The second question asked was, Does tJie season noio 

 jrromise to he a favorable one for the farmer 9 The corre- 

 spondents were about evenly divided in their opinion as to 

 the outlook for the future. In general, with much needed 

 rain and warmer weather, the outlook would be fairly favor- 

 able. 



The third question asked was. What insects are doing the 

 most damage in your neighborhood, and what measures, if 

 any, are being taken to prevent their ravages'^ Almost every 

 correspondent reports the presence of the tent caterpillar. 

 Some state that steps are taken by many farmers to destroy 

 this pest, while others let it have its own way. Among the 

 measures used to destroy it are burning, brushing down the 

 nests, kerosene, smearing with gas tar, Paris green, and by 

 using the hand bare or protected by gloves or sacking to tear 

 the nests off. " The Holyoke Transcript," in a recent issue, 

 says : " It is surprising that the farmers of this section per- 

 mit their fruit trees to be stripped of leaves and young fruit, 

 destroyed by the tent caterpillar. Not only is considerable 

 damage done by the various worms, but the trees look 

 unsightly, and give to the farms the appearance of being 

 owned by a lazy man. In some trees as many as fifteen of 

 these ' tents' can be seen, and whole branches of trees denuded 

 of their leaves. They can be gotten rid of easily. The little 

 care taken will more than pay for itself by the return of fruit 

 and the appearance of the tree." 



The fourth question asked was. Is it difficult to get first- 

 class help, and what wages are paid such per month? Nearly 

 all the correspondents report that it is quite difficult to get 

 first-class farm help, and $20 to $25 per month and board 

 would be a fair average of the wages paid. 



The fifth question asked was. What proportion of the neat 

 stock in your vicinity is, in your opinion, affected with tuber- 

 culosis? The answers to this question indicate that either 

 the disease is far from being as common as has been sup- 

 posed, or else it is so insidious in its nature that the majority 

 of those having to do with cattle do not detect it until it is 

 far advanced. Most of the correspondents state that very 

 few, if any, cases exist in their vicinity, and none place the 

 proportion over five per cent. A correspondent in southern 



