10 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



Spring was even later than in 1916, and prospects for planting 

 during May did not look encouraging. 



The following table shows the rainfall for the first ten months 

 of 1917. As will be seen, the rainfall of 4| inches in May and 

 4 inches in June was abnormally high, and in addition, May in 

 1917 was the coldest May recorded in this State for eighty 

 years : — 



Rainfall. 



Inches. 



January, . . . .2.82 



February, . . . .2.67 



March, 3.73 



April, 2.72 



May, 4.45 



Inches. 



June, 4.05 



July, 1.10 



August, . . . .7.06 

 September, . . . .1.91 

 October 5.33 



Hay made a large crop, though not as large as in 1916; the 

 surplus in New England, however, from the previous year, to- 

 gether with the continual slaughter of cattle due to high grain 

 prices and scarcity of labor, combined to force the price of hay 

 down, so that this has been the only important crop for which 

 the price during 1917 has been appreciably lower than normal. 

 In some sections of this State and other New England States 

 loose hay at the barn has sold as low as $10 per ton. As a 

 result of the low price and the shortage of labor hundreds of 

 acres of grass were not cut at all, and it is obvious that one of 

 our principal needs here in Massachusetts is an increase in live 

 stock to furnish an outlet for our surplus roughage. 



The apple crop was very spotty in character, some sections of 

 the State showing a larger yield than in 1916, and others very 

 much smaller. On the whole, however, the crop averaged about 

 20 per cent less than in 1916. The quality of the crop was 

 splendid, and a much larger quantity has been placed in 

 storage than a year ago. 



The cranberry crop was very badly injured by the frost of 

 early September, which affected Cape Cod with unexpected 

 severity. This frost not only cut down the yield fully 30 per 

 cent, but the keeping qualities of a large percentage of the crop 

 gathered was damaged so that it can hardly last a month. 



Probably the largest potato acreage in the history of Massa- 

 chusetts was planted in 1917, and up to the 1st of September 

 conditions looked favorable for a crop of proportional size. 



