HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



LIBRARY of tb. 



JUL 2 5 1921 



Agrioulttiral 



FARMERS' MONTHLY"^ 



Vol. A' I. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., JULY, 19-21 



No. 7 



POTATO SPRAYING 



A Prevention— Not a Cure 



Do you remember that two years ago, 

 potatoes rotted badly and that those who 

 sprayed often and well had less rot than 

 those who only sprayed for "bugs"? 



Last year was not a blight year and 

 ^'bugs" were not plentiful so even if you 

 did not spray you had a good crop. But 

 who did not? Last year we printed an 

 article showing that even in years when 

 blight was not prevalent the materials 

 and labor used in spraying was not 

 wasted as the Vermont Experiment Sta- 

 tion reports over a period of years 

 when blight was not bad. 



Last year the Flee Beetle, those little 

 black fellows that act like fleas, did more 

 damage to the potato crop than "bugs" or 

 blight. This year they are already on 

 the job, making small round holes in the 

 leaves. These holes make a fine starting 

 point for early and late blight. Thorough 

 spraying with Bordeaux Mixture and ar- 

 senate of lead will help to control them. 

 The Bordeaux acts as a repellant and 

 checks their ravages. Last year it was 

 observed in one field near a much travel- 

 ed dirt road that the work of this insect 

 was much less near the road than it was 

 further in the field. In this case the 

 dust acted as a repellant. To be success- 

 ful in controlling this insect, spraying 

 should be started early and the plants 

 kept continually covered with spray. 



Even though Bordeaux and arsenate 

 of lead is the best spray, many farmers 

 prefer to use ready prepared sprays be- 

 cause of the ease in handling. For those 

 growing a small acreage, this is un- 

 doubtedly the thing to do even though the 

 prepared materials are sadly deficient in 

 effective materials. A few growers have 

 consented this year to use Bordeaux 

 against prepared material and some in- 

 teresting figures should result. If you 

 will not use Bordeaux, use the prepared 

 sprays and use them often enough to 

 keep the vines covered continually through 

 the growing season. Spraying is a pre- 

 ventative and not a cure for blight, bugs 

 and flea beetles. Steve Brody, so history 

 has it, took a chance and thereby made 

 himself famous. Farmers who don't 

 spray are taking chances but it is doubt- 

 ful if it is a sure way to fame. 







••.•■j-A-: 



SWEET CLOVER 



HOLSTEIN FIELD DAY 



Local Club to Meet at Mount Mermen 



Saturday, August 1.3, the Hampshire- 

 Franklin Holstein Friesian Club is 

 holding a Field Day at the Mount Her- 

 mon School, Mount Herman, Mass. The 

 Mount Hermon herd under T. E. Elder's 

 management has grown from 10 head of 

 registered females to about 200 head of 

 registered Holsteins at the present time. 

 Nowhere in New England is there a 

 better example of what constructive 

 breeding will do to fix type and diary 

 j qualities. Not only has this herd made a 

 j fine record in the show ring, but many of 

 the cows have creditable advanced regis- 

 try records. The bulls on this farm alone 

 are worth going to see. Here death from 

 ; old age is the only way that some of 

 these animals will be removed from the 

 herd. When you .see the daughters and 

 granddaughters of these bulls you will 

 understand why they are valued so 

 highly. 



It is hoped that every member of the 

 club will attend and bring their neighbors 

 and friends who are interested in regis- 

 tered stock. The Farm Bureau Ford 

 can usually hold one more so if you let 

 us know, we will try to arrange transpor- 

 tation for you. Pack a basket lunch and 

 plan to be with the crowd. The proces- 

 sion will start from the Farm Bureau 

 office about 9:.30 A. M. The following 

 is the program : 



Continued on pagt 2. column 8 



WHITE SWEET CLOVER 



Successfully Orown in this County 



If you are a diaryman and your pas- 

 tures were fit only for exerci.se in June 

 how would you feel if you could have a 

 green feed four feet tall by the seventh 

 of .June? Does it sound good? That is 

 just what "Ed" Searle of Southampton 

 thought when the dry weather set in 

 early this year and he had the crop of 

 sweet clover shown above for green feed. 

 It looked so good to the County Agent 

 that a picture was taken at once, the only 

 difiiculty being to get "Ed" to pose with 

 the assurance that he would furnish evi- 

 dence as to the height of the crop and 

 that it wasn't to show him in overalls. 

 The whole crop was about four feet tall 

 and some stalks measured just five feet 

 on June 7. 



Last spring (1920) 20 pounds of sweet 

 clover seed were sown in oats. The oats 

 were hayed but the sweet clover did not 

 make much growth. This spring, how- 

 ever, the field was a solid mass of the 

 plants and it surely made fine growth. 

 Mr. Searle's pastures were shortening up 

 on account of the dry weather so he 

 started feeding the sweet clover the lat- 

 ter part of May. Hi.' cows took to it at 

 once v.'ii'Ch is perhap.^: unusual es many 

 times it g'jt.- woodv and has a bitter 

 taste. On June 7th, the stalks were as 

 large as ones little finger yet the cows 

 I cleared it up and increased in milk pro- 

 duction. 



Continued on pa^e 4, column :i 



