No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. xxi 



The original act authorizing the State Board of Agri- 

 culture to undertake this work was approved May 4, 1891. 

 A summary of the work to Jan. 1, 1901, is as follows : — 



Number of all farms in State, census of 1885, . . 45,010 

 Names of owners or agents given by assessors, . . 1,371 

 Names of owners or agents received from other sources, 822 

 Total number of names furnished (duplications elimi- 

 nated), . 2,193 



Numl)er making reply to request for description, . . 995 



Number of descriptions received, 711 



Number stating they did not wish to sell, . . . 17-4 



Number reporting property already disposed of, . . 60 



Number stating informant to have been misinformed, . 50 



Catalogued farms reported sold, 309 



Catalogued farms withdrawn at request of owners, . 114 

 Catalogued farms withdrawn from later editions because 



owners failed to respond to letters of inquiry, . . 142 



In regard to residence of the 309 purchasers at the time 

 of purchase, the following is shown: Massachusetts, 178; 

 New York and Connecticut, 14 ; New Hampshire, 5 ; Ver- 

 mont and Rhode Island, 4 ; Ohio, New Jersey and Florida, 

 3 ; Nova Scotia, Maine, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and 

 Kansas, 1 ; not reported, 75. Judging by the names a large 

 proportion of these purchasers were of American parentage. 



In regard to the probable use which the purchasers in- 

 tended to make of the farms purchased, the returns show the 

 following : for farming purposes, 120 ; for a home, 26 ; for 

 an investment, 15 ; for the wood and timber, 15 ; for sum- 

 mer residence, 13 ; for poultry with some farming, 10 ; for 

 dairying, 9 ; for poultry, 7 ; for sheep, 3 ; for cranberry 

 growing, 1. No statement was received concerning 90 of 

 the forms reported sold. 



