10 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



AGROSPECTS 



Sweet Clover Experience 



Thus far in our travels we have seen 

 nothing to indicate that sweet clover can 

 live on nothing or next to that. It needs 

 lime and it needs plant food. The gain 

 is an abundant amount of green feed for 

 pasturing or for plowing under to im- 

 prove the soil. 



Roger W. Acheson of South Westport, 

 put in an acre of sweet clover in March, 

 192.5. It was planted on one of his 

 poorest fields, on a stony hillside, but 

 limed at the rate of 1 V2 tons of hydrated 

 lime to the acre. The weeds gave the 

 sweet clover a hard run the first season 

 but in 1926 the plants were three feet 

 tall when plowed under. And, by the 

 way, if its going to be plowed under the 

 best time is when the flower buds are 

 developed but before any blooming has 

 occurred. 



After sweet clover a good crop of 

 turnips was secured and Mr. Acheson 

 says the soil is 100 per cent better than 

 before the clover was planted. 



Alfalfa as the Cow Sees it 



"An acre and a half for a cow and her 

 calf." 



The letter below came to the desk and 

 we ai'e urged by several considerations 

 to give the cow's idea some publicity by 

 including the same in this column. 

 Dear Mr. Dairy Farmer: 



I am interested in your business. I 

 contribute to your success to the extent 

 of my ability and according to what I 

 have to work with. I am a milk produc- 

 ing factory. Just figure that you buy 

 the milk from me at cost of production. 

 You receive for it what the market will 

 pay. Right now I suspect there isn't a 

 big margin for you, if any. Of course 

 there is a reason. Perhaps I am what 

 they call a low-producer, your records 

 ought to show that. In that case, unless 

 you think a whole lot of having me 

 around to look at, I'd better be going. 

 Maybe I have to charge so much because 

 of the feed cost. Grain is high and likely 

 to be indefinitely. Yet to keep produc- 

 tion up to capacity I have to have it. 

 You know the hay you've been selling 

 me isn't much to talk of and, well, we 

 won't mention the silage, nor the lean 

 days in the pasture. 



Now I've been wondering if it isn't 

 possible to grow something here on the 

 farm to replace some of the grain. How 

 about alfalfa? I can pay about $28.00- 

 $30.00 a ton for alfalfa hay. It seems 

 you ought to be able to put it in the barn 

 for about $15.00-$18.00 a ton, your labor 

 and everything figured in. That leaves 

 a few dollars a ton clear profit on the 

 hay deal. Or, you can figure to sell it 

 to me at co.st and take the profit on the 

 milk. It's yours either way. Maybe it 

 can't be done. Have you thought of it 



or tried it? It means lime and acid 

 phosphate and potash to replace what 

 we cows have been getting for years and 

 years and years. 



With Kine regards, 



Brindle Bess. 

 P. S. It seems like I could get more 

 good out of the minerals that Old Mother 

 Nature builds into alfalfa and clover 

 than I do out of the ground bone and 

 lime rock they are putting in the grain. 



B. B. 



ARE YOU HE ? 



There is a man in Hampshire County 



And he is mighty wise. 



He had a lot of very good cows 



And praised them to the skies. 



He bought for them a lot of grain 



But didn't feed any clover. 



And when the milk check went to town 



There was little for him left over. 



Now all of this is truly changed 



And not at all the same. 



For now he grows some legume hay 



And understands the game. 



'So when you see him on the street, 



Or walking proudly to the bank. 



You know that he is more fortunate 



With lime and legumes for to thank. 



Now it's hard to write a poem 



And to find the words that rhyme 



So that is why we come to end 



With more to tell another time. 



— Spec. 



RODENT CONTROL IN ORCHARD 



AND STORAGE 



The U. S. Biological Survey has taken 

 a step which should be of special interest 

 to the fruit growers of Massachusetts. 

 Within a few days, Mr. E. M. Mills, 

 specialist in rodent control, will take up 

 his headquarters at the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College in Amherst, devot- 

 ing his full time to the problem of com- 

 batting rats and mice on New England 

 farms. Mr. Mills has already conducted 

 several demonstrations in the state on 

 the preparation of poisoned baits and on 

 the use of calcium cyanide gas. Any 

 friut grower or poultryman who is hav- 

 ing difficulty in controlling either rats 

 or mice should avail himself of the most 

 up-to-date information on the subject. 

 The coming of Mr. Mills to Massachu- 

 setts ofi'ers such an opportunity. 



The losses in Massachusetts resulting 

 from mice in the orchard, and from rats 

 in the apple cellar, amount to thousands 

 of dollars each year. Most of these 

 losses are preventible. Following are a 

 few of the things the orchardist can do: 

 (1. To prevent injury to trees from 

 mice) . Use tree guards, either 'inch 

 mesh wire or heavy paper. Eliminate 

 grass and weeds around the trunk of the 

 tree. Set up poison bait stations. If 



£. S. Hens Capture Honors 

 at Farmingdale Contest 



There were 21 New England en- 

 tries in the New York State con- 

 test at Farmingdale, L. I., and the 

 top four were raised by users of 

 Eastern States feed and grain. 



The Pinecrest Orchards' pen of 

 Reds, from Groton, Mass., led all 

 the pens of that breed and ran 4th 

 in the race of 100 entries of all 

 breeds in the New York State egg- 

 laying contest just closed at Farm- 

 ingdale, L. I., producing 2,265 eggs 

 in 51 weeks. The Pinecrest Or- 

 chards pen, which led all the New 

 England pens of all breeds in pro- 

 duction, was raised on Eastern 

 States Growing Mash. 



The pen from Red Mount Farm, 

 Franklin, Mass., ran second among 

 the Reds in the contest, 19th in the 

 contest among all breeds and 2nd 

 among the New England entries 

 of all breeds in the contest. 



The pen of Barred Rocks from 

 Lewis Farms, Davisville, R. I., was 

 the 3rd pen of Barred Rocks in 

 the conte.st, the 25th pen in the 

 contest, the 3rd New England pen 

 and the 1st Barred Rock pen for 

 New England. 



The pen of Reds from Sunset 

 Poultry Farm, Amherst, Mass., 

 was the 3rd pen of Reds, the 44th 

 pen in the contest, and the 4th 

 New England pen among all breeds. 



The pen of White Leghorns from 

 Meadowedge Farm, Sterling Jet., 

 Mass., was the 35th pen of Leg- 

 horns, the 47th pen of all breeds 

 in the contest, the 6th pen of all 

 breeds from New England, but the 

 first Leghorn pen for New England. 



It should be understood that in 

 the contest itself, all the pens are 

 fed the same way. It should also 

 be clearly understood that no ar- 

 tificial lighting whatever was used 

 on any of the pens at any time 

 during the contest. 



All of the farms mentioned in 

 this article buy a considerable 

 quantity of their feeding ingre- 

 dients through the Eastern States 

 Farmers' Exchange, and each of 

 these farms ranks high among the 

 breeders of the East. Feeding is 

 an important department of the 

 poultry husbandry practiced at 

 each establishment and it is sig- 

 nificant that outstanding farms of 

 this type buy their grain through 

 the Eastern States. 



For further information on the 

 Eastern States co-operative feed 

 service for dairy cattle, horses, 

 hogs and poultry, a service which 

 should not be confused with the 

 car door service offered by private 

 manufacturers through dealers or 

 groups of farmers, write the office. 



Easteni§tatcs farmGi's J}xc[iaiig« 



A non-.stook, non-profit or^nnlzn- 



tion ovneil nnd controlled by the 



formers It «erve«. 



Springfield, 



Massachusetts 



