HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Vol. VIII. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., JUNE, 1923 



No. 6 



OFFSETTING 



LABOR SHORTAGE 



Labor Saving Machinery Offers a 

 Solution 



In reply to a questionaire i-ecently sent 

 out regarding the labor situation one re- 

 ply was received which we believe strikes 

 the keynote of the way out. It was as 

 follows: "Instead of hiring any extra 

 help, I put my money into labor saving 

 machinery. I have a tractor with plows 

 and harrows. All my work on potatoes 

 is done with machinery as I have a plan- 

 ter, sprayer and a digger." 



The first move in reducing labor bills 

 should be to make more eflicient use of 

 machinery already on hand. Many 

 farms have weeders which have not been 

 used for years. This implement if started 

 early will kill small weeds and reduce 

 tillage costs. In fact, some men use it 

 successfully on corn that is knee high by 

 removing the teeth which are in the rows. 

 Other men use riding cultivators using 

 two horses and cultivating two rows at 

 once. There are numerous makes of 

 these implements on the market which 

 are doing efficient work. 



Labor saving machinery has done much 

 to relieve the rush of haying. The mow- 

 ing machine and the horse fork are in- 

 dispensable tools on practically every 

 farm, yet their running mates, the side 

 delivery rake and the hay loader are not 

 so common, although many men have 

 used both for years. Once used they 

 become a necessary part of the farm 

 equipment. New England haying seems 

 to be a joke to westerners who have used 

 the last two implements. One man stated 

 that he should think we would have the 

 hay all worn out before it reached the 

 barns. 



In favorable seasons, with the side de- 

 livery rake and the hay loader, human 

 hands need not touch the hay until it is 

 on the wagon. By mowing in the morn- 

 ing, using the side delivery rake first 

 as a tedder, then to rake into windrows in 

 the afternoon and then rolling these over 

 with the rake after the dew is off the 

 next day, the hay is ready for the loader. 

 If after the hay is raked up rains come, 

 it must be opened by hand, as it is too 

 heavy for the side delivery to handle. 

 Continued on page 10, column 1 



! ALFALFA WILL GROW HERE 



Results of Successful Demonstrations 



The few scattering alfalfa plants to be 

 found on practically every dairy farm of 

 the county show that dairymen appreciate 

 the value of this crop as a feed for dairy 

 cattle. That farmers have not mastered 

 the art of growing alfalfa is shown by 

 the fact that there were but 97 acres 

 of it groviTi in the county when the 1920 

 census figures were taken. With so little 

 of the crop giovim it would seem unwise 

 to encourage its planting were it not for 

 the fact that there are large areas of 

 relatively light land here which do not 

 produce good hay crops but on which it 

 has been demonstrated that alfalfa can 

 be grown successfully. 



Requirements for Success 



There are numerous reasons for failure 



with alfalfa. In fact, to be successful, 



a series of steps must be taken and a 



weakness in any one will cause the whole 



Continued on pnge 8, column 1 



POULTRY ACCOUNTS 



Summary of Co = operators' Reports 



April was a month of high production 

 for poultrymen according to reports re- 

 ceived from twenty-six poultrymen of the 

 county who are cooperating in keeping 

 poultry records. The flocks reporting 

 represent 6,26.5 birds or an average of 241 

 birds per farm. During April the aver- 

 age production was 15.4 eggs per bird 

 which compares favorably with the state 

 average (made up by 153 farms) of 15.9 

 eggs per bird. 



The highest egg production per bird for 

 the month was made by W. F. Tegethoff' 

 of Belchertown who got 19.4 eggs per 

 bird. This record was closely followed by 

 Donald C. Warnock, Northampton, with 

 19.2 eggs per bird. Other high produc- 

 tion records were: Wni. H. Chicoine, 

 Ware, 19.1; Smith's Agricultural School, 

 Northampton, 18.5; Geo. E. Scott, Bel- 

 chertown, 18.5; and Florence Elwell, 

 Northampton, 17.6. 



Grain costs per bird for the county 

 averaged 26 cents which is one cent less 

 than the state average, but receipts from 

 eggs, per bird, was 38 cents while the 

 state average showed 43('-. In past 

 months, however, the county average has 



Continued on page 11, column 3 



BLIGHT CAN BE CONTROLLED 



Equipment, Materials and Methods 

 Explained 



Last year potato growers throughout 

 the county had an opportunity to see 

 what late blight would do to the potato 

 crop. While this season may not be so 

 bad, we cannot help but think of the 

 parable concerning the wise and unwise 

 virgins and trust that like the former, 

 potato growers will be prepared. 



Last year's demonstrations proved con- 

 clusively that blight can be controlled 

 either by du.sting or by spraying. For 

 the man who grows two acres or less, 

 dusting offers a real attraction at the 

 present time, in that the cost of equip- 

 ment is low and dust is more convenient 

 to handle than liquid spray. Of the 

 growers who tried du.sting last year, six 

 obtained control. The difference between 

 dusted and undusted plots range from 21 

 to 85 bushels per acre, the average being 

 57.7 bushels in favor of dusting. When 

 you consider that growers with a small 

 acreage will not spray except for "bugs"; 

 that a hand duster can be purchased for 

 .$25 or le.ss; that it takes 15 hours of 

 labor and $15 worth of dust per acre, 

 you will discover these men got "state 

 road" wages for the time they spent in 

 dusting. 



Spraying Equipment 



Then there are growers who use a bar- 

 rel pump placed on a two wheeled gig 

 with the axle lengthened so that the 

 wheels are 6 feet from center to center 

 with a spray boom behind. Practically 

 every farm has a pair of wheels on an 

 axle and a blacksmith can weld a piece 

 in to give the required spread in a short 

 time. Some men use one nozzle to the 

 row early in the season and later put 

 on two. The Burt Brothers of West- 

 hampton used such an outfit last year 

 and controlled blight so well that they 

 harvested 253 bushels of potatoes per 

 acre. It takes more muscle to run such 

 an outfit than it does to work a duster 

 but it can be done. 



The most efficient machines we have 

 seen are horse-drawn outfits capable of 

 delivering 150 pounds pressure with three 

 nozzles to the row. These cost money 

 and can be had only by gi-owers with an 

 aci-eage large enough to warrant their 

 Continued on page 2, column 2 



