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Annals of Horticulture. 



year and 57.5 in 1890. The average yield for ten years uncl- 

 ing with 1889 was not far from 80 bushels, and during that 

 period the yield was smaller than the present return in only 

 two years, 1881 and 1887. The shortage in New England is 

 the result of unfavorable conditions throughout the latter 

 part of the growing season. The crop started well, but dur- 

 ing August and September there were local conditions winch 

 reduced state averages and resulted in the present short 

 yields. The complaint was usually of drought, with sonic dis- 

 tricts m which they were alternations of drought and exces- 

 sive rainfall, causing irregular growth, with an early tendency 

 toward rot and blight. The later returns from this section 

 showed that the serious damage of the year was caused by 

 rot, and the present returns, made after digging, emphasize 

 the injury from this cause. In some districts there is a varia- 

 bility of return, which makes it difficult to ascertain the 

 average yield. In Maine and Massachusetts some areas are 

 reported as hardly worth digging, while other fields give an 

 abundant yield. On the whole, the crop of New England, 

 with only local exceptions, is light, tubers comparatively 

 small, and quality not equal to the average. In New York 



excessive, the quality is poor. Many counties, however, 



"The same conditions mark the year in Pennsylvania, 

 though the yield is shorter than in New York, and the dis- 

 tricts in which quality is good are not so extensive. The crop 

 in the south is of local importance, was gathered early, and 

 gave a fairly satisfactory yield. The early planted crops 

 which escaped the drought gave the best results. In the 

 Ohio and Missouri valleys and in the states of the northwest, 

 where the bulk of the potato crop of the country is now 

 grown, the season has been especially unfavorable, and the 

 present returns of yield are very low. The crop generally, 

 and especially the late-planted portion, was injured by 

 drought, and in some districts the damage from this cause was 

 intensified by a marked tendency toward rot. In Ohio and 

 Michigan the yield is not only small, but the tubers are 



