise to be a
favorable one for the farmer. Tent caterpillars are very plenty,
and farmers are not doing much to destroy them. It is very dilli-
cult to get reliable help, and such get from $20 to $30 per month
and board. J. C. Newiiall.

Erving. — Since the rains the season compares favorably with
last, and should judge it to be about an average one. Tent cater-
pillars are doing the most damage. Wc burn their nests as nmch
as possible. First-class help is dilHcult to get, and wages are $18
to $25 per month. H. B. Clark.

Hawley. — Season about the same as last, and the outlook is
favorable for the farmer. It is pretty dry here, and cold nights
with several light frosts lately. Good help is not very plenty, and
such get $20 to $25 per month and board. A. S. Rice.

Montague. — I think the season a little later than last, otherwise
quite as favorable. Grass has suffered the most of anything from
dry weather, and may be a rather light crop. Tent caterpillars
have been somewhat numerous, but have done no serious damage.
Some have destroyed them by picking or burning, but generally
very little has been done to destroy them. It is very difficult to
get first-class help, and such help commands from $20 to $25 per
month and board. C. S. Raymond.

Whately. — Season compares favorably with last, though it is
very dry and the grass crop must be light. The wire worm is at
work on the onion crop to some extent. First-class help is difli-
cult to get, and costs from $20 to $22 per month and board.

Frank Dickinson.

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

Brimfielfl. — The frosts have done some damage to early crops
and on fruit trees wlierc the limbs were within five or six feet of
the ground. Season as favorable as last year, except the drought
which will trouble us if it does not rain soon. More teut cater-
pillars than for tlie last ten years com])ined. The measures taken
to destroy them are burning and tearing down the nests. It is
difficult to get first-class help. Wages for good men $20 to $25
per month and board. S. W. BuowN.

14

Hampden. — Season a week or more earlier than last, but more
dry. The present dry weather will tend to bring the alkalies to
the surface which, with later rains, may prove a benefit to crops.
Tent caterpillars are doing the most damage. The nests are
picked off by hand or burnt by means of a cloth saturated with
kerosene. Good help is scarce. Wages !$16 to $24 per mouth.

J. N. ISHAM.

Tolland. — Season not as good as last year. Very cold and dry
and very little grass yet. We cannot have good crops without
rain soon. It froze here on the night of the 17th and 18th so as
to make ice. Seed that is planted grows very slow if at all.
Farmers hire as little as possible. Wages from $15 to $20 per
month. Apple trees are in full bloom. F. T. Moore.

Russell. — Season not as good as last, and does not at the
present time promise to be a favorable one for the farmer. Do
not hear much of potato bugs. First-class help is not easily
obtained and costs $1.50 per day. Roland Parks.

West Springfield. — Farmers are feeling blue over light grass,
slow growing corn and potatoes and the cool dry weather.
Tobacco is increasing here. More corn and potatoes than usual
have been planted and some are still ploughing for more. The
tent caterpillars have been doing the most damage, but are now
retiring. Burning, smearing with gas tar and crushing with the
hand are the usual remedies. It is difficult to get first-class help.
Wages $18 to $20 per month and board. J. N. Bagg.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Amherst. — This season does not compare favorably with last,
and does not now promise to be favorable for the farmer. Tent
caterpillars are doing the most damage. They are being killed by
burning with kerosene. First-class help is scarce, and commands
$20 per month and board. Crops of of all kinds need rain.

C. E. Wilson.

Chesterfield. — On account of continued drought and frequent
frosts the farmer has reason to be discouraged. The frost of the
27th was quite severe. The hay crop must be liglit, and spring
seeding nearly a failure unless relief soon comes. The tent cater-
pillar we have in quantities, and some kill them by use of gunpow-
der and some remove them by hand. Help is not pleuty. Wages
about $20 per month and board. Horatio Bisbee.

15

Hatfield. ■— Season two or three weeks later than last, and dry
and cold. The nights still continue to fall near frost, and when I
say that the outlook is favorable for the farmer it is because I
expect, in consequence, continued and perhaps excessive hot
weather sometime next month. At present no insects to trouble.
It is diflicult to get first-class help. Wages $20 per month and
board for eight months. Thaddeus Graves.

NortJi Hadley. — The weather has been dry and cold all the
spring thus far, making the grass crop backward, and the prospect
for a full crop is very poor. Planting is late and corn not coming
well in many places. Onions and tobacco beds are not well
stocked. Strawberries and many early vegetables were seriously
damaged by frost. Tent caterpillars abound, and not much is
being done to destroy them. Wages are higher than last year,
and good help is not plenty. H. C. Russell.

Southampton. — Never saw the outlook better than it was on
the 1st of May, but the absence of rain makes everything look
dubious. Pasture feed is getting short, and mowing lots are sta-
tionary or going backward. Cool nights and occasional frost
keep the farmer on the anxious seat most of the time. First-
class help very scarce. AVages $20 per month by the year.

C. B. Lyjian.

PelJiam. — This season earlier and rather more promising than
last, and now it promises to be a favorable one for the farmer.
The tent caterpillar is quite numerous and destructive, but nothing
is done to check its ravages. First-class help is scarce and com-
mands $20 per month. J. L. Bkewer.

NANTUCKET COUNTY.

Nantucket. — Season about the same as last, and think it now
promises to be a favorable one for the farmer. The only insect
making any show at present is the potato bug, and he is commenc-
ing his work. It is very difficult to get any decent help, and if
you get first-class help they want the farm and all you raise.

C. W. Gaudnek.

NORFOLK COUNTY.
Avon. — At present this season will compare favorably with
last, and indications now point to an excellent season for the
farmer. Most of the farmers of this section are engaged in pro-
ducing milk for market, and pay but little attention to market
gardening. Such help as is needed may be easily procured for
$20 to $30 per month and board. S. F. Oliver.

16

Medjield. — Dry weather in April and May has retarded hoed
crops and grass. Pastures are in bad shape. Frequent frosts
have cut off vegetation that was up, except the most hardy.
Grass is our main crop ; milk the chief product. Unless grain
should be decidedly lower next winter the outlook will not be
encouraging. Some farmers are trying hard to do their duty in
destroying the tent caterpillar ; others do nothing. It is very diffi-
cult to get first-class help, and such get $26 per month easily.

George R. Chase.

Medicay. — Season compares well with last, except for want of
rain, which at present is promising mischief. Season promises to
be a fairly favorable one for the farmer. Tent caterpillars are
doing the most damage, and many neglect to remove the nests.
First-class help is always scarce. Monroe Morse.

Millis. — Season started very favorably, but the drought and
frosts have put it back. Season not so favorable for grass as
last. Tent caterpillars are doing the most damage, and are
destroyed by the usual methods. First-class help is difficult to get
and commands $20 and $22 per month. E. F. Riciiaudson.

Walpole. — Season very backward on account of frosts and cool
weather. Grass is looking well now ; much fruit ruined and early
truck behind. Some corn plots have been planted three times on
account of frosts, and other early crops have likewise suffered.
Tent caterpillars are very numerous, the black knot is spreading
on plum trees and other pests are fairly numerous. On account
of some men not doing anything to exterminate pests they con-
stantly increase. First-class help is scarce, and is worth about
$45 per month. F. H. Fairfield.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Billerica. — Season not so early as last. Cold and dry, grass
very late, pastures. short, fruit not promising, milk low, grain high,
crops grow slowly. A frost on night of May 18 cut off tomato
plants, damaged strawberries, killed peach buds and hurt potatoes.
Milk is one of our staples. With pastures short, soiling crops
backward, grain high and price of milk 22 cents per can, the sit-
uation is not favorable. Tent caterpillars are doing the most dam-
age, and are destroyed by burning, kerosene and Paris green.
Currant worms are destroyed by white hellebore. First-class help
very difficult to get at $18 to $22 per month and board for the
season. J. N. Pardee.

17

Groton. — Season much dryer than the average. Vegetation
full up to normal. Have had four severe frosts since May 15.
Early vegetables have been impaired. Great loss by asparagus
raisers and early vegetable growers. The outlook for the hay crop
is very dubious. To a limited extent tent caterpillars are destroyed,
but the wild cherry trees are everywhere loaded with them, and no
one kills caterpillars on trees bordering the highways. Very dilli-
cult to get first-class help ; wages $18 to $22.

Daniel Nkeuiiam.

Sherhorn. — Owing lo drought and frosts the cro[)s arc backward.
With warm weather and rains the outlook would be good. Tent
caterpillars and leaf rollers are doing the most damage. Caterpil-
lars are being killed very generally with a stiff brush or simply a pole.
Help is as plenty as usual and the quality is as good. Wages
about $20 per moqth and board. N. B. Douglas.

Winchester. — Crops started earlier, but frosts in JNIay retarded
growth. Season does not now promise to be a favorable one for
the farmer, as May has been too dry and cold with high winds.
It is ditticult to get first-class help, and such commands $20 to $30
per month and board There are regiments of poor, ignorant men,
a great many old men, applying for work. Not one in a hundred
can drive a horse or take care of one in a satisfactory manner.
They have been working with pick and shovel or in the tanneries.

Marshall Symmes.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY.
Kingston. — There have been but few warm days and they Avere
sultry. Ice formed the evening of May 6 thicker than window
glass. The month has been very dry and cold. At present the
outlook is rather discouraging. The tent caterpillars are doing
the most harm, and farmers are using various methods to destroy
them. First-class help is rather scarce. Wages $40 per month.

J. H. CUSIIMAN.

Lakeville. — Grass, rye and oats at this time are looking well.
There is a good prospect for an apple and pear crop. Strawberries
have been injured some by frost. The tent caterpillar is doing
the most damage. It is difllcult to get first-class help, and such
is paid $20 per month and board. E. Cusiiman.

Marshfield. — On the whole the present season compares favor-
ably with last season. In this locality the uplands are dry and

18

the hay crop may be short. The tent caterpillars are increasing.

It is difficult to get first-class help, and wages are $25 or $30 per
mouth. G. J. Peteuson.

Wareham. — The spring has been cold and backward. May has
been a dry mouth, aud we are suffering from lack of rain. Frost
has done some damage away from salt water. Almost impossible
to get fust-class help. Wages $25 to $40 per mouth aud board.
More attention is given to the culture of cranberries by small pro-
prietors than ever before. A. Savaky.

West Brklgewater. — Season perhaps ten days earlier than last,
more fruit blossoms, grass looking better. The season promises
now to be a very favorable one for the farmer. The tent cater-
pillar aud currant worm are doing tlie most damage uow^ First-
class help is not difficult to get ; commands $20 per mouth.

F. E. HOWAKD,

WORCESTER COUNTY.

Fitchburrj. — Season eight days earlier than last. Apple bloom
occurred May 15 ; average for thirty-five years May 23. Want of
rain, but more especially deficient humidity, is very unfavorable.
Season promises to be fairly favorable for the farmer. Tent
caterpillars are doing the most damage, and only a few pay an}'
attention to them. It is rather difficult to get first-class help, aud
such commands $20 to $25 per mouth aud board.

Dr. Jabez Fisher.

Hardwick. — With the one single exception of the grass crop
the present indications are that this season will be more favorable
than last. Does not promise now to be a favorable one for the
farmers in this section, because the pastures and mowing lauds are
both badly winter killed and suffering for want of rain. The tent
cateri)illars are doing the most damage, and those who have any
sense either remove them from the trees with gloved hands or burn
them. It is very difficult to get first-class help. Twenty-six dol-
lars per mouth is a fair average for the best for eight mouths of
the year. W. A. Waknkr.

JLtrvard. — The season has been cold aud dry. The feed aud
grass in pastures is short and dry, and considerable grass was
winter killed by the ice which came and remained on the ground
all winter. JNIowing lots generally look spindling ; we need rain
very much. Do not consider the season ahead of last season.
Tent caterpillars are doing damage, and do not see anything done

19

to prevent their ravages. It grows more troublesome every year
to get good help. Wages $17 to S22 per month and board for
such help as we can get. Preston Knight.

Leominster. — The low temperature of May, and the small
amount of rain that has fallen, begin to tell seriously on our grass
crop, and the outlook is for a short crop. Fruit trees of all varie-
ties are looking well. Planting is well along and will soon be
finished. Early potatoes are ready for the hoe. It is dillicult to
get first-class help. Wages $20 per month and board.

W. B. IIOSMER.

PetersJiam. — Season compares favorably with last. There will
be more fruit, more grass is promised, the season is two weeks
earlier and promises to be a favorable one for the farmer. Farm
work for the season is well advanced. A larger acreage of corn
than usual is being planted. The blossoming of apples, pears and
peaches promise an abundant crop of these fruits. The tent
caterpillar is the only insect of consequence that has yet appeared.
Various measures, as burning, poison, etc., have been taken to
destroy them. First-class help hardly obtainable, and such could
command $30 per month and board. S. B. Cook.

Rnlland. — Season commenced well, but the cold, dry weather
of the past few weeks has been very unfavorable for tlie growth
of crops, especially grass. About the usual amount and variety of
crops are being planted. Pasturage at present is very poor indeed,
and cows are generally shrinking on it. The dry weather has
been favorable for planting and farmers are generally through.
Apple trees are generally blossomed very full. Pather difhcult to
get first-class help. Wages $18 to $22 and board. A. L. Milks.

Southboroncjh. — Season about the same as last. It is very dry.
Grass is not looking well except on moist, rich land. A large
acreage of corn is planted and has come up well. The frost
injured early potatoes. Not diflicult to get first-class help at $20
to $22 per month and board. K. F. Collins.

Worcester. — Grass, oats, rye, corn, potatoes and most othei-
farm crops are very backward by reason of cold, dry weather and
quite heavy frosts. Season does not promise now to be a favora-
ble one for the farmer. The tent caterpillars are taken from the
trees with a brush ; kerosene is also applied. It is difficult to get
first-class help, and such are paid $25 per month and board.

S. A. Burgess.

TUBERCULOSIS.

WJiat it is.
* " This is a specific bacteridian affection, due to a bacillus,
and characterized by a specific deposit of cells, large and
small, in a special net-work, but without blood-vessels. It is
situated by preference in the groups of lymphatic glands,
or in the microscopic gland-like tissue of the difierent organs,
and may be seen in all stages, from the simple redness and
congestion in which the deposit is only commencing, through
the solid grayish tubercle to the soft yellowish, cheese-like
mass resulting from the softening of the latter."

JVavies under ivhich hnoion.
f " This disease under one name or another has been
known from the earliest times. According to ancient authors
on medicine, as Hippocrates, 400 B. C, Aristotle, 330 B. C,
Galen, 180 A. D., and others, it consisted of abscesses or
ulcers in the lungs. This disease has been known by vari-
ous names, as consumption, pulmonary consumption, tuber-
culous consumption, consumption of the bowels, phthisis,
pulmonary phthisis, tuberculous phthisis, pulmonary ulcera-
tion, pining, wasting of the lungs, pearl disease, perlsucht,
nymphomania, satyriasis, knots, kernels, grapes, angleberries,
human tuberculosis, bovine tuberculosis, tubercle, miliary
tubercle, tubercular disease and tuberculosis. The last
name is more widely used at the present time than any of
the others."

Distribution.

f " Tuberculosis occurs in cattle wherever they are kept
in domestication, but seems to be most prevalent where
consumption is most common in the human family. It is
almost unknown in Iceland, and is very rare in polar coun-
tries generally, but increases as we approach warm climates.
It appears to be very common in Italy and Algeria ; and.

* " The Farmer's Veterinarj' Adviser," Prof. James Law.

t Bulletin No. 3, Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural
College, January, 1889, C. H. Fernald.

21

accordinor to Flemino^, it is becoming more common in
England. It seems from all we can learn that a cold climate
is less favorable to the development and propagation of
tuberculosis than a warm or tropical one. Veith states that
the disease does not occur in animals living in a wild condi-
tion, nor even in those which are in a semi-savage state.
Spinola confirms this statement, and adds that the afiection
is unknown in the Russian steppes, and is rare in elevated
regions. According to Zippelius, tuberculosis is most fre-
quently developed in deep and narrow valleys, or in densely
popuhited localities. The disease causes the greatest rav-
ages in damp and dark dwellings with im[)erfect ventilation
and drainage."

Organs attacked and Jiow they apjiear,

* " Tubercles may be developed in any part of the
body, as the lungs, their serous covering, the membrane
supporting the bowels, the coats of the intestines, the throat,
the spleen, the liver, the pancreas, the ovaries, the kidneys,
the bones, especially the ends of long bones, and, in rare
cases, the muscles and connective tissue."

f " Tuberculosis has been observed to attack nearly every
organ in the body, but the lungs and lymphatic glands appear
to be particularly subject to it. The tubercles in the lungs
at first are small, semi-transparent, grayish, or colorless
grains, varying from one-sixteenth to one-half an inch in
diameter. These gradually increase in size and become
yellowish or opaque. Seveial unite and form larger musses
of a pale yellow color, and of a cheesy consistency, which
finally soften and liquefy. These masses, often as large as a
grape and sometimes even much larger, are more or less glob-
ular, and may fill the entire diseased portion of the lung, and
exhibit a series of hemispherical elevations over the surface.

"The lining membrane of the thorax and abdomen, and
also the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, are
subject to tubercular growths which appear like the pile on
velvet, or wart-like growths over the surface. Not unfre-

* "The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser," Prof. James Law.

t Bulletin No. 3, Hatch Experiment Station, Massacbusctts Agricnltiiral Col-
lege, January, 1889, C. H. Ferniild.

22

quently joints become diseased, and, when opened, discharge
a pale yellow granular matter."

* "1. Tuberculosis has been observed in all warm-
blooded animals submitted to domesticity or deprived of
their liberty. 2. Tuberculosis in animals and mankind
presents analogous manifestations, in the living as in the
dead creature. 3. The course and termination of the dis-
ease in mankind and animals is the same. 4. The masses of
tubercle, and especially the sputa of the phthisical, produce
tuberculosis in animals, when these matters are introduced
through the respiratory or digestive apparatus, or through a
deep wound. Tuberculosis, inoculated from man to animals,
may in its turn be transmitted from one animal to another,
and alwaj's produces tuberculosis. 5. Tuberculosis of man
and of animals is transmitted by heredity. 6. The disease
is contagious in man and animals. 7. There are clinical
observations which prove the transmission of tuberculosis
from animals to man, by the consumption of the milk of
phthisical animals. 8. Tuberculosis of animals and man is
rare in cold climates, where it does not even appear to be
developed. It is most frequent in southern countries ; the
tracings of the geographical propagation of the disease in
man and animals are nearly parallel. 9. It is evidently
proved that a pathogenic microbe, having the same morpho-
logical and biological characters, exists in the tubercle of
man and in that of animals. This organism, whether it be
developed in man or animals, may induce tuberculosis
when, cultivated in a pure state, it is conveyed to the animal
possessing the uecessary receptivity."

Symptoms.

f " The symptoms vary according to the seat of the deposit,
yet there is a constitutional condition common to all, and the
lungs are almost always involved in the latter stages, giving
rise to a great similarity of symptoms. The disease may be
acute but is usually chronic. The onset is insidious and
easily overlooked, tubercles often being found in animals

* "Propagation of Tuberculosis," Lydtin, Fleming, Van Hertjsen.
t " The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser," Prof. James Law.

23

killed in prime condition, and I have seen them in parturi-
tion fever, which is always attributed to plethora. There is
some dulness, loss of vivacity, tenderness of the withers,
back, and loins, and of the walls of the chest, occasional dry-
ness of the nose, heat of the horns and ears, want of pliancy
in the skin, slightly increased temperature (one hundred and
two degrees), weak, accelerated pulse, mawkish breath,
stitfness of the limbs, wandering perhaps from one to another,
slight, infrequent, dry cough, and blue, watery milk, often
abundant, but with cheesy matter, fat, and sugar decreased
and soda and potassa in excess. The lymphatic glands
about the throat are often manifestly enlarged. Swellings
of the joints may appear, or a murmur harsher than natural
may be heard over the lower end of the windpipe or in the
chest. With deposits in the abdomen and especially in or
near the ovaries of cows the desire for the male is often con-
stant {fjullers), though conception and the completion of
gestation are usually impossiI)le. Working oxen are easily
overdone and become visibly emaciated from day to day.
As the disease advances the eyes sink in their sockets and
lose all animation ; the skin is hidebound, harsh, dry and
scurfy ; the hair dull, dry and erect ; the membranes of the
eyes, nose, and mouth of a pale, yellow, bloodless aspect,
though often streaked with pink vessels ; a whitish discharge
often takes place from the nose, and with it an increased
repulsiveness and often distinct foetor of the breath ; if the
bowels are involved scouring is common, and if the bones,
swelling and lameness increase. Exhaustion with profuse
perspiration and labored breathing occur on the slightest
exertion, the a})petite fails, tympany follows each meal, and
the milk is at once poorer and lessened in quantity. The
cough increases, becomes rattling, the discharge profuse,
fetid, mixed with cheesy-like or chalky particles, crepitating,
wheezing, gurgling and other abnormal noises are heard in
the chest, and percussion shows dulness in particular parts
with wincing. All of the symptoms become steadily aggra-
vated, and the animal usually perishes from the difficulty of
respiration or the profuse fetid diarrhoei. Jn cases attecting
the bones, the patient may be unable to stand, and the bony
prominences may make their way through the skin or even

24

crumble under the pressure thrown upon them. If the tuber-
cle is deposited in liver, pancreas, or kidneys, there are
symptoms of disease of these respective organs. Recoveries
sometimes ensue in strong subjects, but more frequently the
disease progresses to a fatal issue."

Causes.

* '<The insidious nature of tuberculosis has perhaps had
much to do with the comparative slowness with which pro-
fessional and public attention has been directed to it, but the
strides which it has made and the hold which it has gained
on our stock render it one of the most, if not the most,
important questions affecting the future well-being of the
bovine species." Mr. Walley further states that in his opin-
ion this increase is to be explained by multiplied consan-
guinity, by artificial feeding and manuring, by excessive forc-
ing, and by early and over breeding. Walley gives as among
the predisposing causes of this .disease, the following : (1)
Species of animals, (2) hereditary tendency, (3) breeding in-
and-in, (4) breed, (5) early, late, and over breeding, ((3)
physical conformation, (7) climate and locality, (8) debility.

f " Close, badly aired buildings are among the most
prolific causes of the disease, as are also changes to a colder
climate, to a cold, exposed locality, or from a dry to a low,
damp, undrained region. Finally, any cause which tends to
wear out the general health tends to tuberculosis in a predis-
posed subject."

% " But the infectious principle, the cause, of the disease
was entirely unknown until the announcement of Robert
Koch, of Berlin, who, after a long series of experiments,
proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that tuberculosis is due
to the activity of a minute organism included among the
bacteria; in other words, that the ' bacillus of tuberculosis'
is the cause of this disease in all its forms, no matter where
they occur. It is produced by this organism. It is never

* " Four Bovine Scourges," Thomas "Walley, M. R. C. V. S.
t "The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser," Prof. James Law,

+ Dr. H. C. Ernst before the Legislative Committee on Public Health, February,
189L

25

produced de novo. It always comes by reason of the entrance
of this organism into the human body, and it is distinctively
and emphatically an inftdious disease."

Treatment.

* " Treatment is unsatisfactory as being rarely successful,
and even then in preserving an animal which is dangerous
as a breeder for producing a progeny predisposed to this
disease, and for slaughter and dairy purposes as possibly
conveying the malady to man."

Prevention.

* " This would include drainage, shelter of pastures by
trees, avoidance of changes to cold or damp localities, a
warm, sunny location for farm buildings, suitable feeding
and watering, the prevention and cure of all debilitating, and
especially chronic diseases, protection against overwork, or
excessive secretion of milk on a stimulating but insufficiently
nutritious diet, securing young, undeveloped animals against
breeding and milking at the same time, rejection of tubercu-
lous subjects from breeding, the prompt removal of all such
animals from pastures or buildings used for the healthy, and
the thorough disinfection of all places where they have been
kept."

■f- " A consideration of the causes furnishes the key-note
to that of prevention, and all that can be said in the matter
can be summarized in a few sentences: 1. All flesh and
offal of affected animals, especially in the advanced stages of
the disease, should be destroj'ed by fire or otherwise. 2.
All suspected animals should I)e carefully isolated until
pathognomonic signs have been developed. 3. All actually
affected animals should be slaughtered. 4. All contaminated
food, litter, etc , should be disinfected or burnt. 5. All
infected houses should be disinfected. 6. No animal whose
history is tainted, even in the slightest degree, or in whose
system there exists the least suspicion of tubercle, should be
used for breeding purposes. 7. Great care should be exer-
cised at the period of birth to avoid any influences which will

* "The Farmer's Veteiinaiy Adviser," Prof. James Law.
t "«Four Bovine Scourges," Thomas Walley, M. K. C. V. S.

26

weaken the tissues in adnltism. 8. Breeding animals should
he carefully shielded — as far as is practicable — against
debilitating influences of any kind. 9. The system of feed-
ins: and genera] manao-ement of our high-class stocks should
be regulated on a more rational and conservative basis than
that on which it at present rests."

Dr. .lohne gives the following very sensible recommenda-
tions, which may prove useful to farmers and stock-breeders
in stamping out this disease in their herds : —

"All tuberculous animals or those with tuberculous ten-
dencies must be unconditionally excluded from breeding.
All animals diseased with tuberculosis must be separated
from healthy ones, and immediately slaughtered. Sus-
pected ones should be treated in the same manner. Stables
in which such animals have been kept must be thoroughly
cleansed and disinfected. Everything tending to cause a
predisposition to disease must be carefully avoided, and great
care given to ventilation, diet, exercise and exposure."

Recent Action of the State Cattle Commission.

Boston, May 12, 1890.
To Boards of Health of Cities and Towns.

In accordance with the spirit and intent of the foregoing paper
[see Annual Report, 1891], the undersigned issue the followiug
regulation : In all cases of suspected tuberculosis among cattle
coming to your notice, you will hereafter instruct owners to cause
the separation of their suspected animals from the remainder of
the herd, and cause their isolation, and allow the unsuspected ani-
mals to be managed in all respects as if no disease had been

present.

Levi Stockbridge.

A. W. Cheever,

O. B. Hadwen,

Cattle Commissioners of Massachusetts.

Milk from Tuberculous Coius.

The following results were reached by Dr. H. C. Ernst,
Dr. Austin Peters and others, from experiments conducted
recently at Mattapan, Boston, under the auspices of the
Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture : —

" 1st, and emphatically, that the milk from cows affected
with tuberculosis in any part of the body may contain the

27

virus of the disecase. 2. That the virus is present whether
there is disease of the udder or not. 3. That there is no
ground for the assertion that there must be a lesion of the
udder before the milk can contain the infection of tubercu-
losis. 4. That, on the contrary, the bacilli of tuberculosis
are present and active in a very large proportion of cases in
the milk of cows affected with tuberculosis but with no dis-
coverable lesion of the udder."

Among other feeding experiments a litter of twelve healthy
pigs, born of healthy parents, were fed with the milk from
cows that had been used for experimenting in other direc-
tions ; and, out of these twelve pigs, five showed tuber-
culosis,— that is, almost fifty per cent. Also twenty-three
calves were used for feeding experiments. Calves that were
born of healthy parents were taken before they had had milk
from other sources at all, within twenty-four hours of the
time of their birth, and placed upon the milk of these cows ;
and, of these, eight became tuberculous by the feeding
experiments.

Reference Works.
The attention of the readers of this article is called to the
following works: "Tuberculosis in Cattle," Dr. F. S.
Billings, "Agriculture of Massachusetts," 1885; "Tuber-
culosis," Dr. Wm. Holbrook, "Agriculture of Massachu-
setts," 1889; " Tuberculosis," Dr. C. H. Fernald, Bulletin
No. 3, Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agri-
cultural College, January, 1889 ; " How far may a Cow be
Tuberculous before her Milk becomes Dangerous as an Article
of Food?" Dr. II. C. Ernst, Bulletin No. 8, Hatch Experi-
ment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College,
April, 1890 ; " Dangers to Human Life from Bacilli of Tuber-
culosis in Milk," hearing before legislative committee on
public health, February, 1891, issued by the Massachusetts
Society for Promoting Agriculture ; " Propagation of Tuber-
culosis," Lydtin, Fleming, Van Hertsen ; " Bovine Tuber-
culosis in Man," Dr. Charles Creighton, London, 1881;
"Annual Reports of Massachusetts Cattle Commission for
1889 and 1891," printed in the "Agriculture of Massachu-
setts " for 1888 and 1890.

Series of 1891. Bulletin No. 2.

■ MASSACHUSETTS

CEOP EEPOET

MONTH OF JUNE, 1891.

COMPILED BY

WM. R. SESSIONS,
Secretary State Board of Agriculture.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

CROP REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, 1891.

Compiled from Rp:turn3 to the Office of the State Board of
Agriculture, June 29, 1891.

Office State Board of Agriculture,
Boston, Mass., July 4, 1891.

Bulletin No. 2, Crop Report for the month of June, is
herewith presented. These crop bulletins are compiled from
data received from selected correspondents in difierent parts
of the State, by means of blanks sent to them monthly. For
this issue one hundred and sixty-four such blanks were sent
out, and one hundred and twenty-six were returned in time
to be incorporated in the bulletin.

The weather data, from ol)servers in some seventeen local-
ities in the State, are received and compiled by an expert in
such matters.

These crop bulletins will be mailed as issued to those who
have received them in past seasons, and to any others who
make application for them. It is believed this kind of work
is of value to those engaged in agricultural pursuits, and
every eflbrt will be made to make it as valuable as possible.
In the circular to correspondents returnable to this office
June 29, the first question asked was : " How does the
season compare with same date last year?" On account of
the changeableness of the season, the frosts of last month
and the early part of this month, and the drought following,
some crops are unusually well advanced while others are
quite backward. It is l)elieved that on the whole the pres-
ent season compares favorably with last season.

The second question asked was: "How is Indian corn
looking, and is the acreage in your vicinity greater than last

year?" The general opinion seemed to be that Indian corn
at present is looking very well. ^Nluch of it is backward on
account of cool, dry weather. In general the acreage is
increased over that of last year. Some correspondents
report the acreage this year to be twice that of last.
According to the report of the Secretary of Agriculture,
Washington, 1890, the number of acres of corn in this
Commonwealth last year was 54,134, yielding 1,868,000
bushels, valued at $1,307,336. According to the same
authority there were in 1888 twelve acres of corn for every
thousand acres of land surface.

The third question asked was : " Has haying commenced,
and what is the prosi)ect for a crop ? " Haying has very
generally commenced, but grass being late and the weather
unfavorable for curins; but little has been secured thus far.
It is expected, if the weather be favorable, that haying will
commence in earnest the week following July 4. The
crop throughout the State is considerably less than that
of last year. On moist, newly seeded lands the crop gen-
erally promises to be quite good, while on old meadows
and on high, dry land it will be small. It is estimated
that the crop will be about three-fourths of an average.
Com[)laint is made of injury to standing grass, particularly
to June grass, by an insect which causes the tops to turn
white before blossoming.

* This insect is a species of thrips {Limothrlps poapJiagus,
Com.), a minute, orange-colored insect w^hich conceals
itself beneath the sheath of the upper leaf, where it feeds on
the stem just above the upper joint, completely killing the
stem above, so that by haying time at least one-fourth of the
grass is dead and worthless. The insect escapes from the
stalk before the " turning white," and nothing can be done,
economically, to destroy the insect itself. It would be
advisable to discontinue the cultivation of grasses injured
by it in localities where the damage done by it is large.

The fourth question asked was: "Do early potatoes
promise well, and is the acreage in your vicinity greater than
last year?" Most of the correspondents state that early
potatoes are looking very well, although some report that

* Dr. C. H. Fernald.

they tire somewhat uneven, owing to failure of seed to come
up. Judging l)y the reports received it is estimated that the
acreage is considerably greater than that of last year.

The fifth question asked w^as : " How do ctairy i)roducts
compare in quantity, quality and price Avith same date last
year?" The answers to this question were quite varied.
The general opinion seemed to be that dairy products have
been a little less in quantity, of about the same quality, and
a little better as to prices received.

The sixth question asked was : " What is the outlook for
small fruits, and specify the principal ones grown in 3'our
town and probal)le crop compared with previous j^ears ? "
Generally speaking the outlook for small fruits is from fair
to good. The principal kinds grown are strawberries,
blackberries, raspberries, grapes, currants, cranberries and
cherries. On account of frosts at the time of blossoming
and dry weather at time of fruiting the strawberry crop
was greatly injured in some sections and prol)al)ly the crop,
as a whole, was not over two-thirds of an average. Black-
berries and raspl>erries promise good crops. Grapes also
promise well. There was complaint from certain sections of
apples and pears dropping from the trees, and the outlook
was for small crops. For some unexplained reason Baldwin
trees failed to blossom and the crop of apples will be mostly
of other sorts.

An article descriptive of the gypsy moth, containing a
brief outline of the work of extermination, will be found
printed in the last pages of this bulletin.

6

The Weather.

Meteor olocjical Data for June^ 1S91.

•

Temperaturb.

])KG.

F.

Pkecipita-

TION.

•d

c

'3
>

Cloudiness.

* (0 to 10.)

No. OF Oats.

ST.VTIOX.

3

■A

a

s

5

5

5'S.

&

c

1

o

3

Amherst,

65.3

93

16

34

5

4.61 '

8

N. E.

8

16

6

Boston,

65.0

96

16

45

5

3.06

6

W

-

-

-

Concord,

64.0

96

16

37

5

3.43

10

S. W.

12

6 ! 12

Dudley,

69 0

93

16

44

4,0

1.94

5

W.

11

8

11

Fitehburo;,f .

65.3

93

16

44

4

3.48

11

W.

s

8

14

Framingham,

60 2

96

16

88

5

337

9

-

_

_

_

Ipswich,

65.0

97

16

43

4,5

447

8

N.W.

13

9

8

Lawrence. .

67.0

99

16

41

5

3.30

8

NW. SW.

10

9

11

]Middleboro\

60.7

93

16

34

5

1.85

7

S. W.

11

10

9

Nantucket, .

60.0

76

8

43

18

2.83

9

s. w

10

9

11

New Bedford,

63 8

94

16

38

6

1.63

9

-

-

-

-

Princeton, .

-

92

16

41

4

4.99

7

w.

-

Provinceto'n,

62.6

92

16

39

5

2 14

8

-

-

Royal ston, .

67.4

96

16

48

4

5.88

6

N.W-

19

4 j 7

Sprino;field, .

67.7

97

16

40

5

3 50

8

N.

9

12 ' 9

Taunton,

65.4

99

16

37

5

191

6

i

s.w.

12

7 11

* 0 to 3, cloudless; 4 to 7 inclusive, partly cloudy; 8 to 10, cloudy.
t Temperature data from thermometer not self-registeriug.

Summary.

Temperature (F.). — Monthly mean, 64.6°. Highest
monthly mean, 69.0° at Dudley ; lowest monthly mean,
60.0° at Xantucket ; maximum, 99° at Lawrence and Taun-
ton on the 16th; minimum, 34° at Middleborough on the
5th ; range, 65° ; greatest local monthly range, 62° at Taun-
ton ; least local monthly range, 33° at Nantucket; greatest
daily range, 44° at Amherst on the 8th ; least daily range,
tl° at Ipswich on the 20th. Average temperature for June
at Springfield for twenty-four years, 68.6° ; average for
June, 1891, 67.7°; departure, — 0.9°. Average tempera-
ture for June at Boston for twenty years, 65.6°; average
for June, 1891, 65.0°; departure, —0.6°.

PiecipUatlon. — Average, 3.40 inches; greatest, 5.88 at
Royalston ; least, 1.63 at New Bedford. Average for June at
Springfield for forty-four years, 3.79 ; for June, 1891, 3.50 ;

departure, — 0.29. Average for June at Boston for twenty
years, 3.28; for June, 1891, 3.06; departure, — 0.22.

Prevailing Wind. — South-west.

Thunder-storms. — 1st, 2d, 3d, 16th, 22d, 26th.

Frosi. — 5th and 6th (light).

Lunar Halo. — 11th.

High Winds. — Koyalston, 27th.

Remarks.
Although the average temperature and total precipitation
during June, 1891, varied very little from the normal, in
Massachusetts, the extremes of heat and cold and of drought
and moisture were w^ell marked. Hot, muggy weather and
heavy rains with thunder-storm occurred on the 2d and night
of the 3d, as a long, low pressure area moved easterly over
New England. The temperature fell rapidly on the 4th,
under the influence of cool north-westerly winds, reachino-
the minimum for the month on the evening of the 5th. A
general frost occurred on that morning, though its evil
eflects were somewhat checked by a thick fog that spread
over most low lands. From the 5th to the 16th the weather
was generally fair, with only an occasional trace of rain
on the 12th, and with steadily increasing temperature
from day to day. On the 16th the temperature reached
nearly 100°, except at Nantucket. This degree of heat
is almost unprecedented so early in the month. The
drying winds that prevailed helped to make the drought
very severe. The temperature fell rapidly on the 17th,
and copious rains fell till the 23d, being particularly
heavy on the 2 2d. Threatening weather, with occa-
sional rain and low temperature, continued till the end of
the month. On the 26th a thunder-storm moved easterly
over southern New England, accompanied in the Connecti-
cut River valley by considerable hail. It reached western
Massachusetts at a little before noon and travelled at the
rate of about tifty miles an hour, spreading out and decreas-
ing in energy after it crossed the Connecticut valley. At
Chicopee, hail stones were found over one inch in diameter.
One-half inch of rain and hail fell at Springfield. At Fisk-
dale, 1.12 inches of rain fell in twenty-five minutes. At
East Haddam, Conn., a team of eight oxen were struck by
lightning and five of them killed.

NOTES OF corkespo:n'dents.

(Mailed to us June 29.)

BERKSHIRE COUNTY.

Becket (W. H. Snow). — Season has been cold and dry, and
some crops are backward. Corn is looking well and acreage is
greater than last year. Haying has not commenced yet, and will
not until after July 4. Very light crop, but is growing fast at
present. Early potatoes are looking well. Quantity of milk is
less ; price of butter fully as high as last year. Apple trees set
full, and as yet apples have not fallen off much. The outlook for
small fruits is good.

Dalton (W. B. Barton, Jr.). — Indian corn is looking well;
fully as large acreage as last year and more ensilage. Haying
has commenced, and the prospect for a crop is good, though some
will be later than last year. Early potatoes are looking well and
the acreage is very large. Cherries appear to be a fair crop.
Plums set well, but are rotting some. Strawberries are plenty.
I believe everything looks better than one year ago. There will
be as much hay ; corn is certainly a week earlier ; apples have set
well and promise a large crop ; beef is high ; the creamery paid
for butter four and one-fourth cents more per pound for March
and seven cents more per pound for April than last year.

Cheshire (L. J. Northup) . — The season as compared Avith last
year is about the same. Indian corn is looking fairly well, with
acreage about as last 3'ear. As a general thing haying has not
commenced. Early potatoes promise well, and I think the acreage
greater than last year. Dairy products do not vary much from
last season. The outlook for small fruits, such as strawberries,
cherries, plums, etc., is promising.

Lee (A. Bradley). — For grass and corn the season is ten days
later than last. Corn stands well. Haying has not commenced.
For the last ten days grass has grown wonderfully, but will be
light on old meadows and sandy soil. Early potatoes promise
well at this date ; acreage larger than last year. Dairying is grow-

9

iug iu favor ; prices a little better and more firm. Apples promise
more than an average at this date. Strawberries have done well.
At this date the farmer has reason to rejoice over the fruit and
crop prospect.

iSandisJield (Geo. A. Siiepard). — Crops are not quite as for-
ward as last year, being checked by drought. Corn stands well,
but is a little backward, with acreage about the same. A few
have commenced haying. Think the crop will fall short of last
year's nearly one-third. Prospect fair for early potatoes, though
potato bugs are troublesome. Dairy products increased over last
year ; quality first class and sales quick. The price for butter will
average thus far two cents per pound more than last year. Huckle-
berries will be abundant and blackberries promise well.

