THE FARMERS' MONTHLY, APRIL, 1928 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to 

 Agriculture 



STAFF 



Allen S. Leland, County Agent 



Mary Pozzi, Home Demonstration Agent 



Harold W. Eastman, County Club Agent 



Nora Foley, Clerk 



Helen Clark, Asst. Clerk 



Office at 184 Main St., 

 Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as second class matter Nov. 9, 

 1915. at the Post OfRce at Northampton, 

 Massachusetts, under the Act of March 

 8, 1879. 



"Notice of Entry" 



"Acceptance for mailing at special rates 

 of postage provided for in section 1103, 

 Act of October 3, 1917. Authorized Oc- 

 tober 31, 1917. 



Price, 50 cents a year 



Officers of the Trustees 



Charles W. Wade, President 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Vice-President 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Allen S. Leland, Secretary 



Trustees for County Aid 

 to Agriculture 



Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 Milton S. Howes, Cummington 

 W. H. Atkins, Amherst 

 L. L. Campbell, Northampton 



Legume Innoculant Higher in Price 



In order to make financial rates equal 

 the cost of production and to improve the 

 quality of the legume innoculant service, 

 it has been necessary to increase the price 

 of cultures from 25 cents to 50 cents. 



One culture is sufficient for the seed for 

 an acre. The cultures may be obtained 

 from the county agent or by sending di- 

 rect to the Department of Microbiology, 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, Am- 

 herst, Mass. In either case, cash is neces- 

 sary with the order. 



THE MILK SITUATION 



A study of the milk situation in the 

 Connecticut Valley convinces one that it 

 presents a real problem. Dealers com- 

 plain of an uneven supply while farmers 

 complain of surplus and other charges 

 which make the net returns too low. 



Mr. Schillings of Minnesota at the re- 

 cent state Holstein meeting chided the 

 New England farmers for their individu- 

 alism and apparent unwillingness to co- 

 operate. A cooperative organization, the 

 N. E. M. P. A., serves a good portion of 



the farmers in this territory. However, 

 like any cooperative, it can give no more 

 than it gets and an active support seems 

 lacking at present. 



Nothing will remedy the situation ex- 

 cept concerted action on the part of those 

 concerned and it would seem that the time 

 is right for the farmers to take a new and 

 active interest in their marketing organi- 

 zation, the N. E. M. P. A. 



M. A. C. Ayrshires 



Win Test Honors 



By averaging 734 pounds of 4.1.37r 

 milk, 30.31 pounds of butter-fat the 16 

 cows owned by Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural College, Amherst, Mass., ranked 

 sixth among the leading producing herds 

 of the United States, tested under the 

 rules of the Ayrshire Herd Test, accord- 

 ing to M. M. Dikeman of the Ayrshire 

 Breeders' Association of Brandon, Ver- 

 mont. High production honors were ac- 

 corded the cow Trailmaker's Car Bell that 

 gave 1807 pounds of milk, 71.74 pounds 

 of butter-fat in the month. A commend- 

 able yield was also reported for Victor's 

 Beauty Rose with 1578 pounds of milk, 

 63.12 pounds of butter-fat as a three year 

 old. The production records are super- 

 vised under the direction of Professor P. 

 H. Smith of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College, Amherst. 



Ayrshire Breeders' Association. 



April 4, 1928. 



EAT AN EGG A DAY 



Eggs and milk are the "good health 

 twins," according to Chicago's health 

 commissioner. Dr. Herman N. Bundesen. 

 In a talk before the employes of the West 

 ern Electric Company of Chicago recent- 

 ly. Dr. Bundesen said that "an egg a day 

 makes baby grow, keeps brother strong, 

 bi'ings Nature's own bloom to sister's 

 cheeks and lips, keeps mother youthful, 

 and helps father bring home the bacon. 

 And this is no 'eggs-aggeration'!" 



Analyzing the four known vitamines, 

 Dr. Bundesen showed that the yolk of an 

 egg is rich in both vitamines A and D. 

 Vitamine A is found also in milk, butter, 

 vegetable tops, yellow corn, etc.. A lack 

 of this vitamine may weaken a person's 

 resistence, making them susceptible to 

 pneumonia. Japanese experiments have 

 indicated that this vitamine may help 

 prevent cancer. 



Vitamine D is found chiefly in egg yolks 

 and cod liver oil. This vitamine aids in 

 building bones, stabilizing nei-ves, and 

 keeping children from getting rickets or 

 leg-weakness. Many of the winter deaths, 

 due to lack of sunshine in the cities could 

 be avoided by eating these "sunshine sub- 

 stitutes." A growing child needs 1,200 

 units of lime a day, which is easily sup- 



plied in two quarts of milk. However, 

 this lime is useless to the child without 

 vitamine D, because it is this vitamine 

 that helps the body to make use of the 

 lime. 



These are the reasons eggs are such 

 important items in our diet, and why an 

 increase in the consumption of eggs in the 

 United States would be beneficial to the 

 health of the nation. 



WHAT ABOUT POTATOES? 



First Call for 300 Bushel Club 



Some folks, who are privileged to wear 

 what we might call "see-far" spectacles, 

 have been looking into the future. In 

 fact they have looked as far as October 

 1928 and on the basis of what they saw 

 have issued warnings about increasing 

 potato acreage this year. 



Three years of pretty good prices for 

 potatoes have made conditions rather se- 

 ductive. Intentions to plant a bigger aci'e- 

 age show that the lure of the bait is too 

 much to resist. There is undoubtedly 

 some danger ahead, with a normal season 

 and a more or less stable appetite for 

 potatoes. Particularly, it may be hazard- 

 ous for the man who doesn't count the cost 

 and relies on a good price to take care of 

 his short comings. But nothing assures 

 a good price for all. 



The individual producer with a bushel 

 or a carload doesn't make the price. But 

 he does control the cost of production, and 

 that is the big thing in growing potatoes 

 for profit. It is not intended to say any 

 thing lengthy about the influence of good 

 seed — plenty of fertilizer and effective 

 pest control. The management of these 

 factors determines the crop. The size of 

 the crop per acre has a lot to do with the 

 cost per bushel. Keeping that cost lower 

 than the market price is the game. 



The Massachusetts 300 bushel potato 

 club was started last year. Nine growers 

 made the goal. Four of them were Hamp- 

 shire County growers. Two of them went 

 over a hundred bushels beyond the goal. 

 These nine men want to increase the 

 membership this year, and the story of 

 their methods will be available to those 

 who are intei'ested. 



If you grow two acres or more of 

 potatoes and want to enter the race this 

 year now is the time to be planning for it. 

 Just fill out the blank below and send it to 

 your County Agent. 



I am planning to make 

 The 300 Bushel Potato Club. 



Name 



P. O. Address 



I plan to grow acres 



Variety 



