FARMERS' MONTHLY 



OF HAMPSHIRE COUINTV 



Vol. XI. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., AUGUST, 1926 



No. 8 



MY IDEA OF HOME ECONOMICS ^ FRUIT GROWERS TO MEET 



EXTENSION WORK 



Mrs. Cora K. Graves — Hatfield 



"If you can glean any help from my 

 estimate of Home Economics Extension 

 work, I am very glad to offer it, but I 

 have so many enthusiasms for the work 

 that they are very chaotic and I am not 

 sure that I can get them in orderly ar- 

 ray. 



"To the woman submerged in the 

 round of large and small duties that 

 make up the routine of the homemaker in 

 the small rural community, time and 

 leisure for her own development are apt 

 to be lacking. One of the benefits of 

 home extension instruction which first 

 appealed to me when this work was in- 

 troduced in our community was the per- 

 spective of our work given by our 

 agent — perspective to view tasks as a 

 whole, to classify those giving more re- 

 turns and those giving less. Then, as a 

 new interest was awakened, it seemed 

 that from a broader viewpoint of the 

 necessary, humdrum duties resulted a 

 new joy in these and a new zeal for im- 

 proving old methods or surroundings. 

 Not in all cases, of course, is this result 

 achieved for the habit of routine stolidly 

 accomplished is often pretty well set. 

 But where, in most cases, the women re- 

 sponded to the instruction, they found 

 themselves with quickened intelligence 

 and renewed interest. Joy and interest 

 in work are mentally stimulating and so, 

 added to the real, practical aids given us 

 in the classes, this attempt to use better 

 methods, to study again our old problems 

 and find better solutions aroused an in- 

 ventiveness and mental alertness which 

 carried over into other situations. The 

 rewards are far larger than a better fed 

 family, .steps saved in the daily round or 

 appearing in a more becoming hat. The 

 agent must often have noticed how work- 

 ing in a class brightened many a tired 

 face. The work of the homemaker is 

 usually so lonely and the social value of 

 extension classes is greater than an out- 

 sider can realize. There is always the 

 pressure to become an unthinking 

 drudge. But in many, many individuals 

 the social contacts of the classes and the 

 ideals presented have brought the broad- 

 er outlook and the determination to have 

 Continued on page 5, column 2 



Save August 25 for Hillside 

 Orchard Meeting 



The Hampshire County Fruit Grow- 

 ers' Association will act as host to the 

 Massachusetts, Franklin and Hampden 

 County Associations at a big summer 

 meeting to be held at Hillside Orchards, 

 Haydenville, August 25. This meeting 

 will be of real interest to all fruit grow- 

 ers of the county. A few live speakers 

 will talk on important topics such as 

 Markets, Crop Conditions, and a repoi't 

 of the American Pomological Society 

 Tour. Opportunity to inspect the or- 

 chards, storages and equipment will be 

 given. 



Hampshire County fruit growers should 

 turn out in force to show our visitors 

 from adjoining counties that this is a live 

 fruit county. The meeting starts at 

 10.30 A. M. Pack a ba.sket lunch and 

 bring the whole family. 



CHAMPIONS GO TO CAMP 



Six Attended Camp Gilbert 



One state and five county champions 

 spent a week beginning .July 23 at the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College with 

 one hundred and twenty other champions 

 from every section of the state, including 

 Boston, Cape Cod, Dukes and Nantucket 

 Islands, as well as every other county. 



These boys and girls are given this 

 free trip for having done outstanding 

 work and also having been outstanding 

 club members in other ways. There are 

 three things considered in picking these 

 champions; (1) the quality of their 

 work; (2) the cjuantity of their work; 

 and (3) their club spirit shown in tak- 

 ing a leading part in their own club, etc. 



While we believe that unusually good 

 champions were chosen yet the hardest 

 part of the whole job of choosing them is 

 the fact that there are so many others 

 that deserve the honor and will be dis- 

 appointed with our choice. If so, just 

 remember that we pick champions again 

 in 1927 in the same way. 



The State Corn Champion was Herman 

 Andrews of Southampton whose record 

 as a club member was printed in the 

 April is.sue of the "Monthly." While 

 there is nothing we can add about his 

 club record, we understand that there is 

 Cc»ntinued on pajtje 6. column 3 



ONIONS NEED LIME 



Fields Visited in Hatfield and Hadley 



Over fifty growers visited onion fields 

 in Hatfield and Hadley Friday, June 16. 

 Dr. J. P. Jones, Soils and Crops Special- 

 ist of the Experiment Station, brought 

 out the reason why growers are not get- 

 ting as good crops as they should. In 

 Hatfield, seven fields of set onions were 

 visited. Two of these fields had soils 

 testing medium acid and in both cases a 

 fine crop was being grown. These were 

 owned by Larkin Proulx and by Harry 

 Marsh. Two other fields owned by Mike 

 Waska and Clemens Zrezuillewicz tested 

 strongly acid and only had a fair crop. 

 Three other fields tested very strongly 

 acid and in all cases the crop was nearly 

 a complete failure. All of the fields had 

 about three thousand pounds of a 4-8-4 

 fertilizer per acre. The best fields and 

 the poorest fields had the same kind of 

 sets. 



In Hadley it was shown that a full crop 

 of onions could not be grown on strongly 

 acid soil no matter how much fertilizer 

 was used. At Ernest Hibbard's, a field 

 of sets was seen that had been limed for 

 two years, one and a half tons per acre 

 in 1924 and one ton per acre last year. 

 On the opposite side of the road a field 

 was seen that had had fifteen hundred 

 pounds of agricultural lime per acre last 

 fall. The soil still tested strongly acid 

 and the crop was poor. 



At Martin Grande's, six and half 

 acres of sets were seen that had had one 

 and a half tons of lime last fall and one 

 part had another ton of lime per acre 

 this spring. The part having the heavy 

 application of lime was the best. This 

 field still tests strongly acid. At Thomas 

 Hickey's a four acre field of sets was seen 

 that had had one ton of lime put on this 

 year. The sets were making an excellent 

 crop. The soil tested medium acid. 

 Another lot that had the same amount 

 of lime this spring tested strongly acid 

 and the crop was only fair. The la.st 

 field visited had only a fair crop and the 

 soil tested very strongly acid. 



The Use of Lime for Onions 



At these meetings it was brought out 

 that onion growers can have their soils 

 tested for acidity by sending samples to 

 the county agent. The amount of lime to 

 use varies with the amount of acidity. 

 Examples can be found where two tons of 

 Continued on pag"e 2, column 2 