Sheffield (Dwight Andreavs). — Season much dryer than last.

Indian corn is looking finely and crop is larger than last year.

Haj'ing has not commenced and the crop will be light. Early

potatoes promise well ; acreage greater than last year. Dairy

products a^trifle better than last season. The apple and pear crops

will not be very large. There is a prospect for a good crop of

peaches.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.

Buckland (J. D. Avery). — Season more backward than last
and has been quite dry. Corn is looking fairly well, though rather
backward ; think the acreage one-fourth greater than last year.
Haying has commenced in earnest. A few small farmers are
already through. Think there will be three-fourths of a crop and
the quality must be excellent. Early potatoes are looking fairly
well, and the acreage must be one-fourth greater than last year.
Dairy products about the same as last year in quantity and price
somewhat better. Small fruits are grown only to a limited extent.

Conivan (J. C. Newhall). — The season tlms far has been
very changeable, from heat to cold and wet to dry, with a great
deal of strong wind. Corn is looking xtivy well at this time ; the
stand is good and the acreage is greater than last year. Some
commenced haying the 22d ; most will begin the 29th. I think
the hay crop will be one-fourth less, but the quality will be good.
Early potatoes not quite up to the average, though there are some
very good pieces. Dairy products more in quantity than last
year, good in quality ; price of butter about two cents higher
than a year ago. Apples, pears, cherries and plums will not be
average crops. Apples seem to be dropping from the trees.

Deerjield (Charles Jones). — Season about one week later than
last year. Corn is looking fairly well. It came up very slowly,
but has done well since and a little more is planted than last year.

10

Early potatoes look well, and the acreage is greater than last year.
The outlook for small fruits is good, with about the usual amount
raised. Tobacco is all set and is looking well. Onions are not
as good as last year, but are growing well.

Leverett (W. L. Boutwell). — Season a little later than last.
Corn looks well ; acreage larger than last year. Haying has com-
menced, with prospect of about three-fourths of an average crop.
Early potatoes looking finely ; acreage about the same as last
year. Not enough small fruits raised to comment on. Rain fell
last month in time to prevent any serious damage to anything
except grass, and all crops are now looking finely.

Northfield (Charles Pumeroy). — Season about one week
later than last. Corn not as forward as last year. Since last
week's rain it has taken a rapid growth. Very little grass has
been cut ; it is not as good as last year and on old fields is much
lighter. Early potatoes are not as forward as last year ; think
the acreage greater. The price of butter has been higher at our
creamery up to the 1st of June than last year, with an increase in
production. Apples will probably not be one-fourth of a crop, as
frost injured them. Pears and grapes are looking well.

Orange (Ansel Harrington) . — Season cooler, and about a
week later than last. Corn is looking well, but is rather back-
ward, with acreage rather larger than last year. Very little hay-
ing done yet, and the prospect is fair for an average crop. Early
potatoes promise very well, and the acreage is larger than last
year. Outlook for small fruits is very poor. Apples in this
vicinity were very much damaged by late frosts. Rose bugs are
very troublesome.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Amherst (C. E. Wilson). — Indian corn is looking well and
twice the acreage of last year. Haying has commenced with
about two-thirds of a crop. Early potatoes promise well, with
twice the acreage of last year. Quantity and quality of dairy
products about the same as last year, with prices better. The
outlook for small fruits is poor. The cold weather and frosts in
the latter part of the spring deci'eased the product of small fruits.
Old hay has advanced five dollars per ton.

Goshen (Alvan Barrus). — Season much dryer, and very
changeable from heat to cold. Indian corn not large, but is look-
ing well. There is at least a full average acreage. Some early
pieces of grass are being cut, but the hay crop will not be over three-
fourths of last year's crop. Early potatoes are looking well and
a full crop has been planted. There has been a little improve-

11

ment in dairy products in all respects. Of cultivated strawberries
there is a fair crop, but wild ones were killed by late frosts.
Cherries and raspberries nearly a failure. The apple cro[) will be
liglit. There is a tendency to blight in the barley crop.

Northampton (D. A. Houtox). — Season not quite as forward
as last. Corn is looking fairly well, and about the same acreage
as last 3'ear. Haying has commenced. On newly seeded and
highly cultivated land, crop fairly good ; a good deal of our
meadows promises no more than two-thirds of a crop. The
acreage of early potatoes is greater -than last year and they look
well. Dairy products about the same as last year in quantity,
quality and price. Outlook for small fruits good ; strawberries
the principal. Apples and pears look well. Tobacco is looking
finely, and now bids fair to be a large crop.

Southampton (C. B. Lyman). — Corn is looking fairly well, with
increased acreage. Haying commenced the past week. Grass on
newly seeded and highly manured lands is very good ; on old and
neglected lots is light. Eai'ly potatoes are looking very well, with an
increased acreage. Dairy products fully up to last year in quan-
tity and price better. Think the apple crop will be light.
Peaches and grapes set well. Berries suffered from drought.
Pastures are looking better than on June 1.

South Hadley (H. W. Gaylokd). — Season later than last.
Corn ten days late ; acreage fifteen to twenty per cent greater
than last year. Clover only has been cut. Grass is growing
finely now. General haying will commence about July 6. Early
potatoes promise well ; acreage one-fourth greater than last year.
Quantity of dairy products rather less ; prices five to ten per cent
above last year's. Strawberries one-half a crop. Currants a little
better. Raspberries and blackberries promise well.

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

Blandforcl (E. W. Boise). — The stand of corn is good, with
about one-tenth more planted than usual. Haying generally
deferred until the week following July 4. On rich lands a fair
cut is assured. x\ll potatoes are looking well ; if anything the
acreage is not as large as last year. All report that cows are
doing well this season. Most of the butter made in this section is
weekly delivered in valley markets. Apples are looking well.
Seeds sown or planted have germinated well. AVhile we have had
dry weather drought has not affected us as badly as in valley
towns, and the prospect now is for full average crops.

Brimjield (S. W. Buow'n). — Some ten days ago, when the rain
came, things had begun to look badly, but that rain and showers

12

we have had smce have made the prospect for grass much better.
As a rule grass will not be fit to cut for eight or teu days later
than last year. Oats look better than last year. Indian corn as
a rule is good, with acreage about the same as last year. Early
potatoes look the best for years. Price of butter a little higher
than last year. Outlook not good for small fruits ; none grown
for market.

Ludloiv (C. B. Bennett). — Indian corn is looking very well,
with a third more planted than last year. Scarcely any hay has
been cut. There is a fair crop on moist manured land, but dry
upland is a failure. Early potatoes look well ; acreage about the
same as last year. Milk and butter are not as plenty as last year ;
prices about the same. Outlook is quite good for small fruits.
The rain of two weeks ago changed the entire face of nature.

West Springfield (N. T. Smith). — Season about a week later
than last. Weather dry, with extremes of heat and cold. Indian
corn looks well, but is rather backward. Sweet corn came up
poorly and has grown slower than usual. The acreage of corn
has increased some fifteen per cent. Hajnng has commenced ;
will not be over two-thirds of an average crop. Fields of June
grass were white from ravages of the maggot in the stalks, and
now some fields of timothy are fast turning white from the same
cause. Early potatoes are looking promisingly, but the soil is too
dry for a large crop ; some ten per cent increase in acreage.
Potato bugs are plent3^ Improvement in dairy products, except
in quantity. Strawberries a poor crop, with a few exceptions ;
cherries good ; raspberries, blackberries and currants fully up to
the average.

WORCESTER COUNTY.

Barre (J. L. Smith). — Season not as forward as last. Indian
corn is looking well ; acreage one-fourth greater than last j'^ear.
Only a few have begun haying. The crop will not be more than
two-thirds as large as last year's. The weather is good for a
second crop. Early potatoes are looking finely and not many
bugs ; acreage very much larger than last year. Not as much
milk produced as last year ; price one cent per can better than
last year and very little surplus.

Berlin (P. B. Southwick). — Corn is looking fairly well ; acre-
age about the same as last year. Little haying has been done,
and the prospect is for a light crop. Early potatoes are looking
finely ; think the acreage considerably larger than last year.
Should say dairy products are less in quantity than last year, and
in quality and price about the same. Outlook for small fruits

13

fair. Principal small fruits grown are strawberries, raspberries
and grapes.

Douglas (Geo. M. Wallis). — Indian corn looks fairly well;
acreage fully up to last year. Haying has commenced ; crop
about one-half of last yeai''s ; quality better. Early potatoes look
very well ; acreage one-tenth greater than last year. Dairy prod-
ucts about the same as last year in quantity and price. Strawber-
ries fair. Cranberries and grapes are in full bloom. Wild berries
promise a good crop.

Fitchhurg (Dr. Jabez Fisher). — Judging by the data furnished
by the Concord grape the season is seven days earlier than 1890,
or the average for thirty-five years past. Cut orchard grass June
1.') ; seventy per cent of last year's yield. Other grasses promise
about the same or perhaps a little more. Early potatoes promise
well ; acreage greater than last year. Strawberries are yielding
better than last year. Good promise for other berries.

Neio Braintree (C. D. Sage). — Corn generally is looking well ;
acreage one-fourth greater than last year. Very little grass has
been cut. Recently seeded fields will cut a fair crop, eight to nine
tenths. Old mowings winter-killed and injured by dry weather.
Acreage of early potatoes about the same as last year ; are looking
well, but are not as early as last year. Less milk and butter made ;
prices better and butter twenty per cent higher than last year.

Oakham (Jesse Allen) . — Season more backward than last.
Indian corn is looking well ; larger acreage than last year. Hay-
ing has commenced ; promises to be perhaps two-thirds of a crop.
Early potatoes promise well ; acreage greater than last year.
Quantity of dairy products a little less than last year ; price higher.
Outlook for small fruits is good. Principal ones grown in this
town are strawberries, currants, blackberries and huckleberries.

Petersham (S. B. Cook). — Corn is looking well; acreage
greater than last year. Haying has commenced, and the prospect
is that the crop will be much lighter than last year. Early pota-
toes are looking splendidly ; acreage about the same as last year.
Dairy products about the same as last year. The outlook is
favorable for small fruits. Strawberries, raspberries and currants
are as abundant as in previous years.

Temjileton (Lucien Gove). — Season as a whole later than last.
Indian corn not as forward as last year at same date ; acreage
greater. Haying has commenced ; crop one-third less than last
year and of poorer quality. Early potatoes promise Avell. Less
milk, more cream, quality excellent ; price of butter higher than last
year by three cents per pound. Outlook is good for small fruits.
Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries equal to the average of

14

years. Rain ou the 4th ; a frost on the oth, kilUug vegetables in
many instances ; then hot and dry up to the 17th ; tlien rainy, cool
and cloudy to the 23d ; then hot for two days ; then much colder ;
the month closing cold. Thermometer on the 5th registered 37° ;
ou the 16th, 94° ; on the 18th, 47°. Pastures are short. Crop of
apples will be light.

Upton (B. A. Jourdan), — Season from seven to ten days
earlier than last. Corn is looking finely, and the acreage is larger
thau last year. Haying has not commenced. The prospect is
for a fair crop, which I think is worth as much to the farmer, as
the quality is better than last year. Early potatoes are looking
finely ; increased acreage. Outlook poor for small fruits. No one
here cultivates them very largely. No apples.

Warren (W. E. Patrick). — Season is backward as compared
with last year. Indian corn is looking finely ; acreage consider-
ably greater than last year. A few have commenced haying ;
prospect is that the crop will not be over two-thirds that of last
year. Grass ou low lands improving very fast now where not
winter-killed. Early potatoes are looking extra well. Dairy
products less in quantity ; quality much better, with a perceptible
advance in prices over last year. Shall expect good crops of
oats, rye and barley. Pasture feed is not as plenty as usual at
this season of the year.

Worcester (H. li. Kinney). — Crops are not quite as forward
as last year. Corn looks well but is late ; acreage greater
than last year. Farmers are just beginning to cut out the road-
sides and corners. Old fields of grass are very light ; newly seeded
fair to good. Early potatoes are uneven in many fields ; no
apparent increase in acreage over last year. Milk was very short
during the hot, dry weather, but is more plenty now. Strawberries
will be the lightest crop for several years. Other small fruits look

well.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Ashhy (G-. B. Simonds). — Season not as early as last year.
Corn came up well but is backward ; acreage larger than last
year. No haying done yet. Hay crop generally lighter than last
year, but quality better if properly secured. Acreage of early pota-
toes larger, but prospect for crop not as good as last year. Quantity
of dairy products less than last year ; quality fully as good, prices
a little better. Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are the
principal small fruits in this vicinity ; outlook for two first is good,
but for raspberries below the average. Apple orchards are look-
ing very healthy ; very heavy foliage and no disease apparent at
this date, but next to no fruit at all. The culture of grapes is

15

carried on to quite an extent in this locality, and the prospect for a
crop is, I think, generally fully as good as at same date last year.

Chelmsford (P. P. Peru am). — Season quite as forward as at
same date last year, and most crops are looking very well. Indian
corn looks finely, and the acreage is greater than last j^ear. The
abundance of rain last week will bring out the hay crop in good
shape, but will delay the cutting at least one week. People who
thought awhile ago there would not be half a crop have now
changed their minds. Acreage of early potatoes about the same
as last year ; crop promises well. More milk produced than in
some years ; price about the same. Outlook for small fruits is
good.

Concord (Wm. H. Huxt) . — The season has been a mixed one.
Corn is late ; otherwise is looking well, with a slight increase in
acreage, ^^ery few fields of grass have been cut. The crop on
old fields on light land will be very light, although the rains have
helped them some. Newly seeded fielcls on low lands are looking
well. Very early fields of early potatoes were cut by frosts ;
otherwise looking well. Strawberries three-fourths of a full crop.
Most fields were in bloom so as to be injured by two heavy frosts,
which took all the blossoms out.

Groton (Daniel Needham). — Corn looks very well; acreage
the same as last year. Haying has commenced, and the prospect
of a seventy-five per cent crop is assured ; it may be larger.
Early potatoes promise well ; acreage about the same as last year.
Dairy products less in quantity than last year ; as good in quality ;
better in price. Recent rains have protected the small fruits.
The crop of berries will be large. We have had one frost during
the month which injured potatoes on low lands. The month to
the 22d was the dryest June I ever knew. At that date all crops
in this locality were threatened with great peril. On the 22d
came two inches of water, and grass and all vegetation renewed its
life, and now the promise of compensating field and garden crops
is very good.

Sherhorn (N. B*. DolTtLas). — Corn looks well, and more has
been planted than usual. Haying has commenced. The hay crop
is very light ; not more than one-half of last year's yield. Early
potatoes look fairly well ; acreage about the same as last year.
Cows are not giving as much milk as last year ; prices of dairy
products about the same. Strawberries, cherries and raspberries
grown quite large. The former very light ; the two latter full
crops. More land devoted to stover corn, hungariau, etc., for
forage this year than I ever saw before. Cranberries promise a
full crop. Apples nearly a total failure.

IG

ESSEX COUNTY.

Dcmvers (C. H. Pueston). — Season compares fairly well with
the same date last year. Indian corn looks well ; acreage about
the same as last year. Haying has commenced and there will be
a small crop. Early potatoes are looking well. Milk same price
as last year. Small fruits promise well. The principal .ones
grown here are strawberries, blackberries and currants. The rain
was a great help to the strawberry crop, which otherwise would
have been a partial failure.

Groveland (Abel Stickney). — Season not quite as early as
last. Corn is looking finely ; should think acreage one-fifth more.
Haying has commenced, but on account of bad weather slow prog-
ress has been made. Prospect for crop better than a month ago.
Early potatoes are looking uncommonly well ; acreage not much
greater than last year. Outlook for small fruits is good. Pasture
huckleberries and blueberries more than usual.

North Andover (Peter Holt, Jr.). — Grass and most crops
are from a week to ten days late. Corn looks small and back-
ward ; acreage about the same as last year. Haying has com-
menced. The hay crop is not as good as last year, although the late
rains have very much improved it. The acreage of early potatoes
is fully as great as last year, but in many cases they did not come
up well. The outlook for small fruits is favorable ; the cultivation
increases every year; principal ones are strawberries, blackberries,
raspberries and currants. On almost any farm small fruits are
grown to a greater or less extent for home use if not for market.

Toj^s^field (B. P. Pike). — Season not as forward as last year.
Corn is looking well ; increased acreage. Haying has not com-
menced to any extent ; crop not more than three-fourths of an
average one. Early potatoes did not come up well ; acreage
increased. No dairy products but milk ; less quantity ; same
price. Small fruits are looking well, though not many are grown
for market. Apples did not set well, and what did set are falling
off badly, and the same is true of pears.

West Newbury (J. C. Tarleton). — Season a little later than
last year at this time. The acreage of Indian corn is much larger
than last year. Haying has not commenced, and I do not think
there will be more than two-thirds of a crop. The acreage of
early potatoes is larger than last j^ear, and just now the crop is
looking well. Prices of dairy products are a little better than last
year, but the quantity not so large. The strawberry crop is the
principal small fruit crop grown in this vicinity, and this year they
ripen very slowly, and I do not think there will be as large a crop
as in years past, for many beds were killed out by the cold weather.

17

NORFOLK COUNTY.

Avon (S. F. Oliver). — Most of the corn grown here is for
the silo. Haying has commenced, and the crop, tliough not quite
so heavy, is far better in quality than last j'ear. Early potatoes
now promise a good yield. Dairy products arc on the increase
both in quantity and quality, while prices do not vary very much.
Strawberries and cherries are the principal small fruits, and they
have been of excellent quality. Apples and pears are looking
very well now.

FranMin (C. M. Allen). — Season not as favorable as last.
Corn is looking well ; average acreage. But little haying has been
done ; a three-fourths crop. Early potatoes promise well ; acre-
age slightly greater than last year. Dairy products less in
quantity than last year; five per cent higher in price. Straw-
berry crop not as good as last year. Raspberries and blackberries
wintered well ; are fruiting very heavily and are looking finely.

Medjield (Geo. R. Chase) . — Season less favorable than at
same date last year. Corn is looking well ; acreage larger than
last year. Haying, except upon light land, has not commenced.
Crop will be less than one-half of the great crop of last year,
except on very wet land or on newly seeded land. Early potatoes
promise well and the acreage is greater than last year. In
quantity of dairy products I note little change ; quality and price
better than same date last year ; at least goods move easier.
There is a growing demand for cream in summer, which farmers
should cultivate. Small fruits are poor in quality ; half a crop in
quantity. Strawberries lead, yet this is not a small fruit town.

Mcchviuj (Monroe IMorse) . — Corn is looking fairly well, though
the stand is not (juite satisfactory ; acreage increased ten per cent
over last year. Very little hay is cut, and the crop will not be up
to the average in quantity. Potatoes promise well and the acreage
is increased. Dry weather lessened the flow of milk ; prices are
higher. Small fruits except strawberries promise good crops, and
blackberries and I'aspberrics will be more than average crops.
Rose bugs are doing much damage. Spraying with Bordeaux
mixture helps to drive them off of grape vines.

BRISTOL COUNTY.

Digliton (A. W. Paul). — Season about the same as last j'ear.
Corn is small, but looks well. A few have commenced haying;
perhaps two-thirds of a crop of inferior quality. INIany early
potatoes failed to come up ; some increase in acreage. Butter is

18

higher. Milk mostly sold in the cities. Strawberries are a little
more than half a crop. It has been the most disastrous year for
strawberry raisers we have ever had. They were never more
promising than up to June 1. Then the drought and hot weather
burnt them. This was followed by a cold, north-east storm,
which filled them with water and blasted and mildewed them.
They are our money crop, and their failure has produced a feeling
of despondency.

Mansfield (D. E. Harding). — Season not as favorable as last
year. Corn is looking finely, with acreage about the same as last
year. Haying has commenced, with the crop very light on high
ground and fair on low. Early potatoes are looking quite well ;
acreage does not vary very much. Small fruits are abundant.

Raynham (N. W. Shaw). — Think the season is a week earlier
at least than last. Corn is looking well. Haying commenced
about June 24, and the crop will probably be an average one.
The acreage of eai'ly potatoes is much greater than last year, but
the dry spell affected them seriously. Strawberries are the prin-
cipal small fruit grown, and owing to the lack of rain at one time
the prospect was very poor, but the rain came in season to revive
many fields, so that with the increase of acreage the crop has far
exceeded the production of any previous year ; prices have not
been satisfactory. Rose bugs are very numerous, and there is
danger that the grape crop will be destroyed by them.

Swamey {V. G. Arnold). — Corn is looking well; acreage
about double. Haying commenced June 21 ; about two-thirds of
an ordinary crop. Early potatoes look very well ; acreage about
the same as last year. We sell milk, and the supply is less than
the same date last year, with price the same as last year. Straw-
berries are the principal small fruit and the crop was shortened by
drought. Very dry weather until June 18.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

Kingston (J. H. Cushman). — The season compares well with
last year except for pastures and high grass land. Corn looks
well but is late, owing to dry weather. Haying commenced about
the 16th. Hay crop on high ground very light, but since the rains
the crop on low land is looking well. Early potatoes never looked
as well as now, and there is a much greater acreage. Strawberries
almost a failure ; huckleberries will be good if it is wet.

Marshfield (G. J. Peterson). — It is an average season and all
crops are doing well. Corn is looking well and the acreage is
greater than last year. The hay crop is lighter than last year and

19

the rains have damaged the crop already cut. Early potatoes
promise better than last year. The demand for good batter and
milk increases, and the price likewise. Strawberries are scarce
and high in price. The crop near the shore, where the frosts did
not fall, is very good. On the whole the farmer is encouraged,
and no calamity threatens the crops-

Lakeville (Elbridge Cushman). — There is no marked differ-
ence in this season as compared with last. Corn is looking fairly
well; acreage about the same as last year. Haying has com-
menced, with not more than one-half a crop on high ground, but
on low ground, on account of recent rains, the crop will be about an
average. Potatoes are looking fairly well; acreage about the
same as last year. Milk is not as plenty as last year at this date ;
prices of dairy products have not advanced. Pears have set well.
Apples do not promise an abundant crop. The outlook for small
fruits is good.

Rochester (Geo. H. Weld). — Season about the same as last.
Corn not as forward as last year at this time ; about the same
acreage planted. Haying commenced June 10, much earlier
than usual. There will be about one-half as much hay as last
year. Early potatoes are looking well ; acreage about the same
as last year. Dairy products about the same as last year.
Small fruits are looking well. Strawberries are now at their
height ; about half a crop of them.

West Bridgeivater (F. E. Howard) . — The thermometer aver-
aged for twenty-nine days, in June this year, at five o'clock
A.M., 55^1° ; for the same number of days last year, taken at the
same hour, oof |°. The lowest temperature this year was June
5, 38° ; last year June 3, 44°. The highest this year was June
IG, 9G°. Indian corn though slow in coming up is looking well,
and the acreage is greater than last year. Haying has commenced,
and the crop will be considerably less than an average one. Early
potatoes promise well, and the acreage is greater than last year.
Prospect quite good for small fruits.

BARNSTABLE COUNTY.

Brewster (J. H. Clark). — Corn is looking well, and about the
same acreage as last year. Haying has commenced ; crop about
two-thirds of last year's crop (which was very large), though
nearly up to the average. Early potatoes promise well ; acreage
a little larger. Dairy products about the same as last year. Out-
look for small fruits very good except for cranberries, the prin-
cipal one grown. Should think this crop would be below the

20

average owing principally to the frost the first week in June.
Vegetation of all kinds is now looking well.

Dennis (Joshua Crowell). — Season about the same as last.
We have experienced two extreme and sudden changes of tempera-
ture this month, and to-day (June 27) the temperature is nearer
the average of October than that of June. Indian corn fair ;
acreage not greater than last year. Haying has commenced ;
crop, except upon low ground, not much over one-half of last
year's. Early potatoes are looking well; acreage probably
greater than last year and potato slugs plenty. Too early to
estimate cranberry crop, though it is looking fair for this date.

Sandwich (J. R. Holw^ay). — Corn is backward, with a larger
acreage than last year. Haying began about the 15th, and there
will be half a crop or less on most meadows. Acreage of early
potatoes about the same as last year, and they promise fairly well.
Dairy products below the average in quantity and price. The
season has been remarkably cold and dry, with but few warm days
and several very sudden changes in temperature.

DUKES COUNTY.

West Tisburi/ (AYm. J. Rotcii). — Corn is looking well, with
acreage somewhat greater than last 3'ear. Haying has com-
menced. The May rains were entirely insullicient, and the crop
of English hay will not be over one-half that of last year. Early
potatoes promise well, with larger acreage than last year. Many
strawberries suffered from drought. For other fruits the prospect
is fair.

NANTUCKET COUNTY.

Nantucket (C. W. Gardner) . — This season much cooler than
last and very much dryer. Corn is looking well, but not so for-
ward as last year; acreage one-third more. Haying commenced
the 16th on the light lands. On the 17th we had heavy rains
and the outlook on the meadows is very much better since, but the
crop as a whole will be light. Potatoes are looking well and the
acreage fifty per cent greater than last season. Most of the
potatoes are early. Dairy products fully u[) to last year. No
small fruits ; strawberries mostly spoiled by the frosts.

THE GYPSY MOTH

(Ocneria dlspar L.).

FrOxM Special Bulletin Hatch Expekiment Station, November
1889, C. 11. Feknald.

" On the 27tli of last June, during my absence in Europe,
several caterpillars were received at the Station, from lion.
William R. Sessions, secretary of the Board of Agriculture,
with the request for information as to what they were and
the best methods of destroying them. These caterpillars
were brought into the secretary's office by Mr. John Stetson
of Medford, Mass., who stated that they were very destruc-
tive in that town, eating the leaves of fruit and shade trees.
Mrs. Fernald, who had charge of the entomological work
during my absence, determined the insect to be the gypsy
moth {Ocneria dispar Linn.) of Europe, but as the moths
were emerging and laying their eggs for next year's brood,
there was nothing to recommend at that time except to
destroy the moths and their eggs as far as possible, and pre-
pare for the destruction of the caterpillars when they first
appear next spring.

First Importation into America.

" There is a statement in the second volume of the Ameri-
can Entomologist, page 111, published in 1870, and also in
Riley's Second Missouri Report on Insects, page 10, that
' only a year ago the larva of a certain owlet moth {f/i/po;/-
ymna dispar) , which is a great pest in Europe both to fruit

22

trees and forest trees, was accidentally introduced by a
Massachusetts entomologist into New England.'

" These arc the only notices I have thus far been able to
find of the introduction of this insect into America. Mr.
Samuel Henshaw and Dr. Hagen of Cambridge have both
informed me that the entomologist who introduced this
insect was INIr. L. Trouvelot, now living in Paris, but at that
time living near Glenwood, Medford, where he attemi)ted
some experiments in raising silk from our native silk worms,
and also introduced European species for the same pui'pose.
Dr. Hagen told me that he distinctly remembered hearing
Mr. Trouvelot tell how they escaped from him after he had
imported them.

"It seems, then, that this was an accidental introduction,
but that they have now become acclimated, and are spread-
ing and doing so much damage as to cause very great alarm.

Distribution.

"The gypsy moth is abundant in nearly all parts of Europe,
northern and western Asiaj and it even extends as far as
Japan. (In this country it has been found only in nineteen
cities and towns of Massachusetts. The whole of Medford,
Maiden and Everett and sections of Arlington, Melrose,
Somerville, Cambridge and Chelsea are thoroughly infested,
while in Stoneham, Winchester, Belmont, Saugus, Revere,
Lynn, Lexington, Swampscott, Wakefield, Burlington and
Charlestown they have been found more or less prevalent.)

Food Plants.

(It has been ascertained by experiment at the office of the
Gypsy Moth Department in Maiden, Mass., that they will
feed on the following-named trees and plants : maple, elm,
willow, horse chestnut, balm of gilead, birch, ash, sycamore,
walnut, oak, basswood, witch hazel, pine, spruce, cedar,
hemlock, apple, peach, cherry, pear, quince, blackberry,
currant, barberry, grape, whortleberry, blueberry, straw-
berry, hop, cabbage, beet, lettuce, radish, corn, dandelion,
woodbine, tulip, hawthorn, azalea, rhododendron, wistaria,
hollyhock, wygelia, syringa, rose and Japan quince.)

23

Danger of Spreading.

"The fact that this insect has now been in this country for
the last twenty years, and has not only held its own but has
multiplied to such an extent as to cause the entire destruction
of the fruit crop and also to defoliate the shade trees in the
infested region, is sufficient cause for alarm. The citizens of
Medford are immediately interested, but the entire Common-
wealth and country are threatened with one of the worst
insect pests of all Europe. In 1817 the cork-oaks of
southern France suffered severely from the attacks of this
insect. One of the papers of that time stated that the beau-
tiful cork-oaks which extended from Barbaste to the city of
Podenas -were nearly destroyed by the caterpillars of the
gypsy moth. After having devoured the leaves and young
acorns they attacked the fields of corn and millet, and also
the grass lands and fruit trees.

" In 1878 the plane trees of the public promenades of Lyons
were nearly ruined by this same insect. Only last summer
( 1889) I saw the moths in immense numbers on the trees in the
zofUogical gardens of Berlin, where the caterpillars had done
great injury ; and the European works on entomology abound
with instances of the destructiveness of this insect. When
we consider its long list of food plants, we can see how
injurious this insect may become if allowed to spread over
the country and become established.

"The opinion was expressed to me by prominent entomolo-
gists in Europe, that if the gypsy moth should get a foothold
in this country it would become a far greater pest than the
Colorado potato beetle, because it is so prolific, and feeds on
so many different plants, while the potato beetle confines
itself to a small number.

Description of the Insect.

" The males (Fig. 1) are of a yellowish brown color, with
two dark brown lines crossing the forcwings, one at the basal
third, the other on the outer third, somewhat curved, and
with teeth pointing outwards on the veins. The outer end
of all the wings is dark brown. A curved dark brown spot
(reniform) rests a little above the middle of the wing, and a

24

small round spot of the same color (^orbicular) is situated
between this and the base of the wing, just outside of the
inner cross-line. A similar spot rests near the middle of the
V)ase of the wing. The fringes on the forewings are dull
yellowish, and broken by eight brown spots. The antennas

are strongly bipectinated, or feather-like. The forewings
expand about an inch and a half.

"The females (Fig. 2) are pale yellowish white, with dark
brown cross-lines and spots similar to those of the males.
The cross-lines in both sexes are much darker and more
prominent on the forward edge of the wings (cosia) than
elsewhere. In some specimens there is a faint stripe of
brown across the middle of the wing (median shade), and a
toothed line across the wing near the outer edge {svhterminal

F:g. 2.

line) . The fringes of the forewings have eight dark spots
between the ends of the veins, as in the males, and similar
but fainter spots often occur in the fringes of the hind wings.
The body is much stouter than in the males, and the antennre
are not so heavily feathered. The expanse of wings is from
one and three-fourths to two and three-fourths inches.

25

" The eofo-s are irlobular, about one-eio-hteenth of an inch in
diameter, nearly salmon colored and with a smooth surface.
They are laid on the under side of the branches, on the trunks
of the trees, often below the surface of the ground, where the
latter has shrunk away from the tree, and not infrequently
on the fences or on the sides of Iniildings. They are laid in
oval or rounded masses, often to the number of four hundred
or live hundred, and covered with ochre yellow hairs from
the abdomen of the female. The eggs are laid in the early
part of July, but do not hatch till the following spring. The
caterpillars remain together, feeding upon the leaves, and
when not feeding they habitually rest side by side on the
branches and trunks of the trees.

"The full-grown caterpillar (Fig. 3) is about an inch and
three-fourths in length, very dark brown or black, finely

reticulated with pale yellow. There is a pale yellow line
along the middle of the back and a similar one along each
side. On the first six segments following the head there is a
bluish tubercle armed with several black spines on each side
of the dorsal line, and on the remaining segments these
tubercles are dark crimson red. In the middle of the tenth
and eleventh segments there is a smaller red tubercle notched
at the top. The whole surface of the body is somewhat
hair}', Imt along each side the hairs are long and form quite
dense clusters.

"The pupa (Fig. 4) is from three-fourths of an inch to an
inch in length, and varies in color from chocolate to reddish
brown. On each side, at the base of the wing-covers, is a
dark reddish brown, oval, velvety spot. The wing-cases are
quite l)road and reach to the posterior third of the fifth seg-

26

uient. The antennae cases are strongly curved, and are quite
wide in the middle. There are a few yellowish brown hairs
on the face and head, also on the first five segments,
arranged in broken circles or clusters, wiiich are in longi-
tudinal and transverse rows. The cremaster or spine at the

Fig. 4.

posterior end is flattened, rounded at the outer end, grooved
longitudinally, and has twelve or more minute hooks at the
end. The moths emerge from the pupae from the first to
the middle of July."

The foregoing was prepared Ijy Professor Fernald from
knowledge acquired largely from European sources. Obser-
vation in this country shows some slight variation in dates of
transformation, size of insect in the various stages, etc.

Outline of Work of Extermination.

The Legislature of 1890, on petition of the Board of
Agriculture and citizens of Medford and vicinity, provided,
l)y an act approved March 14, for the appointment of a
commission to take the matter of extermination in charge,
and appropriated $25,000 for the puVpose. The Governor
appointed as commissioners : W. W. Rawson of Arlington,
J. Howard Bradley of Maiden and Dr. Pearl Martin of
Medford. The commission took hold of the work promptly
but found the task greater than was supposed and that the
appropriation would be insufficient, and consequently applied
to the Legislature for an additional appropriation of $25,000,

27

which was granted by an act approved April 2. The com-
mission employed more than one hundred men during the
season for work, spraying a large territory with Paris green
and killing an immense number of caterpillars. They also
destroyed an incredible number of the eggs of the moth both
in the spring of 1890 before the caterpillars emerged and
in the fall after the eggs for the next year's crop were
laid. The amount expended in 1890 was $25,539.32. On
March 4, 1891, Wm. R. Sessions of Hampden, Prof. N. S.
Shaler of Cambridge and F. H. Appleton of Lynnfield were
appointed commissioners and immediately organized a force
for work, engaging E. H. Forbush of Worcester as director
of field work. The first work was an attempt to locate the
entire territory infested. This was done by parties of youDg
men who searched the country for miles around Medford,
using powerful opera-glasses to aid in discovering the nests of
eggs. Only reliable men could be of use, and the com-
missioners and director found it almost impossible to secure
the requisite number. A squad of ten or more from the
Agricultural College have been exceedingly helpful, and
most of them have been made superintendents of work. By
an act approved April 17 the Legislature transferred the
work to the Board of Agriculture, and the Board, at a
special meeting April 28, appointed Wm. R. Sessions, N. S.
Shaler and F. H. Appleton a committee to act for the Board.
It was found that the residue of last year's appropriation
would be insufficient to carry on the work for the season,
and the Board petitioned the Legislature for an additional
appropriation of $50,000, which was granted by an act
approved June 10. The work of extermination is now going
on, and about 250 men are employed. The work at this
season is spraying the trees and shrubbery throughout the
infested territory with Paris green and water, one pound of
Paris green to 150 gallons of water. The country in all
directions is patrolled by expert scouts on the lookout for
stray colonies of the creatures, that new centres of infection
may not be established. Prof. C. H. Fernald, entomologist
to the Board of Agriculture and professor of zoiilogy at the
Agricultural College, is the adviser of the committee in all
parts of the work. The task is almost herculean but it is

28

believed it is possible to eradicate the pest. The utmost
efforts for this end are being put forth by those having the
work in charge.

On a recent visit of inspection by Dr. Fernald his attention
was called to the eggs which a native parasite was laying
upon the bodies of the caterpillars. In his report to the
committee June 26, 1891, he says: " AVhat seems to nie
to be by far the most important result of our inspection was
the discovery of parasites on the caterpillars. In one locality
in Arlington, where we found the caterpillars numerous, we
discovered the eggs of a dipterous insect, probably a
Tachina, on many of them, the majority having a single
white eg^i, on the back, while some had two or three, or
more, and on one there were eight eggs. I collected a large
number of these infested caterpillars and requested Mr.
Forbush to have them properly cared for at the office. If
these eggs hatch and the parasites pass their transformations
and destroy the caterpillars of the gypsy moth, we shall
have an acclimated parasite of greater value than any foreign
species could be, and shall avoid the delicate and expensive
operation of importing parasites from Europe."

Series of 1891. Bulletin No. 3.

MASSACHUSETTS

CEOP EEPOET

MONTH OF JULY, 1891.

COMPILED BY

WM. R. SESSIONS,

Secretary State Board of Agriculture.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

CROP REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JULY, 1891.

Compiled from Returns to the Office of the State Board of
Agriculture, July 28, 1891.

Office State Board of Agriculture,

Boston, Mass., Aug. 4, 1891.

Bulletin No. 3, Crop Report for the month of July, is
herewith presented. These crop bulletins are compiled from
data received from selected correspondents in different parts
of the State, by means of blanks sent to them monthly.
For this issue one hundred and sixty such blanks were sent
out, and one hundred and twenty-six were returned in time
to be incorporated in the bulletin.

The weather data, from observers in several localities in
the Commonwealth, are received and compiled by an expert in
such matters.

These crop bulletins will be mailed as issued to those who
have received them in past seasons, and to any others who may
make application for them. Since the last issue the list of
those to whom the bulletins are sent has been revised and
arranged alphabetically. If any do not receive the bulletins
regularly they will confer a favor upon this office by report-
ing the same, to the end that they may be supplied. It is
believed that this kind of work is of value to those engaged
in agricultural pursuits, and every effort will be made to
make it as valuable as possible.

In the circular to correspondents returnable to this office
July 28, the first question asked was: "Has the hay crop
been secured, and state quantity and quality as compared
with an average season ? " Most of the correspondents
report that the hay crop has been entirely secured, while
others state that another Aveek of fair weather will be
required. The crop throughout the State is about three-

4

fourths of an average in quantity. While some of it was
injured by rain in gathering, the quality as a whole is good,
and a number report it to be excellent. It will be observed
that haying has been greatly delayed this season.

The second question asked was: "What is the outlook
for roweu ? " The prospect now is that roweu will not be an
average crop in quantity, owing to lack of rain and the late
cutting of much of the first crop. While some report that
the prospect for a full crop is very good, the majority state
that the outlook is not encouraging at the present time.

The third question asked was : " What is the prospect for
a crop of apples, fall and winter?" The general opinion
seems to be that the crop of fall apples will be from fair to
good, while the crop of winter varieties will be considerably
below the average. There appear to be very few Baldwins.
Apple trees blossomed full and considerable fruit set ; but
many apples have dropped off. The quality of those left on
the trees is reported as generally good. No doubt this is
due, in some instances at least, to the practice of spraying
the trees to destroy- the codling moth.

The fourth question asked was: "How are small fruits
yielding, and state prices received as compared with an
average season?" On the whole, the yield of small fruits
has been slightly below the average, while prices have been
at least average and probablj'^ slightly above. Considerable
variation is noticed in the reports of correspondents. The
quality of small fruits has generally been good.

The fifth question asked was : " How have early potatoes
yielded, and state average price received per bushel?"
Early potatoes have been generally harvested, although a
few correspondents report that digging has not yet com-
menced. Most report a good yield, although a few cases of
light yield are reported, The crop is generally of ver}' good
quality. Only two or three correspondents report blight or
rot. Several report that the vines looked thrifty, but
few potatoes were found in the hills, owing doubtless to the
dry weather at time of setting. Prices have ranged from
$2 down to 50 cents per bushel. Probably $1 per bushel
would be a fiiir average. The price per bushel now will
average not far from 75 cents.

