FACTORS AFFECTING RETURNS FROM POTATOES 



73 



in Chesterfield and Cumniington in Hanipsiiire County; the second in Granby 

 in Hampshire County; the third in Concord in Middlesex County; and the 

 fourth in Seekonk, Swansea, and.Rehoboth in Bristol County. These areas 

 are referred to in the text as the Chesterfield, Granhy, Concord, and Seekonk 

 areas, respectively. 



Fig 2. Location of Areas Studied and Average 

 Niunber of Prost Free Days. 



Chesterfield Area. 



The Chesterfield Area is characterized by a rolling to hilly topography with 

 elevations on the farms visited varying from 1200 to 1600 feet. This altitude 

 gives the area a shorter, cooler growing season than that of the others studied. 

 The soils are extremely variable and in places very stony, but potatoes are 

 usually grown on the heavier and more fertile land and where machinery can 

 be used to better advantage. The amounts of labor used were greater than in 

 the other areas, because of the stonier soils and rougher topography. 



Potatoes occupied 11 per cent of the total crop land on the farms studied 

 as compared with 3 per cent' for the entire town of Chesterfield. Most of the 

 remaining acreage was in hay and forage crops. The average total crop 

 acreage per farm was 40 acres in 1926. Dairying is the principal source of 

 income for most of the farmers who are chiefly dependent on the land for 

 their livelihood. The potato crop in such a farming system is an imi^ortant 

 supplementary source of cash income. 



The growers of Chesterfield and Cummington are from 20 to 24 miles from 

 their market, but the roads are good and no diificulty is experienced in truck- 

 ing except from some isolated farms. Chesterfield potatoes go chiefly to 

 Northampton and those of Cummington to Dalton and Pittsfield. 



' United States Cen.sus of Agriculture, 1925. 



