FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



herds in average milk production per 

 cow: 



. Cows 

 8 



27 

 21 

 17 

 10 

 5 



Lbs. Milk 

 pel- Cow 



1190 

 1135 

 1130 

 1025 

 1018 

 1011 

 1008 



Owner AHr'ress > 



J. G. Cook, Hadley 



E. P. West, Hadley 



E. T. Clark, Granby 



C. E. Clark, Leeds 



Fred Frost, Easthampton 



Pelissier Bros., Hadley 



Hugh Bridgman, West'pton 14 



Nine herds averaged over thirty-five 

 pounds of butter fat per cow for July; 

 fourteen between thirty and thirty-four 

 and nine-tenths pounds; seventeen be- 

 tween twenty-five and twenty-nine and 

 nine-tenths pounds; eight between twenty 

 and twenty-four and nine-tenths pounds 

 and two below twenty pounds of fat per 

 cow. The following were the leading 

 herds in butter fat per cow in July: 



Lbs. Flit 

 Owner Address No. Cows per Cow 



J. G. Cook, Hadley 



E. P. West, Hadley 



William Quirk, Ware 



H. Bridgman, Westhampton 14 



E. T. Clark, Granby 21 



Fred Frost, Easthampton 10 



C. E. Clark, Leeds 17 



27 



7 



39.3 

 38.2 

 37.7 

 37.1 

 36.4 

 36.1 

 36.0 



MILK SUBSTITUTES FOR DAIRY CALVES 



In the face of increasing human popula- 

 tion the number of dairy cattle in New 

 England, two years of age or over, has 

 ■decreased from 290,122 in 1920, to 279, 

 441 in 1925. Even more serious is the 

 diminution in young stock, which shows a 

 decrease from 131,128 to 107,354. To the 

 Massachusetts milk producers who for 

 years have believed it cheaper to buy re- 

 placement stock rather than to raise it, 

 this spells disaster. Neither can con- 

 sumers of dairy products abstract much 

 comfort from the cold facts. 



The chief difficulty is in finding a 

 satisfactory milk substitute for the first 

 four or five months of the calf's life. The 

 Experiment Station has been studying 

 this for several years past. Seven calf 

 meal combinations have been tested, as 

 well as drum and spray-dried skim-milk. 

 Some eighty-five calves were used in 

 these tests. Full report on this is being 

 published in the Massachusetts Experi- 

 ment Station Bulletin 223, "Milk Substi- 

 tutes in the Rearing of Dairy Calves." 

 A more recent summarization is in a 

 bulletin about to be published by the 

 Statiot} under the title "Research Service 

 to Massachusetts Animal Industry." 



DITCHING WITH DYNAMITE 



The use of dynamite for blowing 

 ditches will be demonstrated at E. 

 Thornton Clark's farm, Granby, 

 Wednesday, September 8 at 1.00 

 P. M., and" at C. B. Tower's, Leeds, 

 Thursday, September 9 at 10.30 

 A. M. If you have a ditching prob- 

 lem, attend one or both of these 

 meetings. 



CONCRETE STABLE CONSTRUCTION 



One of the most Important Uses of Concrete is its use as Flooring 



Belllrop 

 Concrete drain 

 frith slope or 

 l-O'in iO'O' 



\ C/^anger drain ^"pipe 



\'^ Concrete fotjtlnj 

 \ i/n^t:r pQstf. 

 t 



Foundaiion~j% 

 Note- ' 



Gutter and manqer 

 to t>e fini^tied smooTh 

 ana slope r in <?5 ' to- 

 i^ards bell trap Depth 

 of gutter not to exceej 

 3" or be less than 6" 



^fodf 



Half cross-section of a wcll-desijjned dairy barn, showing dimensions based on best practice 



Forms for floor slabs, alleys and other 

 areas to be concreted should be of smooth 

 lumber, strongly braced in line and care- 

 fully set to proper grade The stanchion 

 curb is usually placed first. It should 

 be at least five inches thick, and is usual- 

 ly six or seven inches high on the stall 

 side. Some uprights are attached to 

 anchors set in the curb, and others are 

 embedded in the concrete. The latter type 

 must be in line and carefully plumbed 

 before placing concrete. 



In order to allow for any future 

 changes in stanchion equipment whether 

 it be wood or steel, it will be found ad- 

 visable to place strips of tar or felt paper 

 along each side of stanchion curb before 

 the stall platform and manger are built 

 so that the old curb may be removed 

 easily without disturbing the remainder 

 of the floor. 



The platforms and litter alleys are 

 usually placed after the stanchion curb 

 has hardened and the forms removed. 

 The proper dimensions are shown on the 

 cross-section cut accompanying this 

 article. Stall lengths vary with the size 

 of cattle. 



The bottom of the gutter is placed 

 after the litter alley and stall platform 

 are complete and the gutter forms re- 

 moved. 



The manger is placed next. The 

 United States Department of Agriculture 

 does not recommend placing the feeding 

 alley on the same level as the manger. 

 The reason for this is to prevent di.sease- 

 bearing filth, which is often tracked into 

 the feeding alley, from being swept into 

 the manger. 



Mixing and Placing Concrete 



The mixture recommended for concrete 

 barn floors is one sack of portland cement 

 to two cubic feet of sand and three cubic 

 feet of pebbles or broken stone. This is 

 commonly called a 1:2:3 mixture. Sand 

 should be clean and well graded in size 

 from fine particles up to one-quarter 

 inch. Pebbles or broken stone should be 

 clean, hard and range in size from one- 

 quarter to one and one-half inches. One- 

 course construction is recommended, 

 which means that the required thickness 

 of concrete is placed in one operation. 



The surface of the manger should be 

 finished smooth, the corners carefully 

 rounded to make cleaning out easy and 

 to provide a comfortable surface for the 

 cattle to eat from. A steel trowel should 

 be used for the manger and gutter, but 

 floor surfaces should be finished with 

 wooden float if gritty surfaces are de- 

 sired. 



On a properly prepared and level ground, forms for the concrete manger, 

 curb and stall platform are erected. With the forms fiimly in place, the stan- 

 chion supports are put in position, carefully plumbed and braced. Forms for 

 stanchion curb are now filled with concrete w^et spaded to obtain greatest quality. 



