HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



USE CERTIFIED SEED 



Risk from Poor Seed can be (eliminated 



This year as never before farmers will 

 be faced with the problem of eliminating 

 unnecessary risks from their business. 

 One of these is poor seed. In potato 

 production the risk from this source has 

 been gieatly reduced through a system 

 of seed certification carried on in Maine, 

 New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. 



Every farmer knows that northern 

 grown seed potatoes are better than 

 native stock as is seen by the large num- 

 ber using the former. A relatively few 

 farmers know, or rather make use of the 

 knowledge, that there is a difference in 

 northein grown seed. This fact is 

 brought out by the amount of certified 

 seed used here which was only enough 

 to plant l.'j'/f of the county acreage. 



You may ask, why use certified seed? 

 Simply because there are certain di.seases 

 which do not show on the tubers which 

 make them unfit for seed purposes. 

 Mosaic and leaf roll are examples of this. 

 Demonstrations in this and other counties 

 have shown that in the majority of cases 

 certified seed increases the yield from 50 

 to 100 bushels per acre if blight is con- 

 trolled. There were, as far as we know, 

 only ten men in the county who got over 

 200 bushels of potatoes per acre this past 

 year. Every one of them used certified 

 seed! Naturally they sprayed or dusted 

 to control blight but even blight control 

 would not have given them good yields if 

 they had not used good seed. 



In the states producing certified seed 

 at least two inspections are made in the 

 field. This is for the simple reason that 

 mosaic and leaf roll can only be spotted 

 on the growing- plants. If the fields 

 entered for certification have a large 

 number of diseased plants per acre on the 

 first inspection they ai'e promptly dis- 

 carded. Last year 5(lV' of the acreage of 

 potatoes entered for certification in Maine 

 was turned down at the first inspection 

 due to a heavy infection of Mosaic. If 

 the field passes the first inspection all the 

 diseased plants are pulled out. At the 

 second inspection there cannot be over 5'/r 

 disea.sed plants in the field. Ordinary 

 fields run from 1.5'r up in the number of 

 diseased plants. The last inspection is 

 made when the potatoes are sacked for 

 shipment. 



At the present time every farmei' in the 

 county has an opportunity to obtain cer- 

 tified feed. Six carloads will be shipped 

 in about April 1st. Orders are now being 

 booked at reasonable prices. Those who 

 wait till planting time will surely find the 

 supply gone. The moral is ,order yo!<r 

 seed potatoes now. The following parties 

 have certified seed for sale: .J. A. Sturges 

 & Co., Easthampton; .1. A. Sullivan & Co., 

 Northampton; Earl Ingham, Granby; and 

 -Mmon Howes, Swift River, Mass. Do 

 not delay but write the neaiest of these 



How about you ? 



C. E. Stiles of South Amherst has 

 I finished marketing his apple crop through 

 his roadside stand. His crop this year 

 showed the results of thorough and time- 

 ly spraying. It was no wonder his fruit 

 found a ready market at good prices 

 It was the kind the consuming public 

 wants and is willing to pay for it. 



Coiitimiofl t'rnin pai^^t- 1. (■nliiniit ;> 



if currants and gooseberries can be elim- 

 inated from pine glowing districts, the 

 disease cannot spread. It has been dem- 

 onstiated by experiments that infection 

 cannot take place if there are no currant 

 or gooseberry bushes within 900 feet of 

 pine. 



In view of these facts, the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, co- 

 operating with the Massachusetts Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, is conducting an in- 

 tensive campaign for the purpose of dis- 

 seminating information concerning Blister 

 Rust ; to demonstrate successful methods 

 of its control ; and to enlist the concerted 

 action of pine owners in the removal of I 

 [currant and gooseberry bushes in the pine 

 growing sections. In carrying out this 

 ! plan, representatives have been assigned 

 to most of the important pine districts 

 in the State. 



Here in Hampshire County, we are for- 

 tunate in not having the abundance of wild 

 currants and gooseberries that is found 

 a little farther north, but there are enough 

 to spread disease rapidly if it once be- 

 comes fiimly established. Already it has 

 gained a foothold in the best pine sections 

 of our western towns. Its spread in 

 in these regions, and from these regions 

 to other parts of the county can only 

 be averted by the control methods advo- 

 cated above. Let us pull up by the roots 

 our dangerous currants and goosebei'ries, 

 wild or cultivated, and save the white 

 pine from the fate that has befallen our | 

 chestnut, 

 men for prices and terms. 



Every one of these men could make more 

 profit for themselves by selling selected 

 stock. In fact as a bu.siness proposition 

 they are running a bigger risk handling 

 certified seed than they would by handling 

 selected stock. This is because selected 

 stock costs but little more than table 

 potatoes and if the demand is limited it 

 can be sold with but little lo.ss as table 

 stock. If demand for certified seed is 

 limited, these men stand to lose a lot if 

 it has to be sold for table u.se. The only 

 reason they handle the certified seed is 

 that they believe that by handling it they 

 are performing a real service to their cus- 

 tomers. In return these customrs should 

 ?.t least cooperate by placing their orders 

 I ncv.'. Delivery in all cases will be made 

 about April 1st. There may be cheapei- 

 potatoes offered for seed but we know 

 there will be no better seed brought into 

 the county. Why gamble on the side 

 where chances are 9 out of 10 of losing? , 



Northampton 

 ^ National Bank ^ 



WARREN M. KING, Presidenl 



C. H. PIERCE, Vice-President 



EDWIN K. ABBOTT, Cashier 



J. MALCOLM WARREN, Ass't. Cashier 



CAIMT.Ai, .A.\U SUKPI.l'S. jiWs.nm 

 DEPOSITS, s3.:tllll.lK«i 



Savings Department 

 Interest Payable Quarterly 



We are qualified to act as Executor, 

 Administrator and Trustee 



Why not make your will aijpointing 

 this Bank as Executor ? 



THE BANK FOR EVERYBODY 



H. D. SMITH 



Hatfield, Mass. 



GRAIN, COAL, ICE 



AND 



FARM MACHINERY 



The Habit of Saving 



Is at the holtoiii of mo.st 

 l)i_a,- siicccsst's in the hutsi- 

 iiess woi-lil. Begin the 

 hal)it I'V u|)eiiini>' a sav- 

 iims ae<'<»uiit witli tlie 

 H ;i \ <l en \- i 1 le ISavings 

 l^aiik. One dollar i.>^ 

 enough to start with. 



BANK BY MAIL 



HAYDENVILLE SAVINGS BANI^ 



HAVDRNVILLE, MASS. 



