FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



weeks period during the twelve weeks 

 from January 29 to April 24. 



Period 5 Holsteiii3 4 Shoi-thoi-ns 4 Jorseys 



By the last of April three of the five 

 Holsteins had been milking practically 

 nine months and were due to freshen in 

 from two to four months. Three of the 

 Shorthorns were being dried oif and the 

 fourth had been milking for eight months, 

 while two of the Jerseys had been milking 

 six and nine months respectively. 



Previous to April, the cows had been 

 receiving a daily allowance of ten pounds 

 of mangels, which was reported as equiv- 

 alent to four pounds of silage. About 

 April first it was necessary to discon- 

 tinue the mangels and to change to a 

 poorer quality of hay. The above facts 

 must be considered in relation to the 

 lowered production during April. 



WHAT IS THIS "LONG GREEN" 



What is it fills the milk pail full? 

 What is it makes the best of wool? 

 What is it that the brood sow needs, 

 For hens and steers the best of feeds, 

 What builds the soil and licks the weeds? 



Alfalfa! 

 What makes four tons or five of hay? 

 What is it grows all night and day? 

 What is it makes bees hum and sing. 

 Enriches land like everything. 

 Makes dollars in your pocket ring? 



Alfalfa! 

 What is it makes three crops a year? 

 And leaves all others in the rear? 

 Why is it called the crop "De Luxe," 

 Each acre worth a hundred bucks, 

 (And, by the way, it's good for duck) ! 



Alfalfa! 

 What rings the bell where there is lime, 

 But fails without it every time? 

 What needs the plant foods when you 



sow? 

 Manure and phosphate make it grow! 

 What must have "bugs" on roots below? 



Alfalfa! 

 Why was it Greeley said "Go West"? 

 What d' you mean "It's best by test"? 

 What is the little prairie flower, 

 That makes us wilder every hour? 

 Together now, let's shout, "More Power"! 



Alfalfa! 



H. W. Wai-ner. 



TO preveIt mTlk fever 



Though most dairymen are familiar 

 with the successful air treatment for in- 

 flating udders of dairy cows to prevent 

 fatal consequence from milk fever, a sim- 

 ple method for preventing the disease is 

 not so well known. This malady chiefly 

 affects well-nourished, fleshy, heavy-milk- 

 ing cows and generally follows closely the 

 .act of calving. 



A preventive treatment suggested by 



the Bureau of Animal Industry, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, con- 

 sists in allowing a susceptible cow to re- 

 tain in the udder for 24 hours after calv- 

 ing all the milk except the small quan- 

 tity required by the calf. The milk 

 should be taken if possible from each 

 quarter. Distention of the udder by the 

 retained milk naturally follows, as in 

 the air treatment, and acts as a pre- 

 ventive against milk fever. In the Island 

 of Jersey and at the Biltmore Farms, 

 ' North Carolina, where this practice is 

 common, the number of milk-fever cases 

 has greatly decreased. 



Sanitary conditions also .should be 

 looked after, such as a supply of pure air 

 and clean stabling, with plenty of clear, 

 cool water and laxative feeds, such as 

 grasses and roots. The method described 

 is a means of prevention, not a cure. 



In cases where the disease has already 

 developed the most practical method of 

 treatment is to inject sterile atmospheric 

 air into the udder in order to distend it 

 artificially. The treatment is best per- 

 formed by means of milk-fever apparatus 

 made especially for the purpose. 



NEW ENGLAND FERTILITY 



conference held AT AMHERST 



"There is considerable doubt whether 

 we are serving our own best interests if 

 we fail to increase our production to cor- 

 respond with our growth in population", 

 Dr. Firman E. Bear, head of Soils at the 

 Ohio State University, told the fertility 

 conference held at Amherst, Massachu- 

 setts, recently. 



In his address on "The Coming Need 

 for Higher Yields", Prof. Bear called at- 

 tention to the possibility of great in- 

 creases in food production when the need 

 arises. He pointed out that average 

 yields of wheat for Holland, Denmark, 

 Scotland and Belgium were three times 

 those for the United States, and that 

 proper management and treatment of our 

 own soils will make possible much higher 

 yields than we now have. 



Director S. B. Haskell, as chairman of 

 the conference, spoke on "The Trend 

 Towards Higher Analyses". Director 

 Ha.skell pointed out the improvement al- 

 ready made in this direction and told of 

 the value of having standard lists of an- 

 alyses from the standpoint of the farmer, 

 the fertilizer industry, and the college 

 and station workers. 



"A standard li.st saves agronomists 

 from recommending the product of any 

 one fertilizer manufacturer. The fer- 

 tilizer indu.stry must agree on the make- 

 up of fertilizer grades and let analyses 

 stand out before brands", he said. 



Extension agronomist J. B. Helyer, of 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, and 

 J. B. Abbott, consulting agronomist of the 

 Soil Improvement Committee, discussed 

 jointly "The Special Fertility Problems 



of the Hay and Pasture Belt." By re- 

 ducing the crop needs of the hay and 

 pasture belt to terms of sales opportuni- 

 ties, they believe a much greater tonnage 

 of fertilizer should be sold for the follow- 

 ing purposes: 



1. To supplement manure for corn. 



2. To fertilize small grain and new 



.seedings. 



3. To top-dress grass. 



4. For use on all cash crops. 



It was pointed out that a considerable 

 part of the sixty million dollar feed bill 

 of New England farmers might be saved 

 by greater use of fertilizer in the produc- 

 tion of home-grown feeds. 



Professor A. B. Beaumont, head of 

 Agronomy at Massachusetts Agricultural 

 College told of the eff^ect of diff'erent 

 methods of fertilizer application on seed 

 and seedlings. He showed by plants 

 growing in pots how various methods of 

 application efl'ected germination and 

 giowth of plants. The general conclu- 

 sion was drawrn that any method of ap- 

 plication which allows the fertilizer to 

 come in direct contact with the seed 

 should be avoided because of the possible 

 effect on germination. 



The field trip included inspection of the 

 old soil fertility test plots, the onion fer- 

 tilizer tests, the orchard fertilization 

 woi-k, and field tests on application of 

 fertilizer to corn and extensive pasture 

 fertilization tests. Of special interest 

 were the pasture plots where, with lime 

 and fertilizer treatment, very marked 

 changes in the kinds of pasture vegeta- 

 tion and pronounced increases in yields 

 of pa.sture crops were shown. 



INJURY FROM FERTILIZER BURN 



A 95 per cent stand of corn where 

 400 pounds per acre of a 3-10-8 were 

 broadca.st before planting; 83 per cent 

 where the same amount of fertilizer was 

 drilled in, and only 57 per cent where 

 it was applied in the hill, is this year's 

 record on an experiment in methods of 

 applying fertilizer to corn. Where no 

 fertilizer at all was applied, the per cent 

 of stand was 93. The season has been 

 dry, which accounts both for the oc- 

 casional missing hills where fertilizer 

 was not applied, and for the high mortali- 

 ty where the fertilizer occasionally came 

 in contact with the seed. The whole, 

 however, shows that, for fertilizers con- 

 taining ammonia and potash at least, 

 care in applying the fertilizer is neces- 

 sary. It also indicates that complaint as 

 to weather causing poor stands of corn 

 may better be ascribed to the way in 

 which the fertilizer attachment of the 

 corn planter is adjusted. 



Where the fertilizer carried only 

 potash and phosphoric acid, with a mod- 

 erate quantity of manure, the percent- 

 ages from drill and broadcast applica- 

 tion were respectively 91 as against 93 

 Continued on page 8. column 1 



