260 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 244 



Figure 8. Type-of-Farmiug Areas in Massachusetts. 



1. Housatonic Valley 



2. Berkshire Hills 



3. West Franklin 



i. Connecticut Valley 



5. Nortih-Central Upland 



6. South Worcester 



13. The Islands 



7. Northeast Worcester 



8. Nashoba 



9. North of Boston 



10. South of Boston 



11. South Bristol 



12. The Cape 



transition from one area to another. There are also many local variations 

 within the areas because of the natural and economic differences. However, 

 each of these areas has certain characteristics which set it apart from the 

 others. Town lines were adhered to in drawing in the boundaries, because 

 the town is the smallest unit for which census figures are available. Very 

 often, of course, it would be more nearly correct to draw a line through the 

 center of a town rather than around it. 



The tables in the appendix present the statistical data showing the differ- 

 ences between areas, and the following brief discussion and the maps of tJie 

 various crops and livestock show the principal characteristics of the areas 

 outlined above. It will be noticed that the western areas correspond very 

 closely with the natural land surface. Area 7 in northeast Worcester is 

 transitional in type of farming between tiie Nashoba apple district and the 

 upland to the west. The outlines of the North of Boston and South of 

 Boston areas are less sharply marked than are those of the western areas 

 and more kinds of farming are included. 



Housatonic Valley. 



The narrow valley of the Housatonic is bounded bj' the Taconic Range 

 on the west and by the Berkshires on the east. This is the one section of 

 the state with natural limestone deposits. Dairying is the principal farming 

 enterpri.se. It is frequently combined with the raising of young stock. 

 Poultry and egg production are of little imjjortance except in a few towns. 

 There are few commercial orchards. The Valley has a number of fine estates 

 and summer houses of city people. The southern part, in the region about 

 Sheffield and Great Barrington, has a higher jjercentage of plowable land 

 than the northern end of the Valley, which is much more hilly. 