The sixth question asked was : " What has been the yield
and quantity of rye, oats and barley?" Rye has been gen-
erally satisfactory both in respect to quality and quantity.
Many pieces of oats and barley have been cut green to sup-
plement the hay crop and prove very useful for that purpose.
Those fields still standing are reported as looking unusually
well.

Pastures have been injured by lack of rain, and the quan-
tity of milk considerably lessened. The peach crop promises
to be much larger than usual. Cranberries promise well
now. The pear crop is good. Some fields of tobacco have
been topped, and the crop promises to be an unusually good
one. Indian corn is looking well, but is still backward and
needs warmer weather. On the whole the condition August
1 is favorable and the season so far has been fairly prosperous
for the farmer.

Report ±^0. 8G of the Statistician of the United States
Department of Agriculture gives the following figures of
estimated acreage and condition of crops in Massachusetts
July 1, 1891 : Acreage of corn compared with last year, 107 ;
average condition July 1, 93 ; average condition of rye July
1, 97 ; average condition of oats July 1, 95 ; average condi-
tion of barley July 1, 94 ; acreage of potatoes compared with
last year, 105; average condition July 1, 97; acreage of
beans compared with last year, 103 ; average condition July
1, 98; acreage of tobacco compared w'ith last year, 102;
average condition July 1, 98; average condition of clover
July 1, 88 ; average condition of timothy July 1, 84 ; average
condition of pasture July 1, 89 ; average condition of apples
July 1,71; average condition of peaches J'uly 1, 67 ; average
condition of grapes July 1, 97; average weight per fleece,
4.8 pounds.

An article showing the yield and value per acre of crops
in Massachusetts, as compared with other States, will be
found printed at the end of the bulletin.

The " Notes of Correspondents," following the weather
data for the month, give much that will be of interest to
agriculturists. It will be observed that the notes are
arranged by counties, commencing with Berkshire and work-
ing eastward to Nantucket. It will also be observed that

6

the towns in the counties are arranged in a connected
manner. It is believed that these changes in the " Notes
of Corre^iondents " will give the reader a more accurate idea
of the true condition than was possible under the former
system of arranging the counties alphabetically and the
towns in the counties in the same way.

It is thouo^ht that these bulletins will be made more useful
and interesting by including each month abstracts from the
weekl}'^ Weather-Crop Bulletins issued by the United States
Department of Agriculture. Accordingly such abstracts for
the month of July are here inserted : —

TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY.
From United States Weather-Crop Bulletixs.

Week ending July 3. — Excess of temperature in the
Gulf and Pacific States ; deficiency elsewhere. General
deficiency in rainfall.

Week ending July 10. — General deficiency of tempera-
ture. General excess in rainfall.

Weeh ending July 17. — Excess of temperature in New
England and Pacific coast ; deficiency elsewhere. Areas of
excessive rainfalls during the past week much broken and
widely distributed, the largest area extending from Lake
Superior westward to Oregon.

Week ending July 24. — General deficiency of tempera-
ture. Excess in rainfall on the Atlantic coast ; deficiency
elsewhere.

Week ending July 31. — Deficiency in temperature in all
but Gulf and Pacific States. The month of July has been
cooler than usual in all districts east of the Rocky Moun-
tains. There has been more rain than usual for the week
generally along the Atlantic coast, in the interior of the
Southern States and at Rocky Mountain stations.

CONDITION OF CROPS IN THIS SECTION.
From United States Weather-Crop Bulletins.
Week ending July 3, — New England : '* Very favorable
week, except too cold for corn. Grain stands above average.
Potatoes injured by drought. Apples dropping considera-
bly. Wild fruits abundant."

WeeJc ending July 10. — Massachusetts: "Favorable
week for crops, except too cold for tobacco and corn ; very
unfavorable weather for haying and little done during the
week."

Week ending July 17. — Massachusetts: " Yer}- favora-
ble week for growth of crops and for harvesting hay and
grain, the latter in excellent condition ; rain needed."

Week ending July 24. — New England: "Favorable
growing and harvesting weather ; rye mostly harvested and
yield excellent ; potatoes yielding below the average ; apple
crop light, except in Connecticut ; peaches and pears abun-
dant."

Week ending July 31. — New England : " Hay and grain
harvest has been delayed by unfavorable weather : grain
somewhat injured by heavy rains and high winds. Warmer
weather is needed, though all crops are making rapid
growth."

Massachusetts Weather.

_ Meteorological Data for July., 1891.

'

Temperature.

Deg. ]

f- !

Precipita-
tion.

•d

Cloudines.?.

* (0 to 10.)
KO. OF DATS.

STATION.

JZ

.2

i^

Zj

s

1

6

s
1

cr

p

^'3

en

£

s

c

1

?

Springfield, .

69.6

90

13^4

50

28

6.37

12

s.

12

13

6

Amherst,

66.9

89

13

42

28

5.09

10

s.

13

11

7

Royalston, .

68.6 96

14

50

28

5.12

9

s. w.

18

9

4

•Fitchburg,f .

67.6 87

13

50

31

3.95

10

w

8

9

14

Dudley,

69 4 i 89

12,13

54

31

2 09

8

s.w.

14

7

10

Frainingham,

67.4

89

13

46

28

3.07

10

_

_

_

_

Concord,

67.1

90

13

45

28

2.97

11

s w

12

6

13

Lawrence, .

70 9 100

13

49

28

3.20

•9

w.

12

5

14

Ipswich,

68.8 91

13

54

28

2.68

9

s w.

,s

17

6

Bostoh,

69 0; 90

13

56

28

3.78

10

s. w.

9

12

10

Taunton,

68.0 90

13,17

44

28

217

10

s.w

9

10

1:>

Middleboro',

65.7 87

13

41

28

2.19

8

s. w.

10

11

10

Nantucket, .

64.8 78

17

48

2

3 16

9

s.w.

10

9

12

* 0 to 3, cloudless; 4 to 7 inclusive, partly cloudy; 8 to 10, cloudy.
t Temperature data from thermometer not self-registering.

8

Summary.

Temperalure (F.). — Monthly mean, 67.9°. Highest
monthly mecau, 70.9° at Lawrence ; lowest monthly mean,
(34.8° at Nantucket ; maximum, 100° at Lawrence on the
13th ; minimum, 41° at Micldleborough on the 28th ; range,
59°; greatest local monthly range, 51° at Lawrence; least
local monthly range, 30° at Nantucket; greatest daily range,
39° at Lawrence on the 17th ; least daily range, 4° at Ipswich
on the 30th, Average temperature for July at Springfield
for twenty-four years, 73.2° ; average for July, 1891, 69.6° ;
departure, — 3.6°. Average temperature for July at Bos-
ton for twenty-one years, 71.0°; average for July, 1891,
69.0°; departure, — 2.0°.

Precipitation. — Average, 3.52 inches; greatest, 6.37 at
Springfield; least, 2.09 at Dudley. Average for July at
Springfield for forty-four years, 4.50 ; for July, 1891, 6.37 ;
departure, + 1.87. Average for July at Boston for twenty-
one years, 3.58 ; for July, 1891, 3.73 ; departure, -}-0.15.

Prevailing Wind. — South-west.

Thunder-storms. — 2d, 4th, 15th, 20th, 24th, 25th.

Solar Hahs. — U\\, 9th, 12th, 13th, 17th, 20th, 22d,
24th.

Lunar Halos. — 24th.

Remarks.

The weather for the month of July, 1891, for Massachu-
setts, as compared with the month in other years, may be,
characterized as cool and wet, with an excess of cloudy and
rainy days. Both the maximum and minimum temperatures
were somewhat below the figures generally recorded, the
latter unusually so. On the morning of the 28th, when a
large anticyclone or high barometer area lay off the middle
Atlantic coast, the thermal mercury ran down to within less
than ten degrees of the freezing point of water, but no frost
has yet been reported. Low temperatures also occurred on
the 10th and 11th and on the 31st. At Springfield, the
mean for the month (69.6°) was the lowest July mean ever
recorded during a period of twenty -nine years, covering

9

from 1851-55 and from 18(38-91. The next lowest mean
was 69.8^ in 1884. The highest July mean at that station
was 77.6° in 1876. At Fitchburg,. where there is a series
of observations beginning in 1857, the years 1860, 1865 and
1884 only show a July mean lower than the present, the
lowest being 6Q.i^° in 1860, just one degree lower than in
1891. The highest mean at that station was 74.4° in 1870.
The records at the Weather Service office in Boston show-
lower July means in 1881, 1884 and 1888, the lowest being
in 1884 and also just one degree lower than in 1891. The
warmest July at Boston, in the twenty-one years of obser-
vations, was in 1872, when the mean for the month was 74.7°.
At Thompsop, Conn., where observations for nearly half a
century have been made, and with a thermometer that has
hung in nearly the same position during all that time, the
mean was the lowest, with one exception, ever recorded.
That was in 1859, when the mean was 64 9°, less than one-
half degree lower than in 1891.

The precipitation was generally heaviest and the number
of rainy days greatest in the Connecticut valley, while the
least precipitation fell over that section between the Connecti-
cut valley and the coast region. Thunder-storms were not
frequent or unusually severe. Hail fell at Cheshire on the
20th, during the progress of a thunder-storm, doing some
damage to tobacco. At Spring6eld, on the 25th, during a
heavy thunder-storm 0.85 inches of rain fell in fifteen minutes.
It was accompanied by high winds along the south-central
part of the State. At Dudley, there were three distinct
thunder-storms during the afternoon of that date. The sea
breeze was frequent and Avell marked along the coast.

10

NOTES OF CORRESPONDENTS.

(Mailed to us July 28.)

BERKSHIRE COUNTY.

Sandisfield (Geo. A. Shepard). — Haj' crop not all secured;
about three-fourths of an average crop ; quality excellent, far
better than last year. Outlook not favorable for rOwen. There
is prospect of an average crop of both fall and winter apples,
though they have dropped considerably. Small fruits are and
will be quite plenty. Medium yield of early potatoes ; only a few
offered as 3'et ; about ?1 per bushel. Potatoes are struck with
blight in some fields. Oats are a full average crop.

Egremont (J. H. Rowley). — Hay crop about one-half secured ;
quantity two-thirds ; quality good. Poor outlook for rowen on
account of drought. Prospect of a light crop of apples. Small
fruits about an average in yield and prices. On account of dry
weather but few early potatoes have been dug. Rye threshing
has not commenced.

Dalton (W. B. Baktok). — The hay crop has turned out better
than was expected, but on account of catching weather only about
half has been secured. Should call it an average crop. Outlook
for rowen very good. Ensilage and field corn look well. The
outlook is fair for a crop of apples, fall and winter. Small fruits
an avei'age j'ield, with prices a full average. Yield of early pota-
toes not large ; 61 per bushel. Rye and oats good. While there
has been no flush feed in pastures they are holding out well.

Cheshire (L. J. Northup) . — Most of the hay crop in this sec-
tion has been secured ; quantity not over two-thirds ; average in
quality. The outlook for rowen is quite promising. The pros-
pect for apples, both fall and winter, is very good. Small fruits are
yielding finely and good average prices are maintained. Early pota-
toes have yielded well ; average price per bushel about $1. Rye,
oats and barley never looked better ; don't know about the yield,
but it promises to be large.

Hancock (C. H. Wells). — A few farmers have finished haying,
getting about three-fourths of a crop ; quality good. Rowen is

11

starting well. Prospect of a fair crop of fall and winter apples.
Potatoes are looking finely, but none marketed yet. No r3'e of any
amount raised. Oats and barley look well but none cut yet.

Williamstoion (S. A. Hickox). — It will take about another
week to secure the hay crop, which is a good average in quantity
and of fine quality. Rowen promises well. Prospect good for a
crop of apples. Early potatoes are yielding well ; average price
to date about S2.50 per barrel. Rye promises fair. Oats and
barley must be good average crops.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.

Monroe (D. H, Sherman). — Hay mostly secured, and from
two-thirds to three-fourths of an average crop ; quality of what
has been secured without being wet is good. Fair outlook for
rowen. Very fair prospect for a crop of apples. But ver}^ few
small fruits except berries, which are abundant. But few early
potatoes dug yet ; yield fair. Oats look well.

Charlemont (H. S. Giles). — The hay crop is mostly^ secured.
Some of it has been damaged by bad weather. The crop is not as
large as last year, but is more valuable for feeding. Outlook for
rowen good if the weather is favorable. Yield of small fruits not
quite an average ; prices about the same as last year. Yield of
early potatoes is very good ; average price about $1 per bushel.
Yield of oats, rye and barley a full average and quality very good.
Corn is looking well, but is late. The apple crop is a partial fail-
ure in the valleys, as are also quinces and pears. There will be a
good showing of grapes.

Buckland (J. D. Avery). — The haj^ crop is all secured in
excellent condition. In quantity it is ten per cent below the aver-
age, but in quality is No. 1. Outlook is fair for rowen, but some
pieces have suffered for want of rain. Think the apple crop will be
one-fourth short. Early potatoes have yielded fairly well ; price
lower than usual. Yield and quality of rye ver}' good indeed.
Nearly or quite all the oats and barley are cut green for fodder.
Corn is looking remarkably well ; the ground is well stocked and
the growth is very good.

Bernardston (R. H. Cushman). — Hay crop is nearly secured,
with about three-fourths the quantity of last season. We believe
the quality of the hay will enable us to winter ver^'^ nearly as much
stock as last winter. Rowen is looking very well. Apples are
not plenty, but what we have are fair and promise well. Early
potatoes are plenty, and have sold for $1.25 down to 50 cents per
bushel.

12

Deerjield (Charles Jones). — Hay has been nearly all har-
vested, and is about three-fourths of a crop, and of good quality.
Rowen is looking well. Very few apples, either fall or winter.
Early potatoes are yielding well ; average price about 85 cents per
bushel. Rye is good ; more than an average. Oats look well, but
are not harvested. Tobacco is looking extremely well, and some
has been topped. Onions are looking very well, but are not full
stocked. We have had a fair amount of rain in July, with some
very warm weather. All crops are looking well now.

Orange (Ansel Harrington). — Hay crop mostly secured, and
the qiiality and quantity are excellent. Quantity about one-eighth
above an average season. Not a very good outlook for rowen.
Yield of small fruits very good ; prices about the same as in for-
mer years. Yield of early potatoes very good ; prices variable.
Potatoes never looked better. Very little grain raised in this
vicinity, except oats, which are cut green for fodder, and this year
the yield and quality are excellent. Corn is looking finely, but is a
little backward. Farm crops, as a whole, are very promising.
Slight frost on morning of the 28th.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Greenwich (Wm. S. Douglas). — Hay crop secured and quantity
about one-half an average, with quality about an average. The
outlook for rowen is quite favorable. The late frosts injured
apples, and there is prospect of less than half a crop. Early pota-
toes are jnelding fairly well and are much cheaper than in some
seasons. Grains are fairly good.

Belchertotun (H. C. West). — Hay mostly secured. Old pieces
and early cut are light, but newly seeded and later cut pieces three-
fourths of a crop. As yet the outlook for rowen is not encour-
aging. The prospect is for a fair crop of apples. Early potatoes
are yielding above the average ; prices commenced with 82, now
$1 per bushel. Rye good. Oats not harvested and are looking
well. Very little barley raised, though there are some good pieces
in town. I wonder that more barley is not raised as it is one of
our best paying sowed crops. Corn is growing finely.

Hadley (L. W. West). — Hay crop secured, and is ninety per
cent of an average season in quantity and of good quality. Out-
look for rowen poor unless it rains soon. Apple crop will not be
up to the average. Early potato vines look well, but few potatoes
in a hill ; price not established. Yield and quality of r^^e good.
Oats not harvested. Three and three oue-hundredths inches of
rain have fallen since last report.

13

South Hadley (H. W. Gaylord). — Those that are finishing
their hajnng find that they are cutting more grass than they
expected. Some pieces have doubled in quantity since the first of
the month. The outlook for the rowen crop is discouraging.
While we have had frequent rains of late they have been light, not
wetting down as low as it dried last May. The light yield of
potatoes is attributed to this fact. Prospect for summer and fall
apples is fair ; for winter one-half a crop. Strawberries two-thirds
of a crop ; other berries fair crop ; prices above the average. Early
potatoes not yielding up to expectations. Large tops, but few
potatoes in the hill. Prices from 81.75 to 75 cents per bushel.
Corn is very backward ; more than two weeks.

Southampton (C. B. Lymax). — The hay crop is about the aver-
age of former years, with the exception of the past two seasons,
when the crop was above the average. The outlook is for a light
crop of rowen. Corn and potatoes are looking well. Tobacco
never looked better. Pears are abundant. Apples about the
average for odd years. Peaches are beginning to ripen, and there
will be a full crop. Early potatoes are yielding fairly well ; aver-
age price about 95 cents per bushel. Oats are heavy. Up to the
1st of August I think the prospect looks quite bright for the
farmer.

Chesterfield (Horatio Bisbee). — The hay crop matured late,
and those cutting early got a light crop. July has added much to
the crop in this vicinity, and it is nearly an average and of
excellent quality. Fair outlook for rowen. Apples will not be
very plenty. Yield of early potatoes light and not many sold.
They are showing signs of blight.

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

Blandford (E. W. Boise). — About three-fourths of the hay
crop is secured, and is of full average quantity and quality. Fair
to average outlook for rowen. Some report apples falling off
prematurely ; others report trees well filled. No early potatoes
harvested yet. The growth of tops is large, and there is prospect
of a fair yield. Oats and barley, especially barley, extra stand,
heavy headed, no rust. On the whole, the present season thus
far has been favorable to the farmer. Stock in pastures are doing
well, dairy stock especially.

Agaivam (R. De Witt). — Hay crop nearl}' all secured, and
neaily up to an average. The last weeks have helped it. Out-
look very favorable for rowen. The crop of apples must be small.
Potatoes with us were some two weeks later thau usual, and our

u

markets were filled from more southern points, so we failed to
realize the prices we usually get in the beginning of the season ;
60 cents per bushel now. Rye, I think, is excellent. Oats are
not harvested yet. Barley looks all right, though not much of it
is raised here.

West Springfield (J. N. Bagg). — Hay crop largely secured, and
is about one-third less than an average ; quality good. Very poor
outlook for rowen, but late rains may change it. The prospect is
for a light crop of both fall and winter apples. Good yield of
early potatoes ; selling now for about 75 cents per bushel ; average
price about $1. E^'e and oats above the average. Heavy shower
July 25, with strong wind. Corn and tobacco suffered by being
blown down or broken. Weeds are rampant among corn and
potatoes here, and farmers are still hoeing.

Chicopee (R. W. Bemis). — Hay crop nearly all secured, and is
about two-thirds of a crop. Outlook for rowen very good at this
time. Apples will not be a large crop in this vicinity. Small
fruits fair in yield and prices about average. Early potatoes are
not as foi'ward as usual, but promise a good crop. Grains are fair.

Wilhraham (F. E. Clark). — Hay crop secured. Newly seeded
land has yielded nearly an average crop ; but old mowings have
not yielded more than one-half of an average crop. Outlook fair
for rowen, especially on newly seeded pieces with clover. Early
and fall apples are plenty ; winter apples about two-thirds of
a crop. Berries plenty ; prices about an average. Early pota-
toes about three-fourths of an average crop ; average price $1 per
bushel ; now 75 cents. Rye hardly an average yield. Oats con-
siderably more than an average yield.

Brimfield (S. W. Broavn). — Hay crop less than an average,
and about two-thirds of last year ; quality good. Rowen is back-
ward but the crop will be fair. Apples small ; about a failure.
Good yield of early potatoes ; so far sold for from 80 cents to $1
per bushel. Rye average crop. Oats best crop for years ; one-third
more than last year. No barley to speak of. Most of the oats
are cut for fodder, which will help fill up the partly empty barns
caused by the shortness of the hay crop. Pastures, like mow-
ings, have been short all summer. Hungarian looks well. "With
some hot weather corn would soon beat the average.

WORCESTER COUNTY.

Neio Braintree (C. D. Sage). — Hay is turning out much better
than was expected a month ago, and the quality is good, except
where injured by the spittle insect. Outlook for rowen fair where
the first crop was cut early. Apples set quite full, but have

15

dropped off so that there will hardly be half a crop. But few early
potatoes dug yet; are looking well ; price about SI. 25 per bushel-
Oats are looking finely. Rye was a good crop. Barley looks well,
but less than usual grown.

Barre (J. L. Smith). — Hay crop nearly all secured; two-thirds
of a crop of very good quality, and secured without very much
damage. Fair crop of rowen expected. There is prospect of
more apples than last year, but not a large crop. Not many early
potatoes dug yet. They are looking finely, and are worth $1 per
bushel. Oats and barley are extra good. Not much rye raised.

Templeton (Lucien Gove). — Haying not quite done and crop
thirty per cent less than last year, but of good quality. Outlook
for rowen is fair. Prospect of not more than one-third of a crop
of apples. Raspberries, blueberries and blackberries average crops
and prices rather better. Early potatoes yielding fairly welt ; price
§1.20 per bushel. Oats and barley raised for fodder and have
yielded well. Crop of rye rather light and but little raised. Corn
is backward. Pastures are rather short and the flow of milk
diminished. The month, as a whole, has been rather cool and is
closing cold for th.e season. There has been sufficient rain to keep
ci'ops growing.

Leominster (W. B. Hosmer). — Hay crop secured, with quantity
about three-fourths of an average crop, but quality much better,
making it equal to a full crop. Outlook for rowen good, especially
on early cut fields. Yield of small fruits below average ; prices
average. Yield of early potatoes rather below average ; price Si
per bushel. The late rains leave the ground in good condition and,
excepting the cool nights, favorable for most crops. More apples
than last year, and where Baldwins are bearing look large and fine
and free from blight. Perhaps spraying the trees may have caused
the better appearance.

Harvard (Preston Kxigiit). — Hay has nearly all been secured,
with quantity about three-fourths of an average crop. On some
farms there is scarcely any rowen ; on others it is fair. Prospect
poor for a crop of apples. Small fruits yielding very well, and I
believe prices are generally satisfactory. Early potatoes are small
and not ripe, but man}' arc digging; prices SI. GO to Si so far.
Rye and oats are raised for fodder, and such pieces are very good.
Barley not ripe yet. Dog-days came in with a driving thunder-
storm, knocking down some corn and oats, but also doing great
good to the very dr}' ground. The past month has been generally
pretty dry.

Boyhton (I. A. Dunn). — Hay crop nearly all secured; quan-
tity below and quality above the average. Outlook for rowen is

16

good at the present time. Crop of fall apples promises to be
fairly good. Baldwin apple trees failed to blossom. Good aver-
age yield of small fruits ; prices as usual. Yield of early potatoes
good, and price 81 per bushel. Indian corn is looking well, but
backward. The weather the last tw^o weeks has been favorable
for the growth of crops, and they have advanced rapidly.

Worcester (S. A. Burgess). — Hay crop nearly secured and is
about two-thirds of an average crop in quantity, and of average
quality. Fair outlook for rowen. Prospect of a small crop of
apples, especially of winter apples. Small fruits quite abundant
with prices about an average. Early potatoes yielding fairly well
with about the average price. Rye, oats and barley are used
mostly as forage and hay. Wheat has proved an excellent forage
crop for milch cows. Late potatoes are looking very well. Field
corn is looking well and if frost holds off until the middle of Sep-
tember will prove a good crop. An unusually large acreage of
corn for fall fodder has been planted and now looks well.

Dudley (J. J. Gilles). — Ha}' crop in quantity three-fourths of
an average season ; quality average. The prospect is that rowen
will be a light crop. Prospect of one-half of an average crop of
apples. Early potatoes yielded well ; price from $1 to 81.50 per
bushel. Rye straw is yielding above an average. Oats are free
from rust, and a fine crop both in straw and berry. Barley is not
much raised in town.

Douglas (Geo. M. "Wallis). — Hay all secured, and quantity
three-fourths of an average and quality one-fourth better than last
season. The prospect is good for rowen if it holds wet. Apples
about twenty-five per cent of a crop. Small fruits very fair, with
prices about the same as last season. Good crop of early potatoes ;
average price 81 per bushel. Corn, potatoes, oats, rye, barley and
buckwheat on an average are one hundred per cent. Grape vines
are loaded with fruit, and the finest I ever saw them. No potato
rot or scab has been discovered yet. All kinds of garden vege-
tables promise to be first class.

Blackstone (L. R. Daxiels). — About seven-eighths of the Eng-
lish hay crop secured ; three-fourths of an average crop of good
quality. Not a very promising outlook for rowen. Prospect of
about one-third of a full crop of apples. Small fruits are yielding
well ; prices about as usual. Red raspberries one-half price.
Early potatoes j-ielding very well, with average price to date about
90 cents per bushel. Very little grain grown here except for feed-
ins green.

17

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Sherhorn (N. B. Douglas). — English hay secured ; crop sixty
per cent; quality A No. 1. Meadow hay of average quantity and
of good quality. Outlook poor for roweu. Prospect for a small
crop of apples ; size large. Yield of small fruits good, except
strawberries, and prices above the average. Fair yield of early
potatoes, but the price has declined so rapidly that it is difficult to
fix the average; should say, to date, about $1.10 per bushel.
Little grain raised, except for stover. Rye and oats good. Very
little barley raised until late, for green feed. Much seeding will
be done this fall. Corn, though rather late, shows good color and
looks thrifty. Pastures rather short. The season has been better
for the farmer than the preceding three,

Framingham (H. S. Wiiittemore). — Haj' crop mostly secured ;
two-thirds in quantity ; quality good. Outlook very poor for rowen
unless we get rain. Prospect very poor for both fall and winter
apples. Berries are plenty. Cherries in abundance. Prices low.
Good yield of early potatoes ; average price about 'JO cents per
bushel. Jiye is an average crop.

Concord (W. H. Hunt). — The hay crop has been secured in
good condition. The quality is not quite up to last year. In old
fields wild grasses have worked in. Rowen promises to be better
than last year. P^air crop of fall apples ; few winter apples.
Strawberry crop three-fourths of a full crop; price 10 to 20 cents
a box. The average price of strawberries would be hard to deter-
mine. Some large berries have been sold for 30 cents a box, and
small poor ones for 10 cents. The average price for the year is
above that of the last few years. Potato crop a good one, and
price low for this time of year.

Billerica (J. N. Pardee). — Hay about all in; two-thirds of a
crop ; quality excellent. Rowen not growing, except in the shade ;
ground very dry and hard. Apple crop very light; quality good.
Yield of small fruits good. Yield of early potatoes large ; no
potato rot as yet. Earliest dug brought 40 cents per peck ; now
80 cents per bushel. Not much grain raised except for forage, but
yield of that has been good and quality excellent.

Westford (Arthur Wright). — The hay crop has been secured,
and should say it is one-eighth less than last year ; quality excel-
lent. Outlook for roweu better than last year. Fall apples fair ;
winter crop very short, hardly any lialdwins. The crop of small
fruits is large, and the price is fitUy average so far. The late
rains have been very beneficial to all our growing crops, and gen-
erally they are looking much better than at the same time last
year.

18

Groton (Daniel Neediiam) . — Hay crop largely secured, and
is of first- rate quality and at least nine-tenths of an average.
Outlook for roweu is poor. Prospect fair for fall apples ; poor for
winter. Good yield of small fruits, with average prices. Early
potatoes about the average in yield ; price $1.40 per bushel. Mod-
erate rains have kept the surface of the earth fairly moistened, so
that the pastures and hills never looked better ; but the springs are
low. All garden as well as field products look exceptionally well.

ESSEX COUNTY.

Haverhill (Ebenezer Webster) . — We have had excellent
weather to make hay, and the crop has been secured in good
order. Some have more than last year and some have less. On
the whole, the crop is about an average and is of good qualit3^
Outlook for rowen not very good at present. Prospect good for
fall apples ; poor for winter. Good yield of raspberries and
blackberries ; strawberries fair ; prices about the same as last
year. Fair crop of early potatoes ; no rot. The price started at
$1.50 per bushel but has fallen now to 50 cents.

Grooeland (Abel Stickney). — Quantity of hay a little less
than average ; quality better. Outlook poor for rowen. To-day
(2Dtli) it is raining and perhaps rowen will look better, as rain is
needed very much. Small crop of apples. Small fruits are yield-
ing well, and prices compare well with the past. Early potatoes
are yielding well ; average price about $1.00 per bushel. Nearly
all grain is cut for hay.

Rowley (T. P. Hale). — We have just finished haying, with
quantity about two-thirds of an average and quality fine. The
outlook for rowen is good. Prospect of one-half a crop of apples.
Early potatoes good yield and fair price, now about $1 per bushel.
Rye is good. Corn is a little backward, and August must be
exceptionally favorable to complete the crop.

Ipswich (O. C. Smith). — Hay is secured, except on the wet
meadows. The crop averages about seventy per cent ; quality
good. Early cut fields, with sufficient rain, promise an average
yield of roweu. Fall apples promise well ; winter apples small
crop. Russets and Greenings will be a full average, but there are
only now and then Baldwin trees with any fruit upon them. Cul-
tivated small fruits are average crops and wild fruits large crops.
Fair prices for both have been realized. Yield of early potatoes
about an average. Prices started at $1.25. Farmers have rushed
them to market, and they have dropped to 75 cents per bushel ; and
slow sales at that. More oats and barley are raised to cut in

19

milk for fodder than are raised for grain. The yield has been a
full average and quality good.

Topi^field (B. P. Pikk). — (Quantity of hay a little below the
average ; quality good. Outlook for rowen fair, but the crop will
be late. The apple crop will be below the average. Yield of
early potatoes good ; price from 75 cents to Si per bushel. Oats
good. Oats and barley not generally threshed, but are cut for
fodder.

Marblehead (Wm. S. Phillits, Jr.). — Haying not all done.
(.Quantity perhaps ten per cent less than an average ; quality unex-
celled. Outlook for rowen very fair, especially on early cut
ground. Prospect for apples not very promising. Early pota-
toes not (j[uite up to last year in yield ; average price G5 cents per
bushel. Potatoes are rotting some. Pastures are getting poor,
and cows are shrinking in milk. More rain is needed.

NORFOLK COUNTY. '

Fixinldin (C. M. Allkn). — Hay crop eighty per cent in quan-
tity ; quality excellent. Wet meadows are now being cut and a
very good crop is being secured. The meadows are in condition to
secure the whole crop, unless heavy rains come very soon. The
outlook is for more than an average crop of rowen. Prospect of
an average crop of apples. Strawberries were light ; raspberries
and blackberries heavy crops. A good yield of early potatoes ;
price $1.25 to $1.50 per bushel. Grain crops a good average.

Med/ield (Geo. R. Chase). — Hay crop secured; quality excel-
lent ; three-fourths of an average crop in (piantity, except on newly
seeded land. Outlook for rowen poor unless rain comes soon.
Small croj) of apples. Small crop of small fruits ; prices twenty to
twenty-live per cent above average. Yield of early potatoes fair ;
average price $1.12 per bushel. Rye and barley promise well.
Corn is in splendid condition. All crops but grass are above the
average.

Medway (Monkoe Mouse). — Hay crop mostly secured and
quantity four-fifths of an average ; quality one hundred per cent.
Uather poor outlook for rowen. The prospect is for three-
fourths of an average crop. Strawberries were an average in
(piantity and price. Raspberries and blackberries are yielding
abundantly, and prices are rather low. Pearly potatoes promise
well, and but few have been harvested. Rye is good in cpiantity
and quality.

Weymouth {\l. W. Dyek). — The hay crop has been secured
and is larger and better than usual. The outlook for rowen is

20

good. The prospect for a crop of apples, both fall and winter, is
good. The yield of small fruits has been good and prices fair.
The yield of berries is very large. The yield of rye, oats and
barley is larger than usual.

BRISTOL COUNTY.

Mansfield (D. E. Harding). — The first of the season the out-
look for hay was not very encouraging, but the rains brought it
forward so we had an average crop. Outlook for rowen very fair ;
good if rain comes. Small crop of apples. Small fruits are yield-
ing well ; hardly an average of prices. Early potatoes more than
an average crop. Rye and oats a fair yield. Vegetables are fine
and abundant.

Raynlmm (N. W. Shaw). — Hay is nearly all secured, but much
later than usual, so that the quality is not as good. The outlook
at the present time for rowen is good. Small fruits have yielded
well ; prices have been above the average. The yield of early
potatoes has been good ; prices from 80 cents to $1 per bushel.
Weeds are thriving wonderfully, and the farmer need not have
much idle time.

Berldey (R. H. Babbitt). — Hay crop is being secured, but is
lacking in quantity and quality. Outlook very favorable for rowen.
The crop of apples will not be heavy. The crop of small fruits is
about an average one, with prices rather low. The yield of early
potatoes has been good ; average price 90 cents per bushel.

Somerset (Joseph Gibbs). — The hay crop has been secured and
the quality is good. The quantity as compared with last season
will be about sixty-five per cent. The outlook for rowen is not
good, owing to the dry weather. The apple crop, both fall and
winter, will be light. Small fruit growers have, with few excep-
tions, had a very poor season. Prices were unusually low. The
business seems to be overdone. The yield of early potatoes is
above the average, and prices have run from Si. 50 to 65 cents per
bushel.

Dartmouth (L. T. Davis). — The hay crop in this section was
larger than was anticipated early in the season, and was of fine
quality; but owing to heavy fogs and showers was housed in
rather poor condition. Outlook for rowen not at all promising.
Apples rather poor in this section. Small fruits about an average
with us in price and quantity. Early potatoes in some places are
very good; others rather poor; price so far averages $1.25 per
bushel. We have had some cold nights.

21

PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

Wet<t Bridgeivater (F. E. Howard). — Hay crop has been
secured ; quantity less than an average season, just about two-
thirds of last year ; quality first rate. Outlook for rowen quite
good. Prospect for crop of apples with nie quite good, except
Baldwins. Small fruits are yielding remarkably well and prices are
satisfactory. Potatoes are very late, but the yield is good and
prices low for the season. Very little if any oats and barley raised
for seed ; some sown for fodder. Some of our farmers are quite
successful with rye ; about twenty-flve bushels to the acre.

Brockton (Davis Cofeland). — Hay crop secured in good con-
dition. Outlook for rowen is good. Rather poor prospect for
apples. Good jneld of small fruits ; low prices. Yield of early
potatoes is good, but prices low ; 75 cents per bushel. Vegetables
are plenty and prices very low.

Marshfield (Geo. J. Peteuson) . — There has been some loss in the
hay crop by the continued wet weather. Rowen will be lighter
than last year. Apples are yielding fairly. Late apples are look-
ing well. Strawberries have been abundant on the borders of the
ocean and prices have been higher. Other fruits are coming in
plenty. Early potatoes are better than last season. Rye has done
well in this section.

Kingston (J. H. Cushman). — English hay about all secured;
three-fourths of an average crop in quantity, and of good qiuxlity.
Rowen is small. Botli fall and winter apples arc rather scarce.
Small fruits were cut short by dr}' weatlier ; prices above the average.
Large yield of early potatoes; price about $1.25 per bushel.
Some complaint of potato rot.

Lakeville (Eliujidge Cushman). — The hay crop is secured;
quality good ; quantity about an average. Outlook good for
rowen. Prospect of fair crop of Greening apples ; Baldwins are
scarce. Good yield of small fruits ; prices compare favorably with
an average season. Very good yield of early potatoes ; price ^1 .25
to §1 per bushel. Rye and oats were good. Taking all crops into
account I think it has been a full average year for the farmer.
Prices are fully average, with a fair demand.

Wareham (A. Savary). — Hay crop generally well secured ; is
three-fourths of a crop and is of good quality. Outlook for rowen
very good on low laud. No a[)ples of any consequence. Crop of
strawberries small ; other small fruits fair, and average prices.
Early potatoes have done well ; price Si. 50 per bushel. Weather
during July quite favorable for farmers. Nights rather too cool
for corn anil melons.

22

BARNSTABLE COUNTY.

Falmouth (D. R. Wicks). — Hay all secured, and the crop is a
little more than one-half in quantity, but of good quality. Out-
look for rowen very poor, as dry weather holds on. Prospect for
apples fair, but they are dropping badly. Yield of small fruits
fair. Strawberries with nie average 11 \ cents per box. Potatoes
here have suffered for want of rain, and blight has struck both
early and late varieties. Oats are grown for fodder.

Mashpee ( W. F. Hammond) . — About three-fourths of a crop of
hay ; quality good. Rowen promises well. One-fourth of a crop
of apples. Crop of small fruits light. Prices a third higher than
last year. Earl}' potatoes have yielded better than for some years ;
average price $1 per bushel ; last year Si. 25. Yield and quality of
oats and rye have been fair. The prospect for a crop of cran-
berries looks better than for the past two years.

Dennis (Joshua Cro\vell). — Hay all secured; quantity two-
thirds of an average ; quality good. Outlook unfavorable for
rowen. Apples are not plenty. Yield of small fruits below the
average, and prices about the same as usual. Early potatoes
yielded well ; average price Si per bushel. Late potatoes are look-
ing well.

Eastham (J. A. Clark). — Hay crop less than an average;
quality good. Outlook poor for rowen, unless we have rain soon.
Fair prospect for a crop of apples. Not many small fruits raised.
Grapes are looking finely. Early potatoes are good, and have been
selling for $1 per bushel ; now 75 cents. Very little grain raised.

DUKES COUNTY.

West Tishury (Wm. J. Rotch). — The hay crop has been
secured in good condition and quality ; but English hay is light,
and perhaps sixty per cent of a fair crop. The outlook for rowen
is good. There is a prospect of an average crop of apples. The
drought in June injured strawberries. The crop was sold for an
average price of 15 cents per box. The yield of early potatoes
is heavy ; average price $1 per bushel, now 80 cents. The grain
crops are average ones.

NANTUCKET COUNTY.

iVa?;^fc'7Le^ (CiiAS. "NY. Gardner). — Hay crop mostly secured ;
quantity two-thirds of a crop ; quality not as good as the average,
on account of wet weather. Potatoes are yielding extra well in
quantity and quality ; $1.50 per bushel. Heavy yield of straw, but
there is not much threshed here, being mostly made into hay or
fodder.

CROPS m MASSACHUSETTS.

YIELDS AND VALUES TEH ACRE AS COMrAllED WITH OTHER

STATES.

Compiled from Ai.p.t'm oi' Agricultiral Graphics, pup-lisiikd by

AUTHORITY OK THE SkCRKTAUY OV AGRICULTURE,

Washington, T>. C, 1800.

CORN (MAIZE).

Averages of Ten Yeaks (1880-89).
The avenago yield per acre in the whole country is given
as 24.1 bushels, and the average value per acre as $9.47.
Massachusetts shows an average yield of 31.G hushels, with
an average value per acre of $22.94. It is interesting to
note that Nebraska leads in average yield per acre, with o2.8
bushels, followed closely by New Hampshire, with 32.7 ;
Vermont, with 32.5 ; and Maine, with 32.2. It is found
that, with the single exception of Nebraska, the only States
showing a yield of over 31.5 bushels per acre are New
England States. The only States showing a yield of less
than 10 bushels are South Carolina, with 9.4, and Florida,
with 9.7. New Hampshire leads in the average value per
acre, with $24.32, closely followed by Maine, with $24.25;
and Vermont, with $23.18. The only States showing a value
of over $20 per acre are all New England States, with the
single exception of Montana, with $20.12. The States show-
ing the lowest values are South Carolina, with $6.19;
Georgia, with $6.81; North Carolina, with $7.15; Florida,
with $7.22 ; Nebraska, with $7.58 ; Alabama, with $7.69 ;
and Kansas, with $7.90. All the olhers are over $8.25.
The value per acre of corn in the New England States
ranges from $24.32 in New Hampshire to $20.94 in Con-
necticut, — more than twice the general average. New York,

24

New Jersey and Pennsylvania, producing far less than their
consumption, are nearer the source of supply, reducing the
value to about $18 per acre. In the Southern States, except
Arkansas, the prices are below the national average, the
supply being nearly equal to requirements, grown on a
superficially cultivated area of cheap lands and, therefore, at
a low rate of yield.

