HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Vol. X. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., MARCH, 1925 



No. P. 



NATIONAL GOAL 



1,000,000 Club Members 



The National Grange and the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation together with 

 extension workers will work for a goal 

 of 1,000,000 Club members this year. Mr. 

 L. J. Taber, Master of the National 

 Grange, speeded up the campaign consid- 

 erably last week when he wrote a letter 

 to the State Grange Masters. In Mr. 

 Taber's letter was the following: 



"Club work has become a real factor in 

 the present day development of the youth 

 upon our farms. The 4-H Clubs as fur- 

 thered by the National Committee on 

 Boys' and Girls' Club Work, under the 

 direction of county agents and extension 

 workers of the nation, can be of great 

 value. 



"As a member of the National Commit- 

 tee I desire to remind you that we are 

 sponsoring a campaign to enroll a million 

 boys and girls during the coming year. It 

 will mean much to agriculture, much to 

 rural life and much to the Grange. I 

 would suggest that you get in touch with 

 the county agent or extension workers, to 

 .see that the 8,000 Granges in the nation 

 make an effort to enroll the boys and girls 

 in their jurisdiction in this work. 



"Assuring you that your efforts in this 

 matter will be appreciated by our com- 

 mittee, of which President Coolidge is 

 honorary chairman, and that such efforts 

 will be of real value to your state, I re- 

 main, fraternally, (Signed) L. J. Taber, 

 National Master." 



The Grange can do a fine piece of work 

 in helping to build an appreciation of club 

 work. Why should they support 4-H 

 Club Work? Because the Grange is 

 founded on the principles of a better rural 

 life. 



In supporting Club Work they encour- 

 age a love of home, a knowledge of the 

 soil, of animals, of cooking, canning, sew- 

 ing, and in so doing create a foundation 

 of further learning, for future home- 

 makers and farmers. No boy or girl ever 

 lost any knowledge and development rais- 

 ing a flock of poultry well or in making a 

 good garden or a garment. I never heard 

 an adult say his garden was a curse but 

 I have heard many speak favorably of it. 

 The youthful accomplishments of farm 

 and home, are always remembeied no 

 Continued on page 7. column 1 



WHAT HAT SHALL I WEAR? 



Miss Franz Discusses Spring Millinery 



One hundred and twenty-five women 

 came to Northampton from the surround- 

 ing communities February 11th and 

 started the millinery project right by 

 hearing Miss Gertrude Franz talk on the 

 new spring styles. 



Miss Franz, a millinery expert from 

 Filene's Clothing Information Bureau, 

 spoke of the creating and making of a 

 hat as art which compared with art need- 

 ed to create a painting. It is woman's 

 business to know what type of hat looks 

 well on her and to demand it no matter 

 what is the prevailing style. A hat 

 should be practical, suitable and becom- 

 ing and if we choose only hats that have 

 these three qualifications we are sure to 

 eliminate the unbecoming hat purchased 

 because it is "the style." 



Frames to be Small 



The frames for the spring are to be 

 very small with a tendency toward the 

 wider brim as summer approaches. The 

 square crown so popular during the 

 fall and winter season is giving way to 

 the semi-square and tyrolean crown. The 

 latter is the crown with the top trimming. 

 Pokes and cloches are still good and the 

 small hat with the brim which turns 

 slightly away from the face is in favor. 



I'olitinued on pase 4. ciilumn 2 



POULTRY SCHOOLS HELD 



Need for Improved Methods limphasi/.ed 



Good attendance and lively interest 

 marked the Poultry Extension Schools 

 held recently in Ware, Belchertown, 

 Greenwich and Williamsburg. Prof. Wm. 

 C. Monahan, Extension Poultry Specialist, 

 in speaking on the Outlook for Poultry 

 Production in 192.5, stated that poultry- 

 men need not particularly fear competi- 

 tion from the Pacific coast. Costs of 

 production there are as high or higher 

 than here. Competition seems to be in- 

 creasing from the middle west but their 

 costs of production, as given by I. G. 

 Davis in Connecticut Extension Bulletin 

 79, show that eastern farmers only have 

 to receive from 6 to 10 cents per dozen 

 more for their eggs to offset any advan- 

 tage the central western farmer may 

 have. Poultrymen here are getting such 

 Continued on pasje 2. column 1 



WILL LIME PAY? 



Too Many Clover Crops Are Due to Luck 



The first time I ever drove a flivver, I 

 had but little difficulty keeping it in the 

 road after I once got it started. In fact, 

 I got so that I thought I was pretty good 

 with a car after a little practice. Then 

 the boss had to make a trip to a nearby 

 city and suggested that I go with him 

 and drive. I was greatly pleased. Every- 

 thing went nicely till we reached the first 

 congested street corner. I didn't notice 

 the traffic officer but fortunately the boss 

 did. He told me to stop as only friends 

 and relatives can. I did! But the engine 

 stalled. Of course the car had to be 

 cranked. That was the first that I real- 

 ized that I wasn't quite as good as I 

 thought. 



Many farmers have the same experience 

 when they grow clover. Weather condi- 

 tions, soil fertility and other things are 

 favorable and they get a fine crop. Every- 

 thing is lovely, .so long as there is an open 

 road. The next year doing the same 

 things, the crop fails. Why? They have 

 overlooked some essential step and failure 

 results. As a general thing, credit for 

 the failure is laid to the weather as noth- 

 ing can be done about it. A safe proce- 

 dure! In this county one of several good 

 reasons that clover fails is that land is too 

 acid for it except under extremely favor- 

 able weather conditions. There are years 

 when clover grows wild, others when you 

 hardly see a decent field. The really 

 good farmers are the men who have good 

 clover fields when others do not. May 

 their tribe increase! 



Can't Afford Lime 



In talking with scores of dairy farmers 

 in this county, we find many who state 

 that they can't afford to use lime. The 

 statement is not a fact. There are 

 practically no dairy farmers in this 

 county who can afford to setd down with- 

 out using lime. In 1916 the Pennsylvania 

 Experiment Station started soil fertility 

 experiments on soils which were not of 

 limestone origin. Practically all of the 

 dairy farms of this county are located on 

 similar soils so the Pennsylvania results 

 apply here. 



On one field the unfertilized i)lots 

 averaged 1,6.30 lbs. of hay of which only 

 .518 lbs. was clover and timothy, 1,112 lbs. 



I 'on* irno-d "ii p; 



column 1 



