262 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 244 



Nashohn. 



The Nashoba belt is the intensive, commercial apple area of Massachusetts. 

 It lies partly in Middlesex County and j^artly in Worcester. In addition to 

 farms devoted to orchards exclusively, there are many farms which combine 

 dairying with apple growing. Other enterprises are poultry and vegetal)le 

 crops for the Boston market. 



Nurih of Busfon. 



The Nortli of Boston area iiere outlined includes the areas lying about 

 Boston and the cities on the Merrunac River and the intervening territory. 

 Dairying and poultry raising are generally distributed over the wiiole area. 

 Market gardening is centered in towns such as Concord and Danvers and 

 near the cities. Apples also are grown in tlie towns near the Nashoba area 

 and in some of Essex Covmty. 



South of Boston. 



Poultry and egg proauction is followed to a greater extent South of 

 Boston than to the north, particularly wlien compared with other farm 

 enterprises. The area includes some diverse types of farming from dairy 

 farms in the west to poultry and truck farms in the eastern part. Tlie ele- 

 vation over the whole area rarely exceeds 200 feet except in Norfolk County. 



South Bristol. 



Fall River and New Bedford lie in Soutli Bristol, and Providence is just 

 over the state linel This makes a system of excellent markets for the 

 products of the section. The upper part of the area is an intensive market 

 garden district. There are more dairy cows per hundred acres of plowable 

 land in this area than in any other in Massachusetts. It is one of the few 

 areas in Massachusetts in which the niunber of cows has Ijeen increasing. 

 Tlie number of poultry on farms is also very high. 



llie Cape. 



Only a small jjcrcentage of the land on the Cape is in farms. The cran- 

 berry crop is the source of most income. Poultrj' and dairying are important 

 with some individuals. Falmouth is famous for strawberries. Many of the 

 people have outside .sources of income in addition to the receipts from the 

 farm. 



The Islands. 



The Islands include two counties, Dukes and Nantucket. Marthas Vine- 

 yard and the Elizabeth Islands make uj) Dukes County; and the island of 

 Nantucket, the County of Nantucket. 



There are 117 farms in Dukes County and 2.5 farms in Nantucket. This is 

 a smaller number of farms in relation to plowable land than on the main- 

 land. The average temperature is from 10 to 20 degrees warmer than in 

 central Massachusetts in winter. Dairying is the principal enterprise. 



Distribution of Individual Crops and Livestock. 



A study of the distribution of each of the principal crops and livestock 

 gives a clearer picture of the agriculture of the state and of the diflferent 

 areas than does the preceding discussion taken by itself. A careful consid- 



