8 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



Fruit Growers Meeting At M. A. C 



Continued from page 1, column 1 

 period to avoid scab. For varieties sus- 

 ceptible to spray injury a dry mixture of 

 sulphur-lime may be used for the calyx 

 and later sprays. 



This year the Hampshire County Fruit 

 Growers' Association will furnish mem- 

 bers information regarding time and ma- 

 terials to be used in spraying. President 

 E. R. Critchett urged members to ask 

 Secretary Ralph Whitcomb of Amherst 

 to be put on the list for this service. It 

 is planned to start with Red Mite control 

 and carry thru to Railroad Worm control. 



Prof. R. A. Van Meter di.scussed the 

 elimination of the "little green Baldwin." 

 He stated that the fruit problem here was 

 to grow good apples and to grow them 

 cheaply. Production costs in one orchard 

 for two years showed that the growing 

 costs up to picking time average 27 cents 

 per bushel; picking and marketing 73 

 cents ; and overhead charges amounted to 

 25 cents per bushel, or a total of $1.25 

 per bushel. The crop ran 65 per cent A 

 grade, 25 per cent B grade and 10 per 

 cent culls. The following were the de- 

 tail production costs in cents per bushel: 



Pruning 4.3 cents, fertilizer .9 cents, 

 spraying 11.0 cents, mowing 1.5 cents, 

 mulch 7.5 cents, thinning 1.1 cents, prop- 

 ping .7 cents. The marketing costs in 

 cents per bushel were: Picking 15 cents, 

 packing 11.5 cents, transportation and 

 selling 20.8 cents, miscellaneous 1.6 cents, 

 boxes 24.2 cents. Overhead charges were: 

 Equipment 4.5 cents, building charges 6.4 

 cents, interest on investment 12.8 cents, 

 interest on working capital 1.3 cents, 

 miscellaneous .4 cents. 



calls for twelve eggs per bird for Febru- 

 ary. The following is the record of the 

 leading flocks: 



Eggs 



per bird 



21.0 



18.2 



Owner No. birds 



.John Bloom, Ware, 375 



-J. M. Lowe, Amherst, 169 



P. L. Wheelock, Am- 

 herst, 250 



F. D. Steele, Cuni- 



mington, 277 



F. B. Lyman, Amherst, 108 



H. I. Bean & Sons, 



Florence, 230 



S. A. Clark, Wil- 

 liamsburg, 30 



18.1 



17.3 

 17.3 



16.7 



16.6 



CUTHBURT RED 

 RASPBERRY PLANTS 



Disease free, none better 

 Ralph Whitcomb, Amherst 



THO BEST, HOME RATIONS 



SHOW LARGE DECREASE 



The use of ready mixed dairy feeds, as 

 evidenced by the work of Feed Control, 

 has greatly increased during the last de- 

 cade. Ten years ago the annual bulletin 

 reported 95 samples of dairy feeds rep- 

 resenting 22 different brands. During 

 the past year (1926) 226, representing 

 994 brands, were collected and the re.sults 

 are published in control bulletin No. 36. 

 The increase in the number and diversity 

 of brands seems to show that the pres- 

 ent trend is away from home mixing. 



The extent to which this change can be 

 attributed to the belief that ready mixed 

 rations are more economical is debatable. 

 It is quite possible that the most import- 

 ant influence is that of the large co-oper- 

 ative associations who are, for the most 

 part, off'ering to their members ready ra- 

 tions instead of the products of which the 



(Sazettp 5!3r titling (£a. 



^ritttera 



Nortljamptmt. fflaaa. 



(Trirtihonp IDBS-ffi 



It was pointed out that only by prun- I rations are composed. The large volume 



ing, spraying, thinning and fertilizing 

 could the quality of the crop be raised. 

 These charges are the ones that mo.st 

 growers feel cost a lot of money, yet in 

 this orchard they only co.st 16.2 cents on 

 a total of $1.25 per bushel. 



It is a question how to prune. If the 

 trees are not pruned the crop cannot be 

 properly sprayed. Too much of the 

 fruit on unpruned trees is poorly colored. 

 Making a few big cuts does but little to 

 color fruit. If too much is cut off the 

 yield and thereby the income from or- 

 chard is decreased. The trees should be 

 fertilized enough so that they will make a 

 vigorous growth. The fertilizer should 

 be put on two weeks before blossoming 

 time on trees that are not growing vig- 

 orously. Nitrate of Soda and Sulphate 

 of ammonia are the commonest materials 

 used. Experiments do not show that any 

 fertilizer except nitrogen carriers pay in 

 the orchard. 



POULTRY REPORT SUMMARY 



The February poultry account records 

 show that the "160 egg" standard is too 

 low for some of the flocks. This standard 



of feed offered by the associations is 

 augmented by other interests in the grain 

 trade who feel obliged to oifer similar 

 products in competition with the co-op- 

 eratives. 



A larger variety of materials are used 

 by the manufacturer in ready rations 

 than can be obtained by the farmer from 

 his local grain store. In the various 

 dairy feeds collected by the Feed Control 

 Inspectors during the past yeai-, 26 high 

 grade, five low grade, and five mineral 

 ingredients were used; the individual 

 ready mixed rations usually consisting 

 of six to ten ingredients. While a va- 

 riety in a grain ration is desirable, a 

 farmer purchasing products from his lo- 

 cal store can probably secure sufficient 

 variety to make an excellent ration, even 

 though his choice is more limited. 



The spread between the cost of home 

 mixed and ready rations is not fixed. 

 While new sacks, mill overhead, advertis- 

 ing, and other expenses may not change 

 appreciably, market conditions do have 

 a decided influence upon the difference 

 in price asked for ready rations as com- 

 pared with that of the ingredients used 

 in home mixing. — P- H. S. 



Is Your 

 Manure Pile 

 Leaking 

 Dollars? 



Manure stored in an open 

 barnyard loses more than half 

 its fertilizing value by seep- 

 age, according to tests mode 

 by the New Jersey Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station. 

 "At present prices of crops, 

 manure has produced crop 

 increases equal toabout$4.00 

 per ton of manure applied," 

 reports the Purdue Univer- 

 sity Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. 



Use a// of Your Manuc*e 

 —Build a Concrete 

 Manure Pit 



A concrete manure pit saves 

 enough fertilizer in one "yeay 

 to pay for itself. 



Plans and complete information 



on how to do the work is given 



in our manure pit booklet. Write 



today for your free copy. 



PORTLAND CEMENT 

 ASSOCIATION 



A national orsanization to improve and 

 extend the uses of concrete 



10 High Street 

 BOSTON 



Concrete for Permanence 



