17 



Amherst (W. P. Brooks). — Season about a week earlier than 

 last year ; work well advanced, but soil very dry. Pastures and 

 mowings have a poor chance, unless rain comes soon. Fall seed- 

 ing generally wintered poorly, there being much heaving of the 

 ground by frost. Apples had an abundant bloom, cherry spare 

 bloom, pear bloom rather thin, quince average, currants average, 

 no peaches. Canker worms have nearly defoliated many apple 

 orchards. Spraying is not much practised, but is on the increase. 

 Farm help is plenty and fully average in quality. Wages with 

 board, $17 to $22 per month; without board, S33 to $40. The 

 production of fruit is probably not more than 8 per cent of general 

 farming and is not increasing much. Prices are unprecedentedly 

 low. Tobacco setting just begun by a few. The wind storm of 

 the 18th did a great deal of damage. 



Northampton (D. A. Horton.) — The season came forward very 

 fast through April, but May has been very dry and windy. No 

 rain of any amount for six weeks. Pastures, mowings and fall 

 seeding are all below the average. Apples bloomed very full, 

 pears not as well. The elm-tree leaf beetle is doing much damage 

 and the city has purchased spraying apparatus to combat it. Good 

 help is scarce and not more than one-fourth is good. Wages are 

 about $16 per month with board, $1.35 to $1.50 per day without. 

 The production of fruit does not bear the proportion of more than 

 one-tenth to general farming. 



Williamsburg (F. C. Richards). — The season is much earlier 

 than last year. Pastures are short, upland mowings half a crop, 

 lowlands in fair condition. The fruit bloom was : pears, 60 per 

 cent ; no cherries ; no peaches ; Baldwin apples, 90 ; other vari- 

 eties, 125. Codling moths and canker worms are doing some dam- 

 age. About one-tenth of fruit growers spray with insecticides, 

 but it is not increasing. No spraying with fungicides done as yet. 

 Farm help is very scarce and none of it good help. Wages are 

 from $10 to $18 per month with board and about $35 without. 

 Fruit production forms about 35 per cent of general farming and 

 is rapidly increasing. 



Goshen (Alvan Barrus). — The season is dry, dryer, dryest. 

 Pastures and mowings look as if there were an Egyptian blight upon 

 them. Apples blossomed finely, peaches not at all, pears and most 

 other fruits very lightly. Tent caterpillars are doing some damage. 

 Little spraying has been done in the past, but more will be done 

 this year. Tramps are plenty, but not one in ten is good help. 

 Wages are $20 per month with board. There is a growing interest 

 in the production of all kinds of fruits, apples leading, as the mar- 

 kets are too far away to make the production of small fruits gen- 

 erally profitable. 



