HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



will make one ton of manure per month 

 when 400 to 500 pounds of straw are 

 used for bedding. At the present price 

 of oat straw ($15 per ton) this item 

 alone would cost at least $3 in a ton 

 of manure. Steers will not pay market 

 pi'ice for purchased hay and grain. 

 If anything except cotton-seed meal 

 is purchased, the difference between 

 farm value and the purchase price will 

 have to be added to the cost of the ma- 

 nure. It is our opinion that the tobacco 

 farmers who plan to get manure by feed- 

 ing steers should make an effort to pro- 

 duce all of the feed needed by the steers 

 on their own farms, except cotton-seed 

 meal. Dry feeding will increase the cost 

 of the manure. For the men who have 

 never fed steers, it would seem to be bet- 

 ter business to dry feed foi- a year or two 

 than to invest in a silo and equipment at 

 the start. The number of steers to be 

 fed should be the minimum number neces- 

 sary to eat up the available home-grown 

 feeds in 120 to 150 days. If this plan 

 is followed, the cost of manure will de- 

 pend largely upon the efficiency shown in 

 the production of the feed crops. It cost 

 Lancaster County farmers $43.50 to 

 grow an acre of corn, $4.56 per ton to 

 produce silage, $12.12 per ton for hay, 

 straw $6 per ton loose and $8 per ton 

 baled. 



There is no experimental evidence to 

 show how much manure is worth per ton 

 for our tobacco. The Mass. Experiment 

 Station started work two years ago to 

 answer this question. Results will be 

 available later. In the meantime tobacco 

 men who want manure should make every 

 effort to get it at a reasonable cost per 

 ton. 



EGG LAYING CONTEST 



Many Flocks Make Fine Production 

 Records 



Sixteen of the forty-two flocks report- 

 ing- egg production got over 14 eggs per 

 bird in February. The following is the 

 list of the County leaders in the different 

 groups : 



I. Small Flocks (Under 80 birds) 



1. H. M. Parsons, Westhampton 



2. P. L. Wheelock, Amherst 



3. I. W. King, Williamsburg 



4. A. H. Ballou, Ware 



5. Miss Minnie Moody, Amherst 



II. Farm Flocks (80-290 birds) 



1. Stafford Fox Thomas, Amherst 



2. .J. R. Gould, Belchertown 



3. R. S. Schoonmaker, Amherst 



4. E. Ellis Clark, Williamsburg 



5. Mrs. E. H. Alderman, Middlefield 14.9 



III. Poultry Farm Flocks (over 290 



birds) 

 1. Hillside School, Greenwich 19.2 



A. -J. Baker, Amherst 16.6 



E. S. Hewlett, Southampton ' 16.6 

 John Bloom, Ware 15.6 



S. Ellis Clark, William.sburg 15.1 



2. 

 3. 

 3. 

 4. 

 5. 



Mrs. E. H. Alderman, Middlefield 14.9 



The State summary is as follows : 



Seeding; U4»\vn liti|M»rt:iiit 



Continued from p;ige 1. column 3 

 immediately preceding seeding down plus 

 300 pounds of acid phosphate per acre at 

 the time of seeding is about the minimum 

 adequate provision of plant food. Failing 

 the manure, a heavier application of com- 

 plete fertilizer such as the 3-10-4 or 

 3-10-6 formula is needed. 



Plant food alone, however, does not 

 solve the fertility problem as most of our 

 Massachusetts soils are so acid as to con- 

 tain toxic or poisonous materials that 

 will go far to prevent normal growth and 

 longevity of hay plants, particularly the 

 clovers, unless neutralized by an applica- 

 tion of lime. Soils vary in this respect. 

 A few need no lime, more need a little 

 lime and most of them need a lot of lime 

 in order to fit them for the clovers or 

 even for timothy. It is possible to esti- 

 mate with fair accuracy by a chemical 

 test how much lime is required. The 

 county agent is equipped to make such 

 tests without expense. 



If a soil is seriously acid it is futile to 

 attempt to grow clover or alfalfa on it 

 without liming and furthermore, a very 

 low efficiency is secured from the manure 

 and fertilizer which may be applied to it. 

 Just about as well try to run a foot race 

 with a cannon ball chained to your leg- 

 as to try to grow profitable yields of hay 

 of good quality on acid soil without lim- 

 ing. 



