Ckop Eeport for the Month of September, 



1911. 



Office of State Board of Agriculture, 

 Boston, Mass., Oct. 2, 1911. 



This Crop Eeport for the month of September is l!^o. 5 of 

 the series for the current year. Reasonably accurate estimates 

 of the probable value of farm crops, frost damage, etc., can 

 now be made, making this bulletin of particular interest. 

 The special article for this issue is on " Some of the essen- 

 tials of beekeeping," by Burton N. Gates, Ph.D., State In- 

 spector of Apiaries. We have had numerous calls for some 

 article giving practical instruction in the details of bee man- 

 agement and handling, and this article fills the demand as 

 far as is possible in the limited space allowed. It may at 

 some future time be expanded into a special bulletin on bee 

 management, of more bulky proportions. Professor Gates 

 is a practical beekeeper of considerable experience, besides 

 being well posted on the scientific side of the industry. His 

 work in inspecting the apiaries of the State has also given 

 him a remarkable opportunity to acquaint himself with the 

 conditions surrounding beekeeping in Massachusetts and the 

 possibilities for development of the industry. 



Pkogeess of the Season. 

 The Crop Reporting Board of the Bureau of Statistics of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, in Crop Re- 

 porter for September, 1911, give their estimates as to acreage 

 and condition of the principal farm crops of the country in 

 the following table : — 



