averao-e condition for that remaining under cultivation was 

 76.5, precisely the same condition as that reported for the 

 total area sown on April 1, against 92.6 on May 1, 1902, 

 76.4 the year previous, and 84.2, the mean of the May 

 averages of the last ten years. 



The average condition of winter rye was 81.2, as com- 

 pared with 82.3 on April 1, 93.3 on May 1, 1903, 83.4 the 

 year previous, and 89.5, the mean of the May averages of 

 the last ten years. 



The average condition of meadow mowing lands was 85, 

 against 92.8 on May 1, 1903, 86.6 the year previous, and 

 90.7, the mean of the May averages of the last ten years. 



The average condition of spring pastures was 80.5, against 

 92 on May 1, 1903, 84.9 the previous year, and 90.3, the 

 mean of the May averages of the last ten years. 



Of the total acreage of spring plowing contemplated, 57.3 

 per cent was reported as actually done May 1, as compared 

 with 57.9 per cent on May 1, 1903, and a ten-year average 

 of 70.3. 



The available records of the department show for no pre- 

 ceding year such uniformity of unfavorable conditions as is 

 reported on jNIay 1 of this year. 



In Massachusetts the average condition of meadow mow- 

 ing lands was given as 87, the average condition of spring 

 pastures as 86, and the proportion of spring plowing actually 

 done as 19. 



Weather Summary, Jan. 1 to May 1, 1904. 



[Furnished by Weather Bureau, Boston.] 



The weather of January will long be remembered for its 

 unusual severity, the cold waves being of marked intensity, 

 the storms heavy and frequent, with gales of great force 

 along the coast, and snowfall of unusual depth throughout 

 all sections. The monthly mean temperature was decidedly 

 below the normal in parts of the State, the departures rang- 

 ing from 3° on the islands along; the southern coast to 8° in 

 interior portions of the State. The minimum temperatures 

 ranged from 2° above zero at Martha's Vineyard to 25° to 30° 

 below in interior localities. The snowfall of the month Avas 

 far in excess of the amounts usually experienced in January, 

 and in some instances the amounts were equal to the normal 



