FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



CLUB WORK 



WHAT 4-H CLUB WORK DOES 



Rachel Randall's Idea 



Rachel Randall of Belchertown gave as 

 her graduation part of the Belchertown 

 High School the following write-up on 4-H 

 Club Work. Rachel has in years past 

 been a county canning champion, a gar- 

 den state champion and she has been a 

 club member continuously for six years. 



"The Junior Extension Club Work was 

 organized through the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, State College of Agricul- 

 ture, County Farm Bureau and schools. 



"It aims to give ambitious young peo- 

 ple an enjoyable, instructive and profit- 

 able occupation for their spare time. 



"Club Work is offered to any person be- 

 tween the ages of 10 and 21 who is in- 

 terested in any of the activities carried 

 on by the -Junior Extension Service of the 

 State. 



"The work divides itself into three 

 parts. Home and school garden work, 

 junior work, and junior farmer work. 

 Home and school garden work seeks to 

 interest the younger people in growing a 

 garden of any size anywhere that flowers 

 and vegetables will grow. Junior club 

 work is offered to people between the ages 

 of 10 and 21 in one or more of the twenty 

 farm and home projects. Junior farmer 

 work is being developed to aid former 

 club members between 18 and 21 who 

 want to make agriculture their future 

 work. The same projects are carried on 

 as in Junior club work but demonstra- 

 tions are more intensive. 



Club Work aims: 



1. To train young people in the best 

 practices of agriculture and home 

 work. 



2. To put some pleasure in the every 

 day activities of life which are so apt 

 to become a burden. 



3. To arouse respect for the worker. 



4. To aid people in earning money. 



5. To teach the value of money through 

 earning. 



6. To arouse ambition for more educa- 

 tion. 



7. To develop a desire to help others. 



8. To have the home attractive, and 



9. To bring the worker in touch with 

 nature. 



"Many boys and girls have become ac- 

 quainted with the farm problems which 

 have given them a new conception of 

 what farm life means. In the cities, 

 small back yard gardens have been car- 

 ried on and have taught the children the 

 value of vegetables in their diet. No 

 doubt the family budget for vegetables 

 has been lowered. 



"Many girls in the sewing club have be- 

 come efficient enough to make their own 

 clothes which is quite a help to high 

 school gii-ls. Club work has made possible 



the application of certain lessons taught 

 in school. The records kept in the poul- 

 try club have been used in Arithmetic 

 lessons and certain club activities have 

 often been chosen for English themes. In 

 many schools one period a week is set ' 

 aside for special activities in club work. : 

 Manuel trainijig of all kinds has been 

 furnished in schools where none was 

 taught. 



"Inspired by club work, many boys and 

 girls who had thoughts of leaving school 

 have decided to remain and finish their 

 course. 



"Club members are learning to keep the 

 cost of production through the livestock 

 and grain clubs, in fact boys and girls are 

 setting the pace in this very important 

 question. The merchant knows what his 

 goods cost and therefore knows what 

 price to charge. Farm livestock and 

 crops should be produced and sold in the 

 same manner if farming is to be put on 

 the proper basis. Successful farming de- 

 pends on knowing the cost of production. 



"Many have earned enough money from 

 club work to meet school and college ex- 

 penses. Club members are among the 

 first to realize the value of a college 

 course. When a boy or girl comes in 

 contact with club work, learns how to 

 handle their stock or other projects, at- 

 tends the club meetings, club tours and 

 later the trips to the short courses and 

 fairs, they readily see the advantages of 

 an education. 



"Club work teaches the young people 

 that there are opportunities in agricul- 

 ture as good here in Massachusetts as in 

 any other section if they but seek dili- 

 gently for them. It also teaches them to 

 depend upon their own resources, develop 

 their ability, accomplish what is started 

 and depend as little as possible upon 

 others, also to keep the eye fixed on a 

 definite goal and 'stick to it' until that 

 goal is won. When this is done the bene- 

 fits derived are passed on to others. One 

 of the greatest joys in life is to serve 

 others, and to teach the truth of the say- 

 ing 'We learn to do by doing.' 



"Club Work has taught young people 

 to become good losers. Many boys and 

 girls have made a success out of precious 

 failures. Very often they are ready to 

 give up because of some temporary set 

 back, when all that is necessary is simply 

 to go and win. If they will keep on go- 

 ing and keep on long enough by and by 

 they will win. Very frequently we get 

 the idea that it is all up with us when 

 nature is against us with another obstacle 

 to be overcome. It is always refreshing 

 to find the kind of courage that springs 

 up after failure and make another at- 

 tempt. For some people life is a succes- 

 sion of failures, but the quality of our ex- 

 istence is determined not by constant win- 

 ning but by our undaunted spirit." 



STICK-TO-IT CLUBBERS 



An encouraging part of club work to 

 those interested in its development is the 

 "stick-to-it-iveness" of many of the mem- 

 bers. The successful one has trouble 

 now and then quite regularly. The fact 

 that he stays with it proves to us his 

 firmness, his stamina. Many of our most 

 interesting young poultry members have 

 failed miserably at times, but they suc- 

 cessfully rally and overcome their trou- 

 bles. One boy this spring hatched a 

 hundred or more chicks in March and had 

 them all suffocate in a faulty brooder. 

 He got a quantity of seemingly fine 

 hatching eggs from a well reputed poul- 

 try farm to set later. Only seven chicks 

 hatched while his own eggs hatched well. 

 But he is still at it. Many a boy learns 

 to fight the obstacles that try to pre- 

 vent success in his club project is develop- 

 ing that "something" which will make 

 him a winner forever. 



4'<>iiiily CbainpionN* Ciiniii 



Continued from page 1, column 3 

 and a good sewer as well as a canner. 

 Besides doing her seventy-seven quarts 

 of canned goods she keeps a house of 

 fourteen rooms for Miss B. A. Ryan. 

 She says she likes to can best and all the 

 time she thinks of the good it will do the 

 family in the winter. This year she is 

 still canning. 



Robert Barr, the thirteen year old 

 potato grower of Huntington, certainly 

 gave the seed he planted all the possible 

 chance of growing. He plowed well, 

 cultivated well. At a spraying demon- 

 stration he learned how to mix and the 

 value of applying bordeaux mixture and 

 went home and did it. He put it on four 

 times during the season. Such tops he 

 had never seen before and when he dug 

 he rolled them out twenty-nine bushels to 

 one. If he had planted an acre and got 

 the yield he would have dug three hun- 

 dred and thirty-one bushels. Bob has 

 planted four bushels this spring and goes 

 to Camp Gilbert a potato champion. 



Dennett Howe of North Amherst has 

 been made the county poultry champion. 

 He has been in the poultry club work for 

 six consecutive years and during that 

 time has taken advantage of many of the 

 opportunities offered in club work. Last 

 winter he had twenty-one pullets which 

 gave him a profit of three dollars and 

 seventy-four cents per bird During the 

 seven months of the egg laying contest 

 they averaged ninety-six eggs each. This 

 spring he used his own eggs for hatch- 

 ing and got one hundred and forty chicks 

 out of two hundred and twenty eggs set. 

 He has white leghorns. In Dennett's 

 story he says, "My sixth year in club 

 work has been, I think, the most success- 

 ful. I have increased my flock, built 

 more houses and introduced a strain that 



