HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY ' 



EXTENSION SCHOOLS 



FARMERS' MONTHLY [ 



PUBLISHED BY THE Last year we held extension schools 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to i taking up two or more phases of agri- 

 Agriculture culture, such as Poultry and Fruit, 



I Dairying and Fruit, Potatoes and Dairy- 



I ing. If we were fortunate in getting 



!men interested in both subjects excellent 



I results were obtained. Where one-half of 



" the group was interested in one subject 



and not in the other, we only had half 



hearted attention to any of the talks. By 



, this we do not mean that these schools 



;were not worth while but we have felt 



they could be made better. 



This year we are planning to hold one- 

 day .schools, taking up just one phrase of 

 agiiculture; for example, in towns where 



Ak.- 



STAFF 

 Rdlaiitl .'\. Hayii*'. Comity .Ac**!)! 

 Mildred \V. Boiff. 



Home Deiiitiiisl ml ii 

 Bena O. Frhard. Ctniiity (liilt Xueiil 

 Mary O. O'I.eary. Clerk 

 Mary Sullivan. .AksI. <:lerk 



Office First National Bank Building 



Northampton, Mass. 



Entered .is second cliiss matter Nov. 9. 1!H.'>, at the 

 Post Office at Nortliaiuj>tt>ii. Mafisachusett.s. under 

 the Act of March 8. ISTil. 



" Notii-e (»!' tiUry " 



"Acceptance for mailing at special i-ate of post- 

 age in-ovided for in section I ins. Act of Octohei' :f. 

 1917. Authorized October 31. 1917." 



I'i'ice, 50 ceiitH a year 



Officers of the Trustees 



Edwin B. Clapp, Pres lent 

 Charles E. Clark, Vico-Pre-dent 

 vV;iiicn M. King, Treasuier 

 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, Cumniington 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Hadley 

 Warien M. King, Northampton 

 John A. Sullivan, Northampton 

 Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 



In order to have the horse in tit condi- 

 tion the North Dakota Farm Bureau 

 members need to know very soon about 

 how many horses are likely to be needed 

 here this spiing. It would help the local 

 committee greatly if you would send 

 President Josiah Parsons, Bridge St., 

 Northampton, Mass., the following in- 

 formation : ( 1 ) How many horses you 

 need next spring; (2) Whether needed 

 for farm or for city u.se; (Z) Approxi- 

 mate time needed. This information does 

 not obligate you in any way but will help 

 the committee to get the number and kind 

 of horses you want. After the success 

 of last year's shipments it would seem 

 that local farmers have a very definite 

 poultry furnishes one of the main sources : ^^^^ '" '"'^'''^ ^^^^ '^'"^ cooperate with the 

 of income we will devote the whole day 

 to pai'ts of this subject which should in- 

 terest as well as benefit the poultry 

 kcepei-s of the tov. u. In other td>vns 



fruit growing will be taken up and 

 thooughly di.scussc d. The same will be 

 true legarding Soil Fertility and Dairy- 

 ing. In this way we believe we can be 



Farm Bureau members of North Dakota. 



GENEVA STATION INVESTIGATES 

 METHODS OF UTILIZING 



STABLE MANURE 



The declining stable manure supply and 

 its economic utilization are the subjects 

 of greater service than if we took up more of ever broadening discussion. ' The 

 subjects and could not give each its Geneva (N. Y.) Experimental Station 

 proper amount of time. reports in Bulletin No. 494, the results 



While this is a rather radical departure of a series of investigations of the 

 from past procedure we believe it well efficiency of several manure "preserva- 

 worth trying. We realize that it may 

 mean a lessened attendance in some in- 

 stances but what is the use of a lot of 

 talk if it does not reach the people where 

 it can do some good? The specialists will 

 be able to go into greater detail than 



Continued from page 1, I'ohimn 1 

 breeders qualify in three characters. Re- 

 quire them to mature by 200 days of age; 

 to be free from broodiness; and to lay 

 22 eggs in either November or December 



fives" in which straw, peat, acid phos- 

 phate, rock i)hosphate, and gypsum were 

 compared. 



It is commonly accepted that through 

 careless handling much of the plant food 

 in stable manure, chiefly the nitrogen, is 



formerly and with your support these jost, and there are many recommendations 



.schools can be a success. We are de- \^qi^ 



pending on your cooperation. 



Plans are underway to hold Poultry 

 Schools in Ware, Greenwich, Belchertown 

 and Williamsburg. Fruit schools in 



Fourth Step.—Aa .soon as enough birds Plainfield, Cummington, Worthington and the handling of stable manure in various 



Chesterfield. If your town wants 



as to how manure should be 

 handled and what materials are best 

 suited for use with it. 



The investigations were undertaken to 

 establish accurately the results following 



qualify, make the breeders qualify in still 

 another point, so that the qualifications 

 become : first egg before 200 days of age ; 

 not broody; 22 eggs in November or De- 

 cember; not less than 80 during the 

 winter, and continuous production for at 

 least twelve months. At this point, if the 

 breeder so desires, egg size, color or other 

 characters may be added to the qualifica- 

 tions required of breeders, or he may aim 

 for still better production. 



Only those females should be used a 

 .second time, at least with the same male, 

 whose progeny make an advance over the 

 parent, unless the family as a whole is 

 better than the average preceeding gen- 

 eration. On the other hand, any pairing 

 that gives superior results may be re- 

 peated year after year, or until something 

 better has been obtained. 



It should be pointed out that the larger 

 the flock trapnested, the more rapid 

 should be the progress made, for with a 

 large flock more breeders of pioneer 

 ability will be found. These, if properly 

 handled, should make possible very rapid 

 progress. 



your town wants a 

 school get in touch with your town 

 director or write to the county agent. 



NORTH DAKOTA HORSES 



The Hampshire County Farm Bureau 

 is making arrangements to cooperate with 

 the North Dakota Farm Bureau Federa- 

 tion in distributing horses in Hampshire 

 County this coming spring. Last year 

 North Dakota farmers shipped several 

 carloads of horses to Springfield and one 

 carload direct to Northampton. So far 

 as we know these horses were exactly as 

 represented when sold at public auction. 

 Last year no distemper was reported from 

 the lots shipped in. 



The horses are grown by the North 

 Dakota farmers and .shipped in disin- 

 fected cars direct by expre.ss, after care- 

 ful selection by the Farm Bureau com- 

 mittee in the West. They come east in 

 charge of a representative of the Bureau 

 which ships them. The plan is for a com- 

 mittee of the local Farm Bureau to in- 

 spect the horses on arrival and then have 



ways. Careful chemical and bacteriolo- 

 gical studies were made of the efl'ect of 

 the various materials on the changes 

 taking place in the manure pile. 



"The results obtained" says the report, 

 "demonstrated to the satisfaction of the 

 station experts that acid phosphate is the 

 most efficient and only practicable ma- 

 terial that can be recommended at this 

 time as a manure preservative." It not 

 only checked the loss of nitrogen, but also 

 materially increased the fertilizing value 

 of the manure itself, by supplying the 

 element of plantfood in which manure is 

 lacking. The results obtained with the 

 other materials mentioned were indif- 

 ferent or negative. 



.\n interesting feature of these results 

 is that a distinct benefit was shown in 

 the immediate application of the preser- 

 vative to the manure, even though the 

 latter should be taken fresh to the field. 

 The station advocates the spreading of 

 two handfuls of acid phosphate in each 

 stall each day, the trampling of the stock 



them sold at auction with the backing of ^'''"^ regarded as the best means of 

 both organizations. "i'^'"*^' '* ^^"^ ma""'e. 



