

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY ^^cLa:,: " 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Vol. VII. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1022 



No. II 



DISEASE CONTROL 



Many Poultrymen Kind Program 

 Profitable 



This year .several poultry .school.^ and 

 meetings were held to .stress the need of 

 disease prevention and eradication. 

 From these, several poultry disease con- 

 trol demonstrations were signed up. 

 The.se demonstrations began with brood- 

 ing and continued till the pullets were 

 housed. The purpose was to raise to 

 maturity, a flock of chickens free from in- 

 fectious disease and to demonstrate a 

 method whereby old plants could be re- 

 claimed for profitable service and the suc- 

 cess of many uninfected plants be made 

 to endure. Only the poultryman who has 

 put unthrifty pullets into the laying house 

 can really appreciate what this means. 



The procedure was simple: (1) Using 

 for brooding, clean ground on which 

 poultry had not run and on which poultry, 

 manure had not been spread. (2) 

 Thoroughly disinfecting brooder houses. 

 (.3) Using care not to carry infection 

 from adult birds on feet or otherwise. 

 (4) Thorough cleansing and disinfection 

 of laying houses before putting pullets 

 in. (5) Confining pullets to houses until 

 yards have been cropped at least one full 

 season. 



One of the oldest demonstrations has 

 been carried on for several years by W. 

 A. Munson of Huntington. As is com- 

 mon, he had been brooding chickens on the 

 same ground for years without trouble 

 and then it came. One fall an infected 

 flock was put into the houses and the in- 

 come just about met expenses. Then he 

 started rearing his chickens on new 

 ground with entirely satisfactory results. 

 He has three plots of ground for brooding 

 and uses but one each year. This spring 

 at a poultry school in Huntington he 

 stated that he would have been out of 

 the poultry business now if he had not 

 adopted the disease control program. 



Edward Schmidt of Belchertown had a 

 similar experience. Worms were the spe- 

 cific infection. Many of his neighbors to 

 this day believe that he simply had a 

 poor lot of baby chicks. He is using new 

 range each year with fine results and 

 further he believes thoroughly that it 

 pays. This year he put a fine healthy 

 lot of pullets in the laying houses. 



G. E. Scott, a neighbor of Mr. Schmidt's 

 Contiuueci on page 3, column 1 



' COMMUNITY MEETINGS 



Every year the Extension Service holds 

 or tries to hold a community meeting in 

 I your town. The purpose of this meeting 

 is two fold ; first, to hear reports of pro- 

 ject leaders and demonstrators regarding 

 work which has been carried on ; second, 

 to plan work and demonstrations which 

 are of importance to the community for 

 the coming season. It is therefore plain 

 that to get full value from the Extension 

 Service you should at least attend this 

 meeting. There may have been demon- 

 strations carried on which have a bearing 

 on your own problem, and hearing what 

 others have done may help you. It may 

 be that the problem which confronts you 

 has not been worked on this past year. 

 Perhaps we could help you on it if we 

 knew but if you do not make your wants 

 known we have no way ol Knowing just 

 what to do. 



''Yoti have probably heard the old song 

 which goes like this: "There are women 

 who don't gossip! But they're dead." 



The same idea holds with farmers and 

 home makers who have no problems. We 

 have been of real value to some people in 

 your town. Why can't we help you too? 

 When you receive a notice of the next com- 

 munity meeting in your town, plan to be 

 there and if you have not anything to re- 

 port, add your bit by stating your prob- 

 lem. We desire to be of real service to 

 you but to do .so must have your coopera- 

 tion. You can start it by coming your- 

 self and by getting your neighbors to 

 come too. 



HOLSTEIN BREEDERS MEET 



Last Field /Vleeting of the Season 

 a Success 



Over sixty Holstein breeders of Hamp- 

 shire, Franklin and Hampden Counties 

 enjoyed the last field meeting of the year 

 for the Hampshire-Franklin Holstein- 

 Friesian Club held Saturday, October 21. 

 In the morning the men at Mr. Metcalf's 

 Bonnilea Farm in South Hadley. The 

 forenoon was spent in inspecting the herd 

 which has some of the highest priced Hol- 

 steins in the county. Many of these cows 

 have made big records. The pedigree and 

 records of each cow were posted so that 

 all could see. 



At noon the group gathered on the bank 

 of the Connecticut for lunch. During 

 Continued on page 2. column 1 



TOP DRESSING MOWINGS 



Nitrate of Soda Pays Well on Hay Crop 



The use of Nitrate of Soda on the hay 

 crop as one .step in a soil fertility pro- 

 gram was stressed by Prof. .J. B. Abbott 

 of M. A. C. at Extension Schools held in 

 the County this past year. As a result 

 eleven demonstrations were signed up. In 

 the majority of cases 100 lbs. of nitrate 

 of soda and 200 lbs. of acid phosphate per 

 acre were used on good mowings. The 

 results in all cases have justified the 

 recommendations and here are the results. 



Arthur Field of Goshen has been in the 

 habit of buying 8 to 10 tons of standing 

 hay from neighboring farms. This year 

 by using nitrate on the home farm he 

 was able to get more than enough hay on 

 his own farm. While no weights were 

 taken he believes that there was an in- 

 crease of 80 per cent on the top-dressed 

 areas over check plots. 



C. E. Stiles of South Amherst stated 

 that his fertilized areas yielded double 

 the unfertilized portions of the same 

 fields. 



Dr. Streeter of Cummington stated that 

 he got greater I'eturns for every dollar 

 invested in Nitrate of Soda than from 

 any other fertilizer. He is planning to 

 increase the amount used another year. 



W. H. Atkins of South Amher.st used a 

 mixture of 200 lbs. Nitrate of Soda, 300 

 lbs. Acid Phosphate and 100 lbs. Muriate 

 of Potash, putting on about 500 lbs. per 

 acre. Plots of 2 square rods on the fer- 

 tilized and on the unfertilized plots were 

 harvested. The fertilized plot gave 44* 

 lbs. of dry hay while the unfertilized plot 

 gave 17 lbs. This is an increase of 2200 

 lbs. of dry hay per acre. 



In Cummington three demonstrations 

 were carried on and weights of equal areas 

 on the fertilized and unfertilized plots 

 taken. In all cases 100 lbs. of Nitrate of 

 Soda and 200 lbs. of Acid Phosphate were 

 used with the following results: D. R. 

 Wells — fertilized, 4480 lbs. per acre; not 

 fertilized 2880 lbs., a gain of 1600 lbs. of 

 hay per acre. C. M. Thayer — fertilized, 

 8000 lbs.; unfertilized, 5120 lbs., a gain 

 of 2880 lbs. per acre for fertilizer. G. R. 

 Tedford— fertilized, 3200 lbs; unfertili- 

 zed, 1920 lbs., a gain of 1280 lbs. pei- acre. 



Geo. Barrus of Goshen carried on a 

 demonstration using 100 lbs. of Nitrate of 

 Soda and 400 lbs. Acid Phosphate per 

 Contiuued on page fJ. column 1 



