14 



No complaint of insect injury. Spraying is not practised at all. 

 Farm help is scarce, mostly Polish, and fairly good. Wages aver- 

 age $25 per month with board, and from $1.50 to $1.75 per day. 

 There is quite an increase in the acreage of potatoes. 



Wendell (N. D. Plumb). — The season is very backward. Fall 

 seeding is looking well ; mowings and pastures in need of rain. 

 Fruit trees of all kinds in full bloom, with no damage from frost 

 to date. No insects as yet. Spraying is little practised. Farm 

 help is scarce, and about half of it good help. Wages average $1 

 per day, or $18 per month, with board, and $1.50 to $1.75 per day 

 without board. Farmers are planting more corn and less potatoes 

 this year. 



New Salem (Daniel Ballard). — The season is cold and defi- 

 cient in rainfall. Pastures and mowings are looking fairly well ; 

 fall seeding wintered well. Large bloom of apples, peaches and 

 plums ; pears light ; hard frost on low land the 22d. Weather too 

 cold for insects as yet. Little spraying is done, and it does not 

 increase much. Farm help is scarce, and about half of it good 

 help. Wages average $20 per month with board, and from $1.50 

 to $1.75 per day without board. The acreage of farm crops is 

 about the same as usual. * 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY. 



Prescott (W. F. Wendermuth) . — The season is two weeks late, 

 and very cold and dry. Fall seeding wintered well, grass poor in 

 mowings and pastures from lack of rain. Apples made a good 

 bloom for off year ; other fruits average ; some damage from frost 

 on low land the 21st and 22d. A few tent caterpillars have 

 appeared. Farm help is rather scarce, but mostly good. Wages 

 average $20 per month with board, and $1.25 or $1.50 per day 

 without board. There are no marked changes in the acreage of 

 farm crops. Fruit trees suffered severely during the winter from 

 girdling by field mice. 



Amherst ( Wm. P. Brooks) . — The season is unusually favorable 

 for farm work, which is well advanced. Pastures and mowings 

 promise well, though in need of rain ; fall seeding wintered unusu- 

 ally well. Apple bloom uneven, but fairly full ; peaches, plums 

 and currants very full ; raspberries and blackberries considerably 

 winter-killed ; strawberries average. Only a few specialists spray, 

 and it is not increasing much. Farm help is average in supply and 

 quality. Wages average from $18 to $20 per month with board,^ 

 and from $30 to $45 without board. There are increased acreages 

 of onions and tobacco. 



