answer yes, and thirty-five no. In general the dry weather 

 the past six weeks has been unfavorable for the doing of this 

 work. On low ground fall seeding is looking well, and 

 some correspondents report it as being in excellent condi- 

 tion. Most of the correspondents state that rain is greatly 

 needed. 



The fourth question asked was, " Is the cranberry crop an 

 average in yield and quality ? If not, what were the draw- 

 backs?" Of the forty-six replies to this question, thirty- 

 one state the crop to be an average in yield and quality, 

 and fifteen that it is not an averasre. Among; the draw- 

 backs are mentioned dry weather when in bloom, late frosts 

 in the spring, and worms. Some report the berries to be 

 small and not well colored, and that they have been slow in 

 ripening. 



The fifth question asked was, " When, in your opinion, 

 was the abandonment of farm property in your locality the 

 greatest, and why ? " The answers to this question were 

 quite varied, and samples of them may be found in the 

 "Notes of Correspondents.'' It is difficult to make a 

 summary of the replies as t*^ .e time when the abandonment 

 was greatest. The dates given range from 1825 to the 

 present time. Nearly all of them are ])etween 1870 and 

 1890. The greater number centre about the year 1880, 

 Among the causes given are : loss of young men by the 

 civil war, emigration to the West, competition of Western 

 farm products, unfitness of many farms for farming purposes, 

 high price and poor quality of farm help, reaction in prices 

 of farm products after the war, unequal taxation of farm 

 property, better inducements in other lines of labor, city 

 allurements, and shiftless farming. 



The sixth question asked was, "Are inquiries for and 

 values of farm property increasing or decreasing in your 

 neighborhood ? " Of the one hundred and thirteen replies to 

 this question, fifty-eight state that inquiries for and values of 

 farm property are increasing, forty-two that there has 

 been no appreciable change, and thirteen that they are 

 decreasing. An article upon the subject of abandoned farms 

 in Massachusetts will be found printed at the end of the 

 bulletin. 