OATS.

Averages of Ten Years (1880-89).

The average yield per acre in the whole country is given
as 26. G bushels, and the average value per acre as $8.16.
The average yield per acre in Massachusetts is given as 29.9
bushels, and the average value per acre as $14.44. Wash-
ington leads in yield per acre, with 36.0 bushels, followed
by Illinois, with 34.2 ; Minnesota and Vermont, with 33.1 ;
and Montana, with 32.6. The lowest are North Carolina,
with 9.5 ; Georgia, with 9.8 ; and Florida, with 10.2. In
average value per acre Nevada leads, with $18.15 ; followed
by Montana, with $15.24; Idaho, with $15.09; and- Wash-
ington, with $15.08. The lowest are North Carolina, Avith
$4.56; Virginia, with $4.73; Tennessee, with $5.20;
Georgia, with $5.85; and Nebraska, with $5.78. All the
others are over $6.00. In the South the crop can only be
grown in the winter, and the average yield is reduced by the
custom of growing more for winter grazing than for seed.
The increase in area of oats has been extraordinary, the
breadth doubling in a little more than a decade. The prin-
cipal breadth in oats is in the States of the northern border.

RYE.

Averages of Ten Years (1880-89).
The average yield pei' acre for the whole country is 11.9
bushels, and the average value per acre is $8.27. The
average yield per acre in Massachusetts is given as 14.3
bushels, and the average value as $12.46. In yield per acre
Colorado leads, with 17.1 bushels, followed by Oregon, with
15.9; Illinois, with 15.5; and Kansas, with 15.2. The
lowest arc South Carolina, with 4.6 ; Georgia and Alabama,

with 5.5 ; and North Carolina, with 5.8. All the others are
over 6.0. In average value per acre Colorado leads, with
$12.78, followed by MastJaehusetts, with $12.46 ; Mame,
with $12.26; Oregon, with $11.88; and Vermont, with
$11.85. The lowest are Tennessee, with $4.67; Virginia,
with $4.71 ; and North Carolina, with $4.82. All the others
are over $5.00. No tigures for yield or value are given for
Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico and
AA'yoming. Rye is a crop for poor soils, and is not much
grown in this country. The average yield in the South is
lower by reason of the fact that it is grown more for winter
pasturage than for seed.

BARLEY.

AvEKAGES OF Tek Yeaks (1880-89).
The average yield per acre for the whole country is given
as 21.7 busliels, and the average value per acre as $12.76.
The average yield per acre for Massachusetts is given as 23.2
bushels, and the average value per acre as $18.77. In aver-
age yield per acre Washington leads, with 29.1 l)ushels, fol-
lowed by Idaho and Montana, with 27.2 ; Oregon, with 26.0 ;
and Maryland, wnth 25.5. The lowest are Alabama, with
10.4 bushels; and North Carolina, with 11. All the others
are over 13. In value per acre Maryland leads, with $20.47,
followed by Rhode Island, with $19.13 ; Massachusetts, with
$18.77 ; and Nevada, with $18.29. The lowest are Nebraska,
with $7.59 ; Kansas, with $7.90 ; Dakota, with $9.02 ; Tennes-
see, with $i».27; and North Carolina, with $9.65. All the
others are over $10.30. No tigures of yield or value per acre
are given for Delaware, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Arkansas and Wyoming. Barley has a higher value per acre
than any other cereal. Itsdi.-^tribution is by no means general,
as California, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New York are the
main factors in its production, producing half of the crop.

BtJCKWHEAT.

Averages ov Tex Yeai;s (1880-89).

The average yield per acre for the whole country is given

as 12.8 bushels, and the average value per acre as $8.24.

The average yield per acre in Massachusetts is given as 14.2

26

bushels, and the average value per acre as SI 0.01. In yield
per acre California leads, with 20.8 bushels, followed by
Vermont, with 18.2 ; Maine, with 18.1 ; and Xew Hampshire,
with 17.4. The lowest are Tennessee, with 8.5 ; Kentucky,
with 9.5 ; and North Carolina, with 9.7. All the others are
over 10. With the exception of California, Delaware and
Oregon, the only States showing a yield of over 14 bushels
per acre are in New England. In average value per acre
California leads, with $15.69, followed by New Hampshire,
with $10.90; Vermont, with $10.88 ; Oregon, with $10.23 ;
Maine, with $10.14: and Massachusetts, with $10.01. All
the others are under $10, with Tennessee lowest, with $5.66,
and North Carolina next, with $6.10. No figures of yield or
value per acre are given for South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Nevada,
Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Washington and Wyo-
ming. Buckwheat is by no means a general crop, the larger
portion being grown in New York and Pennsylvania.

POTATOES.

Averages of Ten Years (1880-89).

The average yield per acre for the whole country is given

as 76.2 bushels, and the average value per acre as $38.34.

The average yield per acre in Massachusetts is given as 95.5

bushels, and the average value per acre as $61.97. In yield

per acre Washington leads, with 117.1 bushels, followed by

Montana, with 107,4; Idaho, with 101.3; and Oregon, with

100. The lowest are South Carolina, with 55 ; Georgia, with

58.8 ; and Tennessee, with 59.2. In value per acre Nevada

leads, with $76.25 ; followed by Montana, with $73.03 ;

Florida, with $65.65 ; and Rhode Island, with $62.55. The

lowest are Tennessee, with $30.49 ; Nebraska, with $30.68 ;

Kentucky, with $30.90; and Indiana, with $31. Like oats

the potato is adapted to the cool climates of the higher

latitudes.

TOBACCO.

Averages of Ten Years (1880-89).

The average yield per acre for the whole countr}' is given

as 727.1 pounds, and the average value per acre as $61.51.

The average yield per acre in Massachusetts is given as

27

1,485.4 pounds, and the average value pcv acre as S204.2b.
In yield per acre Massachusetts leads, with 1,4><5.4 pounds,
followed by Connecticut, with 1,417.1; New York, with
1,339.6 ; Pennsylvania, with 1,205.3 ; Wisconsin, with 1)67.2 ;
and Ohio, with 912.8. All the others are below 900 pounds
per acre. In value per acre Massachusetts leads, with
$204.28, followed by Connecticut, with $196.58 ; New York,
with §159.56; Pennsylvania, with $143.22; and Wisconsin,
with $101.45. All the others are below $100. No figures
for yield or value per acre are given for any States or Terri-
tories west of the Mississippi River except Missouri and
Arkansas, or for Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, New Jersey, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Minnesota and Iowa. The
highest yields and prices per pound are for seed-leaf tobacco,
used exclusively for cigars, and grown solely in the Northern
States, and mainly in a few counties on the Connecticut River,
three in New York, three in Pennsylvania, and in limited
districts in Wisconsin and Ohio.

HAY.

AVEKAGES OF TeX YeAHS (18W-89).

The average yield per acre for the whole country is given
as 1.19 tons, and the average value per acre as 811.08. The
average yield per acre for Massachusetts is given as 1.09
tons, and the average value per acre as $18.82. In yield
per acre California and Oregon lead, with 1.39 tons, followed
by Minnesota, with 1.32; Nebraska and Washington, with
1.31 ; and Dakota, with 1.30. The lowest is New Hampshire,
with .93, followed b}^ Rhode Island, with .96 ; Maine, with .97 ;
Florida, with .98 ; and Connecticut, with .99. All the others
are above one ton per acre. In value per acre Massachusetts
leads, with $18.82, followed by Georgia, with $17.31 ; New
Jersey, with $16.79; Alabama, with $16.54; Florida, with
$16.37; Rhode Island, with $16.19 ; Mississippi, with $16.16 ;
and California, with $16.02. The lowest are Nebraska, with
$4.82 ; Dakota, with $5.10 ; and Kansas, with $5.55. All the
others are over $6.35. There is a great difference in the
State values of hay. Massachusetts has naturally the highest
average, $18.82 per acre, having the fewest numbers engaged

28

in agriculture in proportion to the whole population, and
therefore the largest relative demand. Nebraska has the
smallest average, S4. 82, as large areas of grass are had for
little more than the cost of cutting. It has been rela-
tively high in the South, because grass has been deemed
inimical to agriculture under the cotton regime, and not
generally tolerated.

The yield per acre is an important element in value per
acre, but not the only one. The price per pound or bushel
also ditiers, owing to distance from market and local scarcity
or abundance. The tendency of railroad extension is toward
equalization of prices, yet the difference in State averages of
price shows how great differentiation in price still exists.
It naturally happens that where prices are Ioav yields are
also low from lack of inducement to high culture, intensify-
ing the disparity in values per acre. A study of these
differences may surprise the casual reader, and may prove
fruitful of practical suggestions if made with care and
thoughtfulness.

Series of 1891. Bulletin No. 4.

MASSACHUSETTS

CEOP EEPOKT

MONTH OF AUGUST, 1891.

COMPILED BY

WM. R. SESSIONS,

Secretary State Board of Agriculture.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

CROP EEPORT FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 1891.

Compiled from Returns to the Office of the State Board of
Agriculture, Aug. 28, 1891.

Office State Board of Agriculture,

Boston-, Mass., Sept. 3, 1891.

Bulletin No. 4, Crop Report for the month of August, is
herewith presented. For this issue blanks for returns were
sent to one hundred and sixty correspondents and one hun-
dred and twenty-one were returned in season to be incor-
porated in the bulletin.

In the circular to correspondents returnable to this office
Augu-st 28, the first question asked was : " What is the out-
look for Indian corn as compared with an average season ? "
In answer to this question 37 correspondents state that the
crop promises to be more than an average, 40 an avei'age
one, 34 a good one and 10 below an average. The crop
promises well in all counties except Barnstable, where it has
has been greatly injured by dr}^ weather.

The second question asked was : " Do you think rowen will
be an average crop?" Fully three-fourths of the replies to
this question are to the effect that rowen does not promise
to be an average crop. Some state that it promises to ])e an
average and a very few that it will be more than an average.
Some state that there is scarcely any. The cause of the
shortage is due to dry weather and late cutting of the first
crop. It is presumed that the abundant rains the last week
in August will greatly benefit the crop.

The third question asked was : " What is the outlook for
late potatoes?" Of the 97 replies to this question 53 state
that the outlook for late potatoes is good ; 20 that it is excel-
lent; 13 that it is fair; 7 that it is not very good; and 4
that the crop will be light. The crop appears to promise
about as well in one county as another.

The fourth question asked was: "Have you observed
potato blight or rot? If so, state the date first noticed."
Nearly all of the correspondents state that they have observed
either Ijlight or rot. It is not thought that rot is severe yet,
though it may become so with favorable weather. Several
report that they noticed what they considered to be blight
about the middle of July. Most, however, report having
observed blight or rot after August 1.

The fifth question asked was: "What is the general con-
dition of dairy stock in your vicinity ? "' Most of the
correspondents report dairy stock as being in either good,
excellent or average condition while about 25 state that it is
not up to the average ; some report cows as l)eing thin in
flesh and a number that there has been a shrinkage in the
quantity of milk given.

The sixth question asked was: "Has dairying l)een as
profital)le this year as usual?" To this question 72 corre-
spondents answer yes, 39 no, and 10 state that dairying this
year has been more profitable than last. The chief drawbacks
to successful dairying this year have been shortness of past-
ure feed and high price of grain. It has been necessary to
feed stock in the barn, thus increasing the expense.

The seventh question asked was : " Do you think the
dairy interests of the State are seriously aftected Ijy the
manufacture and sale of oleomargarine?" Of the 70 direct
replies to this question 56 say yes and 14 say no. Some
state that oleomargarine is not sold or used in their town, to
their knowledge, and they know very little about it. Others
state that they do not think the sale of oleomargarine inju-
riously aflects the sale of good dairy products but that it
drives poor 1)utter out of the market.

It seems to be the general opinion among dairymen that the
manufacture and sale of oleomargarine seriously aflfects the
dairy interests. Correspondents connected with co-operative
creameries state this to be their belief. This injury is more
manifest when oleomar2:arine is sold as butter.

The last legislature passed an act entitled "An Act to
provide for the protection of dairy products and to establish
a state dairy bureau." This law went into effect Septem-
ber 1, and states in what ways oleomargarine and l)utterine

shall not be sold, and provides punishment for oflfenders.
For the enforcement of this law the governor is authorized
to appoint three members of the Board of Agriculture to
constitute a dairy bureau of the Board, to serve without pay.
The secretary of the Board is made the executive officer, and
the governor has authority to appoint an assistant to him.
The bureau is allowed to expend §4,000 annually in carrying
forward the work. The bureau is empowered to investigate
dairy and imitation dairy products bought or sold ; to enforce
all laws for the manufacture, transfer and sale of such prod-
ucts ; to investigate methods of butter and cheese making,
and to disseminate information in the interests of the dairy
industry.

A statistical and historical article upon the subject of oleo-
margarine will be found printed at the end of the bulletin.

A portion of the tobacco crop has been harvested in good
condition. Considerable has been sold in the field at unusu-
ally good prices. Favorable weather for harvesting and
curing is anxiously looked for by the growers.

Crops in the market gardens around Boston are looking
unusually well. Celery, squashes, tomatoes, etc., promise
to be good crops. The pear crop throughout the State is
very large.

Report No. 87 of the Statistician of the United States
Department of Agriculture gives the following figures of
estimated condition of crops in Massachusetts Aug. 1, 1891 :
Average condition of corn, 97 ; average condition of spring
rye, 97 ; average condition of oats, 9H ; average condition of
barley, 94 ; average condition of buckwheat, 99 ; average
condition of potatoes, 99 ; average condition of tobacco, 99 ;
average condition of timothy hay, 86 ; product of clover
compared with a full crop, 82 ; average quality of clover
bay, 100 standing for high quality, 91 ; average condition of
pasture, 100; average condition of apples, 70; average con-
dition of peaches, 69 ; average condition of grapes, 95.

CONDITION OF CHOPS IN THIS SECTION.
From United States Weather-Crop Bulletins.
Week ending August 7. — New England : The weather
has been too cool for hay and the grain harvest, and also for

6

the growth of crops. There are indications of potato rot in
western Massachusetts. An average cranberry crop is
reported from Plymouth, Mass.

Week ending August 14. — New England: Drought
severe in central and south-eastern portions ; pastures sufl'er-
ing ; wells and cisterns very low. Corn has grown well.
Potatoes promise a large yield, and there is but little rot
reported. Tobacco promises an excellent yield.

Week ending August 21. — New England: Grain is
being harvested, with heavy yields. Tobacco cutting is pro-
gressing and promises the best crop for years.

Week ending August 28. — New England : Weather fav-
orable for growth of corn and grasses, but very unfavorable
for maturing and harvesting of crops. Potato rot general,
though not severe. Tobacco not injured.

TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY.
From United States Weather-Crop Bulletins.

Week ending August 7. — General deficiency in tempera-
ture. Excess in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska and the
south-east portion of the south Atlantic States. Excess of
rainfall alons; the northern border, from Michio;an to the
Pacific Ocean, and in the major portion of the south Atlantic
and Gulf States.

Week ending August 14. — General excess in tempera-
ture. General deficiency in rainfiiU.

Week ending August 21. — Excess in temperature except
in the Rocky Mountain region and southern Florida. Great-
est excess in the central valleys, including the greater por-
tion of the corn region. Excess in rainfall from the Atlantic
coast southward to the Gulf States and westward to the
Rocky Mountains, and in southern Florida.

Week ending August 28. — The week was warmer than
usual, both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and was
unusually cool throughout the central valleys, frosts occur-
ring; in some of the northern sections. The rainfall durin^:
the week was generally in excess over the regions east of
the Mississippi ; also in the interior of Texas and at northern
Rocky Mountain stations. The rainfall in the south Atlantic
States was unusually heavy.

Massachusetts Weather.

Meteorological Data for August, 1891.

Temperature.

Deg.

F.

Pkecipita-

TIO.V.

■d

Cloudiness.
No. OP Days.

STATION.

s

'^

_s

>,

3
3

s

'3

3

3

a

a

op

'5

u

o

5

■a

3

_o

5

IMonroe,

64.9

88

11

41

1

3.75

7

8

5

18

Springfield, .

72.1

92

11

50

1

4.01

12

s.

11

15

5

Amherst,

68.8

90

11

46

1

3.67

13

N. E

14

11

6

Royalstou, .

70.7

88

11

54

29

4 00

7

s. w.

_

_

_

Fitchburg,* .

68.6

90

11

54

31

2.48

14

W

10

12

9

Princeton, .

67.3

88

11

46

1

1.99

16

W.

_

_

Dudley,

71.8

94

11

53

29,30,31

2.58

10

S. AV.

16

8

7

Framingham,

69.4

94

11

45

1 i

5.22

12

_

_

_

_

Concord,

69.2

93

11

50

3

2.85

11

s. w.

13

6

12

Lawi'ence, .

71.6

94

10,11

50

1

2.01

9

S. E.

9

9

13

Ipswich,

70.8

94

10,12

54

1

2 00

10

S, W

«

18

5

Boston,

70.0

90

12

54

1

3.87

13

S. W.

8

14

9

Middleboro',

68.3

—

11

41

1

3.22

9

s. w

9

17

5

New Bedford,

70.2

93

10

50

20

2.17

15

Nantucket, .

68.9

84

10

57

30,31

3.41

8

s. w.

4

6

21

Provinceto'n,

69.9

90

11

53

20

393

9

-

-

* Temperature data from thermometer not self-registering.

Summary .

Temjjerature (F.). — Monthly mean, 69.5°. Highest
monthly mean, 72.1° at Springfield; lowest monthly mean,
64.9° at Monroe ; maximum, 94° at Dudley and Framingham
on the 11th and Lawrence on the 10th and llth; minimum,
41° at Monroe and Middleborough on the 1st; range, 53° ;
greatest local monthly range, 49° at Framingham ; least
local monthly range, 27° at Nant.ucket ; greatest daily range,
35° at Concord on the 8th ; at Lawrence on the 3d and at
Middleborough on the 7th ; least daily range, 2° at Ipswich
on the 27th. Average temperature for August at Spring-
field for twenty-four years, 70.5° ; average for August, 1891,
72.1° ; departure, +1.6°. Average temperature for August
at Boston for twenty-one years, 69.1° ; average for August,
1891, 70.0°; departure, +0.9°.

Precipitcdion. — Average, 3.07 inches ; greatest, 5.22 at
Framingham ; least, 1.99 at Princeton. Average for August
at Springfield for forty-four years, 4.52 ; for August, 1891,

4.01; departure, 0.51. Average for August at Boston for
twenty-one years, 4.41 ; for August, 1891, 3.87 ; departure,
0.54.

Prevailing wind, — South-west.

Thunder-storms, — Qih, 7th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 23d, 24th,
28th.

Meieo)'ic showers, — Ipswich, 10th, 11th.

Remarks.

The mean temperature for the month of August, 1891, at
those stations in Massachusetts having records for more than
ten years, was slightly above the normal, being somewhat in
contrast with the month of July in this respect. The amount
of excess varied from 0.9° at Boston to 1.6° at Springfield.
The days of highest temperature were the 10th, 11th and
12th, although the days from the 21st to 28th, under the
hot moisture-laden southerly winds that prevailed were
oppressively warm. The maximum was several degrees
lower than was experienced in June (an unusual fact) and
occurred on the 11th, except along the coast where a well
defined sea-breeze was felt. This breeze was first noted at
Swampscott at about nine o'clock a.m. and from thence
extended well inland. At Cambridge the heat on the 11th
was considerably tempered by the sea-breeze but at Chestnut
Hill it was scarcely felt, and at Lake Cochituate and Concord,
not at all, or if felt it was too late to influence the maximum
temperature. The minimum temperature occurred generally
on the morning of the 1st, but it was very cool on the 3d,
20th and the last three days of the month. No frost has
been reported.

The number of cloudy and rainy days was in excess,
except at Nantucket and a few other local sections, but
the precipitation was nearly one inch below the average.
The thunder-storms were neither frequent nor unusually
heavy. High wind accompanied a storm on the 12th, which
did some damage to fruit and crops, and slight damage was
done by heavy rains on the 28th. At Amherst 0.35 inches
of rain fell in ten minutes, and at Provincetown over one
inch fell from 3.55 to 4.40 p.m. Heavy rains fell, also, at
Nantucket on the 30th.

9

NOTES OF correspo:n^dents.

(Mailed to us August 28.)

BERKSHIRE COUNTY.

Sheffield (DwiGiiT Andrews) . — Indian corn promises more
than an average. Do not think rowen will be an average crop.
There are indications of potato rot. Blight appeared about July
20. Dairy stock is thin in flesh. I think dairying has been about
as profitable this year as usual.

Egremont (J, H. Rowley). — Corn is two weeks late but
promises an average crop if frost holds off till September 10.
Rowen will not be an average crop. Late potatoes promise a full
average crop. Have noticed neither blight nor rot. Condition of
dairy stock good. Dairying has been as profitable this year as
usual.

Monterey (Wm. S. Bidwell). — Outlook for Indian corn is fair.
Do not think rowen will be an average crop. Outlook for late
potatoes is good. Have observed blight but no rot. Condition
of dairy stock is good and dairying has been more profitable this
year than usual.

Lee (A. Bradley) . — Indian corn promises to be a little better
than an average crop. Rowen will not be up to the average.
Blight struck late potatoes August 1 and some pieces are rotting
very badly. General condition of dairy stock is good but not
quite up to last year. The product per cow is a little short.

Cheshire (L. J. Nouthup). — The outlook for Indian corn is
promising as compared with an average season. Rowen is look-
ing well where the ground is in good heart. Outlook for late
potatoes is good Init I hear of some fields that are rotting. Pota-
to vines are all dead in this locality ; commenced to die ten days
ago. The general condition of dairy stock is good. Dairying has
been more profitable this year than usual.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Ashjield (A. G. Howes). — Outlook for Indian corn good.
Backward the first part of the season, but now progressing rap-

10

idly. Kowen will not be an average crop. Late potatoes promise
a fair crop. Noticed blight about the 20th. Farmers are digging
potatoes this week. Pastures are generally short, and stock is not
in as good condition as last year. Prices of dairy products are
better than last year.

Charlemont (Henry S. Giles). — Outlook for Indian corn is
good if there is no early frost. The rowen crop will not be as
large as in some years. Newly seeded pieces will be very good.
Outlook for late potatoes is very good if they are not seriously
affected by blight. Have observed no rot. Noticed blight on
some fields as early as the 10th of August. Condition of dairy
stock is very good and will continue so with care and proper feed-
ing. Think dairying has been as profitable this year as usual.
Dairying is a profitable business if rightly conducted. With short
feed in pastures cows should have extra care and feed.

Colrain (A. A. Smith). — Outlook for Indian corn better than
usual, with very little smut. Kovven promises to be an average
crop. Am unable to tell as to the outlook for late potatoes, but
have much fear of rot. Observed blight about August 1. Gen-
eral condition of dairy stock is good, seldom better ; feed good ;
and cows in fine condition. Dairying has been more profitable
this 3'ear than usual.

Deerjield (Chakles Jones) . — There is a good growth of corn
and the warm weather has brought it forward so it is nearly up to
an average season. Poweu is nearly ready to cut and will be a
light crop. Potatoes are a good crop and appear to be healthy ;
have noticed neither blight nor rot. General condition of dairy
stock is good, and dairying has been as profitable as usual.
Onions are looking well and will be a good crop. Growers are
being offered about fifty cents a bushel. Tobacco is extra good
and is being harvested. Some have sold to be delivered in the
bundle, price from thirteen to twenty-two cents per pound.

Northfield (Charles Pomeroy). — Indian corn promises more
than an average crop. Rowen will not be up to the average, on
account of drought. There will not be a full crop of late potatoes
because of dry weather. Noticed blight about August 10, but
have seen no rot. Condition of dairy stock is very good. On an
average dairying has been fully as profitable as usual this year ;
months of May and June better than usual.

Orange (Ansel Harrington) . — Crop of Indian corn promises
to be fully equal to an average season. Rowen will be more than
an average crop. Outlook for late potatoes very good. Noticed
a little blight about the 20th and have just discovered a little rot.
General condition of dairy stock very good. Dairying about as

11

profitable as usual. I think, taking all things into consideration,
this must be one of the most prosperous seasons for farmers in
this vicinity that we have had for many years.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Amherst (C. E. "Wilsox). — The outlook is for an average crop
of Indian corn. Kowen will be an average crop ; the late rains
have helped it. The outlook for late potatoes is very good.
Noticed potato rot August 26. General condition of dairy stock is
very good and dairying has been more profitable this year than
usual.

Hadley (L. W. West). — Indian corn promises to be a good
crop. Rowen will not be an average crop. Not many late pota-
toes raised in this section. Noticed blight July 28. General
condition of dairy stock is good. Think dairying has been as
profitable this year as usual. In most places the quantity of milk
has been smaller than usual, probably owing to the dryness of the
season. The price of butter has been higher than usual. Since
last report 6.47 inches of rain have fallen ; July 31, 1.50 inches ;
August 22, 1.42 inches; August 28, 1.23 inches.

Northampton (D. A. Horton). — The acreage of Indian corn is
large and fully up to the standard. Rowen will be a light crop.
The outlook for late potatoes is good . Dairy stock is looking well
and dairying has been about as profitable as for the last three
years.

Goshen (Alvax Barrus). — Indian corn looks well but is still
late, which will injure the earing somewhat. Think rowen will not
be an average crop and will be late. Late potatoes will be rather a
light yield. Noticed blight about August 15 but have seen no rot
yet. Should say the general condition of dairy stock is good.
Dairying fully as profitable as usual except for the high price of
grain.

Southampton (C. B. Lyman). — The warm weatlier for the past
three weeks has developed Indian corn very rapidly. It will be
fully up to the average and is well eared out. The rains of the
past week have started rowen and there will be a better crop than
was expected. Late potatoes are full grown and are yielding well.
Have noticed neither blight nor rot. Dairy stock looks fairly well.
There has been a shrinkage in milk, on account of dry pastures.
Think dairying has been as profitable this year as usual as butter
has brought a better price than in the past few years. Tobacco
crop is the best ever harvested.

12

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

Ilolyoke (John C. Thorpe). — Indian coin is looking finely
and above the average on light land. Rowen will be about two-
thirds of a crop. Outlook for late potatoes good. Dairy cows
have given a good flow of milk this season and are in good con-
dition. Milk has sold well, with but little surplus. Prices are
about the same as in past years.

West Springfield (T. A. Rogers). — Indian corn promises to be'
above the average but is about a week late. Think rowen will be
a full average ; did not start early but is growing fast now.
Outlook for late potatoes good for an average crop. Have noticed
nothing to be called blight, but the dry w^eather in the first part
of July hurt potatoes on dry land. Stock is looking very well.
Pastures are better to-day than the first of June. Dair3nng is
about as usual. It is hard to realize a profit.

Blandford (E. W. Boise). — The season on the whole has been
dry. The past week has given much rain. All crops are proving
very extra. Hay above the average, extra quality. Spring grains
fully twenty five per cent above the average yield. Potatoes good
average crop, large size and fair. Late varieties appear within
the last week to be struck with blight, but no rot reported as 3'et.
Fruit will be a fair crop. Dairy stock has done up to the average,
though of late it has fallen off on account of dry pastures. The
rains of the past week will give feed and second crop hay a good
start. Corn stands very extra. On the whole thus far we all
should be thankful for a prosperous season.

Ludloiv (C. B. Bennett). — Indian corn promises to be above
an average crop. Outlook for late potatoes is poor. Have ob-
served no rot, but blight appeared about the 15th. Potatoes are
scabbing badly. Dairy stock is thin, owing to short pasturage.
Dairying has not been as profitable this year as usual, on account
of the high price of grain. Clover rowen looks fair but rowen
generally looks badl}'. The crop will be about two-thirds of an
average.

Hamjyden (J . ^ . Jshxm) . — Prospect for an average crop of
Indian corn is good. Rowen crop will be a little short. Late
potatoes promise to be above an average crop. Apparently a
blight came upon most potatoes August 15, but I think it really
was a premature or hasty ripening of the tops, for the early,
medium late and late varieties ripened in their natural order,
which would indicate no sweeping blight. Some very late varie-
ties are still green. Dairy stock is in average condition and
dairying has been a little more profitable than usual.

13

Brimfield (S. AY, Browx). — Outlook for Indian corn is good,
but on account of drought the ears are not well filled out. Rowen
will not be two-thirds of an average crop. Outlook for late
potatoes is fair but drought has hurt them some. Have noticed
very little blight or rot. Condition of dairy stock poor ; feed has
been too poor all summer. Dairying has been as profitable this
year as usual. The drought has hurt the dairy badly. Pastures
have been in worse condition than the mowings where we did not
cut over two-thirds of a crop. Corn has made more than an
average growth ; more ears to the stalk than common but the
ears are not well filled out.

WORCESTER COUNTY.

Warren (AY. E. Patrick). — Think the outlook for Indian corn
is good for twenty-five per cent above an average season. Rowen
will not be more than one-third of a crop. Late potato vines are
looking well but fear the dry weather affected the setting. Noticed
some cases of blight August 14. Some complaint of rot, but I do
not think it is very extensive. On account of the severity of last
winter, dairy stock came to the pastures looking thin ; feed started
very slowl}^, and has not been first class at any time. The last
dry spell caused loss of fiesh where grain has uot been fed. "While
the price of dairy products has increased this season, grain has been
so high and feed so short that it is very doubtful if dairying will be
as profitable this year as usual.

Xeio Braintree (C. D. Sage). — Indian corn never looked better
at this time of year. Rowen uot up to the average ; very little will
be cut. Late potatoes promise a fair crop, but uot so good as the
early ones. Some blight was seen about August 10, but there is
little rot as yet. Dairy stock is looking well, but there is general
complaint of shrinkage of milk. Dairying has been much more
profitable this year than last season. Cows have done fairly well
and milk and butter have sold readily at fair prices, much better
than last season.

Dana (E. A. Albee). — Indian corn promises a full average
crop. Rowen will be an average crop. Outlook for late potatoes
fair ; early potatoes are rotting badly. A good many fields are
blighted ; appeared about August 1 . Dairy stock is rather thin,
owing to short pasturage. Dairying has not been as profitable this
year as usual.

Templeton (Lucien Gove). — Indian corn promises to be a fair
average crop. August has been hot, with frequent light rains, and
has pushed corn along rapidly, so its condition is much improved.
Poor weather carried haying into the first half of the month. Rowen

14

will be rather below the average on account of light rains. Out-
look for late potatoes very good. Have observed neither blight
nor rot. Dairy stock is generally healthy and in fair condition as
regards flesh. Dairying has been as profitable this year as usual.
Blueberries and blackberries are a bountiful crop and sell readily
in the local markets. Pears are a large crop. There is a fair crop
of fall apples, but winter apples are very light. Beef sells better
than a 3'ear ago. Grain is advancing in price.

Westminster (Joseph Hager). — Outlook for Indian corn is very
good. Rowen will be an average crop but later than usual. Out-
look for late potatoes is excellent ; nothing like it for years. Have
observed neither blight nor rot. Dairy stock is looking about as
usual. Dairying has not been as profitable this year as usual, on
account of the high price of feed.

Bolton (H. E. Babcock). — Indian corn looks well but is late.
There will be little rowen cut in this vicinity. Outlook for late
potatoes is good but there is a good deal of complaint ver}'^ recently
of blight. Dairy stock is generally healthy but not in as good flesh
as usual. Do not think dairying has been as profitable this year
as last, as feed has been short and grain high, so farmers have
not fed as much as usual.

Berlin (P. B. Southwick). — Indian corn is looking well and
if the frost holds off there will be an average crop. Rowen will not
be more than twenty-five per cent of an average. Outlook for late
potatoes is very good. Noticed some indications of blight about
the twentieth. Have noticed some rot. Condition of dairy stock
about an average. Price of milk about the same as usual but
butter is low and grain high and should say dairying has not been
as profitable as usual. Although there is a heavy growth of foli-
age and it is still growing rapidly, fruit and vegetables seem to
grow very slowly and should we have an early frost there will be
great injury.

Speyicer (H, H. Kingsbury). — Outlook for Indian corn is very
favorable. Haying on uplands was completed the first week in
August and the very warm weather, with occasional showers, has
started a fine second growth. Outlook for late potatoes is not
good, owing to dry spells and risk of rot. Noticed both blight and
rot August 8. Condition of dairy stock as good as usual, all in
good health. Dairying has been as profitable this year as usual
although there is at present a shortage of milk. Wild berries
have been plenty. Blackberries still continue to ripen. Early
apples plenty, but of poor quality. There will be a shortage of
winter fruit. Pear trees are heavily loaded with fine fruit. Farm
produce, except potatoes, will bring goo(^ prices this fall.

15

Douglas (G. M. Wallis). — Cora promises to be a good crop ;
ten per cent better than au average. Rowen will not be an aver-
age ci'op. Outlook for late potatoes good. Noticed blight
August 12 ; if any, probably about five per cent of rot. Dairy
stock is in good condition and looks well. Dairying has been
about as profitable as usual in this vicinity.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Sherborn (N. B. Douglas). — Outlook for Indian corn is good.
Another ten days of warm weather will mature it. Rowen will
not be an average crop. Late potatoes are rotting badly. Dairy
stock is not up to average years in condition, as grain has been too
high. Think dairying has been as profitable this year as usual.
The advance in price of dairy products about offsets the price of
grain.

Concord (Wm. H. Hunt), — Indian corn looks well but it is a
little late. Rowen will be below au average crop. Late potatoes
are rotting considerably. Noticed rot August 19 but potatoes may
have commenced rotting before that date. Pastures are rather
short and on account of the high price of grain farmers are not
feeding as much as usual. Dairying not as profitable as usual
this year. The price for nearly all truck products for August has
been low. Blackberries on some days have sold as low as six cents
per quart. Potatoes at $1..50 per barrel. Bartlett pears at $1.00
per bushel. The great abundance of peaches has hurt the sale of
all kinds of fruit.

Littleton (Geo. W. Sanderson). — Indian corn promises more
than an average. Rowen will be au average crop. Outlook for
late potatoes is good. Noticed a very slight blight about two
weeks ago. Dairy stock is in very good condition. Dair3'ing has
been as profitable this year as usual. The dairy interests in this
vicinity are principally devoted to the sale of milk.

BiUerica (J. N. Pardee). — Crop of Indian corn above the
average but rather late. Rowen less than half an average crop.
Do not hear of potatoes rotting badly. Dairy stock is generally
in good condition. Do not think dairying has been as profitable
this year as usual. The high price of grain, the low price of milk
(twenty-two cents per can) and short pasturage, have conspired
against our making an average quantity of milk. One farmer who
ordinarily makes fifteen cans, dried and sent off to pasture every
cow but one, and others have done so to some extent. Other
farmers are keeping their cows up simply in hope that the present
shortage of milk and reduction in the size of herds will force
prices up after the first of October. Should present conditions

16

prevail there will be a large " slaughter" of all but the best cows,
and were it not for valuable "waste products" iu the manure
cellar most of our herds would have gone to the block last spring.
Wilmington (C. W. Savaix). —Indian corn promises to be^a
good crop. Rowen will be an average crop. Observed potato
blight at different times about the middle of August ; also con-
siderable rot. Dairy stock is about in average condition. Should
say dairying has been as profitable this year as usual. Plenty of
fall apples but little demand for them. Winter apples almost a
total failure. Pears iu abundance and all other crops doing well.

ESSF.X COUNTY.

North Andover (Peter Holt, Jr.— Indian corn will be an
average crop. Rowen will be very light on account of dry
weather. The outlook for late potatoes is good. Have seen no
blight or rot. On account of short feed and high prices of grain
the condition of dairy stock is hardly up to the average and milk
is short. Dairying has not been as profitable this year as usual.

Haverhill (Ebenezer Webster).— Indian corn does not prom
ise quite an average on account of early cold and later drought.
Rowen will not be an average crop with us. Outlook for late
potatoes is fair if rot does not interfere. First noticed rot about
the 12th of the present month. Some pieces are not affected.
Dairy cows are not giving as much milk as usual, owing to drought.
Excepting for the high price of grain dairying has been as profit-
able this year as usual.

Grovelcmd (Abel Stickney) . — Outlook for Indian corn is good,
and with a favorable September it will be more than an average
crop. Late potatoes promise a good crop. Have neither seen
nor beard of rot. Dairy stock looks well generally although past-
ures are dry and short. The rowen crop will be very small. At
the usual time for cutting have not seen so little for years. A wet
September may produce some.

Topsfieia (B. P. Pike). — Indian corn promises to be a full
average crop. Rowen will not be an average crop. Late potatoes
promise a large crop. Have not seen blight or rot. Dairy stock
is looking and doing well. Light rains have kept the pastures
green. Dairying has been fully as profitable this year as usual.
Fall fruit and vegetables plenty. If the frost holds off there will
be a large crop of cranberries.

Marhlehead (W. S. Phillips, Jr.). —No corn except sweet and
ensilage grown here. Rowen will not be an average crop. Out-
look for late potatoes very fair. First noticed blight July 17.
Early potatoes seem to rot badly but late varieties do not seem to

17 \

have been injured as yet. General condition of dairy stock JiaS'
been up to the average although within a week milking cows haVe
shrunk in milk very much. Pastures need more moisture; at ^
present many are only exercise grounds for the stock. Dairying
has been just as profitable this year as usual. The season taken
in all promises to be a fairly profitable one for the farmer.

NORFOLK COUNTY.

Weymouth (H. W. Dyek). — The outlook for Indian corn is
much better than usual. Rowen will be an average crop. The
outlook for late potatoes is fair. Have not observed much potato
blight. The general condition of dairy stock is good and I think
that dairying has been as profitable this year as usual.

Avon (S. Frank Oliver). — Yield of Indian corn will be a
little above the average. Rowen does not promise an average
crop. Late potatoes are in excellent condition. Early potatoes
show some signs of rot but late crops have not been affected.
Condition of dairy stock good and dairying as profitable as usual.
Fodder corn this year wall be of a better quality and larger quan-
tity per acre than for some years past. Although fall apples will
be plenty Baldwins and Russets are a little poorer than usual.

Millis (E. F. Richardson). — Indian corn promises to be a good
crop. Rowen will not be an average crop. Outlook for late pota-
toes is good. Have observed neither blight nor rot. Dairy stock
generally in good condition. Dairying has not been as profitable
this year as usual.

Norfolk (J. W. Hinkley). — Indian corn will be above an aver-
age crop. Rowen will not be an average crop. The outlook for
late potatoes is good ; noticed rot about August 15. General con-
dition of dairy stock is very fair for milk producing. Dairying
has not been as profitable this year as usual , on account of the cost
of grain. The weather has been very favorable for reseeding
grass land.

Fntvl'lin (C. M. Allen). — Indian corn is an average crop but
backward. An early frost might damage it badly. Rowen will
not be an average crop. Outlook for late potatoes is good. Very
little blight or rot in this section. Dairy stock is not up to the
average in condition. No profit in dairying this year. We pro-
duce all milk.

BRISTOL COUNTY.

Mansfield (D. E. Harding). — The outlook for Indian corn is
very good. Rowen will be more than an average crop. Late pota-
toes promise an unusually large crop ; no blight or rot. The gen-

18

eral condition of dairy stock is good and I think that dairying has
been as profitable this j^ear as usual. Have not seen potatoes and
vegetables so abundant for ten years. Trees are loaded with pears
and all fruits except apples. Apples are not so plenty.

