6 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



in a net saving of many thousands of dollars. This co-oper- 

 ative buying and selling also has trained farmers to work to- 

 gether in a teamwork which bids well to have important 

 economic results in this State. Good markets have been so 

 near at hand to the Massachusetts farmer that he has not been 

 forced to combine with his neighbors to market his products, 

 and the result has been that each farmer has sold ungraded 

 the relatively small quantities of products wdiich he himself 

 has produced, and has not received a price for them which he 

 might have received if he had combined with his neighbors, 

 had properly packed and graded his products, and had placed 

 them on the market in sufficiently large quantities to attract 

 large buyers. 



The long and patient work of many educational agencies, 

 such as the Agricultural College, and the w^ork of the farm 

 bureaus, which is now becoming effective, is doing much to 

 educate the farmer in the line of economic production and co- 

 operative marketing. I do not believe there is a class of men 

 in the Commonwealth which is attempting to do more to im- 

 prove their methods of doing business than Massachusetts 

 farmers. This is evidenced by their interest in the various 

 agricultural agencies of the State, their attendance at lectures, 

 demonstrations and other educational helps at the Agricultural 

 College, and at various points scattered over the State. 



Massachusetts Crops in 1920. 



The low temperatures of the winter 1919-20 killed nearly all 

 the peach buds, but did not hurt apple fruit buds seriously, 

 nor was there very serious weather injury to trees. However, 

 the long-continued deep snow caused destructive girdling of 

 thousands of younger apple trees by mice. This snow was, 

 however, favorable to fall sown crops, meadows and pastures. 



The situation confronting farmers, as regards supply of farm 

 labor and wages, supply and prices of fertilizer, machinery and 

 implements, and transportation, grew steadily worse until well 

 into May. All signs and reports from the farmers indicated 

 a disposition to reduce crop acreages rather heavily. In the 

 face of this a countermove resulted in agitation to give the 

 farmers all possible assistance in the matters mentioned in 



