Ckop Eepoet for the Month of May, 1903. 



Office of State Board of Agriculture, 

 Boston, Mass., June 2, 1903. 



Bulletin ^o. 1, Crop Report for the month of May, our first 

 monthly crop bulletin for the present season, is herewith ju'c- 

 sented. No marked changes in the form and substance of 

 these bulletins from those of late years is contemplated at 

 the present time, but suggestions for improvement will be 

 welcomed and given full consideration. Whenever practica- 

 ble, an article by some recognized authority on the special 

 line he is asked to treat upon will be included in each bulle- 

 tin, and it will be our purpose to have these articles as timely 

 to the season and conditions as possible. An article on 

 "Fruits for the home garden: varieties and culture," by 

 Prof. F. A. Waugh, professor of horticulture at the Massa- 

 chusetts Agi-icultural College, will be found printed at the 

 close of this bulletin. 



Progress of the Season. 



The May returns to the Statistician of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture (Crop Reporter for May, 19(>8) 

 show the area under winter wheat in cultivation May 1 to 

 have been about 33,107,000 acres. This is 964,000. acres, 

 or 2.8 p^r cent, less than the area sown last fall, and 4,- 

 525,000 acres, or 1."^.8 per cent, in excess of the area of 

 winter wheat harvested last year. The average condition 

 for that under cultivation was 92.6, against 97.3 for the 

 total area sown on April 1, 76.4 on May 1, 1902, 94.1 in 

 1901, and 82.5, the mean of the averages of the last ten 

 years. 



The average condition of winter rye was 93.3, as com- 

 pared with 97.9 on April 1, 83.4 on May 1 of last year, 

 94.6 in 1901, and 88.4, the mean of the May averages of 

 the last ten years. 