Swanzey (F. G. Arnold) . — Corn has suffered much from dry
weather. Think it about two-thirds of a crop. Do not know of
any rowen in town. Late potatoes are blighted and are a very
light crop. Blight appeared the last week in July. There is some
rot on low land. General condition of dairy stock is very good.
Grain is so high and grass and water so scarce that milk costs
about all it sells for. Dairying has not been as profitable this
year as usual.

Dighton (A. W. Paul). — Indian corn promises to be a very
good crop. Rowen will not be an average crop. Outlook for
late potatoes unusually good. Noticed a very little blight the last
of July. Dairy stock about an average in condition. Dairying
has not been as profitable this year as usual because of the high
price of grain. Potatoes rule at about fifty cents per bushel. Toma-
toes are rotting worse than usual, at least three-fourths being dis-
eased with a black rot. This is a serious matter to our farmers
who raise them largely for our canning factory. We are now hav-
ing fine rains.

Berkley (R. H. Babbitt). — Think the corn crop will fall short
of an average, owing to dry weather. Rowen is a failure here.
Hardly any late potatoes are planted here. Have observed no
blight but some fields seem to be badly affected with rot. The
dry weather has caused the cows to fall off in milk rapidly of late,
compelling farmers to feed from the barn as in winter. Do not
think dairj'ing has been as profitable this year as usual.

Westport (A. S. Sherman). — Outlook for Indian corn fair
though it is somewhat injured by drought. Rowen crop almost
a total failure. Outlook for late potatoes very good. Have
observed very little rot. Dairy stock is looking well. Dairying
has been as profitable this year as usual. The drought is doing a
great deal of damage. There is scarcely any feed for cows, caus-
ing a small flow of milk, which is a serious matter to us as this is
a milk producing vicinity and we do not sell butter or cheese.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY.
Lakeville (Elbridge Cushman). — The outlook for Indian corn
is above that of the average season. Rowen will not be an aver-
age crop. There is general complaint that late potatoes are rot-
ting. The rot commenced in most fields about August L5. Dairy
stock is not up to the average in condition, pastures are short, and

19

fall feed not as good as was expected two weeks ago. Dairying
has not been as profitable this year as usual.

Hanson (Dr. F. S. Thomas). — Scarcely any Indian corn raised
in town. Rowen will not be an average crop. Outlook for late
potatoes is good. Noticed blight about the middle of August.
Condition of dairy stock good. Think dairying has been as profit-
able this year as usual.

Marshjidd (G. J. Petekson). — Indian corn promises to bean
average crop although it has been somewhat injured by drought.
Rowen will not be an average crop. Crop of late potatoes is more
than an average. Have observed no blight and very little rot.
General condition of dairy stock is better than in former years.

Brockton (Davis Copeland). — The outlook for Indian corn is
good. Rowen will hardly be an average crop as a good deal of
the Ih'st crop was cut late and it has been dry. Not many late
potatoes raised in this section. Observed blight about the 8th
of August. Most of the cows in this part of the State are kept
by men who sell their milk and are fed grain and green fodder in
the stable and are in good flesh. Dairying has not been as profit-
able this year as usual. The high price of grain, together with
the shortness of the feed caused by the dry weather, has made it
cost more than usual to make milk, while the price has been the
same.

Wareham (A. Savary). — Indian corn will be almost an entire
failure, owing to the excessive drought. No rowen crop except on
very low land. Late potatoes do not promise to be so good a crop
as the early planted. Have observed no blight or rot. Dairy stock
is generally in good condition though suffering somewhat for want
of pasturage. This year has been about an average for profit in
dairying. The drought has been the most serious we have had in
this vicinity for many years. Have had no rain of any conse-
quence since April. Summer showers have passed on each side of
this town. All late crops are an entire failure, with the exception
of cranberries, which in this town, Carver and Plymouth, look well,
better than further down on the Cape.

BARNSTABLE COUNTY.
Sandioich (J. R. Holway). — Indian corn will not be over three-
fifths of an average crop. There will be no rowen except on low
meadows. Outlook for late potatoes good. Have observed blight
on a few pieces, but little or no rot. Cows have shrunk in milk
earlier in the season than usual and farmers have had to feed in the
barn all summer. Dairying has not been as profitable this year as
usual as pastures are short, grain high, and the price of butter

20

lower than usual. Potatoes are yielding unusually well and there
is an outlook for a good crop of cranberries. The long drought
has cut nearly all crops short and will hurt mowing in pastures
for another year.

Dennis (J osiivx Ckowell). — Indian corn promises to bean
average yield, though but little is raised in this vicinity. Rowen
will be very much less than an average crop. Outlook for late pota-
toes very good except for the very late varieties. Have observed
no blight or rot. Think there is a falling off in the general con-
dition of dairy stock. Dairying has i)robably been about as profit-
able as usual. We have been having a very severe drought in this
vicinity. Pastures and grass lands suffered severely and cran-
berries to quite an extent. Copious showers fell on the night of
the 26th.

Eastham (J. A. Clark). — Outlook for Indian corn poor.
Rowen will not be an average crop. There are not many late
potatoes planted here. Have observed neither blight nor rot.
Dairy stock is in fair condition. Think dairying has been as
profitable this year as usual. The long drought of some seven
weeks was broken the night of the 2Gth by copious rains. They
will probably help corn and were a boon to the late turnip crop.

DUKES COUNTY.

West Tisburi/ (W. J. Rotch). — Indian corn promises to be an
average crop. Rowen will not be over two-thirds of an average
crop. Outlook for late potatoes good. Have observed some
potato rot, as high as twenty per ceilt in some cases. Noticed it
as early as August 7. Dairy stock in average condition. Dairy-
ing has hardly been as profitable this year as usual, pasture feed
being very short.

NANTUCKET COUNTY.

Nantucket (C. W. Gardner). — Indian corn promises better than
an average. Rowen will not be an average crop. Outlook for
late potatoes is first rate. Noticed a little blight on several pieces
about August 12. Condition of dairy stock good and dairying
is rather on the increase with us. We are having a sharp drought
now.

21

OLEOMARGARINE.

The national law has made the term "oleomargarine" apply
to all forms of artificial butter or butter substitutes, and
requires them to be stamped as such. By this law oleo-
margarine includes "all manufactured substances heretofore
known as oleomargarine, oleo oil, oleomargarine oil, butter-
ine, lardine, suine and neutral; all lard extracts and tallow
extracts ; all mixtures and compounds of tallow, beef, fat,
suet, lard, lard oil, vegetable oils, etc.," so that each of these
substances, either alone or in mixtures, is classed under the
head of oleomargarine.

Early History.

In 1866-67* M. Mege-Mouries or Hippolyte Mege, at the
solicitation of the French Government, was engaged in inves-
tigating several questions of domestic economy, and was
invited to make experiments as to how far it was possible to
manufacture a butter for the navy department and the
poorer classes, which would be cheaj)er than butter and with-
out any rancid taste.

The product he obtained was of a slightly yellow color,
with a taste resembling neither tallow nor fat ; and under the
name of margarine was used extensively for kitchen purposes.
He churned the melted fat with finely-chopped, fresh cow's
udders, and to give the ordinary fiavor of butter, milk or
cream was added. He gave to the product the name of oleo-
margarine. On this process he took out a patent in England
in 1869 and in the United States in 1873.

Mege had a factory at Poissy, near Paris, and manufact-
ured oleomargarine for the markets of that city, and the
Council of Health of the Department of the Seine admitted
the new product as a legitimate food product, on condition
that it should not be sold as butter.

* The date is also 'avcn as 1869.

22

History in the United States.

Oleomargarine was first made in the United States experi-
mentally about the year. 1870, in the laboratory of Prof.
Chas. P. Chandler, at the School of Mines, Columbia
College, New York City.

About the year 1873 a man by the name of Paraf started
a company in New York, called the Oleomargarine Manu-
facturing Company. The process he used was like Mege's,
but the material produced was a granular fat, with none of
the odor or taste of butter ; hence little was sold.

About the same time or a little later, the United States
Dairy Company opened a factory in Brooklyn, N. Y., and
Dr. Henry A. Mott, Jr., the chemist of the company, studied
the Mege process and began a series of experiments to pre-
vent the crystallization. He succeeded in manufacturing an
article that closely resembled butter and the result of his
experiments has been adopted by all the manufacturers.
Prior to his discoveries the oleomargarine had a granular
consistence, and not the smooth, even texture of butter.

After 1876 and 1877 many factories were established in
dill'erent sections of the country, most of them employing
Mott's process. About this time the Commercial Manufact-
uring Company began operations on a large scale in New
York and at one time made 50,000 pounds of the substance
daily, Avhich it is stated found a ready sale at a price ranging
from 15 to 22 cents per pound, according to the season and to
the form in which it was put up. To make about 50,000
pounds of the substance a day it was necessary to treat 122,000
pounds of fat a night. This amount of fat would yield
41,882 pounds of oleomargarine, which, with 20 per cent
added for milk and salt taken up, would make 50,258.5
pounds of the so-called butter at a cost of $7,272.95, or at
a rate of 14.4 cents per pound. This factory was closed
soon after the enactment of the prohibitory law in New
York.

The annual report of the New York Produce Exchange
for 1889-90 states that the average price of oleomargarine at
New York in 1886 was 6^g to 6^ cents per i)Ound ; in 1887,
6| to Q\ cents per pound; in 1888, 7| to 7|| cents per

23

pound ; in 1889, 6| cents per pound. This would indicate
that the cost of manufacture cannot be much over 6 cents
per pound.

American Methods of Manufacture.

Although many patents have been granted for methods of
manufacture, not one of them is in use to-day, and the manu-
facture of oleomargarine is open to any one who can com-
mand the capital necessary and who wishes to go into the
business. The original Mogo patent was bought by Ameri-
can capitalists, but only for the purpose of protecting them-
selves, and most of the processes now in use are not covered
by the original patent.

* " The folio winoj inofredients enter into the manufacture
of oleomargarine as pursued in this country : Oleo oil,
neutral lard, some liquid vegetable oil, as cotton seed, sesame,
or peanut, butter, in the higher grades, cream and milk,
together with salt, and annotto or other coloring material.
Very few of the oleomargarine manufacturers make their own
oleo oil or neutral lard, and none of them refine or crush the
vegetable oils used in the lower grades of oleomargarine, but
buy them in the open market, these materials being now well
established commercial products.

The manufacture of oleo oil is generally carried on in con-
nection with the large slaughter and packing houses situated
in or near the principal cities, where every effort is made to
utilize all portions of the cattle slaughtered. The finished
product is nearly colorless, tasteless, and at ordinary tem-
perature is a soft, granular fat, rather than an oil. The hard
fat remaining in the filter bags is removed from the press
and forms the beef- or oleo-stearin, which is used either for
making refined lard, by the addition of cotton-seed oil, or
sold to the soap or candle makers. The manufacture of
neutral lard is conducted by essentially the same machinery
and at about the same temperature employed in the manu-
facture of oleo oil. Only the leaf fat of freshly-slaughtered
hogs is used.

Though there may be slight differences in the details, the
range of temperature, size of tanks, etc., pursued by the dif-

* Annual report of tlic Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 188S.

24

ferent manufacturers, the general procedure is similar, the,
object being to obtain a neutral fat, melting at butter tem-
peratures.

The butter used is always selected for its high flavor and
taste and is generally obtained direct from the creamery.
Owing to the granular character of oleo oil it becomes neces-
sary to add some softer and smoother fat, and neutral lard and
cotton-seed oil, or other similar vegetable oil, are added for
the purpose of making the mixture more closely approach the
consistency of butter. The proportions in which these ingre-
dients are used vary with the seasons of the year, the grade
desired, and the formulas of the manufacturers. The charge
of milk or cream, however, is the same for all grades manu-
fiictured by any particular factory, and varies from 10 to
20 per cent. The milk or cream is allowed to become slightly
sour. » The whole is churned together from twenty to ninety
minutes, the salt is then added and allowed to work itself in,
which generally takes from twelve to twenty-four hours.
The salted mass is then thoroughly worked by mechanical
rollers to remove the buttermilk and water, fallowing the
general practice of creameries in this and subsequent opera-
tions of packing, etc.

Oleomargarine is placed on the market either " solid
packed " or in prints or rolls. Four grades are generally
made, known as " dairy " and " extra dairy oleomargarine,"
'♦creamery" and "extra creamery butterine," the last two
containing from 10 to 25 per cent of the best creamery butter.
In the lower grades, from 25 to 60 per cent of neutral lard,
from 20 to 50 per cent of oleo oil, from 5 to 25 per cent
of vegetable oils, and in some cases from 2 to 10 per cent
of butter, with 10 to 20 per cent of milk or cream, are the
proportions used. Some factories employ no vegetable oils
in their oleomargarine, preferring to use a larger propor-
tion of neutral lard, with a small amount of butter, to
obtain the desired butter consistency. In the higher grades
the proportions of oleo oil are reduced, the vegetable oils are
discarded, and creamery butter is used to make up the
charge."

25

Production in the United States.*

The amount of oleomargarine produced in the United
States during the eight months ended June 30, 1887, was
21,694,627 pounds ; the amount produced during the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1888, was 34,325,527 pounds ; the
amount produced during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1889,
was 36,664,026 pounds, of which 18,523,172 pounds were
produced in Illinois, 6,658,469 in Rhode Island, 4,126,393
in Indiana, and 561,143 in Massachusetts; the amount pro-
duced during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1890, was
32,324,032 pounds, of which 21,366,145 pounds were pro-
duced in Illinois, 4,764,581 in Rhode Island, 2,423,554 in
Kansas, 1,769, 598 in Ohio, 1,076,667 in Pennsylvania, and
199,586 in Massachusetts. For the fiscal year ended June
30, 1890, the tax was paid on 30,960,286 pounds of oleo-
margarine, and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1891,
43,574,422 pounds, or an increase of 12,614,136 pounds.

In the fiscal years 1887 and 1888 the largest production
month was March, and in the fiscal year 1889, December;
while the greatest production during the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1890, occurred iu October, the quantity produced
during these months being as follows : —

In March, 1887, .
In March, 1888, .
In December, 1888,
In October, 1889,

3,568,254 pounds.
3,940,727 pounds.
4,181,317 pounds.
4,072,333 pounds.

on fell below 2,000,000

The months in which the producti
pounds were Ma}', June and July, 1887, June, 1889, and
May, June, July and August, 1890, the production for July,
1887, being the smallest, viz., 1,208,638 pounds.

Number of Persons in the Business and where Located *

From the year 1877 to the end of 1886, when the national
law went into etfect, about 80 factories had been established.
On the 1st of December, 1886, there were only 34 fiictories
in the country, located as follows : in Colorado, 2 ; Illinois,

* Annual reports of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

26

10 ; Indiana, 1 ; Kansas, 1 ; Massachusetts, 1 ; New York,
6 ; Ohio, 4 : and Rhode Island, 5. The number of persons
in business during April, 1«87, 1888, 1889 and 1890 was
as follows : —

18S7.

1888.

1

1889. 18!I0.

Mauufacturers,
Wholesale dealers,
Retail dealers,

32

236

3,929

29

154
3,279

23

160

3.906

21

151

3.256

Aggregates, .

4,197

3,462

4,089

3,428

Of the 21 manufacturers doing business in April, 1890, 1
was located in Denver, Col. ; 3 in Providence, R. I. ; 1 in
Pawtucket, R. I. ; 5 in Chicago, 111. ; 1 near Hammond,
Ind. ; 3 in Kansas City, Mo. ; 1 in St. Louis, Mo. ; 1 in
Cambridge, Mass. ; 1 in Columbus, O. ; 1 in Cleveland, O. ;
and 3 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Of the 151 wholesale dealers doing business in April,
1890, 7 were in Providence, R. I. ; 13 in Chicago, 111. ; 18
in Boston, Mass. ; 7 in Detroit, Mich. ; 6 in Pittsburg, Pa. ;
4 in Indianapolis, Ind. ; 4 in New Orleans, La. ; 4 in Grand
Rapids, Mich. ; 4 in St. Louis, Mo. ; 4 in Kansas City, Mo. ;
4 in Jersey City, N. J. ; 4 in Cincinnati, O. ; and the rest
scattering.

Of the 3,256 retail dealers doing business in April, 1890,
764 were in Illinois ; 302 in Connecticut and Rhode Island ;
400 in Massachusetts ; 305 in Michigan ; 266 in Missouri ;
136 in Pennsylvania ; and the rest scattering.

Oleomargarine in ^Massachusetts.

For the year ended June 30, 1888, 657,712 pounds of
oleomargarine were produced in Massachusetts ; the tax was
paid on 655,330 pounds ; 16,591 pounds were exported ; and
7,138 pounds remained in the factory (Cambridge) at the
close of the year. For the year ended June 30, 1889, 561,-

Zi

143 pounds were produced; the tax was paid on 515,595
pounds ; 36,427 pounds were exported ; and there remained
in the factory at the close cf the year, 16,259 pounds.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1890, 199,586 pounds
were produced ; the tax was paid on 176,026 pounds ; 26,454
pounds were exported ; and there remained 13,365 pounds
in the factory at the close of the year.

Upon inquiry at the office of the Collector of Internal
Revenue, Boston, it was learned that there are now 15 whole-
sale dealers in oleomargarine in Massachusetts, of which
number 10 are in Boston, 1 in Salem, 1 in Worcester, 1 in
Gloucester, 1 in Lowell and 1 in Springfield; also 179 retail
dealers, of which 57 are in Boston; 19 in Fall River; 14
in Somerville ; 10 in AVorcester ; 9 in Cambridge ; 8 in Law-
rence ; 5 in New Bedford ; 4 in Lowell, and the remainder
scattering.

According; to the records of the Boston Chamber of Com-
merce the total receipts of oleomargarine for the year 1890
were 193,120 packages, which included tubs and boxes.

Estimating the packages to average thirty-five pounds
apiece would make the receipts 6,759,200 pounds. Of this
quantity 127,653 pounds were recorded as exported.

During the year 1886 the names of 583 dealers were regis-
tered in the office of the inspector of milk and vinegar of
the city of Boston. In 1887 the number was 112. The
largfe decrease is attributed to the effect of the United States
revenue tax law imposing a tax of $48 for retailers and $480
for wholesalers. There was no evidence that the quantity of
oleomai-garine sold was less but the trade was in fewer hands.
In 1888 118 dealers were registered, 12 holding United
States wholesale tax receipts and 106 who paid a tax as retail
dealers.

According to the thirtieth annual report of the inspector of
milk and vinegar of the city of Boston, 1888, the total
amount of oleomargarine sold in Boston by wholesalers, as
ascertained by statements made by them, is 5,420,000 pounds.
Of this amount 1,887,000 i)()unds are sold to retail dealers in
Boston ; the remainder to dealers in other cities and adja-
cent States. Of the amount sold to retail dealers in Boston
1,187,000 pounds are sold to private individuals, and 700,00;j

28

pounds, or a little more than one-third, are sold to boarding-
houses and restaurants. The average price is 17 cents, large
dealers selling at prices ranging from 15 to 18 cents, and
smaller dealers selling as a rule at 20 cents per pound. The
later reports of the inspector do not state the number of
dealers or the amount sold.

Estitnates of the Butter Industry.

The following estimates of butter are appended for com-
parison. According to the State census of 1885 nearly
10,000,000 pounds of butter were made in this State. Dur-
ing the year 1890 the thirty co-operative creameries in the
State, most of which have been established since 1885, made
a total of about 2,500,000 pounds. It is estimated that not
less than 12,000,000 pounds of butter were made in this
Commonw^ealth in 1890.

According to the annual report of the Boston Chamber of
Commerce for 1890 the total receipts of butter in Boston for
the year were 910,650 tubs and 205,957 boxes (estimated
to be about 48,000,000 pounds), and the same year
1,805,102 pounds of butter were exported.

Series of 1891. Bulletin No. 5.

MASSACHUSETTS

CEOP EEPOET

MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1891.

COMPILED BY

WM. R. SESSIONS,

Secretary State Board of Agriculture.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

i

v

CROP REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1891.

Compiled from Rp:turns to the Office of the State Board of
Agriculture, Sept. 29, 1891.

Office State Board of Agriculture,
Boston, Mass., Oct. 3, 1891.

Bulletin No. 5, Crop Report for the month of September,
is herewith presented.

For this issue blanks for returns were sent to one hundred
and sixty correspondents, and one hundred and twenty-one
were returned in season to be incorporated in the bulletin.

In the circular to correspondents returnable to this office
September 29 the first question asked was, " Do you
■consider the crop of Indian corn a full average ? " Of the
one hundred and seventeen replies to this question, twenty-
four state that the crop of Indian corn is above the average,
€ighty-one that it is a full average, and twelve that it
is not a full average. The weather during the month of
September was unusually favorable for the ripening of the
crop. It is estimated that the crop w^ill be 2,000,000
bushels, valued at $1,500,000.

The second question asked was, " Are late potatoes an
average crop in yield and quality ? " Of the one hundred and
sixteen replies to this question, twenty-two state that late
potatoes are more than an average crop in yield and quality,
eighty-two that the crop is an average, and twelve that it is
below an average. But six correspondents refer to the rot-
ting of potatoes. It is estimated that there were 4,000,000
bushels of potatoes grown in this State this season, valued
at $2,000,000.

The third question asked was, " Has the average amount
of fall seeding been done, and what is its present condi-
tion ? " In reply to this question, sixty-seven correspondents

answer yes, and thirty-five no. In general the dry weather
the past six weeks has been unfavorable for the doing of this
work. On low ground fall seeding is looking well, and
some correspondents report it as being in excellent condi-
tion. Most of the correspondents state that rain is greatly
needed.

The fourth question asked was, " Is the cranberry crop an
average in yield and quality ? If not, what were the draw-
backs?" Of the forty-six replies to this question, thirty-
one state the crop to be an average in yield and quality,
and fifteen that it is not an averasre. Among; the draw-
backs are mentioned dry weather when in bloom, late frosts
in the spring, and worms. Some report the berries to be
small and not well colored, and that they have been slow in
ripening.

The fifth question asked was, " When, in your opinion,
was the abandonment of farm property in your locality the
greatest, and why ? " The answers to this question were
quite varied, and samples of them may be found in the
"Notes of Correspondents.'' It is difficult to make a
summary of the replies as t*^ .e time when the abandonment
was greatest. The dates given range from 1825 to the
present time. Nearly all of them are ])etween 1870 and
1890. The greater number centre about the year 1880,
Among the causes given are : loss of young men by the
civil war, emigration to the West, competition of Western
farm products, unfitness of many farms for farming purposes,
high price and poor quality of farm help, reaction in prices
of farm products after the war, unequal taxation of farm
property, better inducements in other lines of labor, city
allurements, and shiftless farming.

The sixth question asked was, "Are inquiries for and
values of farm property increasing or decreasing in your
neighborhood ? " Of the one hundred and thirteen replies to
this question, fifty-eight state that inquiries for and values of
farm property are increasing, forty-two that there has
been no appreciable change, and thirteen that they are
decreasing. An article upon the subject of abandoned farms
in Massachusetts will be found printed at the end of the
bulletin.

The tobacco crop has cured well, and much of it has been
sold at unusually high prices. Squashes and celery are good
crops.

Report No. 88 of the statistician of the United States
Department of Agriculture gives the following figures
of average condition of crops in Massachusetts Sept. 1,
'1891 : average condition of corn, 98 ; average condition of
rye when harvested, 98 ; average condition of oats when
harvested, 100 ; average condition of barley when harvested,
97 ; average condition of buckwheat, 99 ; average condition
of potatoes, 97 ; average condition of tobacco, 99 ; average
condition of apples, 71 ; average condition of grapes, 93 ;
p'cvach product compared with an average, 72 ; number of
stock hogs for fattening compared with last year, 97 ; aver-
age condition as to weight and size, 98.

CONDITION OF CROPS IN THIS SECTION.
From United States Weather-crop Bulletins.

Week ending September 4. — New England : Crops ripen-
ing slowly. Potato rot not spreading seriously. Tobacco
harvest nearly completed, and the crop is in good condition.
A large crop of cranberries is indicated ; picking will begin
next week.

Week ending September 11. — New England: Light
frosts on 8th and 9th in low lands ; very little damage.
Corn cutting begun, and the crop is above the average.
Potato rot not increasing. Cranberry crop is estimated at
slightly below the average.

Week ending September 18. — New England : Very
favorable weather for ripening crops. Harvesting is going
forward rapidly, with good results. The potato rot is not
increasing.

Week ending September 25. — New England : The hot,
dry weather has hastened the ripening of crops, and harvest-
ing is well under way. Cranberries are excellent and
grapes good. Rain needed ; springs, streams and pastures
drying up ; too dry for fall seeding.

6

TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY.
From United States Weatiier-crop Bulletins.

Week ending September 4. — Week cooler than usual in
all districts east of the Rocky Mountains, while to the west-
ward and on the Pacific coast the excess in temperature
above the normal for the week ranged from 3° to. 6°;
Frosts occurred from Wisconsin south-westward to Col-
orado. General deficiency in rainfall.

Week ending September 11. — Week cool generally over
the country east of the Rocky Mountains. Light frosts
occurred at extreme northern stations. Slightly warradj
than usual in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and thence westwa:*51
to the Pacific coast. Excess in rainfall generally along the
Atlantic coast and at northern Rocky Mountain stations and
on the Pacific coast. Very little rain in the central valleys.

Week ending September 18. — Warm week east of the
Rocky Mountains. Temperature in excess over the whole
country except California and portions of Oregon, Nevada,
Utah and New Mexico. General deficienc}^ in rainfall over
the whole country east of the Rocky Mountains, with the
exception of a few limited localities where local showers
gave more than the normal rainfall. Rainfall in excess on
the immediate Pacific coast.

Week ending September 25. — Over the region east of the
Rocky Mountains, week warmer than the corresponding
week of any previous year of which there is record in office
of Weather Bureau. Week unusually dr}^ throughout all
agricultural regions east of the Mississippi, and generally
over the lower Missouri and upper Mississippi valleys.
Heavy rains occurred on the Texas coast, and generally
throughout the Rocky Mountain regions. Drought condi-
tions continue in New England and along the Atlantic coast.

Massachusetts Weather.

Meteorological' Data for September, 1891.

Pkbcipita-

Temperature.

Deg.

F.

■3

OF DATS.

STATION.

.c

0

^

s

a

"

M

0

•£

03

6

3

a

d

■3

11

'S
>

•a

s

u

^

•3

3

a

s

OS

s

a

&

5

£

5

Springfield, .

66.7

89

18

50

20

1.41

7

S.

7

15

8

Amherst,

63.6

89

18

37

9

2.22

4

S. E.

9

14

7

Fitchburg,* .

63.6

86

18

50

30

1.87

8

W.

7

5

18

Princeton, .

68.6

85

18

42

14

2 43

6

w.

-

_

_

Dudley,

65.0

86

21

46

9,15

2.45

4

w.

8

15

7

Framingham,

65.4

88

18

44

9

2.35

7

_

_

_

_

Concord,

63.8

89

18

40

9

1.69

8

s. w.

6

9

15

Ipswich,

65.8

90

18

44

9

1.34

4

N.W

_

_

_

Boston,

66.7

90

18

50

9

2.29

11

s. w.

6

6

18

Taunton,

64.9

92

18

42

9,20

2.39

7

N.W.

8

2

20

Middleboro',

64.0

88

18

39

9

1.97

7

S. W

5

13

12

New Bedford,

65.4

86

18

44

9

1.97

9

_

_

_

_

Nantucket, .

65.3

77

6

56

15

3.12

7

s. w.

4

9

17

Highest

* Temperature data from thermometer not self-registering.

Summaiy.

Temperature (F.). — Monthly mean, 65.3°.
monthly mean, 68.6° at Princeton; lowest monthly mean,
63.6° at Amherst; maximum, 92° at Taunton on the 18th;
minimum, 37° at Amherst on the 9th ; range, 55° ; greatest
local monthly range, 52° at Amherst ; least local monthly
range, 21° at Nantucket ; greatest daily range, 38° at Taun-
ton on the 20th and 21st; least daily range, 3° at Boston
on the 6th and 22d, at Ipswich on the 22d, at Middle-
borough on the 7th, and at Nantucket on the 30th. Average
temperature for September at Springfield for twenty-four
years, 63.0°; average for September, 1891, 66.7°; de-
parture, -f-3.7°. Average temperature for September at
Boston for twenty-one years, 62.4° ; average for September,
1891, 66.7°; departure, +4.3°.

Precipitation. — Average, 2.72 inches ; greatest, 3.12 at
Nantucket; least, 1.34 at Ipswich. Average for September
at Springfield for forty-four years, 3.55 ; for September,
1891, 1.41; departure, — 2.14. Average for September at
Boston for twenty-one years, 3.12; for September, 1891,
2 29 ; departure, —0.83.

Prevailing wind. — South-west.
Thunder-storms. — Q\h, 13th, 14th, 29th.
i^ros^.— Taunton, 9th, 10th, 15th, 20th.
Auroras, — Amherst, Fitchburg, Ipswich, Taunton, 9th;
Amherst, 10th.

Remarks.

The weather in Massachusetts for September, 1891, was
characterized by an exceptionally high temperature, high
barometric pressure, a decided excess of sunshine, a light
wind movement, a small amount of cloudiness and number
of rainy days, and a deficient rainfall.

The pressure was nearly one-tenth inch above the normal,
and was due to the prevalence of anti-cyclonic or high-pressure
fair weather areas as compared with the cyclonic or low-
pressure areas. The temperature was from three to five
degrees above the normal, with few excessive ranges or rapid
changes. The mean temperature at New Bedford was 5.3°
above the average of seventy-nine years. In the records at that
station, September, 1819, 1822, 1826, 1846, 1865, and 1881,
shows a higher mean temperature than was registered in Sep-
tember, 1891. The highest temperature occurred generally
on the 18th under clear skies and with hot southerly winds.
Slight frosts occurred in low lands on the 9th, doing little or
no damage, but generally the night temperatures were un-
usually high.

The total precipitation was considerably below normal,
although a few stations along the coast report a slight excess.
The greater part of the rainfall for the month occurred in
the storm of the 5th to 7th, when from two to three inches
fell at many places in eastern Massachusetts. The western
section received very little rain during that storm, conse-
quently the least precipitation fell generally in the western
part of the State. Only light local showers have occurred
since that date, and a severe drought is being experienced.
Springs and wells are giving out in many sections and
streams are very low.

The observer for the New England Meteorological Society
at Randolph, Mass., reports that strawberries and rasp-
berries were picked on the 25th fully ripe, on vines that had
already borne one crop.

HOTES OF CORRESPONDENTS.

(Mailed to us September 29.)

BERKSHIRE COUNTY.

Sandisfield (G. A. Shepard). Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and quality.
But little seeding has been done this fall, as it is a little too dry.
The abandonment of farm property in this vicinity was greatest
prior to our reimbursement by the State in 1882. The heavy debt
this town had to carry in consequence of the money borrowed and
expended in grading the contemplated Lee & New Haven Railroad
caused many to strip their farms and then take what they could
get for them, which caused a great depreciation of real estate and
the abandonment of several farms. Inquiries for and values of
farm property are increasing.

Sheffield (Dwight Andrews). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and quality.
The average amount of fall seeding has not been done. It is very
dry, the dryest it has been at any time this season. The abandon-
ment of fai'm property was greatest in this vicinity ten years ago,
on account of the lack of farm help. I think that inquiries for
and values of farm property are rather on the increase.

Becket (W. H. Snow). — Indian corn is a full average crop,
the hot weather of the last ten days saved it. Do not think late
potatoes are up to the average in yield and quality. Do not think
as much fall seeding as usual has been done, owing to the dry
weather. I think there are as many abandoned farms at present as
there have been. There have been some inquiries for farms and
some sales have been made to city people.

Hancock (C. H. Wells) . — Indian corn is rather more than an
average crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield
and quality. Very little fall seeding has been done. There has
been no abandonment of farm property in this vicinity. Inquiries
for and values of farm property are increasing.

Cheshire (L. J. Nortuup). — The crop of Indian corn is late,
although it is a fall average. Late potatoes are a fine crop,
quality being extra. There is not much if any fall seeding in this

10

vicinity. The abandonmeut of farm property in this locality was
greatest from fifteen to twenty years ago. My reason is that the
people had ver}' large families, and they found they could all find
employment in manufacturing villages, and not a few of them now
have good homes by so doing. Inquiries for and values of farm
property are not increasing but seem to be at a standstill.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Monroe (D. II. Shekman). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average in yield, but are badly decayed.
There have been but very few abandoned farms, and those are
doubled in with neighboring farms, and all occupied. Inquiries
for and values of farm properly are slightly increasing.

Ashjield (A. G. Howes) . — Indian corn is above an average
crop. Late potatoes are a full average both in yield and quality.
Fall seeding is looking well. The abandonment of farm property
in this vicinity has been greatest in the last ten years, owing to
low prices of farm products and shiftless farming. I believe that
farm values have touched bottom, and although prices have not
perhaps increased, there is a better feeling among farmers, leading
to improvement of land and buildings.

Northfield (Charles Pomeroy). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are not an average crop in yield and quality.
P'uUy the average amount of fall seeding has been done, and it is
looking well. There are only five abandoned farms in this town.
Farms are abandoned because people like to work in villages,
where they can work in shops and mills and get paid weekly or
monthl}' in cash. There has been an increased demand for aban-
doned farms at about the usual prices for the last few years.

Deerjield (Charles Jones). — Roweu is not an average crop,
but has been secured in good condition. Corn is extra good and
is ripening well. Late potatoes are of good quality, free from
rot and fair in quantity. Fall seeding looks well, and more than
usual has been done. Tobacco is an extra crop, has cured well
and been sold to some extent at fair prices. The abandonment
of farm property in this section was greatest from 1884 to
1881), owing to the low price of farm produce and the high price
and scarcity of good farm help. To-day the outlook is bet-
ter for farmers than for tlie past ten years. There are not many
calls for farms, but some sales, and I think the calls and tlie prices
are increasing.

Orange (Ansel Harrington). — Indian corn is more than an
average crop. Late potatoes are more than an average both in
yield and quality. Very little if any fall seeding has been done.

11

on accoimt of the drought. The abaudoaiiient of farm property
in this locality was greatest twenty 3'ears ago and more. I think
that values of and inquiries for farm property are increasing.
There are a great many causes for the abandonment of farms.
The (irst and greatest was I think the loss of our young men by
the civil war. Another reason is that there were a great many
farms taken up that were never tit for anything but pasture and
woodland. Still another is the high price and poor quality of
farm help.

hampshirp: county.

Pelham (J. L. Brewer). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average both in yield and quality. Fall
seeding is not all completed yet, and needs rain badly. Cran-
berries are a short crop, being much injured by insects. The
abandonment of farm property was greatest in this section from
1870 to 1880, on account of the sterility of the soil and antiquated
methods of cultivation. There are no inquiries for farm property,
and values are at a dead level.

^orth Iladley (H. C. Russell). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes yield well and are of good quality. The
average amount of fall seeding has been done and is in good
condition, although rain is needed now to insure a good stand for
the approaching cold weather. There are no abandoned farms in
town, and those that are for sale are held with more confidence
in a higher market value than for a few years past. Inquiries for
and values of farm property are increasing.

South Iladley (H. W. Gaylokd) . — Indian corn is a full average
crop. The average amount of fall seeding has been done and is
looking fairly well, though some pieces are suffering for want of
rain. More seeding has been done on wet, heavy soils than usual.
Very fqw cranberries grown about hero. No abandoned farms
here in the general meaning of the term. If an owner leaves his
farm, it is bought and occupied by one or more of the surrounding-
owners. There are no calls for or sales of farm property.

Northamptoyi (D. A. Horton). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and (piality.
The average amount of fall seeding has been done, but unless we
have rain soon it will suffer. The adandonment of farm property
was greatest in this locality from 1880 to 1888, Inquiries for and
values of farm property are increasing. Farms began to be
abandoned when we commenced to get cheap or dressed meats
from the far West.

WesfJiamplon (W. II. Lyman). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in quality and

12

quantity. The average amount of fall seeding has been done, and
it is at present in fair condition. The abandonment of farm prop-
erty in this section was greatest from thirty to fifty years ago,
because of emigration to the West. Farmers are more enterpris-
ing at the present time, and are greatly improving their farms.

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

Blandford (E. W. Boise). — Indian corn is fully ten per cent
above an average crop. Late potatoes are above the average in
yield, and of good quality. Very little fall seeding has been
done, on account of the dry weather, and what has is in bad con-
dition. The abandonment of farm property in this vicinity was
greatest soon after the war, because of low prices for farm prod-
uce, high taxes and scarcity of reliable farm help. Inquiries for
and values of farm property are increasing. Two farms have
been sold this season, but at low prices compared with what they
would have brought thirty years ago.

West Springfield (N. T. Smith) . — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are above an average both in yield and quality.
About the average amount of fall seeding has been done, but the
continued dry weather causes slow growth. The only abandonment
of farm property in this section is of outlying lands formerly used
for pasturing or raising of rye and buckwheat. These lands have
been allowed to grow up to brush on account of scarcity and high
price of labor obliging the owners to concentrate their efforts on
fewer acres. Most of this land is practically worthless, on
account of frequent fires in the spring season, which prevent the
growth of wood. A sale of these lands at their annual valuation
for assessment of taxes would be impossible. Inquiries for and
values of farm property are increasing.

Wilhraliam (F. E. Clark). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are not an average in yield, there being
many small ones. The average amount of fall seeding has been
done. Early seeded fields are looking finely, but late seeding is
not, on account of the dry weather. The abandonment of farm
property in this vicinity was greatest from 1880 to 1890. There
are more calls at present for farm property than for several years
previous.

Monson (A. H. White) , — Indian corn is a full average crop,
both grain and stover. Some are husking, and find a very good
yield. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and
quality. I do not think the average amount of fall seeding has
been done, but what has is looking very well. There is not much
call for farms. We find on many farms fields that were formerly

13

cultivated but are now allowed to grow to wood, and pastures the
same, the owueis perhaps thinking this the most profitable, as good
help is scarce and high.

Brimfield (S. W. Brown). — Indian corn is the best crop we
have had for ten years. Late potatoes are an average both ia
yield and quality. The average amount of fall seeding has not
been done, and what has is not looking well. Abandonment of
farm property commenced soon after 1874. Labor being high and
produce not selling as in former years, war prices having made
us extravagant, to make both ends meet we thought we must do
something else to get more money. There are no inquiries for
farm property, and we can hardly get a bid at public auction.

WORCESTER COUNTY.

Spencer (H. H. Kingsbury) . — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are up to the average both in yield and
quality. No fall seeding has been done thus far. No cultivated
cranberries, but the wild ones are 'average in quantity but slow in
ripening. I cannot give any particular time when the abandon-
ment of farm properly was greatest. Know of only two causes, —
unproductiveness of stjil, and old age or lack of energy on the
owners' part. There is no change in the number of inquiries ;
values are firm, possibly on the rise, owing to the opening of the
Worcester, Spencer & Leicester Electric Railroad.

Barre (J. L. Smith). — Indian corn is a full average crop. Late
potatoes ai'e an average crop both in yield and quality. There has
not been as much fall seeding as usual done, but it looks fairly
well, although in need of rain. There are very few if any aban-
doned farms in this section. Quite a good many have no one
living on them, but they are used for pasture for young cattle and
for fattening beef. Most of them are some miles from railroads
and on bad roads. Two or three years ago, when beef was low,
most of them were only partly stocked, but this year I think they
are all full of cattle. Inquiries for and values of farm property
are increasing, and quite a number of farms have been sold to
parties from Boston and other places within about a year.

