THE FARMERS' MONTHLY, DECEMBER, 1927 



MORE LIME USED 



BY ONION GROWERS 



After a tour of onion fields in the valley 

 this fall the County Agent has noted an 

 increase in the number of fields which 

 were limed. And this was done in spite 

 of the fact the seed onion crop was poor, 

 due to unfavorable weather conditions 

 which lead indirectly to a premature dy- 

 ing down of the tops. The unlimed fields 

 generally went down first due probably to 

 less vigorous stands. 



As usual the fields which are limed the 

 most had the higher yields. The soils 

 which showed light green or above toward 

 the blue with the Soil-Tex test seemed 

 best suited to high onion yields. 



Growers Results 



Frank Pelissier of Hadley increased his 

 yields 1.50 bags per acre by the use of suf- 

 ficient lime. With land that is now only 

 slightly acid he got a yield of .3.50 bags 

 per acre with sets. 



Tom Hickey with land of about the 

 same acidity had an average yield of 315 

 bags per acre with sets, using lime. 



Ernest Godin of Hatfield S. Meadows 

 uses about 1400 pounds of hydrated lime 

 every two or three years on onion land 

 and notes that is increases the yield. 

 About two thirds of this meadow yas 

 limed this fall. 



Ernest Hibbart of N. Hadley uses the 

 Soil-Tex test on all his onion land and 

 uses enough lime to bring it a pH of at 

 least 6.0 which is only slightly acid. 



The following table shows the yields 

 obtained from yields of various acidity. 



Old Oniou laud 



No. of 

 fields 



45 



37 



6 



Bags 



per 



acre 



I 208 

 230 

 291 



pH 

 4.3-5.1 Very acid 

 5.1-6.1 Moderately acid 

 6.1-6.5 Slightly acid 



When to Lime 



Is is best to apply lime in the fall as it 

 gives it a longer time to become incopo- 

 rated with the soil and more time for it to 

 correct the acidity. It is usually more 

 convenient to apply lime in the autumn. 



From the results of experiments run in 

 Pennsylvania for eight years they have 

 noted no appreciable diff'erence between 

 ground limestone, hydrated lime, and 

 ground burnt lime when applied to the 

 soil on the basis of equivalent amounts of 

 lime oxides. The data also suggests that 

 small applications of lime at frequent 

 intei-vals. are more economical than much 

 larger applications at longer intervals. 



Lime Depresses Tobacco 



The county agent is boosting the idea 

 of lime for onions on acid soil without any 

 qualms but cautions that tobacco should 

 not follow on onion land which has been 

 heavily limed. This is on account of the 

 black root-rot which thrives on heavily 

 limed soils. 



Pres. Thatcher Speaks 



Continued from page 1, edlumii .3 

 57Vr since 1919 which with a declining in- 

 come places farmers in a difficult situa- 

 tion. 



Pres. Thatcher did not wish to leave a 

 pessimistic impression for he believed 

 that the turning point has been reached i 

 and that agricultural is due for more ' 

 prosperity. i 



New England, especially will benefit 

 by the change for it is near the great 

 markets. We have lower transportation 

 charges and can meet the demand for 

 fancy stock. 



There were 12^ million less farmers on { 

 farms in 1927 than in 1919 but this may 

 be a good thing, for the resulting increase 

 in the city population will aff^ord a larger 

 market for the products of those still on 

 farms. 



Director Munson Speaks on Leaders 



According to Director Munson, people 

 are leaders when they have Faith, Vision, 

 Courage, Initiative, Integrity and Per- 

 severance. He mentioned that Extension 

 Work is a great achievement which is 

 standing the test of time because of the 

 qualifications of its leaders particularly 

 in faith and vision. The farm family is 

 a great unit and its standards of living 

 are being raised by the improved prac- 

 tices which they are carrying out as a re- 

 sult of Extension work. 



I 



©azeltp 33rtttitiig da. 



^rintpra 



Narttjamplmt, Mass. 



Srlrphnnr Iflflr 



Use an 

 Effective Disinfectant 



after removing reactors 

 We carry Parke, Davis & Co.'s 



COMPOUND SOLUTION OF 

 CRESOL, U. S. P. 



Recommended by the U. S. Dep't 

 of Agriculture 



Price right for quality. Free 

 delivery in gallon lots. 



I 



WISWELL THE DRUGGIST ! 



i 



More Eastern States 

 Poultry Feeds Used 



Poultrymen in New England are 

 turning more and more to the East- 

 ern States Farmers' Exchange as 

 a source of feed supmply. For the 

 first 10 months of 1927 the demand 

 for the various poultry rations in- 

 creased over the same period of 

 1926 as follows: Chick Grains 51',;, 

 Intermediate Scratch 71 'r. Scratch 

 Grains 249r, Growing Mash 52'/r, 

 Egg Mash 189r, Milk Egg Mash 

 104%. 



New England poultrymen know 

 that the proper selection of feed in- 

 gredients is a big factor in securing 

 profitable growth and profitable egg 

 production. Through the Eastern 

 States Farmers' Exchange, they are 

 sure to .secure the type of ingred- 

 ients they require. It is their own 

 organization. It seeks profits in the 

 purchase of their supplies for the 

 feeders only. This feature is es- 

 pecially important to poultrymen 

 because many of the ingredients 

 which they want most in their 

 mashes are extremely costly. 



Poultrymen know, for example, 

 that they can well afi'ord to feed 

 growing chicks and laying hens 

 dried milk at $190 a ton and alfalfa 

 leaf meal at $60 a ton. They also 

 know, however, that they cannot 

 pay for mashes priced to include 

 appreciable quantities of such com- 

 modities unless these mashes con- 

 tain their full quota of such com- 

 modities and do not partially nulli- 

 fy the value of these expensive in- 

 gredients by containing low grade 

 ingredients as well. 



Through their own organization, 

 the Eastern States Farmers' Ex- 

 change, poultrymen control the 

 quality of the ingredients and the 

 quantity of each entering into their 

 niixtui'es. The practical applica- 

 tion of this important principle is 

 demonstrating to New England 

 poultrymen the value of the service 

 and it is this demonstration of a 

 successful cooperative enterprise 

 which accounts for the steady in- 

 crease in the demand for Eastern 

 States poultry feed .service. 



"Wliere records are kept Enstern 

 Sdites Open ForniiiI:i Fced.«* prove 

 (heir «-ortli. 



For information on the Eastern 

 States feed service for horses and 

 poultry as well as dairy cattle, the 

 service which would not be confused 

 with car dood service offered by 

 manufacturers through dealers or 

 groups of farmers, write the office. 



A non-.stoek, non-profit organiza- 

 tion owned and controlled liy the 

 farmers it serves. 



82 Main Street 

 Northampton, 



Mass. 



Springfield, 



Massachusetts 



