HAMPSHIRE COUNTY .uliu,922 



AcrlcultiirQl 



FARMERS' MONTm 



Vol. VII. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., MAK(;H, 192-2 



No. 3 



POULTRY DISEASE CONTROL 



Preventure Better Than Cure 



Inability to control infectious disease 

 of poultry has caused most of the aban- 

 doned poulti-y farms in this state. In- 

 fectious diseases are those which affect 

 thin hens and it is these diseases, rather 

 than functional diseases which affect fat 

 hens, that should receive every poultry- 

 man's immediate attention. In control- 

 ling these diseases every one should try 

 to prevent rather than cure them. 



The purpose of this disease control 

 program is to raise to maturity a flock of 

 chickens free from infectious diseases. 

 There are two methods of prodecure (A) 

 For those who have portable brooder 

 houses and plenty of land; (B) For those 

 Avho have permanent brooder houses. 

 Procedure : 



A. 1. Select for the seasons brooding 

 and rearing giound a plot of land 

 not recently used by poultry and up- 

 on which poultry manure has not 

 been spread. 



2. Thwoughhj disinfect brooder 

 houses and equipment before moving 

 them onto this land. Use kerosene, 

 coal tar disinfectants, copper sul- 

 phate, etc. 



3. Remove chickens directly from 

 incubators to brooders and take 

 reasonable precaution not to carry 

 (on feet or otherwise) contagion 

 from adult stock. Don't let chicks 

 run on manure piles and in swamp 

 holes ! 



Continued on page 2, column 1 



POTATO PROGRAM 



Successful Practice in Brief 



The potato is one of the valuable cash 

 crops raised in this county yet Census 

 figures show that the yield per acre is 

 less than 93 bushels. It seems that there 

 is need of further demonsti'ation work 

 with this crop. For this purpose we have 

 planned demonstrations which may easily 

 be conducted by anyone interested in po- 

 tato production. We oft'er no panacea 

 but simply a program which we believe 

 from past experience and observation to 

 be decidedly worth while. The following 

 is the program : 



I. Obtain good seed. We recommend 

 certified seed as it has had field inspec- 

 tion which shows it to be practically free 

 from diseases. Thirty demonstrations in 

 nine towns in 1921 showed certified seed 

 gave an increase of 81.8 bushels per acre 

 over home and selected stock. This year 

 there will be 100% increase in the amount 

 of certified seed brought into this county 

 over the previous year yet only 15 per 

 cent of the acreage in potatoes will be 

 planted with certified seed. For that 

 reason, keep figures on yield as we want 

 to get at least 50Vr of the acreage planted 

 to certified seed in the near future. 



Continued on page 7, column 1 



FRUIT ASSOCIATION TO CONTINUE 



Directors Plan Busy Year for Williams= 

 burg Fruit Growers 



The annual meeting of the Williams- 

 burg Fruit Growers' Association, while 

 not largely attended, expressed the belief 

 of leading farmers of the section in the 

 principle of cooperative marketing. The 

 past two years have been particularly 

 trying for this association. In 1920 all 

 labor and materials were high in price. 

 Fruit was comparatively low. This past 

 year departing from the fundamental 

 principles of marketing, results were far 

 from satisfactory, both to producers and 

 purchasers. Yet in spite of two unsatis- 

 factory years there are leading fruit 

 Continued on page 2. column 3 



TOBACCO GROWERS WANT 



STANDARD GRADES 



Wildfire Control Discussed 



A meeting of the Tobacco growers of 

 Hamp-shire County was held in Hadley, 

 February 6 to discuss Standarization of 

 Tobacco Grades and Wildfire Control. 

 F. H. Wilkinson of the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture explained Standarization 

 of Tobacco and that it was a necessary 

 step in the marketing program. The 

 Federal Government has a Bonded Ware- 

 house act which provides for the bonding 

 of Warehou.ses as fit places for storage 

 of various crops and also that the owners 

 are responsible parties. The grower de- 

 livers his crop to this warehouse and is 

 given a receipt which can be used as col- 

 lateral on which to borrow money. The 

 amount which can be borrowed is regu- 

 lated by the value of the crop and that 

 is where standard grades play an im- 

 portant part. At present there are no 

 Continued on page 6, column 1 



QUALITY FRUIT NOT GROWN WILD 



1922 Program Outlined 



Consider the Blueberry! It receives 

 neither .spraying, fertilization nor 

 pruning, yet it produces a profitable crop 

 on many of our Hampshire County 

 farms. Such are the bounties of nature! 

 Too many of the apples of Hampshire 

 County are grown on the same system 

 and this past year have shown a profit. 

 Such being the case why not let well 

 enough alone? Simply because the men 

 who spray, prune and fertilize make 

 larger profits than those who depend up- 

 on the bounties of nature or simply spray 

 once with arsenate of lead. 



According to all indications and bar- 

 ring future accidents, there should be a 

 large crop of apples this year. If there 

 is, quality will play a large part in the 

 marketing of this fruit. In fact, it may 

 be that it will be the determining factor 

 whether fruit will sell or not. If this is 

 true, why not plan on raising quality 

 fruit. Quality fruit does not just hap- 

 pen. It is the result of plan and action 

 combined. Three things are necessary: 



1. Proper Pruning. 



2. Adequate spraying. 



3. Ample fertilization. 



Proper pruning consists of removing 

 small branches (one inch in diameter) 

 from the tree in such a way as to give 

 each branch an equal chance at light. 

 Pruning should be done annually and 

 only a small amount of wood taken from 

 the tree. Too heavy pruning tends to in- 

 crease wood growth excessively and de- 

 feats the aim of the grower. Demonstra- 

 tion meetings will be held all over the 

 country in March to show just how to 

 ])rune both young and old trees. Plan to 

 attend. 



Adetiuate spraying means spraying 

 thoroughly with high pressure, with 

 proper materials, and at the right time. 

 At least three sprays are necessary and 

 five are better. These are: 



I. Delay Dormant spray to be applied 

 when buds are bi-eaking use lime sul- 

 phate to .50 gallons of water. 



II. Scab Spray — just as blossoms 

 show pink. Use 1 gallon lime sulphur, 

 h pint nocotine sulphate and 1^ to 21 

 lbs. dry arsenate of lead. This spray is 

 important on Greenings, Mcintosh and 

 other varieties subject to scab. 



Continued on page T, column i 