Templeton (Lucien Gove). — Indian corn is a better crop than
usual. Late potatoes are a better crop in yield and quality than
for the last four years. The average amount of fall seeding has
been done, but it is below the average in condition, owing to
drought. The abandonment of farm property' was greatest in this
section from 1875 to 1885. Reasons were, high taxes and low
prices for products, and abandonment was usually preceded by
fire. There is no perceptible change in the inquiries for and
values of farm property.

14

Leominster (W. B. Hosmer). — Indian corn is a full as^erage
crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and qual-
ity. The average amount of fall seeding has been done, and,
considering the dry weather and high temperature, it is looking
well. A few farms in the outskirts of the town where the owners
have died have been sold in lots, and are now owned by different
individuals and mostly used as pasturing. Inquiries for and values
of farm property are increasing, especially this season. Baldwin
apples are large and fair, but the heavy foliage prevents their
coloring.

Holden (G. S. Graham). — Indian corn is more than an average
crop. Large yield of late potatoes, but some rot. Not a large
amount of fall seeding has been done in this section, but what has
looks well. Should say that the abandonment of farm property
was greatest in this section eight or ten years ago, because the
outlook for farmers was the darkest then. Think there is more
courage and hopefulness among the farmers than at any previous
time.

Worcester (S. A. Burgess). — The acreage, amount and quan-
tity of the corn crop is considerably in excess of last year, and
more than an average. Late potatoes are an average crop both in
yield and quality. There has been less fall seeding this year than
usual, and what there is needs rain badly. The abandonment of
farm property was greatest in this locality from 1870 to 1880, because
farm products depreciated in value and farm lands were unjustly
taxed. Inquiries for and values of farm property are increasing.

Douglas (G. M. Wallis). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average crop, both in yield and quality.
From five to ten per cent more fall seeding than usual has been
done, and it looks fine and healthy. Cranberries are not more
than half a crop, owing to dry weather and worms. Farm prop-
erty has changed hands to some extent in this vicinity, but it is
all under good cultivation. There has been no particular change
in the value of farm property for the last ten years.

Blackstone (L. R. Daniels). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are more than an average in yield, but have
rotted somewhat. The average amount of fall seeding has been
done, and it is in fine condition. Cranberries are not quite an
average crop, as worms, and frost in the latter part of May,
damaged some meadows. The abandonment of farm property in
this vicinity is the greatest at the present time, as farming is not
as profitable as protected manufacturing. There has not been
much change in the inquiries for and values of farm property for
the last fifteen years. Farms will bring about two-thirds of what

15

they would have sold for previous to 1861. Not many farms are
entirely deserted here, but large portions of nearly all farms have
been allowed to grow up to brush and forest.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Framivgham (H. S. Whittemore). — Indian corn is the best
crop for several years. Late potatoes are not an average crop,
owing to blight. Do not think the average amount of fall seeding
has been done, owing to pressure of other work on the farms.
Cranberries are not an average crop, owing to the dryness of the
season. Farm property is not much in demand just now. Apples
are a very light crop and poor in quality. Baldwins are a light
crop, except in the orchard of Mr. John Moulton of Saxonville.
His crop is excellent, of large size, very fair, and the trees are
loaded and worth going miles to see.

Marlborough (E. D. Howe). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average in yield and quantity. Little
fall seeding has been done. No abandoned farms here. Very few
changes are made except the owner dies, when the farm readily
finds a purchaser. Our local market is good, and nearly all our
farmers are comfortably well off. Taxes are high, but with a good
market we do not complain.

Concord (W. H. Hunt). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average both in yield and quality. The
usual amount of fall seeding has been done, and is in average con-
dition. Farms near the village have increased in value. There
are no artificial cranberry bogs in this vicinity. There are some
natural bogs which bear when the conditions are favorable. I
should say that the crop on such bogs was below the average.

Littleton (G. W. Sanderson). — Indian corn is more than an
average crop. Late potatoes are an average crop in both yield
and quality. Do not think an average amount of fall seeding has
been done. Dry weather has been a drawback. The cranberry
crop will not be up to an average, on account of frosts in the
spring. The abandonment of farm property in this section is now
at its greatest. Inquiries for and values of farm property are not
increasing.

Groton (Daniel Needham). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average both in yield and (quality.
There has not been as much fall seeding as usual, on account
of drought. Cranberries are an average in yield and (juality.
Inquiries for and values of farm property are rather increas-
ing than otherwise. There are a few houses, built for farm-
houses,' that arc in a very dilapidated condition, and not fit

16

for occupancy. No land that has been judiciously selected for a
farm, upon which a house has been built, has been abandoned.
The abandoned farms should never have been occupied, and it is
to the credit of the good sense of the heirs that such farms are
abandoned.

Lowell (C. L. Marshall). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average crop in yield and quality. As yet
not much fall seeding has been done, but what has is in good con-
dition. Cranberry crop very small in yield but quality excellent.
At time of haying they were full in flower, but think dry weather
injured them at that time. Inquiries for and values of farm
property are slightly increasing.

ESSEX COUNTY.

North Andover (Peter Holt, Jr.). — I think Indian corn is a
little below the average. Late potatoes are above the average
both in yield and quality. About the average amount of fall
seeding has been done, but owing to the dry weather it makes a
poor showing. Cranberries are all very small and not colored
well ; the drought has also affected them. There are a number
of farms that are not operated, on account of the death of the
owner, and widows and families still hold them. There is very
little inquiry for farm property, and I think that values have not
increased. I believe there are farms in this locality that can be
purchased for less money than was paid for them within ten years.

Haverhill (Eben Webster). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average both in yield and quality.
About the usual amount of fall seeding has been done, and it is
up and looking well. No cultivated cranberries in this section,
but a good crop of wild ones in the meadows. Small farms are
changing hands occasionally, but values do not change much.
We have had a long spell of hot and dry weather, which has
ripened crops faster than usual.

Neivbury (G. W. Adams). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are hardly up to the average, but are good. Per-
haps as much fall seeding has been done as usual, but it is quite
backward. The abandonment of farm property in this vicinity
has been greatest during the last ten years, because there was no
profit in farming. There are few inquiries for farm property ;
values of upland about the same, salt meadow low and growing
lower.

Topsfield (B. P. Pike). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average both in yield and quality. About an
average amount of fall seeding has been done, and it is looking

17

well. The cranberry crop is up to the average in yield and qual-
ity. The abandonment of farm property in this vicinity has been
the greatest during the past twenty years. I think one reason is
the concentration of manufactures, and another the low prices of
grain compared with labor. Inquiries for and values of farm
property are about at a standstill. There are no sales of farms to
actual farmers.

Marhlehead (W. S. Phillips, Jr.). — Indian corn is a full
average crop. Late potatoes are fully up to the average both in
yield and quality. Not much fall seeding has been done as yet,
but what has is in prime condition. The abandonment of farm
property in this vicinity was greatest about fifteen years ago,
when a large area was put on the market for building purposes.
Inquiries for and values of property for farm purposes are decreas-
ing. Bountiful crops of most excellent quality have been secured,
but prices are very low. Ensilage cutting is now going on,
quality good, quantity above the average.

NORFOLK COUNTY.

Medjield (G. R; Chase). — Indian corn is twenty-five percent
above a full average crop. Late potatoes are an average crop in
yield and quality. The average amount of fall seeding has been
done, and it is in excellent condition. The cranberry crop is
more than an average in yield and quality. There are no aban-
doned farms in Medfield. Demand for farms light, but no change
within a year. About the only farms for sale are offered because
of death of male owner and survival of females or minors.

Franldin (C. M. Allen). — Indian corn is very nearly an aver-
age crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and
quality. The average amount of fall seeding has been done, and
is in average condition. The abandonment of farm property in
this locality has been the greatest during the past five years,
because it did not pay cost of crops. Inquiries for and values of
farm property are decreasing. There are but few abandoned
farms in this vicinity, but there "are many that do not pay the cost
of working and one per cent on the investment. Where there is
no profit in a business, men abandon it and young men do not
enter it.

Medway (Monroe Morse). — Indian corn is somewhat less than
an average. Late potatoes are more than an average in yield.
Think that the cranberry crop is an average one. The abandon-
ment of farms has been and is still going on to some extent, caused
largely by changed methods of work, conso(|uent upon the use of
machinery, and also to some extent by the higher standard of

18

social life demanded by the farmers of to-day. All very rough
farms must necessarily be discontinued for ordinary farming, and
all very isolated ones ought to be for the good of the occupants.
Good farms well situated are not abandoned in this vicinity.

Avon (S. F. Olivkr). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes a good crop both in quantity and quality. The
average amount of fall seeding has been done ; winter rye has got
a good start, and grass-land has got start enough to prevent its
winter-killiug. There are no cultivated cranberry bogs, but the
natural bogs yield well. Inquiries for and values of farm property
are increasing every year, and there is also a tendency to a higher
valuation of taxable property. This winter will doubtless be a
good one for the farmers, so far as having a good stock of vege-
tables on hand.

BRISTOL COUNTY.

Mansifielcl (D. E. Harding). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Potatoes are more than an average crop. Fall seeding is
in very good condition. There is a good yield of cranberries.
There has been very little inquir}'^ for farm property the present
season. Our crops as a whole have been much more than an
average. The potato crop has been especially large, and other
vegetables have been abundant.

Digliton (A. W. Paul). — Indian corn is more than an average
crop. Late potatoes are a full average both in yield and quality.
The average amount of fall seeding has been done, and is in fair
condition. Few cranberries are raised here ; yield is an average.
The abandonment of farm property in this section has been con-
tinuous for years. I think ten places are for sale in Dighton now,
while a few years ago there were none. Children born of American
parents almost invariablj' abandon the farm in this vicinity. Fewer
hours, more excitement and faster life are demanded.

Somerset (Joseph Gibbs) . — Indian corn is about seventy-five
per ceut of an average crop. Late potatoes are an average crop
in yield and quality. The custom of fall seeding is increasing in
this vicinity, and the last of August is thought to be the best time.
There have been no farms in this vicinity abandoned. Farms have
sold readily when offered, and are not a drug in the market.

North West2^ort (A. S. Sherman). — Indian corn is a full
average crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and
quality. Very little fall seeding has been done on account of dry
weather. Not many cranberries are raised in this vicinity. The
abandonment of farm property is greatest at the present time.
The reasons are that it costs so much to run a farm, crops are

19

uneertaiu, markets are full of farm produce aucl prices are low.
In this town generally inquiries for and values of farm property
are decreasing, although in this immediate neighborhood prices
are held up because we are near the city.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

West Bridgeivater (F. E. Howard). — Corn is not yet husked,
but looks remarkably well, especially the stalks. The average
amount of fall seeding has been done, but it needs rain. Culti-
vated cranberries are an average crop both in yield and quality,
but native or uncultivated are a failure. Farms on the outskirts
of the town far from any market are not now in demand, and the
prices may be lower than formerly. But farms in the centre of
the town or near Brockton market are increasing in value and
will probably continue to increase. At the same time, our young
people prefer to work in shoe shops rather than on the farm.

Halifax {G. W. II AY ward). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are more than an average in yield and
quality. More than the average amount of fall seeding has been
done, and it is looking finely. Not many cranberries are raised in
this town, but wliat there are are a good crop. In 1887 there
were ten abandoned farms in this section, now there are none.
I think that the inquiries for and values of farm property are
increasiug.

Marshjield (G. J. Petkrson). — Indian corn is a full average
crop. Late potatoes are of fine quality and a good yield. About
the average amount of fall seeding has been done. Along the
south shore farm property has appreciated in value. Incjuiries for
and values of farm property are increasing, the exception is in the
backwoods five or six miles away. Along the shore in my neigh-
borhood there is not land enough for the demand. The margin
near tiie salt water is narrow from Ilingham to Plymouth. 'J'iie
development is quite marked within tlie last few years. The north
shore is largely taken up, and tiie tendency now is southward.

Kingston (J. H. Cusuman). — Indian corn is only about two-
thirds of a crop, owing to the drought. Late potatoes are more
than an average in both quantity and quality. There has been
but little seeding done compared to what there will be after the
fall rains. The cranberry crop is an average one of very good
quality. The abandonment of farm property in this vicinity was
greatest about three years ago, because it did not pay to hire help.
If there is any movement in inquiries for and values of farm i)rop-
erty, it is in the direction of an increase.

20

BARNSTABLE COUNTY.

Falmouth (D. R. Wicks) . — Indian corn is an extra crop. Late
potatoes are below an average crop, owing to the drouglit. Tliere
is not much fall seeding done in this section. The cranberry crop
as a whole is more than an average. Falmouth is a summer resort,
and all the land is bought for that purpose. Values of farm prop-
erty are increasing.

Sandicich (J. R. Holway). — Indian corn is about two-thirds
of an average crop. Late potatoes are the largest crop for several
years and are of good quality. But very little fall seeding has
been done, but that is looking well. Cranberries are a large crop
on many bogs, but the berries are 'small, owing to dry weather.
Inquiries for and values of farm property remain about the same.

Dennis (Joshua Crowell). — Indian corn is a full average crop.
Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and quality. Very
little fall seeding is done in this vicinity. I think the cranberry
crop is an average one. Considering the amount invested in cran-
berry culture, values of farm property are increasing.

Easlham (J. A. Clark). — Indian corn is not a full average
crop. Late potatoes are an average crop both in yield and quality.
Very little fall seeding is done here. The cranberry crop is fully
an average both in yield and quality. Cannot say when the aban-
donment of farm property in this vicinity was greatest. Young
people move away, old people die and the farms are deserted.
Inquiries for and values of farm property are increasing.

DUKES COUNTY.
West Tisbury (W.J, Rotch). — Acreage of Indian corn smaller
than usual, but the crop is a full average. Late potatoes are an
average both in yield and quality. Very little fall seeding has
been done. Cranberry crop an average in yield and quality. The
abandonment of farm property in this locality was never greater
tlian now, because owners cannot do farming with suflicient profit.
There is little change of late in farm values.

NANTUCKET COUNTY.
Nantucket (C. W. Gardner). — Indian corn is a full average
crop in every respect. Late potatoes are an average crop both in
yield and quality. The average amount of fall seeding has not
been done, on account of the dry weather. The cranberry crop is
hardly one-tenth of an average crop, probably owing to the dry
spell in .Tune. The abandonment of farm property in this town
was greatest about twenty years ago, on account of the business of
the island being discontinued. Inquiries for and values of farm
property are increasing to a slight degree.

ABANDONED FARMS

Probably all readers of this bulletin are awave of the
existence of abandoned farms in New England, and some
may be familiar with the recent efforts of New Hampshire
and Vermont to secure the reoccupancy of those within
their borders. Such farms are also found in Massachusetts,
and the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor has col-
lected a number of interesting statistics concerning them,
which may be found in the twenty-first annual report of the
said bureau (1890, pp. 177-258), from which the following
extracts are made.

The returns as to abandoned farms were made directly to the
bureau by the assessors of the several towns at the close of the
year 1889 and early in the year 1890.

The following definition of the term "abandoned farm" was
placed upon the blank sent out to the assessors : — •

" By 'Abandoned Farms' in this inquiry are meant those for-
merly cultivated but now deserted, upon which cultivation is now
abandoned, and the buildings, if any, unoccupied and permitted
to fall into decay. In some cases the grass is still cut on these
farms, but nothing is done in the way of enrichment of the soil,
and the land is jjractically unproductive and left to run wild."

The returns were made in accordance with this explanation,
which describes what is generally understood by the term aban-
doned farm, and the following statistical tables, so far as they
refer to such farms, are limited by the definition given : —

22

Number.

THE STATE AND COUNTIES.

Farms with
Buildings.

Farms

without

Buildings.

Total.

The State,

772

689

1,461

Berkshire,

120

92

212

Franklin, .

113

116

229

Hampshire,

92

124

216

Hampden, .

101

112

213

Worcester, .

187

157

344

Middlesex, .

52

24

76

Essex,

2

-

2

Suffolk,

_

_

-

Norfolk, .

25

11

86

Bristol,

88

19

52

Plymouth,* .
Barnstable,

24
13

31
2

55
15

Dukes,

10

1

11

Nantucket, .

—

—

—

The following table shows the comparative acreage and value
of all farms and abandoned farms, with percentages : —

23

In the following summary the bureau recapitulates the salient
points brought out by the investigation.

Abandoned farm land in Massachusetts is principally confined
to the western counties. Such land aggregates 3.45 per cent of
the total farm acreage of the State, outside the limits of cities,
and about 0.87 per cent of the value of such farm land. In
Nantucket and Suffolk counties no abandoned farm land is re-
turned. The percentage of acreage of abandoned farm land of
total farm acreage, for the counties returning abandoned farm
land, is highest in Hampshire County, reaching therein 6.85 per
cent. It is lowest in Essex County, being therein only 0.06 per
cent.

The average size of abandoned farms with buildings is 86 acres,
and for those without buildings 87 acres. The average value of
abandoned farms with buildings is $894, and for those without
buildings $561. The average value of buildings on abandoned
farms is $337 per farm, ranging much less than the average value
of buildings upon farms under cultivation. Much of the aban-
doned land may be bought for less than $10 per acre.

While some of the towns containing abandoned farms show a
recent decline in the value of agricultural products and property, this
is not universally true, and the decline in certain localities is over-
balanced by increase in others in the same county, so that, not-
withstanding the existence of abandoned farms, each county,
except Nantucket, shows an increase since 1875 in the value of
agricultural products, and every county shows an increase in the
value of agiicultural property. In some counties, also, an increase
in the acreage of land under cultivation appears.

Except in Barnstable and Dukes counties, the towns reporting
abandoned farms show an aggregate increase in population since
1865 ; and, except in Barnstable, Dukes and Franklin counties, an
increase since 1855. The increase is not usually so great, how-
ever, as appears in the other towns in the counties respectively.
In the towns containing abandoned farms, and having no impor-
tant manufacturing industries, a decline in population generally
appears. The exception is in Middlesex and Norfolk counties, in
which, however, the proportion of abandoned farm land is small.

For two years or more this office has been anxious to do
something to call attention to such farms in Massachusetts,
and, if possible, to get them into the market. The last
Legislature granted the necessary authority and appropria-
tion to make at least a beginning, and shortly afterwards the
executive committee of the board met and instructed the

24

secretary to go forward with the work. Acting under their
direction the following circular was sent to the boards of
assessors of each of the several cities and towns in the Com-
monwealth : —

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

State Board of Agriculture, Secretary's Office,

Commonwealth Building, Boston, June 16, 1891.

To the Assessors of Massachusetts.

Gentlemen : — The following law has been enacted by the
Legislature : —

[Chap. 280.]

An Act to authorize the state board of agriculture to col-
lect AND circulate INFORMATION RELATING TO ABANDONED
FARMS.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows :

Section 1. The State Board of Agriculture is hereby authorized to
collect all necessary information in regard to the opportunities for
developing the agricultural resources of the Commonwealth through
the repopulating of abandoned or partially abandoned fai-ms, and cause
the facts obtained, and a statement of the advantages offered, to be cir-
culated where and in such manner as the said board may consider for
the best interests of the Commonwealth.

Sect. 2. In order to properly carry out the provisions of section one
of this act, a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars may be expended,
and the bills for such expenditures properly approved by the persons
authorized by said State board to investigate the matter, shall be sent to
the auditor of the Commonwealth, who shall certify them in the same
manner as other claims against the Commonwealth.

Sect. 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

Approved May 4, 1891..

The object is to make known opportunities for the purchase, at
a low price, of farms in Massachusetts. You will of course notice
that the law does not require you to assist in the work, but it is
believed that you will be interested in a scheme which has for its
end the prosperity of your towns, and will be willing to help the
Board of Agriculture in gathering information that can be spread
before the public to the advantage of the owners of abandoned
and partially abandoned farms, and of would-be purchasers.

The towns which contain such farms will be benefited by having
them owned and improved by persons residing upon them. The
plan of action is not yet fully matured ; but, without question, the
first thing to be done is to get a list and description of such farms.

25

As the assessors are better acquainted with such lands and their
owners than are any other citizens, we apply to you for informa-
tion. The law makes it our duty to obtain information and
circulate the same in regard to abandoned or partially abandoned
farms in the Commonwealth.

We must leave it largely to your judgment to interpret the phrase
" partially abandoned farms," but would suggest that a farm which
is not occupied for purposes of cultivation or a summer home, and
is for sale at a low price, might be called an abandoned or partially
abandoned farm.

It will of course be of little use to call attention to farms that
have been so long abandoned that the buildings have disappeared
and the land mostly grown up to brush and wood, but sizable
tracts of land suitable for purposes of cultivation or for grazing,
though without buildings, should be considered. It will also be
of little use to call attention to farms that are not on the market
for what would be called a low price in proportion to their pro-
ductive capacity.

Will you kindly write in the enclosed blank the names and post-
office addresses of the owners of such farms, in your town, as
may seem to you to come within the meaning of the law. We
shall issue a circular of inquiry for particular description, location,
price, etc., to the owners whose names you may furnish us. We
will keep you informed of the progress of the work and shall very
likely need your further aid. Any suggestions will be gladly
received and considered.

In order that the necessary information from the owners may
be seasonably obtained it will be necessary that this blank be
returned before July 1, 1891. If you have no farms that seem to
you to come within the meaning of the law, please return the
blank with such remarks thereon as will describe the situation in
your town.

THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE,

Wm. R. Sessions, Secretary.

The followino; table o-ives the number of abandoned or
partially abandoned farms by counties as reported by the
assessors of the several cities and towns in resj^onse to the
circular letter ; number of cities and towns in each county,
and the number reporting abandoned or partially abandoned
farms : —

26

COUNTIES.

c

09 ^

c

|5

O e

o
1"

No. Reporting Aban-
doned or Partially
Abandoned Farms.

No. of Abandoned or
Partially Abandoned
Farms Reported.

Berkshire, .
Franklin, .
Hampshire,
Hampden, .
Worcester, .
Middlesex, .
Essex,
Suffolk,
Norfolk, .
Bristol,
Plymouth, .
Barnstable, .
Dukes,
Nantucket, .

32

26

23

22

59

54

3o

4

27

20

27

15

6

1

16
18
11

9
30
17

2

8
7
9
3
2
1

138

110

•■ 86

83

253

50

9

36
50
33

26

8
6

Aggregates,

•

351

132

888

Returns have not been received from the towns of Clarksburg,
Dartmouth, Cummington, Goshen, Needham, Scituate, and
Hubbardston.

The work was continued by the sending of the following
circular letter to the owners or agents of the abandoned or
partially abandoned farms reported by the assessors : —

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

State Board of Agriculture, Secretary's Office,

Commonwealth Building, Boston, Aug. 25, 1891.

To the Owners of Abajidoned or Partially Abandoned Farms in Massa-
chusetts.
Gentlemen : — The Legislature at its last session enacted the
following law : —

(See page 24, chapter 280, sections 1, 2, 3.)

In discharge of the duty devolving upon the Board of Agriculture
under the provisions of this statute, a circular has been addressed to the
assessors of the several cities and towns of the State asking them to
report to this board the names of the owners of abandoned or partially
abandoned farms. Your name has been reported by the assessors of

as the owner of such property. If you desire to dispose of the

property please answer the following questions in regard to the same,

27

subscribe to the affidavit below before a justice of the peace and forward
it in the enclosed envelope. This description and affidavit will be
retained in this office for reference. A catalogue of such farms with
description and price will be printed and widely distributed. There
will be no expense to the owners of the property. Please be prompt in
.replying, as nothing further can be done by us until all information has
been received.

THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE,

Wm. R. Sessions, Secretary.

Report of Abandoned or Partially Abandoned Farm.

Located in the town of.

Total acreage.

Acres of mowing land.

Acres in pasturage.

Acres in Avoodland.

Acres suitable for cultivation.

Can grass be cut with a machine ?

Is there* a sugar bush? Number

of trees.
Size of house, if any.
Size of ell.
Number of rooms.
Is house in good repair ?
Size of barn, if any.
Is there a barn cellar?

Is the barn in good I'epair ?

What kind of fences and in what
condition ?

What is the water supply ?

Number of ajjple trees.

Number of other fruit trees.

Name of nearest railroad station
and distance from farm.

Name of nearest post-office and
distance from farm

Price at which farm will be sold.

Amount required in cash.

The balance can remain on mort-
gage at what rate of interest ?

State any facts of interest.

I hereby certify that the above statements in regard to the farm

owned by me in the town of are true to my best knowledge

and belief, and that any time within one year of the date hereof I will
sell said farm for the jHice and on terms named, unless previously dis-
posed of.

Owner or Agent.

Date.

P. O. Address,

Before me.

Justice of the Peace.

Although but about one month has elapsed since the
second circular was sent out, 177 replies have been received.
Of these replies, 127 are filled out in a complete and satis-
factory manner; 16 are properly filled out, but are not
sworn to ; 25 state that the assessors were misinformed, 5
that the farm has been sold, and 4 that the owner or agent
does not care to sell. Forty-six letters have been returned
by the post-office department as unclaimed.

28

We have depended upon the judgment of the assessors
of the several towns to decide as to what farms shall be
classed as abandoned or partially abandoned. No doubt
there has been considerable variation in the standard adopted
in different towns. In some towns farms have been reported,
that should not have been, while in others some have been
omitted that properly belong in the list. As it will be some
weeks before the catalogue can be issued there will be time
for amendment of the list. It is the earnest desire of the
Board of Agriculture that this work may be full and com-
plete, and that every part of the State may be fairly treated.
To this end correspondence is invited from interested indi-
viduals throughout the State. The attention of such individ-
uals is called to the language of the circular addressed to
the assessors and printed on pages 24 and 25.

When the replies to the second circular are received it is
proposed to issue a preliminary catalogue, which we hope to
do during the autumn. Many requests for such a catalogue
have already been received, and among them are requests
from parties in the States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Khode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn-
sylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Kansas, Nebraska, California, Alabama, Texas,
Washington, D. C, and one from Montreal, Canada.

Series of 1891. Bulletin No. 6.

MASSACHUSETTS

CEOP EEPOET

MONTH OF OCTOBER, 1891.

COMPILED BY

WM. R. SESSIONS,

Secretary State Board of Agriculture.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

CROP REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 1891.

Compiled from Rkturns to the Office of the State Board of
Agriculture, Oct. 29, 1891.

Office State Board of Agkicvltuke,
Boston, Mass., Nov. 3, 1891.

Bulletin No. 6, Crop Report for the month of October, is
herewith presented. This will constitute the last issue of the
season, and it is desired to extend to correspondents sincere
thanks for the interest they have shown and for the manner
in which they have made their returns from time to time.

It is hoped this work, which is voluntary on the part of
this office, may be continued another year. The issue of
these monthly bulletins began in June, 1888, and for the first
number about four hundred copies were> printed. Five bul-
letins were issued in 1888, six in 1889, six in 1890, and six
in 1891. For September, 1891, 2,400 copies of the Bulletin
were printed and distributed. The bulletin for June, 1888,
contained 13 printed pages, while each bulletin this year has
contained 28 pages.

The special subjects treated this season have been as fol-
lows : Bulletin No. 1, Tuberculosis; Bulletin No. 2, The
Gypsy Moth; Bulletin No. 3, Yields and Values per Acre
of Crops in Massachusetts as compared with Other States ;
Bulletin No. 4, Oleomargarine ; Bulletin No. 5, Abandoned
Farms in Massachusetts.

Two pages on Massachusetts weather, prepared by an
expert, have been included in each bulletin ; and since Bul-
letin No. 2 (June) a weekly statement of condition of crops
in this section and of temperature and rainfall for the whole
country, from the United States Weather-Crop Bulletins,
has been included in each issue. Since the same date an
abstract of the monthly reports of the statistician of the
United States Department of Agriculture of the condition of
crops in Massachusetts at the beginning of each month has
also been included.

It is desired to call attention to chapter 196 of the Acts
of 1890, as amended by chapter 49 of the Acts of 1891.
As amended, the hiw is as follows : —

Section 1. The ma3'or and aldermen of the cities and the
selectmen of the towns within the Commonwealth are hereby au-
thorized to designate and preserve, as hereinafter provided in this
act, trees within the limits of the highways for the purposes of
ornament and shade ; and to so designate not less than one such
tree in every thirty-three feet where such trees are growing and are
of a diameter of one inch or more.

Sect. 2. Said mayor and aldermen and selectmen shall, between
the first day of September and the thirty-first day of December in
each year, designate such trees as are selected by them for the
purposes set forth in this act by driving into the same, at a point
not less than four nor more than six feet from the ground and on
the side toward the centre of the highway, a nail or spike with a
head with the letter M plainly impressed upon it ; said nails and
spikes to be procured and furnished by the secretary of the state
board of agriculture to said mayor and aldermen and selectmen as
required by them for the purposes of this act. Said mayor and
aldermen and selectmen, between the first day of September and
the thirty-first day of December of each succeeding year, shall
renew such of said nails and spikes as shall have been destroyed or
defaced ; and shall also designate, in the same manner as herein-
before stated, such other trees as in their judgment should be so
designated to carry out the requirements of this act.

Sect. 3. Whoever wantonly injures, defaces or destroys any
tree thus designated, or any of said nails or spikes affixed to such
trees, shall forfeit not less than five nor more than one hundred
dollars, to be recovered by complaint, one-half to the complainant
and one-half to the use of the town wherein the offence was com-
mitted.

Sect. 4. This act shall not apply to ornamental or shade trees
whose preservation is now provided for by chapter fifty-four of the
Public Statutes and the acts amendatory thereof.

The requisite nails or spikes have been procured by the
secretary of the Board of Agriculture, and he is prepared to
furnish them, on request of selectmen of towns or mayor and
aldermen of cities, for the purposes set forth in the act above
mentioned.

Massachusetts Weather since Jan. 1, 1891.

In January and February there was an excess of tempera-
ture, precipitation and cloudy weather. In March there was
also an excess of temperature and precipitation, but the num-
ber of rainy days was below the average and there was an
excess of sunshine. At the end of March the spring was
considered to be from a week to ten days ahead of the aver-
age. April was warm and dry and the sunshine was in
excess. The snowfall of the winter was slightly in excess.
A heavy thunder-storm occurred in south-eastern Massa-
chusetts on the evening of February 28.

At Amherst ice began to be harvested in good condition
in December. Sleighing was good pretty much all winter.
On the evening of February 28 snow-squalls were accom-
panied with frequent flashes of lightning. On the 2d and 3d
of April a storm gave eleven inches of snow, lasting only a
few days.

The weather for May was cold and dry, with a small
numl)er of rainy days and a slight excess of sunshine. The
mean temperature was only slightly below the normal, but
there were several extensive and severe frosts, the tempera-
ture on several mornings going below the freezing point of
water. Ice formed, and ground froze to the depth of one
inch in places, on the 4th. On the 19th frost was especially
severe except on the immediate coast. Light snow-squalls
occurred in sections on the 6th.

The precipitation at seven stations in Massachusetts having
records for more than ten years was 1.37 inches below the
average.

Although the average temperature and total precipitation
during June varied very little from the normal, the extremes
of heat and cold and of drought and moisture were well
marked. Hot, muggy weather and heavy rains with thunder-
storm occurred on the 2d and night of the 3d. The temper-
ature fell rapidly on the 4th, under the influence of cool,
north-westerly winds, reaching the minimum for the month
on the evening of the 5th. A general frost occurred on that
morning, though its evil effects were somewhat checked by
a thick fog that spread over most low lands. From the 5th

6

to the 16th the weather was generally fair, with only an
occasional trace of rain on the 12th, and with steadily increas-
ing temperature from day to day. On the 16th the tem-
perature reached nearly 100°, except at Nantucket. This
degree of heat is almost unprecedented so early in the month.
The drying winds that prevailed helped to make the drought
very severe. The temperature fell rapidly on the 17th, and
copious rains fell till the 23d, being particularly heavy on
the 22d. Threatening weather, with occasional rain and low
temperature, continued till the end of the month. On the
26th a thunder-storm moved easterly over southern New
England, accompanied in the Connecticut valley by con-
siderable hail.

The weather for the month of July was cool and wet, with
an excess of cloudy and rainy days. Both the maximum
and minimum temperatures were somewhat below the figures
generally recorded, the latter unusually so. On the morning
of the 28th the mercury ran down to within less than ten
degrees of the freezing point of water. At Springfield the
mean for the month (69.6°) was the lowest July mean
recorded during a period of twenty-four years, covering
from 1868 to 1891. At Fitchburg, where there is a series
of observations beginning in 1857, the years 1860, 1865 and
1884 only show a July mean lower than the present, the
lowest being 66.6° in 1860, just one degree lower than in
1891. The records at the weather service office in Boston
show lower July means in 1881, 1884 and 1888, the lowest
being in 1884, and also just one degree lower than in 1891.
At Thompson, Conn., where observations for nearly half a
century have been made, and with a thermometer that has
hung in nearly the same position during all that time, the
mean was the lowest, with one exception, ever recorded.
That was in 1859, when the mean was 64.9°, less than one-
half degree lower than in 1891.

The precipitation was generally heaviest and the number
of rainy days greatest in the Connecticut valley, while the
least precipitation fell over that section between the Connecti-
cut valley and the coast region. Thunder-storms were not
frequent or unusually severe. Hail fell at Cheshire on the
20th, during the progress of a thunder-storm.

The mean temperature for the month of August, at those
stations in Massachusetts having records for more than ten
years, was slightly above the normal, being somewhat in
contrast with the month of July in this respect. The days
of highest temperature were the 10th, 11th and 12th. The
maximum was several degrees lower than was experienced
in June (an unusual fact), and occurred on the 11th, except
along the coast, w^here a well-defined sea-breeze was felt.
The minimum temperature occurred generally on the morn-
ing of the 1st, but it was very cool on the 3d, 20th and the
last three days of the month.

The number of cloudy and rainy days was in excess,
except at Nantucket and a few other local sections, but the
precipitation was nearly one inch below the average. The
thunder-storms were neither frequent nor unusually heavy.

The weather for September was characterized by an excep-
tionally high temperature, high barometric pressure, a decided
excess of sunshine, a light wind movement, a small amount of
cloudiness and number of rainy days, and a deficient rainfall.

The pressure was nearly one-tenth inch above the normal.
The temperature was from three to five degrees above the
normal, with few excessive ranges or rapid changes. The
mean temperature at New Bedford was 5.3° above the aver-
age of seventy-nine years. In the records at that station,
September, 1819, 1822, 1826, 1846, 1865, and 1881, show
a higher mean temperature than was registered in September,
1891. The highest temperature occurred generally on the
18th, under clear skies and with hot southerly winds. Slight
frosts occurred in low lands on the 9th, doing little or no
damage, but generally the night temperatures were unusually
high.

The total precipitation was considerably below normal,
although a few stations along the coast reported a slight
excess. The greater part of the rainfall for the month
occurred in the storm of the 5th to 7 th. The western sec-
tion received very little rain during that storm, consequently
the least precipitation was generally in the western part of
the State.

8

Massachusetts Weather.
Meteorological Data for October, 1891.

Temperature.

Deg.

F.

Precipita-
tion.

c

Cloddiness.
Ko. OF Days.

STATION.

s

d

1

a
1

1

a

s

a

c

6

a
0

00

.5

>
1

•g
0

5

0

0

1

s
0

3

Springfield, .

50.3

85

4

26

29

3.39

7

N.W.

7

20

4

Amherst,

48.2

87

4

21

29

2.56

6

N.E.

13

12

6

Royal ston, .

49.6

80

4

28

29

2.50

3

N

15

6

11

Fitchburg,* .

47.4

82

4

22

29

3.73

10

]!^ W.

8

11

12

Dudley,

502

84

3,4

23

29

2.96

8

W.

11

14

6

Framingham,

48.6

84

4

26

29

3.70

11

-

_

_

_

Concord,

47.9

87

4

18

29

3.16

12

s. w.

17

5

9

Ipswich,

51.0

85

3

22

29

4.85

9

N.W.

13

14

4

Boston,

51.6

83

3

28

29

5.56

11

N.W.

13

8

10

Taunton,

50.8

91

4

23

29

5.80

10

N.W.

-

-

_

Middleboro',

49.4

83

4

19

29

5.70

12

N.W.

11

13

7

Provincet'n, .

51.9

74

4

33

29

5.82

9

—

—

—

—

* Temperature data from thermometer not self-registering.

8um/mavy.

Temperature (F.). — Monthly mean, 49.7°. Highest
monthly mean, 51.9° at Provincetown ; lowest monthly
mean, 47.4° at Fitchburg; maximum, 91° at Taunton on
the 4th; minimum, 18° at Concord on the 29th; range,
73° ; greatest local monthly range, 69° at Concord ; least
local monthly range, 41° at Provincetown ; greatest daily
range, 40° at Middleborough and Taunton on the 2d ; least
daily range, 2° at Ipswich on the 12th and 20th and at
Royalston on the 24th. Average temperature for October
at Springfield for twenty-four years, 50.7° ; average for
October, 1891, 50.3°; departure, — 0.4°. Average tem-
perature for October at Boston for twenty-one years, 51.6° ;
average for October, 1891, 51.6°; departure, 0.0°.

Precipitation, — Average, 4.14 inches; greatest, 5.82 at
Provincetown ; least, 2.50 at Royalston. Average for Octo-
ber at Springfield for forty-four years, 4.20; for October,
1891, 3.39 ; departure, — 0.81. Average for October at
Boston for twenty-one years, 4.19 ; for October, 1891, 5.56 ;
departure, -(-1.37.

Prevailing wind. — North-west.

TJiunder-storms. — Dudley, 7th ; Amherst, 20th ; Middle-
borou^^h, 26th.

Solar Ucdos. — Royalston, 25th.

Lunar Halos. — Royalston, 10th, 11th; Dudley,
16th, 17th.

Aurora. — Concord, 28th.

Remarks.

The weather for Massachusetts for Octoljer was character-
ized by a normal pressure, excessive precipitation on the
coast, high wind velocities and extremes of heat and cold.
A correspondent from Randolph writes : " Strawberry short-
cake from berries picked in the open air, snakes, lightning,
frost and snow, make a month of delightful irregularity."
The areas of high and low pressuie were generally well
marked and followed each other in rapid succession across
or near New England, giving, with the attendant winds,
that marked influence on our weather that is so characteristic
of New England falls and winters. On the 4th, under
generally clear skies and warm southerly winds, as a cyclone
was passing down the St. Lawrence valley, a maximum
temperature of from 80'^ to 90° was experienced ; again, after
the passage of a cyclonic area across northern New England
on the 26th, a large anticyclone spread slowly eastward and
under its influence the temperature fell steadily through the
27th, and with only a slight rise on the 28th, to a very low
minimum on the morning of the 29th. The first hard frost
of the season occurred at many places on that morning,
although light frosts were numerous during the entire
month.

Four West India hurricanes reached our coast during the
month, giving dano'crous gales and causino; considerable
damage to our shipping. The storm of the 23d, which evi-
dently originated over the Ohio valley and then moved to
our southern coast, gave a very early snow-storm. In
many places, where no hard frosts had been felt, the full-
leaved trees loaded with snow, the many flowers in the
gardens, looking up through their white blanket, and the

10

unpicked Baldwin apples showing among the snow-covered
branches, — all presented an unusual sight.

The precipitation was considerably above the normal in
the eastern and slightly below in the western section. At
Cotuit, the total rainfall for the month was 1(3.14 inches,
5.46 inches more than the normal for the month. A Avind
velocity of 40 miles an hour was registered at Boston on
the 2'M.

Crops of the Year.

The general opinion of correspondents the first of June
seemed to be that the month opened under less favorable
conditions, agriculturally speaking, than it did last year.
The month of April was quite favorable. The month of
May was decidedly cool and wet, with occasional frosts,
which did considerable damage to fruit and early crops
in many sections. The correspondents were about evenly
divided as to the future outlook. Almost every correspond-
ent reported the presence of the tent caterpillar, and that
steps had been taken by many farmers to destroy the pest,
while others did nothing. Nearly all the correspondents
reported first-class farm help as quite difficult to obtain, and
that $20 to $25 per month and board was a fair average of
the wages paid such help.

