THE FARMERS' MONTHLY, JUNE, 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 



Office at 184 Main St., 

 Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as second class matter Nov. 9, 

 1915, at the Post Office 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 

 Mi's. 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 



PASTURE IMPROVEMENT 



On June 2, the county agent visited the 

 pasture demonstration plots at Storrs, 

 Conn. Just to show the interest which 

 Connecticut farmers took in the plots, I 

 will state that at lea.^t 12.5 people were 

 present. All of these pasture plots were 

 growing brush or small timber in 1920, 

 and today some of the plots are carrying 

 six steer.s on a four acre plot and still are 

 not being fed quite to capacity. No seed- 

 ing was done and yet some of the plots 

 today have an ideal blue grass and clover 

 .sod. 



Lime and acid phosphate seem to be the 

 first essentials to pa.sture improvement 

 and then the addition of pota.sh or nitro- 

 gen brings additional results. Ground 

 limestone was used at 2,000 pounds per 

 acre, acid phosphate at 500 pounds, 

 muriate of potash at 100 pounds, and 

 nitrate of soda at 150 pounds in various 

 combinations of the several materials. 



For three years after clearing and be- 

 fore fertilizers were applied, the pasture 

 had a carrying capacity of 5 cows on 30 

 acres while today, averaging good and 

 poor plots, it carries 40 cows on the same 

 30 acres. 



There are many pastures on a similar 

 type of soil in Hampshire County and the 

 county agent would appreciate the oppor- 

 tunity to work out a fertilizer program on 

 any of the county pastures. 



NEW ASSISTANT STATE 



CLUB LEADER 



Mr. Harley A. Leland who is at present 

 County Club Agent in Worcester County, 

 has been appointed as assistant State 

 Club Leader to fill the vacancy left by the 

 death of W. F. Howe. 



Mr. Leland is a graduate of the Uni- 

 versity of Vermont and for six years 

 previous to coming to Worcester County, 

 Massachusetts, was County Club Agent in 

 Chittenden County, Vermont. La.st May 

 he accepted the position which he now 

 holds in Worcester and in spite of a com- 

 paratively short stay in that county, has 

 done a very fine piece of work. 



Hampshire County was the first to wel- 

 come him in his new position as state 

 leader and although he will not officially 

 begin his duties until July first, we are 

 fortunate enough to secure his help in 

 running our first County Camp, June 26- 

 30. 



Mr. Leland possesses to a marked de- 

 gree, many of the characteristics of the 

 late Mr. Howe. He is pleasant, very easy 

 to meet and has a cordial manner that 

 appeals to every one. 



WHO PLANTED FIRST 



McINTOSH IN N. E.? 



Where is the oldest Mcintosh tree in 

 New England? Where is the oldest com- 

 mercial Mcintosh orchard of 50 or more 

 trees in New England? 



These and many interesting facts re- 

 garding the history of the Mcintosh apple 

 in the New England states are being col- 

 lected, if possible, in a campaign now 

 under way by the Massachusetts Fruit 

 Growers' As.sociation. 



The Mcintosh apple is considered, at 

 least in New England, as the king of 

 apples; and in recognization of this su- 

 premacy, the Massachusetts association 

 is heading up a movement of New Eng- 

 land fruit associations to find the site of 

 the first tree, the first orchard, and other 

 interesting facts. It is planned to suit- 

 ably mark these fir.st plantings and to 

 prepare and print a history of the Mc- 

 intosh in New England. 

 Walter E. Piper, state department of 

 markets ; Charles H. Gould, president of 

 the association ; and W. R. Cole, secre- 

 tary, are sending out the "Help Wanted" 

 signal. Who set the first Mcintosh scion 

 and who set the first Mcintosh nursery 

 tree in New England, and any other facts 



pertaining to the Mcintosh history are 

 wanted by the committee. 



Hampshire county first growers can 

 help by sending any information they may 

 have to W. R. Cole, Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College, Amherst, Mass. 



ARE YOU THROWING 



AWAY YOUR MONEY? 



When this issue reaches your farm you 

 may be cutting hay. If not, remember 

 that mixed hay cut as it starts to bloom 

 contains 107r protein ; if cut in the blos- 

 som stage, GVr and if you wait until it is 

 dead ripe and unpalatable, 4-59r. High 

 protein dairy rations are costing a good 

 deal of money so save as much as possible 

 by cutting your hay early and save on 

 your grain bill next winter. 



M. A. C. Correspondence Course 

 in Soils and Soil Fertility 



How can I tell when my land is ready 

 to plow in the spring? 



How can I tell if my land is too sour to 

 grow clover? 



What can I do to make my sweet corn 

 ripen earlier? 



These are some of the practical ques- 

 tions asked and answered in the new cor- 

 respondence course in Soils and Soil Fer- 

 tility prepared by the Agronomy Depart- 

 ment of the Massachusett.s Agricultural 

 College. The course has been written on 

 the question and answer plan and is based' 

 on actual questions written which come^ 

 up for answer from practical farmers and' 

 from .students. 



The course treats of the best methods 

 of handling diff^erent types of .soil to 

 maintain a proper moisture supply for 

 growing crops, of the selection and use of 

 tillage implements, and of the special ef- 

 fects of diff'erent foods and the way in 

 which plants obtain them from the soil. 

 The importance of rotation in keeping up 

 the supply of organic matter and the 

 necessity of careful handling and use of 

 manure in order to return its full plant 

 food value to the soil are explained. The 

 rea.sons why soils need lime and the best 

 methods of testing soil acidity and of 

 selecting and applying lime materials are 

 set forth, and in conclusion the student is 

 acquainted with the principles governing 

 the selection and use of commercial fer- 

 tilizer materials, and the be.st methods of 

 mixing and applying. 



For additional information, write to the 

 Supervisor of Correspondence Courses, 

 Extension Service, M. A. C, Amherst,^ 

 Mass. 