A good seed bed also ought to go with- 1 

 out saying — fine, smooth and even on top j 

 and fine and firm underneath. Probably 

 it does, in most cases. There seems to be 

 little to criticize in current practice with 

 respect to this detail. 



But when it comes to seeding the oats > 

 nur.se crop thinly enough to give the new 

 seeding a real chance, there's the rub. 



The oats hay is going to be needed next 

 winter — badly. Therefore, the tempta- 

 tion to seed the oats entirely too thickly 

 for the good of the new seeding. Along 

 comes a drouth, ruins or badly injures ' 

 the new seeding and spoils all chance of 

 profitable crops from that hay field until 

 it is plowed and seeded again — may-be 

 five years. All for a little extra oats 

 hay this year. It isn't good business. 



The hay crop, in this state, occupies 

 such a dominant position in determining 

 profit or loss in dairying that seeding 

 down is about the last thing on earth 

 which the farmer can afford to slight. 

 Prof. J. B. Abbott, M. A. C. 



EASTERN STATES FEEDS 

 ESTABLISH THEMSELVES 



Unknown 4 Years Ago, They Now 



Set Quality Standard Throughout 



New England 



The A.-^eutney Cow Te.sting A.s- 

 .sociution, Wind.sor County. Vt., in 

 it.s Jiinuiiry report, .show.s that 270 

 of the 4fi8 cows tested wei-e receiv- 

 ing Ea.'^terh States Open Formula 

 Feed.'i. These feed.s have been on 

 the market only three seasons. In 

 these three seasons, submitted to 

 iniist searching- tests, they have dis- 

 placed widely known manufactured 

 feeds and have found their way in- 

 to dairies where home-mixing: used 

 to be the rule. The most significitnt 

 fact about the rapid growth in the 

 popularity of Eastern States Open 

 Formula Feeds is that Cow Testing 

 Association members are the most 

 enthusiastic users. 



Take this January monthly sum- 

 mary of the Ascutney Association 

 7 of the leading 10 butter cows are 

 Eastern .States fed. In Addison 

 County, 4 of the ,5 leading cows in 

 the Association for l!t24 received 

 Eastern States Feeds. 



In the Claremont-Lebanon As- 

 soci.-ition, of New Hampshire, the 

 first St cows in 1924 were Eastern 

 .states fed, and represented 5 dif- 

 ferent herds all of which have been 

 using Eastern States Feeds for 3 

 .veai-s. The leading herd in 1924, 

 owned by J. Frank Frohock, of 

 i.'harlestown, N. H., averaged 11.188 

 lbs. of milk and 429.6 lbs. butterfat, 

 :it a feed cost of 31 cents per pound 

 of fat and $1.22 per hundred pounds 

 of milk. This is not the grain cost, 

 but the total feed cost. 



The Februar.v report of this As- 

 sociation shows that 28 of the 29 

 cows producing more than 1.100 lbs. 

 of milk and 4.') lbs. butterfat were 

 Eastern States fed. and that all 8 

 heids on the Honor Roll — herds 

 with a butterfat average of 30 lbs. 

 or more — wei-e Eastern States fed. 



Economical production records 

 made on Eastern States Feed are 

 found throughout New England and 

 Delaware where Eastern States ra- 

 tions are used. Farmers who have 

 been using the feeds for 3 years 

 note not only the economical milk 

 production but also the physical 

 condition of their herds. 



"Where reeor*!** aire kept Ka.stern 

 StiiteM Open Formula Feed.f prove 

 their worth. Dairymen all know I 

 that the stock selling argument I 

 used by manufactured feed distri- ! 

 butors in Eastern States territory I 

 today is, "Our feed is just as good | 

 as Eastern States." The wise dairy- ! 

 men take no chances. They feed | 

 Eastern States Open Formula Feeds. | 



If you have not received a copy of j 

 the ,\nnual Meeting number of the | 

 ■E.-istern States Co-operator." be | 

 sure to send for one. S 



Eastern States Farmer's Exchange 



A Non-.Sto€-k, !Von-Proflt Organizn- 



tion owned and controlled by the 



I'arnierw it serve.s 



Spriiij^tieli 



Massachusetts 



