LIBRARY of th^ 

 Massachusetta 



FARMERS' MONTHW 



OR HAMPSHIRE COUINTV 



ai 



Vol. XL 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., OCTOBER, 1926 



No. 10 



ECHOS FROM THREE 



COUNTY FAIR 



Well, its gone but not forgotten, for a 

 time at least. So as not to forget too 

 quickly, there are a few high points that 

 it might be well to mention. 



In the first place the weather was 

 rather surprising. The weather man 

 told us that it would rain Children's Day 

 and be fair Wednesday. The boys and 

 girls won out by having the sun shine 

 on their special day and as for Wednes- 

 day, well if you don't believe it rained 

 in the forenoon, ask the boys who were 

 in the dairy judging contest, they know. 



Exhibits 



Probably the two things that attracted 

 more attention than anything else in the 

 youth's building was the canning exhibit 

 and the booth club exhibits. The can- 

 ning was certainly great with the East- 

 hampton canning club taking most of the 

 honors. In the 24 jar exhibits they took 

 first, second and third and their share 

 of the individual prizes as well. The 

 booth exhibits of the North Hadley sew- 

 ing club. Amy Oberempt's canning dis- 

 play, Smith Schools Poultry club and the 

 prizes won by Herman Andrews and 

 Erick Moberg of Southampton attracted 

 a lot of attention. The prizes were 

 awarded in the order named, although 

 the Andrew and Moberg exhibit attracted 

 inuch more attention than their fourth 

 prize would indicate. 



Dairy Exhibits Best Ever 



Twenty dairy club members exhibited 

 36 animals to make what many people 

 called the best junior exhibit ever put on 

 at the fair. Last year 30 animals were 

 exhibited. Sumner Parker, the judge 

 stated that he believed no other county in 

 the state could show as good quality in 

 a junior exhibition. Just as an illustra- 

 tion of how good they were, in the open 

 classes that the boys and girls entered, 

 they won practically every first place and 

 the majority of the cash prizes offered. 



Boys and Girls Parade 



On Children's Day, a parade that ex- 

 tended nearly half way around the track 

 caused much favorable comment. The 

 Easthampton Canning and Garden Club 

 won first prize of $15, on floats and the 

 Continued on page 6, column 3 



The people of Hampshire County 

 are invited to attend the annual 

 meeting of the Extension Serivee 

 in Odd Fellows Hall, Center Street, 

 Northampton, Wednesday, Novem- 

 ber 17 at 10.30 A. M. 



Every year people say that we 

 should have a larger attendance. 

 Make yourself a committee of one 

 to urge your neighbors to attend. 

 Interesting reports, a good dinner 

 and good speaking will feature the 

 day. 



ERICK MOBERG WINS A 



$400 SCHOLARSHIP 



Has High Score at National Dairy Show 



Erick Moberg of Southampton, a senior 

 at Smith Agricultural School and a 4-H 

 club member for the past four years, not 

 only won honors for himself but for 

 Massachusetts when he won the $400 

 prize given by the Holstein Fresian As- 

 sociation at the National Dairy Show 

 for judging Holstein cattle. This was 

 not all, for Erick won a certificate for 

 having the second highest score in judg- 

 ing all breeds, loosing to a boy from 

 Minnesota by a very close score. 



In addition to the Holsteins in which 

 he was high man, Erick was fifth judg- 

 ing Guernseys and seventh judging Ayre- 

 shires. 



A second Hampshire County boy also 

 went with Erick to Detroit to represent 

 Mass., Joel Dwight of Hatfield. The 

 third was Emery Howes of Franklin 

 County. 



DYNAMITE DITCHING 



Demonstrations Held in Qramby 

 and in Leeds 



Ditching with dynamite was demon- 

 strated at E. Thornton Clark's farm in 

 Granby and at C. B. Tower's in Leeds, 

 September 8th and 9th. The work was 

 carried on by Mr. Webber of the Atlas 

 Powder Company. Over one hundred 

 sixty-five men attended the demonstra- 

 tions. At Mr. Clark's about 700 feet of 

 ditch was blown through a swampy piece 

 of ground. When the ground was wet 

 the dynamite did a good job. At Mr. 

 Tower's the land was too dry for effec- 

 tive work yet the dynamite did take out 

 Continued on page 8, column 1 



THE FAIR SEASON 



Fairs Show Improvement Over 

 Past Years 



Hampshire County is still served with 

 worthwhile fairs. Middlefield starts the 

 season early in September with a real 

 cattle show. The dairy farmers of Mid- 

 dlefield and surrounding towns bring 

 practically their whole herds to the fair. 

 The entries in each class are not so large 

 but that the judge can explain ju.st why 

 he places each class. This is particu- 

 larly valuable in the younger classes as 

 it shows whether a man is raising the 

 type stock that he .should. The educa- 

 tional value of this work is greater than 

 many suspect. It is shown in the con- 

 tinued improvement in the type of ani- 

 mals shown. 



Being a section where dairying is the 

 major source of income it is natural that 

 the cattle are the major part of the show. 

 The vegetable exhibit could be greatly 

 improved and should be. Potatoes should 

 be a larger part of the hall exhibit. 

 Boys' and girls' club work should have a 

 greater place in a community like Mid- 

 dlefield. With the proper backing of the 

 parents and teachers the club exhibit 

 could work wonders with the upper ex- 

 hibit hall. The poultry exhibit should be 

 far better. Classes should be arranged 

 so as to be of greater educational value 

 to the farmers of the town. Meat and 

 eggs, not feathers, have been the source 

 of income from poultry. The premiums 

 should be arranged so as to encourage 

 better production. 



Cummington Fair Popular 



At Cummington we have an excellent 

 fair. The hall exhibits deserve and get 

 a lot of attention. The fruit exhibit is 

 one of the best of its kind in the state 

 we have been told. The vegetable dis- 

 play had both quantity and quality this 

 year. The four local granges all support 

 the fair with exhibits which add materi- 

 ally to the attractiveness of the hall. 

 The upper hall is always well filled with 

 .sewing and other household manufac- 

 tures. 



One of the features is the dining hall. 

 The planning, cooking and serving of 

 this cattle show dinner is a credit to those 

 in charge. It may be that the dining 

 room itself may not show an enormous 

 Continued on page 2, column 2 _ 



