10 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



Ueg:iirtlinjj: Fiiriii Taxes 



Continued fii_ini pnge 3, column 3 

 these taxes are under the control of the 

 farmers and that the farmers are to 

 blame if taxes are high. The conclusion 

 is drawn that taxes can be lowered by 

 farmers if they so desire. The conclu- 

 sions are erroneous. Farm taxes are 

 high because wages are high. Farmers 

 cannot control wages, therefore we can 

 do very little to lower taxes. When our 

 taxation systems were designed the 

 weaver, the tanner, the shoemaker and 

 the teamster lived in the community. 

 Profits which they made from the com- 

 munity were invested in the community 

 so that they could be reached by a 

 general property tax. Today, the profits 

 made by the various business agencies ai'e 

 not located in the community from which 

 the profits were derived. These profits 

 can be reached by taxes on corporation 

 profits, by personal income taxes and by 

 inheritance taxes. 



The taxes on farm land could be re- 

 duced by reducing or discontinuing the 

 state tax on real estate and by greater 

 state support for roads and schools., 

 Formerly, roads were primarily for local 

 use and were paid for by towns and 

 counties. Today, even the dirt roads are 

 often used for inter-urban highways 

 much more than they are used by farm- 

 ers. In many cases, farmers are paying 

 out of proportion to the use they make of 

 the road. 



Our present theory of school support 

 is to furnish the child with free education 

 expecting that he will pay for educating 

 the next generation. About one-half of 

 the children educated in the counti^y move 

 to the cities and so escape direct payment 

 to the rural school district which edu- 

 cated them." 



CLEAN UP THE CURCULIO 



Although spraying is an important 

 factor in the control of the plum curculio, 

 orchard sanitation and cultural practices 

 play a more important part in the fight 

 against this insect than in the case of any 

 other orchard pest. 



The seasonal life of the curculio offers 

 four excellent openings for attack by 

 cultural operations, namely: 



1. The beetle spends the winter under 

 leaves, rubbish, and crop refuse in or 

 near the orchard. A scorching fire in the 

 late fall or early spring will burn many 

 of these beetles and destroy their pro- 

 tection. Burning should be done when 

 the hottest possible fire will result and 

 .should extend beyond the orchard 100 

 yards if possible. 



2. Apples infested with small curculio 

 grubs usually fall to the ground, where 

 the grub feeds for about two weeks be- 

 fore entering the ground to pupate; The 

 period during which the grubs are in the 

 fallen apples ranges from the last of June 



through the first week in Aug-ust, during 

 which time the infested apples are V2 inch 

 to IM inces in diameter. No operation 

 will kill more curculio than the destruc- 

 tion of these infested drops. Hogs and 

 poultry in the orchard will eat many of 

 them. Picking up these drops is a labor- 

 ious task but a highly profitable one in 

 curculio control. When picked up, bury 

 them with quicklime, soak them in water, 

 feed them, or put them in a tight barrel 

 until they can be satisfactorily destroyed. 



3. Some curculio grubs, as well as 

 codling moth larvae remain in apples on 

 the tree at thinning time. Carefully thin 

 off these infested apples. A picking bag 

 or basket is excellent for carrying these 

 "culls" about the orchard. Destroy them 

 as suggested for drops. 



4. After the curculio grubs have 

 finished feeding in the fruit, they form 

 small cells two or three inches below the 

 surface of the ground in which they 

 pupate or change from grub to beetle. 

 The majority of them are in this condition 

 from July 15 to August 15. At this time 

 they are very delicate and easily crushed. 

 Harrowing, plowing, or any kind of culti- 

 vation under the trees kills large numbers 

 of this pest. 



The standard insecticide recommended 

 for curculio control by spraying is Ar- 

 senate of Lead powder 3 pounds in 100 

 gallons of water. Applications should be- 

 gin with pink spray, continue through the 



calyx spray and be followed by treat- 

 ments approximately 10 days and 4 weeks 

 respectively after the calyx spray in cases 

 of severe infestation. 



W. D. Whitcomb, 

 Market Garden Field Statioyi. 



TUBERCULOSIS IN HERD 



CAUSES DECREASED INCOME 



Showing that milk production in a 

 herd began to decline almost simulta- 

 neously with the development of tuber- 

 culosis among the cows, a report received 

 by the United States Department of Ag- 

 riculture discusses a topic of unusual in- 

 terest in practical dairying. The in- 

 sidious nature of tuberculosis makes the 

 time of first infection difficult to estab- 

 lish and other variable factors make the 

 study of this question very complex. But 

 in the case reported the evidence indicates 

 that in two years the spread of bovine 

 tuberculosis caused a reduction in the 

 milk of the herd, which averaged about 

 10 cows, from an annual production of 

 111,178 pounds to 82,173 pounds. The 

 deci-ease in income from the sale of milk 

 amounted to approximately $870. 



Officials of the Bureau of Animal In- 

 dustry, United States Department of 

 Agriculture, point out that the indemni- 

 ty paid for tuberculous cattle detected by 

 official testing is well known to be a 

 means of hastening tuberculosis eradica- 



^^ FORDSON 



LINCOLN 



NEW PRICES FEBRUARY 1, 1926 

 These are the lowest prices in history of Ford Motor Co. 



4-Door Sedan with Starter and Dem. Rims, 



2-Door Sedan 



Coupe " " 



Touring " " 



Runabout " " 



Chassis " " 



Ton Truck Chassis, with starter 



Fordson Tractor, 



All prices F. O. B. Detroit 



We can furnish Balloon tires on all models for $26.25 extra. 



$660.00 

 580.00 

 520.00 

 375.00 

 345.00 

 310.00 

 430.00 

 495.00 



CHASE MOTOR COMPANY 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



Telephone 470 



24 Center Street 



