Farm Bureau Work in New York State for 1914 2167 



from various sections. From these inquiries several cooperators were 

 secured for doing cost account work; the system is to keep cost accounts 

 of all operations on the farm, so that at the end of the year the farmer 

 may know what each operation cost and what it profited him, for example, 

 what cows cost and what they returned, what orchards cost and what 

 they returned, and so on through all the farm operations. 



summary 



AYhile the farm bureau has endeavored to keep up with the indi\ddual 

 calls throughout the coimty, the systematized work has interfered some- 

 what. However, a greater good will probably come from doing some 

 definite piece of work in a neighborhood than from \dsiting several farmers 

 and going over their farms and talking in an offliand way. It would 

 seem that the bureau has been of practical value and that the, farmers 

 have received considerable direct financial benefit; for example, the pres- 

 ent low rates on lime, which, before the formation of the farm bureau, 

 were something over $5 per ton. At present the best ground limestone 

 can be secured in the covmty for less than half that price. The success 

 of alfalfa speaks for itself, and the results of spraying potatoes with bor- 

 deaiix mixture cannot be disputed. Several old orchards that heretofore 

 produced practically nothing, this year produced thousands of bushels of 

 clean, uniform fruit. 



G. W. Bush 

 Farm Bureau Manager of Oneida County. 



ONONDAGA COUNTY 



The work of the Onondaga County Farm Bureau has naturally divided 

 itself into two parts : 



First. Project work, work of major, county-wide importance, which 

 is to be carried on year after year until it is of great economic value to 

 the county. There have been four of these projects. 



Second. Miscellaneous work, which is occasioned by increasingly 

 numerous calls for assistance from nearly ever}^ section of the county, 

 and which resembles the work of a countr\' doctor who ineets a varied 

 practice as it com.es from day to day. This work is valuable and has 

 benefited many who have sought it with sincerity. 



fertilizer trials 



The most important project has been an attempt to demonstrate whether 

 or not the theor^^ advanced by both experiment stations in the State regard- 

 ing phosphoric acid is applicable to this county. The theory" is that on the 

 clay soils phosphoric acid and lime are the limiting elements in crop 

 production. If this be true we need only to buy phosphoric acid and 

 lime. Phosphoric acid can be bought for from $7 to $14 per ton; lime can 

 be bought for from $1.50 to $3 per ton. Since complete fertilizers cost 

 $25 and more per ton, there is apparently a chance to save from $15 to 

 $30 per ton. Results obtained the first year are not conclusive, yet the 

 results from forty trials on as many farms seem to indicate that the theory 