The 1st of July it was believed that on the whole the
season compared favorably with last season. The opinion
was general that Indian corn was looking very well, though
much of it was backward on account of cool, dry weather;
and that the acreage was larger than last year. Haying
had very generally commenced, but grass was late and the
weather had been unfavorable for curing, so that little had
been secured. The hay crop promised to be considerably
less than the ci-op of last year. Early potatoes were look-
ing very well, and the acreage was estimated to be consider-
ably greater than last year. The general opinion seemed to
be that dairy products had been a little less in quantity, of
about the same quality and with a little better price than
last year. Generally speaking, the outlook for small fruits
was good. The strawberry crop was hardly over two-thirds
of an average. Blackberries, raspberries and grapes promised
good crops.

11

August 1 most of the correspondents reported the hay
crop as being entirely secured. The crop was estimated to
be about three-fourths of an average. The quality as a
whole was stated to be excellent. The prospect was that
rowen would not be an average crop, owing to lack of rain
and lateness of cutting of much of the first crop. The gen-
eral opinion was that the crop of fall apples would be large,
while the crop of winter varieties would be considerably
below the average. The opinion was expressed that on the
whole the yield of small fruits was slightly below the average,
while prices were a full average. The quality was gen-
erally good. Early potatoes had been generally harvested,
and most correspondents reported a good yield of good qual-
ity. A few cases of blight and rot were reported, liye
was reported as generally satisfactory both in quality and
quantity. Pastures had been injured by lack of rain. The
peach crop promised to be larger than usual. Cranberries
promised well. The pear crop was reported as good. The
tobacco crop promised to be an unusually good one. Indian
corn was looking well, though backward. On the whole,
the condition August 1 was favorable, and the season so
far fairly prosperous for the farmer.

September 1 40 correspondents stated the crop of Indian
corn promised to be an average; 37, above an average; 34,
a good one ; and 10, below an average. Fully three-fourths
of the correspondents stated that rowen did not promise to
be an average crop. Of 97 replies to the question, " What
is the outlook for late potatoes ? " 53 stated it to be good ;
20, excellent; 13, fair; 7, not very good; and 4, light.
Nearly all the correspondents stated that they had observed
either blight or rot. Most reported the condition of dairy
stock as being either excellent, good or average. A number
reported that there had been a shrinkage in the amount of
milk. To the question, "Has dairying been as profitable
this year as usual ? " 72 correspondents answered yes ; 39, no ;
and 10 stated it to have been more profitable. The chief
drawl)acks had been shortness of pasture feed and high
price of grain. Of the 70 direct replies to the question,
" Do you think the dairy interests of the State are seriously
affected by the manufacture and sale of oleomargarine?" 56

12

were yes, and 14, no. A portion of the tobacco crop had
been harvested in good condition, and considerable had
already been sold at unusually high prices. Celery, squashes
and tomatoes promised to be good crops. The pear crop
was reported to be very large.

October 1 24 correspondents stated the crop of Indian
corn to be above an average; 81, a full average; and 12,
below an average. Practically the same figures illustrated
the yield and quality of the crop of late potatoes. Sixty-
seven correspondents stated that the average amount of fall
seeding had been done, and 35 that it had not, owing to dry
weather. Forty-six correspondents reported the cranberry
crop to be an average in yield and quality, and 31 that it
was not. Drawbacks mentioned were dry weather while in
bloom, late frosts, and worms. Tobacco had cured well.
Of 113 replies to the question, "Are inquiries for and
values of farm property increasing or decreasing in your
neighborhood?" 58 noted an increase; 42, no appreciable
change ; and 13, a decrease.

Report No. 89 of the Statistician of the United States
Department of Agriculture gives the following figures of
yield per acre and condition of crops, Oct. 1, 1891 ; average
yield of wheat per acre in 1891, 16.7 bushels; average
yield of rye per acre in 1891, 15.3 bushels; average yield
of oats per acre in 1891, 33 bushels ; average yield of barle}'-
per acre in 1891, 26.7 bushels; average condition of buck-
wheat October 1, 95 ; average condition of corn October 1,
99; average condition of potatoes October 1, 97; average
condition of tobacco October 1, 99.

In the circular to correspondents returnable to this office
October 29 the first question asked w^as, " Have root crops
done as well this year as usual?" Of the 114 replies to this
question, 88 answer yes ; 13, no ; and 13 state that they
have done better than usual. Several correspondents report
root crops to have been injured by drought, and several that
turnips have turned black in the field and are of small size.

The second question asked was, " Which of the leading
crops of your locality do you think have been least profitable
this year?" and the third question asked was, "Which of
the leading crops of your locality do you think have been

13

most profitable ? " Fifty-seven correspondents state corn to
be among the most profitable crops this year, and 5 state it
to be among the least profitable ; for potatoes, 23 most
profitable and 37 least profitable ; for hay, 24 most profitable
and 27 least profitable; for apples, 5 most profitable and 19
least profitable ; for tobacco, 13 most profitable ; for pears, 7
least profitable ; for rye, 2 most profitable ; for oats, 5 most
profitable and 1 least profitable ; for onions, 6 most profit-
able and 2 least profitable. A number of other crops are
referred to by one or two correspondents as being among
the most or least profitable crops.

The fourth question asked was, "Considered as a whole,
has the season been a profitable one for your farmers ? " Of
the 116 replies to this question, 80 state it to have been a
pro£table one ; 12, that it has been an average season; 6,
that it has been a fairly prosperous season; 9, that it has
been more prosperous than usual; and 9, that it has not
been a profitable season.

The fifth question asked was, " Do you think farmers
anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business in the
near future?" Of the direct replies to this question, 79
correspondents state that they do think that farmers antici-
pate an increase of prosperity in their business in the near
future, and 20 that they do not think so. It is estimated by
the "New England Homestead" that the farmers in the
Housatonic and Connecticut valleys alone will receive at
least $1,400,000 more for their tobacco crop than they did
last year, an increase of over eighty-seven per cent.

14

NOTES OF CORRESPONDENTS.

(Returned to us October 29.)

BERKSHIRE COUNTY.

Sandisfield (G. A. Shepard). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Potatoes have been our least profitable crop,
for, although we had an abundant crop of good quality, the mar-
ket for them is not brisk and there are but few sales. Grass is
our leading and most profitable crop every year. Of the other
crops, corn takes the lead this year, the growth being heavy and
well matured. Buckwheat has done remarkably well, but is raised
only by a few. Considered as a whole, this season has been more
profitable than the average of seasons. There is a difference of
opinion among farmers. Many anticipate and all hope for an
increase of prosperity.

Sheffield (DwiGHT Andrews) . — Root ci'ops have not done quite
as well as usual this year, on account of the dry weather. Apples
have been the least profitable of any of our leading crops and corn
the most profitable. Considered as a whole, the season has been
a profitable one for farmers, and they have no reason to complain.
I think that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in their
business in the near future.

Alford (H. W. Smith). — Root crops have not done as well as
usual this year, on account of drought. Potatoes have been the
least profitable of the leading crops in this locality. Hay, r^^e,
oats and corn have been the most profitable. Considered as a
whole, the season has been a profitable one for our farmers. I
think that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future.

Lee (A. Bradley). — Very few roots raised here. The hay
crop has been the least profitable of any of the leading crops in
this locality. Fodder crops have been the most profitable of any.
Considered as a whole, the season has been a profitable one for
our farmers, and I think they anticipate an increase of prosperity
in their business.

Dalton (W. B. Barton). — Root crops have not done quite as
well as usual this year, it having been a little too dry. The apple
crop has been so large that it has kept prices down to about the

15

cost of marketing. All crops have yielded abundantly, there has
been excellent weather* to secure them, and I think the farmers are
improving their stock as well as their lands. I also notice more
repairs on farm buildings than usual, and in fact everything points
to prosperity. I think that, as a whole, the season has been a
profitable one for our farmers.

Windsor (H. A. Fokd) . — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Potatoes have rotted quite badly and bring a low price.
Buckwheat and corn have been our most profitable crops. Con-
sidered as a whole, the season has been a profitable one for our
farmers, the dairy having been better than for several years.

Cheshire (L. J. Nortiiup). — Root crops, with the exception of
turnips, have been unusually good. Turnips were a good yield,
but upon cutting them most of them were found to be black. Corn
has been the most profitable of our leading crops and turnips the
least so. The season as a whole is considered to be a profitable
one for farmers. I think farming in the future will be as profit-
able as in the past, and perhaps moi'e so.

Hancock (C. H. Wells) . — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable and corn the
most so of our leading crops. The season has been a fairly profit-
able one for farmers. I think that farmers anticipate an increase
of prosperity in the near future.

WilUamstown (S. A. Hickox). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable of any
of our leading crops, having rotted to some extent and the prices
having ruled low. Grass has been our most profitable crop. Con-
sidered as a whole, the season has been a profitable one for our far-
mers, and they anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.

Monroe (D. H. Siieuman). — I think that root crops have done
as well as usual this year. There are considerable quantities of
turnips, beets and carrots raised for feeding in this section.
Apples have been the least profitable of our leading crops, because
of low prices. Potatoes have been the most profitable, yielding
well and selling readily at fifty cents per bushel. The season has
been about an average one for farmers. Think that farmers may
anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business, as lumljer,
timber and wood are in good demand.

Charlemont (H. S. Giles), — Root crops have been very good
this year. The crop for successfiil farming is hay, with which
we have been highly favored this year. The corn crop has been

16

one of the best, and is a very profitable crop for the farmer. Some
of our farmers have sold their tobacco for twenty-five cents a
pound, and feel that it pays well. Apples are very large and nice,
with a larger crop than was expected. Potatoes are very good,
with a large yield. Considered as a whole, the season has been a
profitable one for our farmers. Farmers anticipate an increase of
prosperity in the near future.

BncMand (J. D. Avery). — Potatoes have been the least profit-
able of any of our leading crops this year, on account of low
prices. Corn has been the most profitable, the crop being exceed-
ingly heavy and of the best quality. 1 should judge that the sea-
son has been an average one for profit to the farmer. Although
farmers are not looking for a big boom in their business, they are
more cheerful and there is less complaint of hard times.

Colrain (A- A. Smith). — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Corn and tobacco have been the most profitable of the
leading crops in this section. Considered as a whole, the season
has been a profitable one for farmers. I think they anticipate an
increase of prosperity in the near future.

Bernardston (R. H. Cushman). — I do not think that root
crops, especially turnips, have done as well as usual this year.
Potatoes have been low in price, but the crop was large. Corn
is unusually good, as are nearly all crops. Considered as a whole,
the season has been a profitable one for farmers. I think that
farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business in
the near future.

Whately (Frank Dickinson) . — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. All crops have done well except hay, which is
short with little increase in value. Tobacco is the leading crop
and is also the most profitable. Considered as a whole, the season
has been a profitable one for our farmers, and they anticipate an
increase of prosperity in the near future.

Montague {C. S. Raymond). — I think that root crops have
done as well as usual this year. Potatoes have been the least
profitable of our leading crops, and tobacco the most so. The
season has been a profitable one for farmers. Crops have been
abundant this year, and I think farmers are well satisfied with
crops and prices. There seems to be a great supply of potatoes
and the price is fair, but the demand is not equal to the supply.
Tobacco is a good crop with ready sale at paying prices. I think
that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near future.

Northjield (Charles Pomeroy). — Roots are a full average crop
this year. I cannot tell which crop has been the least profitable ;
all crops were unusually good. Tobacco and corn have been the

17

most profitable. Considered as a whole, the season has been the
most profitable we have had for ten years. Our farmers have
great hopes for increased prosperity in the future.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Belchertoimi (H. C. AVest). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. It is hard to say which of the leading crops has
been the most profitable in this vicinity, all being remarkably
good both in quantity and quality. This season has been a profit-
able one for our farmers. They have had good crops, a good
season for harvesting, and fair prices. For years the farmers
have not been so hopeful as they are to-day. There never was a
time, in my opinion, when the prospects of the farmer were
brighter or the old farm more of a prize.

Amherst (C. E. Wilson) . — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable and
tobacco the most so of any of our leading crops. Considered as
a whole, the season has been a profitable one for farmers. I think
that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business
in the near future.

Hadley (L. W. West.) — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Tobacco has been the most profitable of our leading
crops. The yield of all crops except hay has been good. The
yield of potatoes has been large, but the price is low. Corn has
been remarkably good, and there appears to be no soft coru.
Considered as a whole, the season has been a profitable one for
our farmers. Most of them hope for an increase of prosperity in
the near future.

Northampton (D. A. Horton). — Root crops have done very
well this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable of our
leading crops, at an average price of fifty cents per bushel.
Tobacco has been the most profitable crop this year. The season
has been a profitable one for our farmers, and everything points
to an increase of prosperity in the near future.

Chesterfield (Horatio Bishee). — I think root crops have done
as well as usual this year. The potato crop is the only crop that
has not paid very well. The hay crop, although a light one, pays
as well as any crop here. I think this season has been as profit-
able as any in the last few years. Farmers think they have
touched bottom, and are looking for something better in the near
future. Apples are more plenty than was anticipated, and are of
very good quality.

18

Goshen (Alvan Barrus). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year, although they are somewhat variable as to yield
and disease. I might say that potatoes have been the least profit-
able of our leading crops, although apples are hardly satisfactory
in price. However, the man who keeps good apples late will win
in price, there being an excess of fall fruit. Corn has probably
been the most profitable of our leading crops. There does seem
to be a feeling of more confidence in the business than there has
been in the past.

Worthington (C. K. Brewster). — Root crops have done about
as well as usual this year. Oats have been the least profitable of our
leading crops. Grass has been the most profitable and corn the
next. More good corn has been harvested than for years. But-
ter is high for the season and in ready demand, and on the whole
the outlook for farmers is encouraging. Considered as a whole,
the season has been a profitable one for the farmers, and they
look forward to an increase of prosperity in the near future.

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

Russell (Roland Parks). — I think root ci'ops have done as well
as usual this year. Hay has been the least profitable and pota-
toes the most so of any of our leading crops. Considered as a
whole, the season has been a profitable one for our farmers. I
think that they anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future.

West Springfield (T. A. Rogers). — Roots are a full average this
year. The crop we have to handle the most of for the money we
get is fruit. The corn crop has been as profitable as any this
year, unless it is tobacco. The season has been an average one
for profit to the farmer. I think there is a strong feeling that
there will be an increase of prosperity for the farmer in the near
future.

Ilolyoke (J. C. Thorpe). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Hay has been the least profitable of our leading
crops. Corn has been the most profitable, especially that used for
silage. The production of milk is the chief occupation of the far-
mers in this locality, and hence a great deal of corn is raised for
silos and hay for rotation feeding, together with vegetables and
roots for market. The season has been about an average one for
profit. Farmers do not anticipate an increase of prosperity in the
near future.

Chicopee (R. W. Bemis). — Root crops have done better than
usual this year. All crops except potatoes have done well this

19

season. Corn has been the most profitable. The season has been
a profitable one for our farmers both in quantity and quality of
crops. I think that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in
their business in the near future.

Ilamjyden (J. N. Isham). — Root crops have done better than
usual. The short crop of hay was not followed by an advance of
price, hence it was the least profitable of our leading croi)S. Corn,
oats and apples, with dairying, have been the most profitable.
Considered as a whole, the season has been a profitable one for
farmers. Farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future. Most crops briug better prices than last year. Potatoes
are not as high, but the more abundant crop brings better returns
per acre than usual. Scientific principles are creeping into farm
practice, bringing more sure profits.

Wilbraham (H. M. Bliss). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable of our
leading crops, and corn and grass the most so. Considered as a
whole, the season has been a profitable one for our farmers. I
think that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in their
business in the near future.

Brimfield (S. W. Brown). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Grass has been the least profitable of the leading
crops in this locality. Corn has been the most profitable. The
season, as a whole, has been a profitable one for farmers, and they
anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business. The average
crops have been good, and sales to a larger extent than usua^
satisfactory.

WORCESTER COUNTY.

New Braintree (C. U. Sage). — Root crops have done better
than for several years. Potatoes have been the least profitable of
our leading crops. Grass has been the most profitable, and corn
comes next. The past season has been a prosperous one. All
crops were good, with the exception of hay, which was more than
a three-fourths crop. Dairy products are selling well, and farmers
are more encouraged, and will plan to raise more and better crops
and increase their business generally.

Rutland (A. L. Miles). — Root crops have done very well this
year. Apples have been our least profitable crop, and hay, corn
and potatoes our most profitable ones. I think that the season as
a whole has been a profitable one for our farmers. It seems to be
the general opinion among farmers that there will be an increase
of prosperity in their business in the near future. The cold snaps
of the last few weeks have found many apples unpicked, but they

20

are apparently not yet seriously injured. The fall feed has been
very good. Many farmers are suffering from lack of water in
wells, and unless rains come soon the prospects for winter will be
serious. One farmer here raised sixty bushels of marketable pop-
corn on three-fourths of an acre.

Dana (E. A. Alhee). — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Potatoes and grass have been the least profitable of our
leading crops. Corn, rye and oats have been the most profitable.
Considered as a whole, the season has not been a profitable one for
our farmers. Farmers do not anticipate an increase of prosperity
until our tax laws are so changed as to make the burden more equal
between the agriculturist and the capitalist.

Templeton (Lucien Gove). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Perhaps the quantity may not have been so large,
but the quality is excellent. Apples and potatoes have been the
least profitable of any of our leading crops ; hay, corn and early
vegetables have been the most so. Taking into consideration all
crops, the season has been the most profitable for three years. I
think that, as a whole, the farmers anticipate brighter times. Corn
was harvested in excellent condition. Potatoes good, price low.
Fair quantity of winter apples at two dollars per barrel. Native
beef very cheap, and cows low. Pork has declined in price. Fall
seeding is looking better than it did last month.

Westminster (Joseph Hager) . — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Apples and pears have been the least profitable
and roots the most so of any of our leading crops. Considered
as a whole, the season has been the best we have had for several
years. I do not think that farmers anticipate any increase of
prosperity in the near future.

Leominster (W. B. Hosmer) . — Root crops have generally
done as well as usual this year. The pear crop has been the least
profitable this season. Hay, corn and apples have been the most
profitable, but all crops have done well except pears. The har-
vesting season is now about over, and farmers in this section find they
have been blessed with a bountiful yield, with but few exceptions.
As farming is better understood with the aid of the experiments
through the State and other sources, it is conducted more in a busi-
ness-like manner. This interests and encourages farmers so that
now to be successful they must study and not guess, and from this
the farmers anticipate increased prosperity.

Lancaster (S. C. Damon). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Milk has been the least profitable of any of our
produce. Small fruits have been our most profitable crop. Con-
sidered as a whole, the season has been a profitable one for our

21

farmers. I do not think that farmers anticipate any increase of
prosperity in the near future.

Harvard (Preston Knight) . — Think that root crops have done
as well as usual this year. Cucumbers and squashes have been
the least profitable of any of our leading crops. Small fruits
have been the most profitable. The season has been a fairly
profitable one for our farmers. Think it is doubtful whether
farmers anticipate any increase of prosperity in the near future ;
the outlook is not very promising as yet. Wells and springs are
dry or getting pretty low. Fall feed is very good. Apples in
large supply, prices not very satisfactory. Corn very good, and
nearly all fall crops generally good.

Boylston (I. A. Dunn). — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Hay has been the least profitable and corn the most so
of our leading crops. Considered as a whole, the season has been
a profitable one for our farmers. I think that farmers anticipate
an increase of prosperity in their business in the near future.

Worcester (H. R. Kinney). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Apples have been the least profitable and corn
and potatoes the most so of our leading crops. Considered as a
whole, the season has been a profitable one for farmers. Hoed
crops have done very well this year, and the farmers who cultivate
considerable land feel very well satisfied, but those who depend on
hay and buy all their grain are complaining. The outlook is good
for those near the cities or live towns. Apples are poor and only
a few of them. Pears have been a full crop but have sold very
low.

Douglas (A. E. Rawson). — Root crops are more than an aver-
age this year. The apple crop was the least profitable, being a
small yield and the fruit very inferior. Corn has been the most
profitable ; there has been a large yield and the crop is well har-
vested. Considered as a whole, the season has been a profitable
one for our farmers. I think that farmers anticipate an increase
of prosperity, but prices of farm produce are low, and they some-
times get discouraged. The season has been such that farmers in
this section are doing more than the usual amount of fall seeding.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Marlborough (E. D. Howe). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Pears and fall apples have been the least profit-
able of any of our crops. Raspberries for fruits and corn for
grains have been the most profitable. Considered as a whole the
season has been a profitable one for farmers, and those with good

22

business ability anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future. The great lack with farmers to-day is the ability to dis-
pose of their crops after they have grown them.

Concord (W. H. Hunt). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. The late truck crops and potatoes and fruit have
been the least profitable. Asparagus, strawberries, early truck
crops and field corn have been the most profitable this season.
Considered as a whole, the season has not been quite as profitable
as usual. I do not think that farmers look for a material increase
of prosperity in the near future. The price of milk has not been
lower than last year, but the cost of production has been increased.
All kinds of fruit and vegetables have been lower than usual dur-
ing the late summer and fall months. Hay is higher than last
year, but there is less of it.

Westford (Arthur Wright). — Should say that root crops
have been better than the average this year. The whole year
has been more than an average for all general crops. The apple
crop has proved much better than was expected, especially the
Baldwin. I should say that the season has been a profitable one
for our farmers.

Chelmsford (P. P. Perham) . — Root crops are better than the
average this year. Hay has been the least profitable of any of
our leading crops and apples the most so. Considered as a whole,
the season has been an average one for profit. Many of the
farmers think their business will improve in the near future. The
outlook for the New England farmer is much more encouraging
than it has been for the last twenty-five years.

Wilminciton (C. W. Swain). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Apples and pears have been the least profita-
ble of our leading crops and potatoes the most so. Considered as
a whole, the season has been a profitable one for farmers. I
think that they anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future. All farm crops have been abundant except winter apples
and they are more plenty than was anticipated early in the
season.

Winchester (Marshall Symmes). — Root crops have done as
well as usual this year. Cabbage has been the least profitable of
our leading crops and lettuce the most so. Considered as a whole,
the season has been a profitable one for farmers. Gardening is
all right for some years to come.

Arlington ( W. W. Rawson) . — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Of the leading crops in this locality, celery
has been the least profitable and onions the most so. Considered
as a whole, the season has not been a profitable one for farmers.

23

Up to August 1 the season was very good, but since that time the
poorest I ever saw. I think farmers anticipate an increase of
prosperity in their business in the near future.

ESSEX COUNTr.

Haverhill (Ebenezer Webster). — Should think that root crops
have done as well as usual this year. Hay and corn have been the
most profitable of our leading crops. The season has been about
an average for profit. 1 think that farmers anticipate an increase
of prosperity in their business in the near future.

]\'ortIj, Andover (Pkter Holt, Jr.). — Root crops have done about
as well as usual this year, with perhaps the exception of turnips.
Corn and onions have been our least profitable crops this year.
Cabbage, potatoes and hay have been the most profitable. Farmers
have little reason to look for an increase of prosperity in the
near future, as most crops sell at a low price, and it becomes more
and more difficult to procure good farm help. Many of the people
in the manufacturing villages are out of employment, and have
little money to purchase farm produce. When business starts up
farmers will look for increased prosperity, and not till then.

West Netohvry (J. C. Tarleton). — Root crops have not done
as well as usual this year, on account of the dry weather in August.
Potatoes have been the least profitable of our leading crops and
hay the most so. Considered as a whole, the season has been a
profitable one for our farmers, and they are hoping for better times.

Tnpsjield (B. P. Pike). — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Potatoes have been the most profitable of our leading
crops. This has been a year of full average crops. Corn and
potatoes have been more than an average in quantity and quality.
Prices have been low, but the extra quantity has made them fairly
profitable. Considered as a whole, the season has been a profitable
one for farmers, and they anticipate an increase of prosperity in
their business in the near future.

Ip.wjich (O. C. Smith) . — Root crops have done much better than
usual this year. The hay crop has been our least profitable crop.
The potato crop has been the most profitable, the average yield
being the largest for many years. Considered as a whole, the
season has been a profitable one for our farmers. The price of
corn is so high that this crop has been unusually profitable.
Farmers generally anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future. The outlook for fair prices for farm products is the best
it ever was. With the exception of the drought in the early spring,
the season has been favorable to the general farmer in producing

24

grain and vegetables. (The above answers are based on the net
income of crops per acre.)

Danvers (C. H. Pkeston). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Squashes and potatoes have been very low in
price, but good crops. I think the large crops have in a measure
made up for low prices.

Marblehead (W. S. Phillips, Jr.) . — Root crops have done better
than for the past few years. Squashes, especially soft-shelled vari-
eties, and cabbage have been our least profitable crops. Onions
have been the most profitable and potatoes stand next. The boun-
tiful crops and quick markets have made a fairly profitable season,
in spite of the fact that prices have ruled low. As a rule, farmers
do not anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business in the
near future.

NORFOLK COUNTY.

Avon (S. F. Oliver). — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. Corn has been the least profitable of our leading crops
and potatoes the most so. Late fruits have been secured without
being touched by frost. Apples are of an unusually good quality,
and the yield has been fully up to the standard. Dairymen ex-
pect their cattle to be in good condition for the winter. It has
been a very good season for our farmers. Present indications
show that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near
future.

Medjield (G. R. Chase) . — Root crops have done better than
usual. Apples have been the least profitable of our leading crops
and corn has been the most profitable. The season has been a
profitable one for dairymen, if you consider the prices obtained,
but not if you consider the high price of grain. Do not think
that our farmers as a class anticipate any increase of prosperity
in their business. A few do, but fail to give any good reason for
their hope.

Millis (E. F. Richardson). — Root crops have not done quite
as well as usual this year. Hay and cranberries have been the
least pi'ofitable of the leading crops in this locality. Potatoes and
corn have been the most profitable. Considered as a whole, the
season has been a profitable one for farmers. 1 think the farmers
in this locality anticipate an increase of prosperity on account of
the business boom here.

Medway (M. Morse). — Dairy products liave been the least
profitable of any agricultural products this year. Potatoes have
been the most profitable of our leading crops. The season has
been fairly profitable, but very large crops with very low prices,

25

as we have had this year, are not very profitable. Farmers wish
an increase of prosperity, and perhaps the wish fathers a hope.

Franklin (C. M. Allen). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Hay has been the least profitable of any of our
leading crops and potatoes and corn the most so. Our farmers
cannot pay two per cent on investment. There is no money in
farming outside of specialties with glass attachment. I think
that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in their business
in the near future.

BRISTOL COUNTY.

North Raynliam (N. W. Shaw) . — Root crops have done fully
as well as usual this year. There has been little if any profit in
the apple crop. Indian corn has proved the most profitable of any
of our crops, if the fodder is taken into account. Crops have
been good this year, and as a whole have been fairly remunerative.
I think it is the general belief that the protection now afforded and
that anticipated has led farmers to anticipate greater success in the
future.

BerMey (R. H. Babbitt) . — I do not think root crops have done
as well as usual this year. Strawberries have been the least profit-
able of our leading crops. Potatoes and onions have been the
most profitable, although there was not much money in them. The
season has not been a profitable one for our farmers. I think that
the best farmers are looking for better times.

Dicjliton (A. W. Paul). — Root crops have done as well as usual
this year. The crops as a whole have been abundant, and prices
low. Farming has been successful and farmers are expecting more
profits in the near future.

Somerset (Joseph Gibbs) . — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Strawberries have been our least profitable crop
and potatoes our most profitable one. I do not think that as a
whole this season has been a profitable one for our farmers. The
strawberry crop, which is the leading money crop of this section,
has been the least profitable one for years. The potato crop was
good, but prices have ruled low. Early and late cabbage barely
paid expenses. Hay crop light, but perhaps higher prices will
make up part of the shortage. Rowen was an entire failure. I
do not think New England farmers anticipate an increase of pros-
perity in the near future.

Swanzey (F. G. Aunold). — Root crops have done as well as
usual this year. Potatoes have been our least profitable crop and
corn our most profitable one. Considered as a whole, the season

26

has been a profitable one for our farmers. I think farmers antici-
pate an increase of prosperity in their business in the near future.
Westjyort (A. S. Sherman). — Root crops have not done as well
as usual this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable of our
leading crops and corn the most so. The corn crop is nearly all
harvested, and is a very good yield. Potatoes, apples and onions
are very plenty, and prices unusually low. This season has been
about as profitable as usual, but when we allow for fertilizer and
labor the profits are very small indeed. I do not see how there can
be an increase of prosperity. Prices of farm products are very
low, help scarce and wages high. The prospect is that hay will
bring a better price than usual this j^ear. On account of the
drought, turnips are small.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

Lakeville (Elbridge Cushman). — Root crops have done as well,
as usual this year. Potatoes have been the least profitable of any
of our leading crops and corn has been the most profitable. The
season has been about an average one so far as profit is concerned.
Farmers are hopeful for an increase of prosperity in their business,
but are not over-confident.

Middleboroitgh (A. H. Eaton). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Potatoes and fruit have been the least profit-
able of our leading crops, while corn has been the most so. Con-
sidered as a whole, the season has hardly been a profitable one for
farmers. I do not think that farmers anticipate any increase of
prosperity in their business.

Marshjield (G. J. Peterson). — Root crops have perhaps done
better than usual this year. In a year of general prosperity it is
difficult to determine which crop has been the least profitable.
The large yield of potatoes, the large crops, generally, make up an
average of general prosperity among the farmers of this locality.
Fruits especially are abundant, and contribute in a large measure
to the health and general prosperity of the community. The grass
crop has been the most profitable of any of our leading crops.
As a general rule, farmers look forward to an increase of pros-
perity in the near future.

Hanson (Dr. F. S. Thomas). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. It is difficult to say which crop has been the
most and which the least profitable. Milk farms and market gar-
dens are about the only things in the farming line that are very
profitable in Hanson. Considered as a whole, the season has been
a profitable one for our farmers. I do not think that farmers
anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near future.

27

Wareham (A. Savary). — Root crops have been about an aver-
age this year. Corn has been the least profitable of our leading
crops and cranberries and hay the most so. Considered as a
whole, the season has been a profitable one for farmers. I think
that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near future.
Taken altogether, the season has been a remarkable one. There
have been two severe droughts, the early summer one cold and the
September one very warm. No noticeable frost until the 24th,
when quite thick ice formed and the ground was crusted. Have
had severe storms and heavy rains this month. Fall pastures are

quite good.

BARNSTABLE COUNTY.

Falmouth (D. R. Wicks). — As a whole, root crops have done
as well as usual this year. Turnips have been our least profitable
crop, on account of the drought which delayed planting. Pota-
toes have been the most profitable of our leading crops. Con-
sidered as a whole, I think the season has been a profitable one
for farmers. I think there is a prospect of an increase of pros-
perity in the near future.

Mashpee (W. F. Hammond). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Corn and hay have been our least profitable
crops and potatoes and cranberries our most profitable ones.
This season has been a very profitable one. Farming grows
better every year.

Dennis (Joshua Ckowell). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Hay has been the least profitable and cran-
berries the most so of any of our leading crops. Considered as a
whole, I think the season has been a profitable one for our farmers.
I cannot say whether farmers look forward to an increase of pros-
perity in their business in the near future.

DUKES COUNTY.

West Tisbury (W. J. Rotch). — Root crops have done as well
as usual this year. Hay has been the least profitable of the lead-
ing crops in our locality and potatoes the most so. The season
has been about as profitable as the average. No material increase
of prosperity is in sight.

NANTUCKET COUNTY.

Nantucket (C. W. Gardner) , — Root crops have not done as well
as usual this year, owing to dry weather in August and September.
Early corn has been the least profitable of our leading crops and
potatoes have been the most profitable. Considered as a whole,
the season has not been a profitable one for our farmers. I think
that farmers anticipate an increase of prosperity in the near future.

INSECTICIDES

THEIR APPLICATION

COMPILED UNDER THE DIRECTIOX OF THE

secretary of the state board of agriculture,
By F. H. fowler, B. Sc, Clerk,

FOR THE INFORMATION AND USE OF THE AGRICULTURISTS AND
FRUIT GROWERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

APRIL, 1891.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

NEED OF INSECTICIDES.

Says Prof. S. T. Maynjird, in Bulletin No. 11 of the
Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural
College, January, 1891 : " Another season has demonstrated
how dependent we are for profitable crops upon the absence
of fungous diseases and injurious insects, and the necessity
of safe and easily applied remedies. The apple crop though
small would have been a very valuable one in Massachusetts
but for the ravages of the codling moth and the apple scab,
which have rendered thousands of barrels worthless. The
pear crop has been seriously injured b}^ the codling moth
and pear or apple scab. The plum crop was almost a total
failure on account of the ravages of the plum curculio and
the black wart. The grape crop, although on the whole one
of the best ever harvested in New England, was in many
sections seriously injured by the grape rot which injured the
fruit, and the mildew which destroyed the foliage or so
injured it as to retard ripening. It is the belief of many
practical fruit growers and market gardeners that from one-
third to one-half of the entire products of the orchards and
gardens of the State are destroyed by insects and fungous
diseases."

Says Dr. J. C. Neal, in Bulletin No. 9 of the Experiment
Station of Florida, April, 1890: "It is very common to
ridicule the efforts of })ractical entomologists, and belittle
the results obtained by their methods of preventing or miti-
gating the ravages of insects, but the fact remains that at no
distant date no farming will be a success without considera-
ble knowledge of the habits of insect foes and the means
devised to oppose them.

"Already in many sections the agriculturist realizes that
he may fertilize his soil, plant the best of seed ; it may rain,

the sun may shine, still his crops are at the mercy of his
insect enemies, and he reaps a paying crop, or is ruined at
the sweet will of despicable intruders who make up in num-
bers what they lack in strength."

The preparations and instruments for combating injurious
insects and fungi have multiplied at an exceptional rate dur-
ing the past five or six years. A good many of those now
sold have stood the test of real use in the garden and
orchard, and some of them are doubtless to be considered a
permanent part of the farmer's equipment for the successful
prosecution of his profession.

Prof. C. M. AVeed, in Bulletin, Vol. III., No. 4, Ohio
Agricultural Experiment Station, April, 1890, says : " The
introduction of the spraying machine into American horti-
culture marks an advance almost as important as was marked
by the advent of the improved cultivators into our agricult-
ure. Before the latter were introduced the weeds that
infest the soil were fought by the hand- hoe, but now a single
team does the work of many men. In the same way, until
recently, various laborious and partially effective methods
were used in fighting noxious insects and destructive fungi ;
but now many foes of both these classes are fought on a
large scale by the force-pump and spray-nozzle, and every
season adds others to the list of those against which this
method may be successfully used. With a large class of
farmers and fruit growers spraying has become a recog-
nized part of the season's operations."

Insect Life.

Before considering remedies it will be well to notice
briefly the stages in insect life.

' ' The larva or caterpillar is the first stage of the insect
after it is hatched from the egg. The pupa or chrysalis is
the next stage ; during this period the insect is inactive and
does not eat. The imago or perfect insect is the highest
stage in the development. According to its classification
this form is generally known as a beetle, a moth or a butter-
fly. In this form onlj^ can sexes be distinguished, and in
this form only is reproduction possible. These transforma-
tions require a relatively short time, and several generations

of the perfect insect can be developed during one season.
In some cases these changes are well marked ; in others, the
transformations are less complete, as in the case of plant
lice and grasshoppers." (Bulletin IV., Delaware College
Agricultural Experiment Station.)

Insecticides.

"Insecticides, or the substances used for destroying
insects, may broadly be divided into two classes ; (1) inter-
nal poisons, or those w^hich take effect by being eaten along
with the ordinary food of the insect; and (2) external
irritants, or those which act from the outside, closing the
breathing pores, or causing death by irritation of the skin.
Besides these, however, various other substances are used
in preventing insect attack, — keeping the pests away because
of offensive odors, or acting simply as mechanical barriers.

"The most important insecticides are the poisons. Of
these the most popular are the various combinations of
arsenic, known as Paris green, London purple, slug-shot,
and a large number of patent insecticides sold under various
names." (Bulletin, Vol. II., No. 1, Ohio Agricultural Ex-
periment Station, March, 1889, Weed.)

Other insecticides are kerosene, petroleum, whale oil soap,
resin or arsenical soaps, the oils of tansy, mint, pennyroyal,
cedar, tar or cade, thymol, cresylic acid, carbolic acid, alco-
hol, pyrethrum, hellebore, sulphur, quassia, tobacco, etc.
All are valuable ; but for most insects, arsenic in some form
is most eflScacious.

Principal Insecticides.
Arsenic. — Pure white arsenic or arsenious acid was suc-
cessfully used for the destruction of the canker Avorm as early
as 1875, and is still sometimes recommended for the destruc-
tion of insects but, fortunately, is rarely used. Whether
it can be advantageously applied in cold water is still a ques-
tion as it is so heavy it quickly settles to the bottom of the
vessel. AVhen we add to this fact the increased danger to
human life that is incurred by having in the house so deadly
a poison, that cannot be distinguished in color from flour.

6

saleratus, baking powder, and other materials used in cooking,
it would be unwise in the extreme to recommend it, especially
if it be in solution, for insecticidal purposes.

Paris Green. — This is an arsenite of copper and was
brought into prominence as an insecticide for the first time
in this country in 1869. It was first used for destrojnng
the potato beetle. It varies somewhat in composition but
there is generally over fifty per cent of arsenic in that which
has not been adulterated. The commercial Paris green is
undoubtedly more or less adulterated, and that sold in the
market for the destruction of insects probably never contains
fifty per cent of arsenic, and may contain no more than
thirty per cent. It is practically insoluble in water and may
be applied either dry or wet. In the former case it should
be well mixed with some fine powder as a diluent ; plaster,
air-slaked lime, flour, road-dust, and finely-sifted wood
ashes, all answer the purpose fiiirly well, though lime or
plaster are usually preferable. The proportion of poison to
diluent varies greatly Avith different users, — one part poison
to fifty, and even one hundred, of diluent, will usually be
efi'ective, if the mixing be thoroughly done. Care should
be taken to apply lightly and to all parts. To most low
plants this application can be easily and rapidly made by
enclosing the powder in a muslin bag, which is shaken
over the plants. All dry applications are best made in
the early morning w^hen the dew is on, or after a shower.
If applied in water the amount of Paris green that can be safely
used varies according to circumstances. The opinions of
various scientific experimenters as to the proper propor-
tions are given' later on in the work. The arsenites,
either dry or in water, may be used against the difierent
potato beetles, the flea beetles, the cucumber beetles, the
cabbage w^orms (before the plants begin to form heads),
the codling moth, the tent caterpillar, the canker worm, the
curculio, and many other leaf feeding insects.

The chief objection to Paris green is that it is so heavy
that it settles quickly to the bottom of the vessel, very
much more quickly than London purple, and consequently
should be kept stirred when using. It is also more expen-
sive than London purple.

London Purple. — This is a by-product in the manufact-
ure of aniline dyes, produced by Hemingway's London
Purple Company, of London, England. It contains nearly
the same percentage of arsenic as Paris green and is much
cheaper. It is principally an arsenite of lime, with nearly
a quarter of its Aveight of coloring matter. According to an
analysis of Dr. Collier it contains about forty-three per cent
of arsenic. It is a finer powder than the Paris green and
consequently remains in suspension longer. It may be used
in the same way, as a powder or in water.

