HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to 



Agriculture 



STAFF 

 Roliind A. Payne, County Agent 

 Mildred W. Boice, 



Home Demonstration Agent 

 Noniinn F. Wliippen, County Club Agent 

 Mnry Diniond, Cleric 

 Mnry Siillivnn. Asst, Clerl< 



Office First National Bank Building 



Northampton, Mass. 

 Entered as second class matter Nov. 9. 

 1915, at the Post Office at Northampton. 

 Massachusetts, under the Act of March 

 8, 1879. 



"Notice of Entry" 

 "Acceptance tor mailing at special rate 

 of postage provided for in section 1103, 

 Act of October 3, 1917. Authorized Oc- 

 tober 31, 1917. 



Price, .lO cent.s a year 



Officers of the Trustees 



Charles E. Clark, President 

 Charles W. Wade, Vice-President 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Roland A. Payne, Secretary 



Trustees for County Aid to Agriculture 



Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 

 Charles E. Clark, Leeds 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 Milton S. Howes, Cummington 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 John A. Sullivan, Northampton 

 Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 

 W. H. Atkins, Amherst 



PRODUCING AT A PROFIT 



In the final analysis, the farmer is in- 

 terested in profit. Profit is the diff'erence 

 between income and outgo. The amount 

 of income depends upon the price per unit 

 and the number of pounds, bushels, or 

 tons produced. The outgo is the cost of 

 production. To increase profit, the dif- 

 ference between income and outgo must 

 be increased, and this can be accomplish- 

 ed by increasing the income, decreasing 

 the outgo, or both. 



Ordinarily, too much emphasis is 

 placed on price and not enough on cost of 

 production. Also in attempts to decrease 

 the outgo, production usually becomes in- 

 efficient. Low yields are not profitable 

 except on cheap land. On high-priced 

 land, it is more economical to produce 

 high yields than low yields. 



The most successful farmers are those 

 who produce at the lowest cost per unit, 

 and their yields are generally above the 

 average. Yields above the average de- 

 mand better cultural methods and more 

 attention to soil fertility. The intelligent 

 use of fertilizer is one means of improv- 

 ing both yield and quality at a profit. 



Even if it were possible, it would no 



doubt be quite undesirable for every acre 

 to produce twice as much as it is now pro- 

 ducing, because the overproduction would 

 result in extremely low prices. Greater 

 production on fewer acres, on the other 

 hand, would release land for clover and 

 legumes or grazing, without lower prices 

 and at a greater profit. 



In the long run, efficient production, at 

 the lowest possible cost per unit, is the 

 best insurance for producing at a profit. 



A PLACE FOR EVERYTHIKG 



It was a church wedding. The bride 

 was coming down the aisle on her father's 

 arm to the stately measures of the wed- 

 ding march. She looked as sweet and 

 lovely as only a bride can. Her eyes were 

 upon the beautiful bouquet she carried. 

 As they reached the alter steps, she 

 stubbed her toe on a potted lily. The 

 strong arm of her father was all that 

 kept her from falling. Turning to him 

 with blazing eyes, she said, "Isn't that a 

 hell of a place for a lily?" 



We always feel the same way when we 

 see a rust-covered weeder parked on a 

 stone wall while the weeds are growing 

 faster than the corn. 



Some of our ancestors had an eye to 

 beauty as well as to utility when they set 

 sugar maples around the farm buildings. 

 Many of these trees are going by. Too 

 few of the present generation seem to 

 have the foresight of their forebears in 

 this matter of setting trees. 



Witch grass and human beings are 

 alike in one respect. Both can be killed by 

 constant worry. 



People, like "flivvers," can be divided 

 roughly into two classes; those that have 

 self-starters and those that must be 

 cranked to get action. R. C. Turner of 

 Enfield is a "self-starter." He has 

 fifteen acres of potatoes, two acres of 

 onions and two acres of beets, carrots and 

 parsnips. He does his work alone as he 

 says he does not have full-time work for 

 another man! 



Professor Abbott says "Seed alfalfa 

 I'ight or let it alone until you can. We do 

 not want any more demonstrations of 

 failure!" 



"A limestone country is a rich coun- 

 try." Ours is not a limestone soil but we 

 do have an ever-increasing number of 

 live, progressive farmers who believe that 

 it pays to lime their soil. Their clover 

 crops confirm their belief. 



There are men who are satisfied to do 

 nothing. They do not need the services 

 of the county agent as he has no experi- 

 ence in this line. He can work only with 

 those who feel that there are better meth- 

 ods and who wish to know about them. 



WEEDER USED THIRTY YEARS 



Howard A. Parsons, Happiness Farm, 

 North Amherst, has used a weeder on 

 corn for thirty years. He does not wait 

 for the corn to come up before he starts. 

 He keeps the weeder* going till the field 

 is seeded. By taking out the teeth over 

 the corn row, he has used the weeder to 

 cover grass seed when the corn is two 

 feet high. There are four tricks to us- 

 ing a weeder: (i) The seed bed must be 

 free from lumps and trash; (2) Start be- 

 fore the weeds can be seen; (.3) Use the 

 weeder in the heat of the day as the corn 

 is not brittle then; (4) If you use the 

 weeder before the weeds start you don't 

 have to "ride" it. 



Incidentally Mr. Parsons has a piece of 

 alfalfa that would make those who be- 

 lieve "there ain't no such animal" in this 

 section sit up and take notice. He likes 

 the sample and is going after five acres 

 for next year. 



C. D. Lyman of Granby says "there is 

 no law against haying early." He has 

 found by years of experience that there is 

 more "milk" in early-cut hay than in hay 

 that can be cut, raked and put in the 

 barn the same day. Some others know 

 this to be true in a general way but, like 

 the weather, they don't do much about it. 



Ralph Bell of Middlefield has a mowing 

 that shows striking results from lime 

 which was used seven years ago. Two 

 strips were limed ; otherwise the field was 

 treated the same.' Last year the whole 

 field was seeded down. This year the 

 limed strips have a fine crop of red clover 

 while, in the rest of the field, there are 

 only .scattering plants. Lime pays in 

 Middlefield and in every other town in the 

 county. Ask the man who uses it! 



ALL DRESSED UP 



A dairy farmer recently told us that he 

 had fed alfalfa and his cows did not in- 

 crease in milk production. He feeds 

 early cut hay liberally. Since his hay 

 has practically no clover, he uses a 

 twenty-four per cent protein grain. 

 When he substituted alfalfa for hay, he 

 did not cut down on his grain. Since the 

 cows were getting all of the protein they 

 needed, the change naturally did not give 

 the desired results. It was the same as 

 giving the cows a banquet at every meal. 

 One cow went off feed. If the alfalfa 

 had not given out, others would have 

 followed. The point this man missed was 

 that we advocate alfalfa as means of re- 

 ducing grain bills. In other words, he 

 was all dressed up but didn't know where 

 to go. He knows now and is going to put 

 in a field of alfalfa this year. 



If you are interested in refiniishing 

 furniture, send to the Hampshire County 

 Extension Service for information. 



