FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



To the Young: People 



Continued from pag'e 7, column 2 



May 27 at the Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural College had a few more in at- 

 tendance and as a special feature had 

 about ten stories from Mr. William Howe, 

 assistant state club leader, who filled in 

 between moving pictui'e reels or breaks 

 in the film which occured after. Both 

 Guernsey and Holstein people came and 

 to avoid trouble neither breed was great- 

 ly set off in the meeting but since then 

 the club agent has heard remarks in one 

 case that "Those pictures of the Guern- 

 seys beat the Holstein all to holler" and 

 in the other "I wouldn't have a Guern- 

 sey in the barn, would you?" 



Frances hands this in as her club story. 



THE 4-H FOOD CLUB 



There was silence in the school-room 

 When a knock came at the door 

 The children were very eager, when 

 Mr. Whippen walked across the floor 

 He came to talk about the food club 

 Which was interesting too 

 And I sat up straight and listened 

 Until he finished up the news. 

 We had a meeting at Mrs. Reed's the fol- 

 lowing Wednesday night 

 And all of us were there with our 



very bright. 

 We started up the food club 

 And all went very well 

 The first time I baked, the "darn" thing 



fell 

 But that made no diff"erence to me 

 For I wasn't dishearted and restarted 



with glee 

 And baked and cooked and did my home 



task 

 For I had really only just begun. 

 I kept right on with the food club 

 And did the things that were required 

 I baked and baked and cooked and cooked 

 And made different things beside 

 Now we've planned our exhibit 

 And entertainment too 

 And that is where the fun begins 

 And we have pulled it through 

 Hurrah! for the 4-H food club we honest- 

 ly did try 

 And this is the end of my poem so I 

 "will say good-bye." — Frances Boyden. 

 West Pelham. 



faces 



NEW CLUB AGENT APPOINTED 



Harold W. Eastman of Concord, New 

 Hampshire, starts work as County Club 

 Agent, July 15. Mr. Eastman was born 

 and raised on a farm in Maine and took 

 agricultural work at the University of 

 Maine. He spent two years as a cow 

 tester before entering club work in New 

 Hampshire. We are sure that the boys 

 and girls, the local leaders and parents 

 will like Mr. Ea.stman and will give him 

 their whole hearted support. 



When Shoulil AKnIfa ne Cut for Hay! 



Continued from page 1, column 3 



stage. The Kansas Experiment Station, 

 for example, compared cutting alfalfa at 

 the bud stage with cutting at the full 

 bloom stage. Although six cuttings were 

 made at the bud stage and only four cut- 

 tings at the full bloom stage, the latter 

 produced 1.560 pounds more hay per acre 

 per year as an average of eight years' 

 work on the same plots. 



On the other hand the total yield for 

 the season has always been reduced by 

 cutting later than full bloom, usually 

 very seriously. Anyone who has watched 

 the development of alfalfa that has been 

 allowed to stand for seed can understand 

 the reason for this. From the beginning 

 of bloom the lower leaves gradually turn 

 yellow and drop until only a few leaves 

 are left on the main stems by the time 

 the seed is ripe. This loss of leaves re- 

 sults in an actual decrease in harvested 

 material regardless of the fact that some 

 increase in weight is taking place in the 

 seed pods. We may conclude that to se- 

 cure the largest yield of hay we must not 

 cut before bloom or after full bloom. 



What is the Effect of Time of Cutting 

 on the Quality of Hay Produced? — Aside 

 from damage in curing, quality of alfalfa 

 hay depends on two interrelated factors: 

 the percentage of protein and the propor- 

 tion of leaves in the hay. Since alfalfa 

 leaves contain about twice as much pro- 

 tein as the stems, it is evident that the 

 higher the proportion of leaves, the 

 higher the protein content of the hay will 

 be. Both the protein content and the 

 percentage of leaves in the hay decrease 

 very rapidly as cutting is delayed. The 

 Kansas experiments already referred to 

 gave the following results as an average 

 for eight years: 



Stai?e of cutting 



Bud 



Tenth bloom 



Full bloom 



Seed stage 

 In exceptional years there are much 

 greater diff'erences in the per cent of 

 leaves than these averages indicate. Last 

 year at the Ohio State University the 

 first cutting of alfalfa at the bud stage. 

 May 15, contained 49 per cent of leaves, 

 while that cut June 28 in the seed stage 

 contained SO per cent of leaves. It is 

 clear that the earlier alfalfa is cut, the 

 higher will be the feeding value and pal- 

 atability of the hay. Its market value 

 will also be greatly increased by early 

 cutting. The newly adopted U. S. stand- 

 ards for alfalfa hay provide that No. 1 

 alfalfa shall contain at least 40 per cent 

 of leaves. In 1925 it would not have been 

 possible to have made No. 1 alfalfa from 

 the first cutting later than the tenth 

 bloom stage. The later cuttings retain 

 their leaves better than the first, so that 



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