FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



HOW FAST DOES LIME WORK? 



Action Hasten by Moisture, 

 Acid Phosphate and Other Factors 



Experience has taught us that the 

 greatest benefit from lime cannot be ex- 

 pected immediately after being applied 

 and often not for several months or a 

 year. Occasionally farmers have report- 



per cent fat in Cow Test Association. 

 A good straight individual. J. G. Cook, ! 

 Hadley, P. 0. address, Amherst, R. F. D. j 

 G. Fred Pelissier, Hadley, has a regis- 

 tered Hol.stein cow due November 8. She 

 is a granddaughter of King Walker the 

 5th. As a two year old she produced 

 12,515 pounds of milk. Last year she 

 produced 17,267 pounds of milk. She i 



od that they could see little effect of lim- had been milking ten months when the 

 ing for two or more years and in the, cow test association started. In the la.st 

 mc.mtima had concluded that their soil , ten months she produced 10,517 pounds 

 didn't need lime or that there wasn't as | of milk testing 3.65. She is bred to E. 

 much to the liming proposition as they I p. West's bull, a son of the New England 



had formerly believed. 



The speed with which acid soil will 

 become sweetened sufficiently for alfalfa 

 or sweet clover depends upon a number 

 of factors and conditions. Fineness of 

 the lime is generally recognized as one 

 of these factors while the thoroughness 

 with which it is mixed with the soil is 

 also important but not always observed ' 

 at time of spreading. Moisture is an- 

 other consideration but one over which 

 the farmer has little control. 



One condition which has been found to 

 influence the rapidity with which soil 

 becomes sweetened sufficiently for alfalfa 

 is that of the amount of acid phosphate 

 applied in addition to the lime. Investi- 

 gations at the Indiana, Massachusetts 

 and Rhode Island Experiment Stations 

 show this matter of phosphate applica- 

 tion to be one of great importance where 

 dissolved aluminum salts are entirely, or 

 in part, responsible for the toxic condi- 

 tion of the acid soil. 



The amount of acid phosphate needed 

 in such cases is much greater than that 

 required by the crop itself since a con- 

 siderable part of the beneficial effect of 

 the fertilizer is due to the chemical action 

 of the phosphate on the toxic compounds 

 of the soil, and only pai't of the phos- 

 phate goes to actually feed the growing 

 plants. Hence, while it should be said 

 that acid phosphate does not actually 

 neutralize the acidity of the soil, applica- 

 tions of this fertilizer destroy injurious 

 chemical compounds of the soil which 

 themselves are the toxic, or injurious, 

 constituents of certain acid soils. 



This effect of acid phosphate may ex- 

 plain the observations of farmers to the 

 effect that its use sometimes seems to 

 give the same results as liming or that 

 its use with lime makes the liming more 

 effective and the results more quickly 

 noticeable. 



champion milk producer as a two year 

 old. If she has a bull calf he will do 

 some herd a lot of good. If it is a heifer 

 it can't be bought. 



FARMERS' EXCHANGE 



FOR SALE: White Holland Turkeys, 

 very good breed. E. S. Howlett, South- 

 ampton. 



FOR SALE : Six weeks old pigs. Berk- 

 shire-Chester White cross. G. Fred Pel- 

 issier, Hadley. 



Herd Sires Available 



Registered Holstein Bull calf. Dam 

 produced 14,000 pounds milk testing 3.7 



You pay once only for any 

 Concrete Farm Improvement 



A Clean 

 Barnyard 



How often have you 

 wanted a barnyord that 

 would stay clean the 

 year 'round? 



Concrete barnyard 

 pavement is sanitary, 

 serviceaHe,easy to drive 

 over and to keep clean, 

 moderate in first cost 

 and permanent. 



A concrete barnyard 

 saves tons of valuable 

 Manure. 



It puts an end to 

 tramping around in the 

 mud — an efficient labor 

 saving improvement 

 which will pay for it- 

 self in a very short time. 



You can easily build 

 yourself a barnyard 

 pavement and other 

 improvements of con- 

 crete by following a few 

 simple directions given 

 in "Permanent Repairs 

 on the Farm." Write 

 for your free copy today. 



PORTLAND CEMENT 



ASSOCIATION 



10 riiga Street 



BOSTON 



A National Organization 



to Improve and Extend 



the Uies of Concrete 



OFnCES IN 31 CITIES 



Bridging the Gap 



The Extension Departments and 

 Colleges have brought home to in- 

 telligent dairymen the idealization 

 of the fact that to maintain its 

 physical condition and to produce 

 profitably, live stock must be care- 

 fully fed. These institutions have 

 given farmers feeding programs 

 capable of returning maximum 

 profits under various conditions. 

 Experimental chemistry and feed- 

 ing tests have demonstrated clearly 

 differences between various feed in- 

 gredients and differences between 

 various grades of the same feed 

 ingredients. The Extension De- 

 partments and the Colleges have 

 made it simple for farmers to know 

 what to feed through bulletins, lec- 

 tures and demonstrations. 



Individually, however, farmers 

 find it difficult to put into practice 

 on their scattered farms the knowl- 

 edge which has come into their pos- 

 session. The individual farmer 

 finds that his source of grain sup- 

 ply is limited. If the local dealer 

 has not got the kind and quality of 

 grain best suited to the need of the 

 farmer, that farmer is unable to 

 take advantage of the experimental 

 work being done for him. 



Co-operatively, today, through 

 the Eastern States Farmers' Ex- 

 change, more than 17,000 farmers 

 are buying in the large grain mar- 

 kets ingredients of their own selec- 

 tion and mixing them in their own 

 plant. These ingredients they select 

 in accordance with the advice of the 

 Extension Departments. They 



blend these ingredients in accord- 

 ance with their advice. From the 

 start the Exchange has been man- 

 aged on sound business principles 

 along strictly co-operative lines, so 

 that the members have secured this 

 important service at low cost. 



This, in a nut shell, is the reason 

 why the East9rn States Farmers' 

 Exchange is meeting with such re- 

 markable success in its develop- 

 ment. It fills an important gap in 

 the farm field. It enables farmers 

 to put into practice a sound, tested, 

 scientific feeding program. The 

 business of the Exchange has in- 

 creased thousands of tons per year 

 — to a 12 months' volume in eight 

 years exceeding 121,000 tons — be- 

 cause the farmers availing them- 

 s-^lves of the service have convinced 

 themselves through their own ex- 

 perience that the Exchange is ac- 

 tually performing the vital work 

 which it was organized to perform. 



For further information on the 

 Eastern States co-operative feed 

 service for dairy stock, horses, hogs 

 and poultry, a co-operative service 

 which should not be confused with 

 the car door service offered by pri- 

 vate manufacturers through dealers 

 or gi'oups of farmers, write the 

 office. 



JJostGFii States f araiGi's Exchange 



A non-stock, non-profit orBJ'niza- 



tion owne<l anil conlrolleil l»y the 



i'jirnierf* it serves. 



Sprinnfieki, 



Massachusetts 



