P.D. 123. 25 



Great Pasture Reclamation Project (Deerfield). 



This petition covers about 10 acres on the lower bench just west of Deerfield 

 Center. An examination was made of this land and a hearing held. As the 

 drainage of this land consists of clearing a short ditch and controlling some 

 springs, it is believed that the owners can perfonn the necessary work them- 

 selves and avoid the formation of a district. Should it prove necessary this 

 land can for administrative purposes be made a part of the Wapping district. 



Bear Meadow Reclamation Project (Whitman) . 



A petition is being signed covering the wet land from the Whitman Railroad 

 Station to North Hanson Station. 



Recommendations. 



It is recommended that the Legislature be asked to make the changes necessary 

 to clarify the law. It would greatly facilitate the work if the Commonwealth 

 would advance the money necessary for making the district surveys, allowing 

 the district to reimburse it as soon as district funds become available. Bridges 

 and culverts so placed as to prevent proper drainage of lands above are of 

 very common occurrence. Such construction could be prevented in the future 

 if the principal areas needing drainage could be determined and this informa- 

 tion made available to those having the new bridges in charge. It is recom- 

 mended that the Board be provided with the funds necessary for this purpose. 



SOIL SURVEY 



The season of 1923 w^as devoted to field work in Berkshire County, which 

 was all surveyed before winter began. The checking of the survey cannot, 

 however, be done until the spring of 1924, so that no results or conclusions 

 can yet be stated. It is known that some of the soils in Berkshire are the same 

 as soils previously classified in the state of New York, or of similar character, 

 and others are like soils identified in the counties of Massachusetts where soil 

 survey work has already been completed. A constituent of considerable impor- 

 tance and value in many Berkshire County soils is the lime derived from 

 extensive beds of limestone which underlie a large part of the county. 



The Commonwealth has been fortunate in having the continued service of 

 Mr, W. J. Latimer, soil specialist, who has been assigned to the field work in 

 Massachusetts by the United States Bureau of Soils for the last four years. 

 His long experience and proven ability in this line of Avork assure thorough 

 and reliable reports on our soil conditions. Mr. Latimer has been assisted 

 during the past season, as in 1922, by Mr. M. 0. Lanphear of the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College, whose work has been very satisfactory. 



Progress is being made on the publication of reports covering the surveys 

 of Barnstable, Bristol, Norfolk and Worcester counties, which were made in the 

 three years 1919 to 1922, inclusive. The reports for the first three of these 

 counties are to be combined in one publication. Drafts of the text and of the 

 soil maps of Barnstable and Bristol Counties have been received from the 

 Bureau of Soils and have been returned with comments and suggestions. 

 The draft text of the report on Worcester County has also been received, read 

 and returned. It is hoped that the reports on all these counties may be 

 published during the year 1924. 



FAIRS AND EXHIBITIONS. 



Prize money allotments were made to one hundred twenty-one agricultural 

 societies, granges and other agricultural organizations holding fairs in Massachu- 

 setts this year.. 



Special exhibitions were installed in connection with the Union Agricultural 

 Meeting, Horticultural Hall, Boston, January 16, 1923; the Franklin County 

 Agricultural Society's Fair at Greenfield, September 13; the Eastern States 

 Exposition, Springfield, September 16-22; Brockton Fair, Brockton, October 



