HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to 

 Agriculture 



STAFF 



RnUlncI A. Payiip, County Agent 

 Mrs. K<litli l>. French. 



Home Demonstration Asent 

 Bena G. Erliard, Counts' <'lnli Agent 

 Mary C. O'l.eary. Clerk 



Office First National Bank Building 

 Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as seoonfl class matter Nov. 9, 1915, at the 

 Post Office at Nortliampton. Massachusetts, under 

 the Act of March 8, 1879. 



'*Noti<re of Kntry " 

 "Acceptance for niailing at special rate of post- 

 age provided for in section 1103, Act of October '^ 

 1917. Authorized Octolier 31, 1917." 

 I*rice, ,50 cents a year 



Officers of the Trustees 



Edwin B. Clapp, President 

 Charles E. Clark, Vice-President 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Roland A. Payne, Secretary 



Trustees for County Aid to Agriculture 



Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 

 Charles E. Clark, Leeds 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Milton S. Howes, Cummington 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 John A. Sullivan, Northampton 

 Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 



POULTRY DISEASE CONTROL 

 Continued from page 1, column 1 



B. 1. For those having Permanent 



Brooder Houses: 



1. Remove all vi.sable dirt such as 

 feathers, manure, etc. 



2. Remove a few inches of top soil. 



3. Soak down yards with a solu- 

 tion of 1 oz. corrosive sublimate to 8 

 gallons of water (dissolve corrosive 

 sublimate in small amount of hot 

 water and then add to cold water. 

 Use wooden vessels as far as pos- 

 sible as this corrodes metals). 



4. Follow no. 2 and 3 of Plan A. 



C. 1. The laying houses should be 



thoroughly cleansed and disinfected 

 before pullets are put into them in 

 the fall. Disinfection should be 

 done twice, one application being a 

 specific for the paticular infection 

 involved. It is recommended that 

 whitewash and carbolic acid or car- 

 bola be the last application. In the 

 case of dirt floors, use corrosive sub- 

 limate treatment as in Plan B no. 

 3 before putting in clean sand. 



2. Pullets had best be confined to 

 the house until adjoining yards are 

 properly sterilized or cropped for at 

 least one full season. 



MARKET GARDEN NOTES 



H. F. Thoinpson 



Vegetable gardening work must be 

 carried on through the county agent if it 

 is to reach the men throughout the state 

 who might benefit from it. At a recent 

 conference of county agents at Amherst 

 the following projects for vegetable 

 gardening were accepted for 1922. 



1. Insect pest control, concentrating on 



(a) The control of the cabbage root 

 maggot for the early crop, 

 through the use of tar felt disc. 



(b) Cabbage worm control, through 

 the use of either powdered arse- 

 nate of lead, or a liquid spray 

 with arsenate of lead and resin 

 soap. 



(c) Control of the asparagus beetles, 

 as indicated in Extension Leaf- 

 let 5, entitled, "The Control of 

 Vegetable Diseases by Seed 

 Treatment". 



(d) Celery blight control through 

 seed treatment and spraying 

 with Bordeaux, as explained in 

 Extension Leaflets 5 and 12. 



3. Cleaning up of seed beds with for- 



maldehyde. 



4. The continuation of variety tests, 

 (a) By demonstrations of superior 



strains grown at the Market 

 Garden Field Station. 



5. A demonstration of the u.se of 

 Hubam as an early cover crop. 



Your county agents have the informa- 

 tion about the.se projects. They will be 

 glad to get in personal contact with you 

 and make arrangements for carrying out 

 any of these demonstrations. 



What are strains? They are frequent- 

 ly spoken of in connection with vegeta- 

 ble varieties. The term strains is used to 

 refer to difl'erent lots of seed of the same 

 variety, which come from difl'erent 

 sources. John Jones has been growing 

 Danvers Half Long carrot, and his is the 

 "Jones' Strain". Samuel Smith has been 

 growing the same variety, and his is the 

 "Smith's Strain". Without question, if 

 these men have been growing seed for a 

 period of years, the two strains are quite 

 different. One may be worth much more 

 than the other, and yet they are both 

 Danvers Half Long. In variety and 

 strain tests which have been carried on 

 by several experiment stations of this 

 country over a long period of years, it 

 has been found that certain strains are 

 very much better than others. One 

 strain of Danish Ball-Head cabbage 

 has quite consistently out-yielded other 

 strains in tests in several different places 

 during several different years. This par- 

 ticular strain has yielded as high as 20 

 to 22 tons of very high grade Danish 

 Ball-Headed cabbage per acre, while 

 other strains of the same variety have 

 yielded as low as 10 and 12 tons. If the 

 cost of production is $175 per acre, in 



one instance the cabbage costs $17.50 per 

 ton, and in the other $8.75. For the 

 cheap lot of seed the price is about SO' 

 cents an ounce; for the other kind from 

 SOi to QOc an ounce. It requires about 

 four ounces of seed to grow enough 

 plants for an acre. A difference of $2 in 

 seed, with the same labor, has meant a 

 difference of ten tons of cabbage. Where 

 is the economy? 



Are the garden tools in shape? Are 

 the bearings of the seed drill so worn that 

 the seed feed will not be right? Are 

 there any extra parts on hand of the 

 kinds that are likely to be needed? Are 

 the sash and mats in the best of shape for 

 the hard wear that is ahead of them 

 during March and April? Has every- 

 thing possible been done to put the irri- 

 gation equipment in the best possible con- 

 dition for the spring rush of field work? 

 An hour now is worth much less than 

 an hour in April or May. It can save a 

 good deal later. It is the part of good 

 management to have all these things in 

 shape before spring work begins. 



How much new equipment shall we 

 purchase this spring? It is doubtful if 

 it will be wise to purchase any more than 

 is absolutely necessary. Farm machi- 

 nery prices are not yet down to the level 

 of farm prices. There is a gap of 30 to 

 40 per cent or more, comparing each on 

 the pre-war basis. Too many times have 

 farm profits gone because the farm dol- 

 lar amounted to only about oSc when it 

 comes to purchase other goods. A fair 

 price level has not yet arrived, conse- 

 quently, it is a part of good business to 

 purchase only so far as is necessary for 

 economy in production. 



Greenhouse crops have grown well 

 during January and February to date. 

 The amount of sunshine has been greater 

 than normal. At the Market Garden 

 Field Station two houses of cucumbei-s 

 are beginning to throw out tendrils, and 

 show buds. The two houses of lettuce 

 have been growing apace, and will be 

 ready for market early in March. All 

 greenhouse men interested in these crops 

 are invited to come to the Field Station 

 and look them over. Some special report 

 has been made of them in the last Monthly 

 Report of Extension Work for Market 

 Gardeners. 



Congress has recognized the necessity 

 of cooperative purchase and sale of the 

 farmers' products. I wonder when our 

 New England Farmers will see the like? 



FRUIT ASSOCIATION TO CONTINUE 

 Continued from page 1, column 1 



growers who firmly believe in coopera- 

 tive marketing and it is upon this group 

 of leaders that the task of making the 

 Williamsburg Fruit Grower's Association 

 a success rests. 



Victor Pearl of Cliesterfield was elected 



Continued on jiage 7, colunm 2 



