218 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



tions of the State, like Colrain, Leyden, Buckland and Ashfield, 

 farms may be found that are genuine bargains. A single ex- 

 ample may suffice to show what can sometimes be secured. 

 Recently a farm changed hands at less than $2,000, which 

 contained 175 acres of land, 65 bearing apple trees, a tract of 

 15 acres of good timber, a good house and barn, with running 

 water in each, and plenty of open land with ideal apple soil 

 which could at once be set to orchards. If this would not 

 qualify as a bargain it is difficult to imagine a piece of real 

 estate that would. It is not suggested that such bargains can 

 be had every day, and the price of land is of course constantly 

 increasing, but for several years to come Massachusetts and the 

 other New England States will have orchard farms for sale at 

 prices that will make the land values of most other sections 

 look extremely high. 



Moreover, the land in much of the State, besides being low 

 in price, is admirably adapted to fruit growing. The soil is 

 good, frequently ideal, for the leading varieties of apples of this 

 section, such as Baldwin, Mcintosh and Wealthy; the country 

 is rolling, giving excellent atmospheric and water drainage, and 

 enabling the orchard man to select warm, sunny locations 

 which are yet free from danger of frost, where apples and other 

 fruits of a color and quality to delight the most critical may 

 be grown in the greatest profusion. And as already suggested, 

 the climate is such as to impart to the fruit grown a flavor 

 and juiciness seldom equaled. 



Third, on the labor question Massachusetts is equally fortu- 

 nate. There is practically always available a sufficient supply of 

 labor to handle satisfactorily any farm crops. Two factors con- 

 tribute to this. In the first place, cities, towns and villages are 

 so abundant that the grower is never far from a local base of 

 supplies, where he can go in an emergency and get whatever 

 help he needs. Frequently, too, many local men who are not 

 regularly engaged in farming (such as clerks and teachers) 

 make it a regular practice to take their vacations at the time 

 when labor is in especial demand in the neighboring fruit 

 plantations, and thus they secure a pleasant and at the same 

 time profitable vacation, and thereby relieve the "pressure" in 

 the labor situation. The second reason why the Massachusetts 



