32 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 417 



DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS 

 Philip L. Gamble in Charge 



Effects of the War and Readjustments in Massachusetts Agriculture. (David 

 Rozman.) Recent agricultural production trends in Massachusetts have been 

 analyzed, primarily on the basis of AAA records from farm contacts, to deter- 

 mine farm needs, particularly labor requirements for achieving maximum pro- 

 duction under war-time conditions. From this analysis it appears that 59.1 

 percent of all farmers depend on hired labor; of these 9.7 percent use only year- 

 round labor, 29.5 percent only seasonal labor, and 19.9 percent both regular and 

 seasonal. On dairy farms dependency on hired labor, expressed in man work 

 units, varies from 24 percent of total farm work in the Connecticut Valley to 49 

 percent in Norfolk County. For other counties the dependency of dairy farms 

 on hired labor is as follows: Essex 42; Worcester 26; Berkshire 33; Plymouth 46; 

 Barnstable 27; Bristol 24; and Middlesex 36 percent. 



On the basis of war-time requirements for food and the necessity of concen- 

 trating on the most economical types of production, determination has been 

 made of the maximum production capacity of Massachusetts agriculture. This 

 has been prepared in cooperation with a college committee in connection with 

 the national program of agricultural adjustment. In working out this program 

 stress has been placed on obtaining a greater amount of direct food crops from 

 Massachusetts land resources and on making more efficient use of local grass- 

 lands to relieve the pressure on imported feed for the maintenance of our in- 

 creased numbers of livestock. 



DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING 

 C. I. Gunness in Charge 



Cranberry Storage Investigation. (C. I. Gunness, H. J. Franklin, and H. F. 

 Bergman.) Early Black cranberries from the 1943 crop were stored in a re- 

 frigerated storage at 45 degrees and a similar lot stored in a commercial screen 

 house provided with natural ventilation. The berries were picked and stored 

 on September 8, 1943, and removed from storage on November 2. Those stored 

 at 45 degrees suffered a storage loss of 7.2 percent, while those stored in the screen 

 house showed a loss of 26.5 percent. These results are typical of results obtained 

 in former years. The losses could have been reduced still more if the berries had 

 been held at a lower temperature, the least loss occurring at 35 degrees. 



An attempt was made to hold cranberries in a modified atmosphere containing 

 5 percent carbon dioxide and 2 percent oxygen, but failure to make the room 

 air-tight upset this experiment and no results were obtained. 



Poultry House Investigation. (C. I. Gunness and W. C. Sanctuary.) Observa- 

 tions on ventilation of poultry houses were continued during the two seasons 

 1942-43 and 1943-44. In the first season observations were limited to three 

 pens which had also been observed during 1941-42. One pen was completely 

 insulated, one partially insulated, and one non-insulated. In 1941-42 all pens 

 were ventilated with natural draft. The litter in the non-insulated pen contained 

 36.6 percent moisture on March 11, that in the partially insulated pen 26.3 per- 

 cent, and that in the insulated pen 25.9 percent. The observation made on March 

 11 is indicative of the general condition of the litter throughout the season. 

 In 1942-43 the insulated pens were run as in the 3'ear previous but an electric 

 fan was installed in the non-insulated pen, drawing in 60 cubic feet of air per 



