44 



BULLETIN 412 



of land along Lake Erie, commencing about twenty-five miles southwest 

 of Buffalo and extending thru these two counties into Pennsylvania. A 

 number of factories canning tomatoes and making various tomato products 

 are located in this section, and large quantities of tomatoes are shipped 

 out. The H. J. Heinz Company is the largest buyer of tomatoes in the 

 belt, shipping them to its Pittsburg plant. 



This region is one of the most important grape-producing sections in 

 the United States. The land slopes back from Lake Erie to some rather 

 steep hills two to six miles from the lake. The air drainage which this 

 topography furnishes, together with the protection furnished by the lake, 

 gives this narrow belt as nearly complete protection against frosts as could 

 be secured in a region located so far north. The topography is^ level to 

 rolling. The soils are variable. Close to the lake they are principally 

 silt and clay loams, belonging to the Dunkirk series; farther back from the 

 lake there are more gravelly loams of the Dunkirk and Chenango series. 



Grapes are the most important crop, with tomatoes second in importance 

 on the farms on which cost figures were obtained. Berries of various 

 kinds also are extensively grown on a small number of farms. Hay, oats, 

 and corn are grown for feed, and a variety of other crops are raised to a 

 limited extent (table 40). 



Aside from the climatic advantages which this section has for tomato 

 production, the work on the tomato crop fits in well with that on the other 

 crops grown. Farmers who have a large acreage of grapes and berries 

 require a large amount of help at certain seasons. The work on tomatoes 

 comes at times when the labor is not busy with these other crops. 



COST OF PRODUCTION 



The average cost of producing an acre of tomatoes in 1920 on the 133 

 farms on which data were obtained, is given in table 41 . The average cost 

 in the different areas is given in table 42. 



TABLE 41. AVERAGE COST OF PRODUCING AN ACRE OF TOMATOES ON 133 NEW 

 YORK FARMS GROWING 602.2 ACRES IN 1920 



(Average yield per acre, 8.7 tons) 