Kerosene- Emulsion. — Probably next to the arsenites —
London purple and Paris green — no single insecticide equals
in value the kerosene and soap mixture or kerosene emul-
sion. This insecticide kills by coming in external contact.
It is prepared by dissolving one-half a pound of soap in one
gallon of water. Remove from the fire when boiling hot,
add two gallons of kerosene, and agitate briskly for ten
minutes, when the whole should be a frothy, creamy mass.
On cooling, the emulsion will set in a gelatinous mass that
will remain indefinitely without separating, and at any time
may be diluted in w^ater to the desired strength and used.
In a good emulsion the particles of kerosene are so small
that when put in water they will not quickly rise to the sur-
face. A strength often recommended is secured by putting
one part of the emulsion, as above prepared, in nine parts of
water. Kerosene, used pure, will kill any insect or plant
to which it is applied. The object in making the emulsion
is two- fold : to lessen the expense of the application, and to
prevent injury to the plants to which it is applied for the
destruction of insects. It should always be applied with a
good force-pump. "It is doubtless better to throw all liquid
insecticides with force in spraying for injurious insects ;
with the kerosene emulsion it is absolutely essential to suc-
cess " (A. J. Cook). The kerosene emulsion is excellent in
destroying plant lice, scale or bark lice, many of the bugs,
and not a few caterpillars, grubs and slugs. Its great value
lies in its excellence as a specific against aphides or ])lant
lice. Pven the eggs can be killed by its use early in the
spring, just before they hatch.

8

Pyrethrum. — This insecticide is a vegetable powder
obtained by grinding the flo^yers of two species of plants
belonging to the genus pyrethrum. It is also known as
buhach, persian insect powder, dalmatian insect powder
and insect powder. Its power to destroy life resides in a
volatile oil, which acts on the nervous system of the insect,
and which is readily lost on exposure to the atmosphere —
hence the difficulty often experienced in procuring it suffi-
ciently fresh and of the desired strength. It is harmless to
man and the higher animals, and kills insect life only by
contact.

It may be used dry or with water, or in fumes by burn-
ing. When used dry the powder may be applied pure or
diluted with several times its own bullv of flour, road-dust,
sifted ashes, etc. In the former case it should be used very
sparingly and in the latter more freely. It may be dusted
from a muslin bag or used in one of the many manufactured
blowers. The powder is more eftectual when applied in the
dry way and in the earl}^ morning, when the dew is still on
and the insects are numb and damp. If used in the wet
way one ounce should be put in three gallons of water. In
order to get the full strength the powder should be wet up
and allowed to stand twenty-four hours, or else prepared as
a decoction in boiling water.

This remedy is especially useful in destroying many soft-
bodied insects that are not protected by hairs, as the larvae
(worms) of many of the butterflies and moths, plant lice,
house flies, mosquitoes, cucumber beetles, etc.

Hellebore. — This insecticide is obtained from the pow-
dered leaves, flowers and roots of Veratrum alba or American
white hellebore. It is a vegetable poison, but much less
dangerous than the mineral arsenical poison ; and kills both
by contact and by being eaten. When applied dry, this
powder may be diluted with five to ten parts of flour and
dusted on the plants through a muslin bag. As a rule, this
poison should l)e applied in the evening, because many of
the saw-fly larva? feed mostly during the night ; and second,
because the powder loses its strength very mucli more rapidly
in the daytime. It is used in the wet way mixed with water
in the proportion of one ounce to a gallon or six quarts and

9

then applied as a spray. It is especially excellent for destroy-
ing the imported currant worm.

Tobacco Decoction. — The use of toliacco smoke in closed
rooms, like forcing houses and conservatories, is too well
known to need remark. That a decoction is also very valu-
able is perhaps not so well known. For this purpose even
the stems or refuse powder will answer well. A pound of
tobacco to two or three gallons of water makes an eflective
decoction, and may be prepared by turning boiling water
on to the tobacco, and when cool strain out the tobacco, and
the decoction is ready for use.

Carbolic Acid Emulsion. — This is made like kerosene
emulsion, only stronger. Use one part of crude carbolic
acid to from five to seven parts of the soap solution. It is
very valuable for the destroying of apple tree bark lice and
apple tree borers, and is easily applied.

Bordeaux Mixture. — This is a valuable fungicide, and
has for some years been employed in European countries as
a preventive of fungous attacks on grapes. It is prepared
as follows : Six pounds of sulphate of copper are dissolved
in six gallons of hot water ; in another vessel four pounds
of fresh lime are slaked in six gallons of cold water. After
the latter solution has cooled slowly turn it into the other
solution and add ten gallons of water. This when all is
thoroughly mixed is ready for use. In using it must be
kept agitated to keep the precipitate formed in suspension.
Prof. C. M. Weed of the Ohio Experiment Station has shown
that when this is used to spray plum trees, the plum rot is wholly
kept in check. Professor Weed recommends that in spray-
ing for the curculio, we use this Bordeaux mixture instead of
water ; that is we add one pound of London purple to two
hundred gallons of the Bordeaux mixture. Thus we may
not only defend against the curculio but the rot as well.

Professor Garman, of the Kentucky Agricultural Exper-
iment Station, states in Circular No. 3 of that station,
that from experiments conducted there, he is satisfied that it
is a valuable protection aaainst the injuries from o-nawinsr
insects, and that for injury from the striped cucumber beetle,
the flea beetles on turnips and potatoes, the blister beetle on
potatoes, and the like, nothing better can be used.

10

Lime dusted on the leaves of plants lia1)le to be eaten
by insects is often found useful in the gardens. It is
very commonly used to prevent the gnawing of flea beetles
and the striped cucumber beetle. Bi-sulphide of carbon and
cyanide of potassium are powerful insecticides, but the
inflammability of the former and deadly poisonous properties
of the latter make their use extremely dangerous. There
are many other preparations used for insecticidal purposes,
but want of space will prevent further enumeration.

Spraying Machinery.
Within the last ten years a large number of spraying out-
fits have been placed upon the market. They are of all
shapes and sizes, and suitable for a great man}' purposes.
The main points of a good machine are that the pump shall
be durable, work easily and throw a forcible stream ; and
that the nozzle shall throw a fine spray a consideral^le dis-
tance, and be so constructed that the size and quality of the
stream may be regulated at the will of the operator. It is
better, and w^here the copper fungicides are used is essential,
that the parts touched by the liquid be made of brass (Prof.
C. M. Weed). In case only a few trees are to be sprayed,
a cheap hand pump will frequently do very well. Some
form of these can be obtained at almost any hardware store.
Among the numerous manufacturers of spraying machinery
may be mentioned the following, from whom no doubt upon*
application full descriptive catalogues may be obtained :
Field Force Pump Company, Lockport, K. Y. ; Gould's
Manufacturing Company, Seneca Falls, N. Y. ; Nixon
Nozzle and Machine Company, Dayton, Ohio ; P. C. Lewis,
Catskills, N. Y. ; Rumsey & Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y. ;
Thomas Woodason, 451 East^ Cambria Street, Philadel-
phia, Pa. ; W. & B. Douglas, Middletown, Conn.

Spraying with Arsenites.
" The spraying with London purple or Paris green should
be done soon after the fruit has ' set ', and a second spray-
ing should follow for late apples, in from two to three
weeks. One spraying should suffice for early fruit. Never
spray with Paris green or London purple late in the season,

11

or near the time of ripening of fruit. The spray should be
as fine as possible, — a mist so fine that it will reach every
part of the foliage, as well as the fruit. Do not use an
ounce of fluid beyond Avhat is necessary to accomplish this.
From a gallon to a gallon and a half is enough for most
orchard trees. It should not take more than a minute to
spray one tree." (Circular No. 3, Kentucky Agricultural
Experiment Station, Garman.)

"Another very important point has been suggested by
the past season's experience Avith these insecticides ; I refer
to the danger of applying them before the blossoms fall.
Bees are quite as susceptible to these poisons as are the
codling moth and curculio. In their good work of collect-
ing nectar and fertilizing the blossoms they are very certain
to take the poison as well, if the trees have been sprayed.
Of course there is no excuse for spraying at so early a date,
as neither the curculio or codling larvas commence their
attack till the blossoms fall. Thus for the object in mind,
as well as for the safety of the bees, delay should be insisted
upon. I think we as scientists and all educated men should
pronounce vehemently and with one voice against spraying
our fruit trees with arsenites till the blossoms have all
fallen." (Bulletin No. 53, Michigan Agricultural Experi-
ment Station, A. J. Cook.)

Prof. A. J. Cook says further in Bulletin No. 53 that
from his experiments he is warranted in the following con-
clusions : "The arsenites and carbolized plaster (one pint,
of crude carbolic acid to fifty pounds of plaster) will pro-
tect against the plum curculio if they can be kept on the
tree or fruit. Hut in case of very frequent rains the jarring
method will not only be cheaper, but much more efiective.
Again, as our wild fruits are more cleared away we must
have plums in our orchards to protect the apples from the
curculio. When apples are seriously stung they become so
gnarled and deformed as to be worthless. It will pay, then,
to set plum trees near by or among the apple trees. Then
we will escape mischief among our apples from the curculio,
and will only need to spray our apples once, to destroy the
codling moth, and can treat this plum trees three or four
times with Paris crreen or carbolated lime in case Ave have

12

only occasional showers, or can jar the trees when the rains
are very frequent. For the apples we can use London pur-
ple, one pound to two hundred gallons of water. For the
plums we must use Paris green, one pound to two or three
hundred gallons of water. If the carbolated plaster is pre-
ferred, we use one pint of crude carbolic acid to fifty pounds
of land plaster. This is thrown freely over the trees, so as
to strike every plum on the tree which is being treated."

" If Paris o;reen is to be used for the destruction of the
codling moth, it should not be applied stronger than one
pound to one hundred and twenty gallons of water, and not
weaker than one pound to one hundred and eighty gallons.
If London purple is used, it should not be applied stronger
than one pound to one hundred gallons nor weaker than one
pound to one hundred and sixty gallons. The above strengths
are for the first application. If a second application is to be
made, it should be considerably weaker, unless heavy rains
have removed nearly all of the first application. The first
treatment should be made as soon as the blossoms have fallen,
when the apples are not larger than peas. At this time the
blossom ends are directed upwards and will collect the poison
and retain it for the destruction of the little larvae when they
begin to eat their way into the fruit. If the best results are
to be obtained, a second application should be made in a
w'eek or ten days after the first. The second application is
made necessary if the first is follow^ed in a few days by a
heavy rain. Prof. S. A. Forbes, who has probably con-
ducted the most elaborate and painstaking experiments with
the arsenites against the codling moth, concludes as follows,
in Bulletin No. 1 of the State Entomologist of Illinois :
' The experiments above described seem to me to prove that
at least seventy per cent of the loss commonly sufiered by
the fruit grower from the ravages of the codling moth or
apple Avorm may be prevented at a nominal expense, or,
practically, in the long run, at no expense at all by thor-
oughly applying Paris green in a spray with water, once or
twice in early spring, as soon as the fruit is fairly set, and
not so late as the time when the growing apple turns down-
ward on the stem.'" (Bulletin No. 5, Iowa Agricultural
Experiment Station, Gillette.)

13

Injury to Foliage.

" The greatest drawliack that has heretofore been experi-
enced by those who sprayed with the arsenites is the danger
of injuring the foliage, — ' scorching' or 'l)urning' it as is
generally said. This may be guarded against by using
weak mixtures, keeping the liquid well stirred and applying
evenly ; and it is pretty well proven that it is safer to apply-
on a cloud}' day or late in the afternoon, than during the hot
sunshine of midday. Of course especial care must be taken
to keep all poisons out of the reach of children and stock."
(Bulletin, Vol. III., No. 4, Ohio Agricultural Experiment
Station, Weed.)

" That forcible spraying does, in ordinary cases, damage
foliage worse than gentle spraying I have no doul)t, l)ut I
believe the reason for it to be found in the fact that the
leaves are more thoroughly treated in the former case than
in the latter." (Bulletin No. 2, Iowa Agricultural Experi-
ment Station, Gillette.)

" I think we are warranted in the following conclusions :
First, London purple is more injurious to the foliage than is
Paris green ; and white arsenic, arsenious acid, is more
harmful than is either London purple or Paris green. This
is doubtless owing to the soluble arsenic which is quite
abundant in London purple, and almost absent in Paris
green.

" Secondly, Peach foliage is especially susceptible to in-
jury, and cherry foliage the least so of any of the kinds
(plum, cherry, apple, willow, elm, maple, pear, peach)
treated.

" Thirdly, It would seem that London purple and white
arsenic, used just before a rain, are more harmful than when
used during a drought. This also accords with the view
that the injury comes from the presence of soluble arsenic.

" Fourthly, It would seem that spraying soon after the foli-
age puts out is less harmful than when it is delayed a few
days, or, better, a few weeks.

" Fifthly, London purple may be used on apple, plum,
cherry, pear and most ornamental trees, but on these should
never be stronijer than one i)()und to two hundred gallons of

14

water. If the application is to be repeated, as it must be,
for the eurculio, to prove effective, or if it be used in June
or July, Paris green should be used, in the same proportion
as al)ove, or else we should only use one pound of London
purple to three hundred gallons of water.

" Sixthly, If the arsenites are to be used on the peach, to
defend against the eurculio, Paris green only should be used,
and that not stronger than one pound to three hundred
gallons of water.

" Seventhly, The injury done foliage is never immediately
apparent. It usually shows somewhat the second da}', but
the full injury is frequently not manifest till the fifth day,
and often not till the tenth." (Bulletin No. 53, Michigan
Agricultural Experiment Station, A. J. Cook.)

As a result of experiments conducted by the Iowa Agri-
cultural Experiment Station and recorded in Bulletin No.
10, August, 1890, the following conclusions ' are drawn,
which the entomologist (Mr. C. P. Gillette) considers to
be well proven from the experiments he reports : —

1. The oldest leaves are most susceptible to injury from
arsenical applications. They often turn yellow and drop
without showing the burnt spotted appearance.

2. Dews, and probably direct sunlight, increase the
injuries done by the arsenites to foliage.

3. Leaves kept perfectly dry can hardly be injured by
the arsenites, even when they are applied very abundantly.

4. The only effect of a heavy rain or dashing shower
following an application of one of the arsenites is to lessen
the injury to foliage.

5. When freshly mixed and applied, London purple is
most and white arsenic least injurious to foliage.

6. White arsenic in solution should not be used upon
foliage without first adding lime, Bordeaux mixture or some
other substance to prevent its injurious effects upon foliage.

7. White arsenic, if allowed to stand many days in water
before being applied, will do far greater harm to foliage
than if applied as soon as mixed.

8. Lime added to London purple or Paris green in water
greatly lessens the injury that these poisons would otherwise
do to follag'e.

15

9. Lime added to a mixture of white arsenic in water
will greatly increase the injury that this poison w^ould other-
wise do to foliage. If the arsenic is all in solution, the lime
will then lessen the injury, as in the case of London purple
and Paris green.

10. London purple (Paris green and white arsenic have
not yet been tried) can be used, at least eight or ten times
as strong, without injury to foliage if applied in common
Bordeaux mixture instead of water.

11. The arsenites cannot by any ordinary method be suc-
cessfully mixed in a kerosene emulsion.

12. London purple in sulphate of copper solution does
vastly more harm than when applied in water only.

Mr. C. W. AVood worth, the entomologist of the Arkansas
Experiment Station, in Bulletin No. 14, September, 1890,
publishes the following conclusions relative to the effects of
arsenites upon plants : —

1. The injury from white arsenic is seen comparatively
very soon after it is applied. London pur[)le is almost as
active.
• 2. Paris green does its injury much more slowly.

3. Young leaves are affected much more quickly than
are the old ones.

4. Applications to the lower side of a leaf produce injury
more quickly than if the poison is applied above.

5. Except in the case of young leaves, it seems to be the
rule that where the greatest injury is produced, a greater
proportion is early apparent.

Danger in Using Insecticides.

" It has been shown, both by experiment and practice, that
there is no danger to be apprehended from eating fruit sprayed
either with the compounds of arsenic, or with Bordeaux
mixture. It is just as well to keep stock out of orchards for
a few days after spraying the trees ; but really there seems
to be small danger from allowing stock the run of an orchard
at all times. If the spray has been properly applied very
little of it drops from the leaves afterwards." (Circular No.
3, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, Garman.)

" There is no danger whatever if ordinary care be used.

16

This has been proven again and again. We have heard of a
few, a very few accidents in proportion to the widespread
use of insecticides, and, in these cases, the cause could be
traced directly to carelessness." (Bulletin No. 3, Oregon
Agricultural Experiment Station.)

"We have it demonstrated that the arsenites are effective
against the codling moth, that in their use there is no danger
of poisoning the fruit, and when used properly no danger to
the foliage, nor to the stock that may be pastured in the
orchard." (A. J. Cook.)

Readers of this pamphlet who are interested in insects and
fungi are urged to consult Bulletin No. 12, April, 1891, of
the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agri-
cultural College, which is a report on insects by Dr. C. H.
Fernald; and Bulletin No. 13, April, 1891, of the same sta-
tion, which contains directions for the use of fungicides and
insecticides by Prof. S. T. Maynard ; and Bulletin No. 39,
April, 1891, of the State Agricultural Experiment Station,
which gives information of practical importance upon the
treatment of fungous diseases by Prof. J. E. Humphrey.
No doubt these bulletins can be obtained upon application
to the respective stations.

. dI^0mmanh3Cciltb of ||tass:icljusctts.

State Board of Ageiculture.

GYPSY MOTH DEPAETxMENT.

BULLETIN OF INFORMATION.

JUNE, 1S91.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT «fe POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1891.

A DANGEROUS INSECT PEST IN MEDFORD.

From Special Bulletin FIatch Experiment Station, November,
1889, C. H. Fernald.

The Gypsy Moth (Ocneria clLspar L.).

" On the 27tb of last June, during my absence in Europe,
several caterpillars were received at the Station, from Hon.
William li. Sessions, secretary of the Board of Agriculture,
with the request for information as to what they were and
the best methods of destroying them. These caterpillars
were brought into the secretary's office by Mr. John Stetson
of Medford, Mass , who stated that they were very destruc-
tive in that town, eating the leaves of fruit and shade trees.
Mrs. Fernald, who had charge of the entomological work
during my absence, determined the insect to be the gypsy
moth {Ocneria dlapar Linn.) of Europe, but as the moths
were emerging and laying their eggs for next year's brood,
there was nothing to recommend at that time except to
destroy the moths and their eggs as far as possible, and pre-
pare for the destruction of the caterpillars when they first
appear next spring.

First Importation into America.

" There is a statement in the second volume of the Ameri-
can Entomologist, page 111, published in 1870, and also in
Riley's Second Missouri Report on Insects, page 10, that
' only a year ago the larva of a certain owlet moth {Ilypog-
ymna dispar), which is a great pest in Europe both to fruit
trees and forest trees, was accidentally introduced by a
]Massachusctts entomoloiiist into New England.'

" These are the only notices I have thus far been able to
find of the introduction of this insect into America. Mr.
Samuel Henshaw and Dr. Hagen of Cambridge have both
informed me that the entomologist who introduced this
insect was ISIr. L. Trouveh)t, now living in Paris, but at that
time living near Gienwood, Medford, where he attempted
some experiments in raising silk from our native silk worms,
and also introduced European species for the same purpose.
Dr. Hagen told me that he distinctly remembered hearing
jNlr. Trouvelot tell how they escaped from him after he had
imported them.

"It seems, then, that this was an accidental introduction,
but that they have now become acclimated, and are spread-
ing and doing so much damaije as to cause verv irreat alarm.

Disti'ibution.

" The gypsy moth is abundant in nearly all parts of Europe,
northern and western Asia, and it even extends as far as
Japan. (In this country it has l>een found on\y in nineteen
cities and towns of Massachusetts. The whole of Medford,
Maiden and Everett and sections of Arlington, Melrose,
Somerville, Cambridge and Chelsea are thoroughly infested,
while in Stoueham, Winchester, Belmont, Saugus, Revere,
Lynn, Lexington, Swampscott, Wakefield, Burlington and
Charlestown they have been found more or less prevalent.)

Food Plants.

" The food })lants of this insect given in Europe are apple,
pear, plum, cherry, quince, apricot, lime, pomegranate, lin-
den, elm, birch, beech, oak, poplar, willow, hornbeam, ash,
hazel-nut, larch, fir, azalea, myrtle, rose, cabbage and many
others. Curtis, in his British Entomology, states that they
are sometim'es very destructive in gardens. Prof. W. P.
Brooks reported this insect as very abundant in Sapporo,
Japan, in 1883, and gave straw1)err3' as a food plant in
addition to those mentioned above.

"(It has been ascertained by experiment at the office of the
Gypsy Moth Department in Maiden, Mass., that they will
feed on the following-named trees and plants : maple, elm.

willow, horse chestnut, balm of gilead, birch, ash, sycamore,
walnut, oak, basswood, witch hazel, pine, spruce, cedar,
hemlock, apple, peach, cherry, pear, quince, blackberry,
currant", barberry, grape, whortleberry, blueberry, straw-
berry, hop, cabbage, beet, lettuce, radish, corn, dandelion,
woodbine, tulip, hawthorn, azalea, rhododendron, wistaria,
hollyhock, wygelia, syringa, rose and Japan quince.)

Danger of Spreading .

"The fact that this insect has now been in this country for
the last twenty years, and has not only held its OAvn 1)ut has
multiplied to such an extent as to cause the entire destruction
of the fruit crop and also to defoliate the shade trees in the
infested region, is sufficient cause for alarm. The citizens of
Medford are immediately interested, but the entire Common-
wealth and country are threatened with one of the worst
insect pests of all Europe. In 1817 the cork-oaks of
southern France suflered severely from the attacks of this
insect. One of the papers of that time stated that the beau-
tiful cork-oaks which extended from Barbaste to the city of
Podenas were nearly destroyed by the caterpillars of the
gypsy moth. After having devoured the leaves and young
acorns they attacked the fields of corn and millet, and also
the grass lands and fruit trees.

"In 1<"^78 the plane trees of the pul)lic promenades of Lyons
were nearly ruined by this same insect. Only last summer
( 1889) I saw the moths in immense numbers on the trees in the
zoological gardens of Berlin, w'here the caterpillars had done
great injury ; and the European works on entomology abound
with instances of the destructiveness of this insect. When
we consider its long list of food plants, we can see how
injurious this insect may become if allowed to spread over
the country and become established.

" The opinion was expiessed to me by prominent entomolo-
gists in Europe, that if the gyps}' moth should get a foothold
in this country it would become a far greater pest than the
Colorado potato beetle, l)ecause it is so prolific, and feeds on
so many different plants, while the potato beetle confines
itself to a small number.

G

HoiD to Destroy Them.

" All the masses of eggs should be scraped from the trees
and other places where the females have deposited them
and burned. Crushing is not sufficient, as possibly some
might escape uninjured. This should be done in the fall,
winter or early spring, before the eggs hatch. It is not at
all probable that one will find all the egg-masses, even with
the most careful searching on the trees in a small orchard ;
but when one remembers that this insect deposits its eggs on
all kinds of shade and forest trees also, it appears a hopeless
task to exterminate this pest by an attempt to destroy the
eggs. It is a habit of these caterpillars, after they have
emerged, to cluster together on the trunks or branches of the
trees between the times of feeding, and this affords an oppor-
tunit}^ of destroying vast numbers by crushing them ; and
after they have changed to puptB they may be destroyed
wherever they can be found. The female moths are so slug-
gish in their flight, and so conspicuous, that they may be
easily captured and destroyed as soon as they emerge ; yet
any one or all of these methods, which have been employed
in Europe, are not sufficient for their extermination. At
l)est they will only reduce the numbers more or less accord-
ing to the thoroughness with which the work has been done.
I could not learn that any attempts have ever been made in
Europe to destroy this insect by means of poisonous insecti-
cides, and it is to this method that we may look for positive
results in this country.

" If all the trees in the infested region be thoroughly show-
ered with Paris green in water, one pound to one hundred
and fifty gallons, soon after the hatching of the eggs in the
spring, the young caterpillars will surely be destroyed, and
if any escape it will be because of some neglect or igno-
rance in the use of the insecticide. It loill he absolutely
necessary to sJioiver every tree and shrub in that region, for
if a single tree be neglected, it may jneld a crop sufficiently
large to eventually restock the region.

"I can hardly feel confident that all these insects can be
exterminated in one year, but if this work of showering the
trees be continued during the months of A})ril and May for

two or three years, under competent direction, I have no
doubt but that they may be entirely destroyed.

" This is, in my opinion, the cheapest and surest method of
exterminating this pest, but its effectiveness depends entirely
upon the thoroughness and carefulness with which it is done,
and those who do the work must have authority to shower
the trees not only on public Ijut on private grounds.

Description of the Insect.
" The males (Fig. 1) are of a yellowish brown color, with
two dark brown lines crossing the forewings, one at the l)asal
third, the other on the outer third, somewhat curved, and
with teeth })ointing outwards on the veins. The outer end
of all the wings is dark l)rown. A curved dark brown spot
[reiiiform) rests a little above the middle of the wing, and a

small round spot of the same color (orbiculcn') is situated
between this and the 1)ase of the wing, just outside of the
inner cross-line. A similar spot rests near the middle of the
base of the wing. The fringes on the forewings are dull
yellowish, and broken by eight brown spots. The antenna?
are strongly bipectinated, or feather-like. The forewings
expand about an inch and a half.

"The females (Fig. 2) are pale yellowish white, with dark
brown cross-lines and spots similar to those of the males.
The cross-lines in both sexes are much darker and more
prominent on the forward edge of the wings (^costa) than
elsewhere. In some specimens there is a faint stripe of
brown across the middle of the wing [median shade), and a
toothed line across the wing near the outer edge (subtermiiial
line). The fringes of the forewings have eight dark spots
l)etween the ends of the veins, as in the males, and similar
but fainter spots often occur in the fringes of the hind wings.

8

The l)0(ly is much stouter than in the males, and the antenna^
are not so heavily feathered. The expanse of wings is from
one and three-fourths to two and three-fourths inches.

" The eoo's are crlohular, a1)0ut one-eiii'hteenth of an inch in
diameter, nearly salmon colored and with a smooth surface.
They are laid on the under side of the branches, on the trunks
of the trees, often below the surface of the ground, where the
latter has shrunk away from the tree, and not infrequently
on the fences or on the sides of buildings. They are laid in
oval or rounded masses, often to the number of four hundred
or five hundred, and covered with ochre yellow hairs from
the abdomen of the female. The eggs are laid in the early
part of July, but do not hatch till the following spring. The
caterpillars remain together, feeding upon the leaves, and
when not feeding they habitually rest side by side on the
branches and trunks of the trees.

"The full-grown caterpillar (Fig. 3) is about an inch and
three-fourths in length, very dark brown or black, finely

Fig. 3.

reticulated with pale yellow. There is a pale yellow line
alonff the middle of the back and a similar one along each

9

side. On the first six segments following the head there is a
bluish tubercle armed with several black spines on each side
of the dorsal line, and on the remaining segments these
tubercles are dark crimson red. In the middle of the tenth
and eleventh segments there is a smaller red tubercle notched
at the top. The whole surface of the body is somewhat
hairy, but along each side the hairs are long and form quite
dense clusters.

"The pupa (Fig. 4) is from three-fourths of an inch to an
inch in length, and varies in color from chocolate to reddish
brown. On each side, at the base of the wing-covers, is a
dark reddish brown, oval, velvety spot. The wing-cases are
quite broad and reach to the posterior third of the fifth seg-
ment. The antennai cases are strongly curved, and are quite
wide in the middle. There are a few yellowish brown hairs

Fig. 4.

on the face and head, also on the first five segments,
arranged in Ijroken circles or clusters, which are in longi-
tudinal and transverse rows. The cremaster or spine at the
posterior end is flattened, rounded at the outer end, grooved
longitudinally^ and has twelve or more minute hooks at the
end. The moths emerge from the pup?e from the first to
the middle of July."

The foregoing was prepared by Professor Fernald from
knowledge acquired largely from European sources. Obser-
vation in this country shows some slight variation in dates of
transformation, size of insect in the various stages, etc.

10

The eggs hatch here hiter, and consequently spraying
cannot commence until May and must be continued through
June.

Ax Act to provide against depredations bv the insect knoayn
AS the ocneria dispar or gypsy moth.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Oeiicral
Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, asfolloivs:

Section 1. The State Board of Agriculture is hereby author-
ized, empowered and directed to provide and carry into executiou
all possible and reasoBable measures to prevent the spreading and
to secure the exterraiuatiou of the Ocneria dispar or gypsy moth iu
this Commonwealth ; and to this end said State Board of Agricult-
ure shall have full authority to provide itself with all necessary
material and appliances and to employ such competent persons,
servants and agents as it, said State Board of Agriculture, shall
from time to time deem needful iu the execution of the purposes
of this act ; and said State Board of Agriculture shall also have
the right itself or by any persous, servants or agents employed by
it, said Board, under this act to enter upon the lauds of any
person.

Sect. 2. The owner of any laud so entered upou, who shall
suffer damage by such entry and acts done thereon by said State
Board of Agriculture, or under its dii-ectiou, may recover the same
of the city or town in which the lands so claimed to have been
damaged are situate by action of contract ; but any benefits
received by such entry and the acts done on such lands, in the exe-
cutiou of the purposes of this act, shall be determined by the court
or jury before whom such action is heard, and the amount thereof
shall be applied to the reduction of said damages, and the Com-
monwealth shall refund to said cit}' or town one-half of the
amount of the damages recovered.

Sect. 3. Said State Board of Agriculture shall have full
authority to make from time to time such rules and regulations iu
furtherance of the purposes of this act as it shall deem needful ;
which rules and regulations shall be published iu one or more
newspapers publislied iu the county of Suffolk ; and copies of
such rules and regulations shall be posted in at least three public
places iu each city or town iu which said Ocneria dispar or gypsy
moth shall be found by said State Board of Agriculture to exist,
and a copy thereof shall be filed with the cit}'^ clerk of each such
city, and with the town clerk of each such town ; and any person

11

who shall knowingly violate any of the provisions thereof shall be
punished for each violation b}- a fine not exceeding twenty-five
dollars.

Sect. 6. Any person who shall purposely resist or obstruct
said State Board of Agriculture or any persons, servants or
agents employed by it under this act, while engaged in tlie execu-
tion of the purposes of this act, shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding twenty-five dollars for each offence.

Skct. 7. It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to
bring the insect known as the Ocneria (h'sjxir or gypsy moth, or its
nests or eggs, within this Commonwealth ; or for an^' person know-
ingly to transport said insect, or its nests or eggs, from any town
or cit}' to another town or city within this Commonwealth. Any
person who shall offend against the provisions of this section of
this act shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred
dollars or by imprisonment in the house of correction not exceed-
ing sixty days, or by both said fine and imprisonment.

Sect. 8. The said State Board of Agriculture may exercise all
the duties and powers herein conferred upon said Board by and
through its secretary and such members of said Board as said
Board ma}^ designate and appoint to have in charge, in conjunction
with its secretary, the execution of the purposes of this act.

At a special meeting of the State Board of Agriculture
held April 28, 1891, to consider an act of the Massachusetts
Legislature, entitled "An Act to })rovide agahist depreda-
tions I)}' the insect known as the Ocneria dispar or gypsy
moth,'' and to provide for carrying out the provisions of
said act, it was

Voted, That AVm R. Sessions, N. S. Shaler and Francis
H. Appleton be a committee of the Board to exercise all the
duties and powers conferred by the above-mentioned act
upon the State Board of Agriculture.

Wm. R. Sessions,

Secretari/.

In view of the prejudice of many people against the use of
Paris green in spraying their trees and shrubs, the following
extracts from Bulletin No. 13, April, 1891, of the Hatch
Experiment Station, Amherst, Mass., and Bulletin No. 53,
August, 1889, of the Agricultural College Experiment
Station of Michigan, and the fourth report of the United

12

States Entomological Commission, together with a statement
of Prof. C. V. Riley, entomologist of the United States
Department of Agricullure, are appended as samples of the
opinions and experience of the most reputable scientists and
ex})eriment station directors of this country.

* " The destruction of our fruits to so large an extent for
the past few years by fungous pests and insects shows us
the necessity of using every remedy that we know of
for the destruction of the causes of this loss.

" The many letters received at this Station asking for speci-
fic instructions relating to the use of the best known fungi-
cides and insecticides have led to the issue of this bulletin.

" Our information is based upon the experiments made at
this Station, those of the Department of Agriculture at
Washington, the work of many other stations of the country,
and the practice of the large orchardists and vineyardists of
the country, who have made successful use of the remedies.

" The time which experiments have been carried on in this
line has not been sufficient to decide in every case and under
aU conditions, what may be the most economical and the
safest remedy or mode of application, but enough has been
learned to warrant the recommendation of the use of a few
of the best known remedies, and we feel confident that if the
directions are carefully followed and no unusual conditions
present themselves, great benefit may be derived from their
use.

Treatuient for the Aijple.

1. As soon as the petals have fallen, spray with the
Bordeaux f mixture and Paris green, one pound to two hun-
dred gallons of the mixture, for the insects and apple scab.

2. Apply the same mixture again in eight or ten days.
Should it have rained hard within a few days of either
spraying, another application must be made at once.

3. In about two weeks spray again with the same mixture.

* Prof. S. T. Maynard, in Bulletin No. 13, April, 1891, of tbe Hatch Experiment
Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College.

t BoHDEAUx MixTVRE (Foran/7a) . — Dissolve six pounds copper sulphate in
two or three gallons of hot water. (If in a powdered form it will dissolve readily in
cold water.) Slake four pounds of fresh caustic lime in water enough to make a thin
whitewash. When both are cool, pour the two mixtures together, stirring thoroughly,
then add water enough to make twenty-five gallons of the mixture. Strain through
a line wire or cloth strainer before using.

13

Treatment for the Pear.

1. When the fruit has set, i. e., the petals have fallen,
spray with the Bordeaux mixture and Paris green.

2. Repeat the spraying in eight or ten days.

0. Spray again with same mixture in two weeks.

Treatment for the Plum.

1. As soon as the petals have fallen, use the Bordeaux
mixture and Paris green.

2. Spray again in eight or ten days.

3. Spray again in two weeks.

Treatment for the Grape.

1. Just before the blossoms open, use the Bordeaux mix-
ture aixl Palis green for the ' rose ]>eetle.'

2. Use the same mixture eight or ten days later, or as
soon as the fruit has set.

Treatment for the Strairherry.

1. Apply the Bordeaux mixture and Paris green as soon
as the leaves bei>in to 2,10 w vi^orouslv.

2. Use the Bordeaux mixture and Paris green just before
the first blossoms open.

3. After the fruit has l)cen gathered, if the bed is to be
continued, make one application of the above mixture. The
Paris green is included to destro}' the ' croivn borer,' which
is injurious in some sections."

Injur y to the FolaKje.

* " Another practical question of no small moment in this
use of the arsenites refers to injury to the foliage of the
trees treated. In an elaborate series of experiments the
past season we desired to learn the effect on different trees
of the different arsenites, and whether the date of treatment
and atmospheric condition had any influence. ... I think
we are warranted in the folh^wing conclusions: First, Lon-
don purple is more injurious to the foliage than is Paris

* Prof A. J. Cook, in Bulletin No. ')i, Aiiijust, 1889, of the Agricultural College
of Michigan Experitncnt Station.

14

irrpcn ; and white arsenic — ar.scni()us acid — is more harmful
than is either London purple or Paris green. ... It would
seem that spraying soon after the foliage puts out is less
harmful than when it is delayed a few days. For ten years
I have spra^^ed both apple and plum trees in May, and for
several years with London purple, and often used a mix-
ture as strong as one pound to one hundred or even tifty
gallons of water; yet in most cases no damage was done.

Pohomng the Pasture under the Trees.

" Another important practical question which I have tried
to settle this season, 1889, concerns the danger of pasturing
under trees which have been sprayed with the arsenites. A
gentleman wishing to spray his orchard, in which he was
pasturing seventy-five hogs, consulted me as to the wisdom
of doing so without first removing the swine. I told him I
l)elieved there was no danger. I said use a mixture, one
pound of London purple to two hundred gallons of water,
watch your hogs closely and if any seem affected remove all
at once, and I will be responsible for damages to the amount
of twenty-live dollars. The gentleman did so and reports
no damage.

" In the following experiments I used the mixture twice
the strength which should be used, that the experiment
might be the more convincing. I used one pound to one
hundred gallons of water. In every case the spraying was
very thoroughly done. Care was taken that every twig and
leaf should be drenched.

" In tree number one a thick paper was placed under one-
half of a rather small apple tree. The space covered was
six 1)}^ twelve feet, or seventy-two square feet. The paper
was left till all dripping ceased. As the day was quite
windy the dripping w'as rather excessive. In this case
every particle of the poison that fell from the tree was
caught on the paper. Dr. K. C. Kedzie analyzed the poison
and found four-tenths (.4) of a grain. Tree number two
was a large tree with very thick foliage. Underneath this
tree was a thick carpet of clover, blue grass and timothy
just in bloom. The space covered by the tree was fully six-
teen feet square, or equal to two hundred and fifty-six

15

square feet. As soon as all dripping bad ceased the grass
under the tree was all cut, very gently and very close to the
ground. This was taken to the chemical laboratory and
analyzed b}'' Dr. R. C. Kedzie. There was found two and
two-tenths grains of arsenic. Now as our authorities say
that one grain is a poisonous dose for a dog, two for a man,
ten for a cow and twenty for a horse, there would seem to
be small danger from pasturing our orchards during and
immediately after spraying, especially as no animal would
eat the sprayed grass exclusively. To test this fully, I
sprayed a large tree over some bright tender grass and
clover. I then cut the clover carefully, close to the ground,
and fed it all to my horse. It was all eaten up in an hour
or two, and the horse showed no signs of any injury. This
mixture, remember, was of double the proper strength, was
applied very thoroughly, and all the grass fed to and eaten
by the horse. This experiment was repeated w^ith the same
result. I next secured three sheep. These were kept till
hungr3^ then put in a pen about a tree under which was rich,
juicy June grass and clover. The sheep soon ate the grass,
yet showed no signs of any injury. This experiment was
repeated twice with the same result. It seems to me that
these experiments are crucial and settle the matter fully.
The analyses show that there is no danger ; the experiments
confirm the conclusion.

" Thus we have it demonstrated that the arsenites are
eftective against the codling moth, that in their use there is
no danger of poisoning the fruit, and when used properly
no danger to the foliage, nor to stock that may be pastured
in the orchard."

* " Not only hundreds of tons, but thousands of tons of these
mineral poisons have been employed during the past decade
by farmers throughout the country, whether to protect the
potato crop, or the cotton crop, or other products of the soil
from the ruinous attacks of insects. The general experience
during this long period and over the whole country is so
emphatically in favor of their use, and their perfect safety
and harmlessness, with ordinary precautions, as to render

• Fourth Report United States Entomological Commission.

16

almost laughable the objections of the few persons referred
to. No advancement, no improvement, no general benefit
to the human race is ever accomplished without some attend-
ant danger, and those who inveigh against such improve-
ments as increasino; the risks to life stand on the same
footing as the opponents to arsenical poisons as insecticides."

United States Depaktmext of Agriculture,
DivisioK OF EvTOMOLOGY, Washingto:*, D. C, May 26, 1891.

Jlr. Wm. R. Sessions, Secretary Massachusetts State Board of Agri-
culture, Boston, Mass.
Dear Sir: — Your favor of the 21st instant duly received. lu
reply I may state that ... I consider that the prejudice you
refer to (against the use of Paris green in spraying), on the part
of Massachusetts fruit growers, is totally uujustified, from a long
experience covering some fifteen years ; and while I do not advise
recklessness in its use, I feel no hesitation in saying that its use
in the manner and for the purpose which you have in mind (spray-
ing with Paris green to destroy the gypsy moth) involves no dan-
ger to man or beast if proper care be taken in the mixing and

spraying.

Yours very truly,

(Signed) C. V. Riley,

Eiitoniclogist.

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