13 



Fruits. 

 The retums still indicate a light crop of apples, especially 

 winter varieties. There are many complaints of excessive 

 dropping, due probably to the drought, and the fruit is gen- 

 erally small for the time of year. With seasonable rains 

 and a fairly long season much of this difficulty is likely to 

 be overcome. More trees have been sprayed this year than 

 ever before, and the quality of the crop, aside from size, 

 bids fair to be much in excess of that of any previous year. 

 Pears are a fair crop, but are little grown, except for home 

 use, in most sections. Peaches are rather above the average 

 for the State as a whole. The number of commercial peach 

 orchards is nevertheless smaller than formerly, owing to 

 trouble from winter-killing, and poor crops because of frost 

 damage in past years, so that a considerable number of 

 growers have gone out of the business. Grapes will give an 

 average crop, and quinces, though little gro"\vn, promise 

 fairly well. The cranberry crop will, from present indica- 

 tions, fall somewhat below the average, there being no reports 

 of unusually good yields, and most of them being for " fair " 

 or " average " crops, with several below the average. 



Pasturage. 

 Feed in pastures started the season well, suffered from the 

 drought in July, and improved w^ith the rains of the past 

 month. It is now certainly in average condition for the 

 latter part of August, for the State as a whole, though feed- 

 ing at the barns has begun in some localities, and pastures 

 are reported as " short," " dry " or " burnt " in others. 



Oats ats^d Barley. 

 Oats are an average crop where grown for grain, though 

 a little short in stalk. For hay and green feed they have 

 not yielded quite as well as common. Barley is little grown 

 except for a late forage crop, almost not at all for grain, and 

 in the former capacity promises well. It is not hayed to 

 anvthino' like the same extent as oats. 



