51 



for sooty fungus and other fruit diseases is practiced. On my own 

 farm our small patch of strawberries was unusually fine; apples 

 will be light. 



Three Rivers (J. T. Geer). — Peaches and plums were wholly de- 

 stroyed by frosts; apples, 50; cherries, 75; strawbemes, 25; pears 

 suffered no damage. Fruit crop prospect: apple, 50; pear, 100; 

 cherry, 25; currant, 25; raspben-y, 100; blackberry, 100. Usually 

 grass is cut and removed from orchards; very little planting of 

 legumes as cover crops is done. Tent caterpillars, codling moths 

 and curculios are doing the most damage ; fire blight has appeared in 

 orchards. About 25 per cent of the strawberry crop was damaged 

 by frost; prices from 15 to 20 cents per quart. Summer spraying 

 for sooty fungus and other diseases is practiced. More orchards are 

 being cultivated this year than ever before; people are finding out 

 that it is impossible to raise good fruit without cultivating and 

 thoroughly spraying their orchards. In some orchards the freeze was 

 a great blessing, as it thinned the fruit just right. 



Brimfield (E. S. Butterfield). — Frost damage to fruits is as 

 follows : apples, slight, — 10 per cent ; pears, 80 ; peaches, 80 ; plums, 

 cherries and small fruits, some. Apples set well; peaches, pears and 

 plums less than 10 per cent, except earlj^ peaches; there has been 

 very little drop. Crop prospect: apple, 90; pear, 10; early peach, 

 25; late peach, 10; currant, 100; raspberry, 75; blackberry, 110; 

 blueberry, 100. The common orchard practice is to keep them in 

 sod, cutting and removing the grass; the best orchards are culti- 

 vated; legumes are used, but not very largely, rye and buckwheat 

 being most in use. The codling moth and curculio are doing most 

 damage; fire blight has not appeared, to my knowledge. The straw- 

 berry crop was injured by frost 50 per cent on low lands, 10 per 

 cent on hills; there are very few raised commercially. The damage 

 to fruit by the May frosts was uneven; on low ground in some 

 places all blossoms were killed, while on hillsides, with good air 

 drainage, scarcely any damage resulted. 



Worcester County. 

 Lunenburg (H. 0. Mead). — Frost damage to fruits was as fol- 

 lows: apples, 20; pears, 10; peaches, 30; plums, 40; cherries, 10; 

 small fruits, 20 to 40. In favorable locations tree fruits set well; 

 there has not been much drop as yet. Crop prospect: apple, 50; 

 pear, 85; peach. 40; plum, 40; cherry, 75; currant, 90; raspberry, 

 75; blackberry, 85. In a few orchards grass is cut and left on the 

 ground; clean culture is practiced to a small extent; legumes are 

 planted very little, rye to some extent, and buckwheat still more. 

 The gypsy moth is doing most damage at present: I have seen no 

 fire blight. The strawberry crop was injured 25 per cent by frost; 



