THE 



THIRTY-FIFTH A]^:N^UAL REPORT 



or THE 



SECRETARY 



OF THB 



BOAKD OF AGlilCULTURE. 



To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of 

 Massachusetts. 



The year 1887 has been, in many respects, a prosperous 

 one for the a«rriculturists of the State. The corn crop was a 

 good one. Potatoes were a failure. The hay crop was 

 large in quantity, but was much damaged by unfavorable 

 weather in the harvest season. The rowen crop was boun- 

 tiful. Our market gardeners have generally been successful. 



The season has been a peculiar one. The month of May 

 and the early part of June were very hot and dry. Only 

 1.13 inches of rain fell in May; in June, 5.09 inches of 

 water were precipitated. The rainfall of July was 8.93 

 inches, a larger amount than fell in any July since 1839. 

 The wet weather continued through most of the month of 

 August, giving us 7.75 inches for the month. In September 

 the other extreme was reached, only 1.22 inches falling. 

 No doubt the early drought shortened the early crop of po- 

 tatoes, especially on dry land ; while the excessive amount 

 of rain, together with the unusual heat of July and August, 

 were the cause of the rot that so generally destroyed the 

 crop on land so situated that it could withstand the early 

 drought The continuous rains of July and August also 

 caused the serious damage to the hay crop. 



It has been, on the whole, a favorable year for fruit. 

 This product of the State is one of the most important. 

 By the Census of 1875 we find that our sales of fruit brought 

 to the producers an aggregate of about $3,000,000, while 

 the market-garden crops, other than potatoes, were worth 

 only $2,500,000. The butter production was valued at about 



