100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



be grown successfully in Massachusetts: string beans, beets, 

 sugar corn, peas, pumpkins, cabbage for sauerkraut, rhubarb, 

 spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, squash, hominy, dandelions, 

 cauliflower, cucumber pickles, pickling onions, apples, black- 

 berries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries 

 and strawberries. 



The following are the usual prices paid by the canners for 

 goods delivered at their factories: cabbage for sauerkraut, 

 $10 per ton. Sugar corn, from 2 to 2| cents per pound for 

 corn cut from the cob, or $15 to $20 per ton for the ear in 

 husk; cobs are usually returned to the farmer and have a 

 value of about $3 per ton for fertilizing purposes; gross returns 

 of this crop to the grower, $50 to $100 per acre. String beans, 

 price Ij to If cents per pound; gross returns of this crop to 

 the grower, $75 to $125 per acre. Beets, $13 to $15 per ton; 

 average yield, 4 to 8 tons per acre. Dandelions, $10 per ton. 

 Pumpkins, $5 to $6 per ton; average yield, 8 to 12 tons per 

 acre. Rhubarb, average price $10 per ton. Spinach, $10 to 

 $20 per ton; average yield, 5 to 7 tons per acre. Squash, $10 

 per ton; average yield, 5 to 10 tons per acre. Tomatoes, 

 $9 to $10 per ton; average yield, 8 to 10 tons per acre. Apples, 

 75 cents to $1.50 per barrel; second grades can be used for 

 this purpose if free from wormy stock. 



Farmers' co-operative canning associations have been formed 

 in many sections of the country, but unfortunately have seldom 

 proved a success, usually due to a lack of close co-operation 

 among the members and a tendency to sell their crops through 

 other sources during high prices. 



Home canning has been tried by many farmers as a means of 

 disposing of their surplus crops, but thus far has met with 

 rather indifferent success, owing to the cost of operation and 

 the variable quality of products when canned. The home-can- 

 ning outfit can be used to advantage in caring for surplus 

 vegetables and fruits that would otherwise go to waste. Such 

 operations are entirely practical for the home supply and per- 

 haps a small local trade, but the idea of large profits from such 

 an enterprise when these products are sold in the open mar- 

 kets is usually misleading. 



