• <<ai«i.» I. 1,^31 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



-.AtrrfoJtft.ural 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Vol. VIII. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS.. NOVEMBER, 192.3 



No. 11 



NATIONAL DAIRY SHOW PROTECT YOUR TREES 'CHECKING THE 



More Dairymen from this County 

 Should Have Attended 



"A great show" was the concensus of 

 opinion concerning the National Dairy 

 Exposition. There were acres of exhibits 

 and over a thousand animals representing 

 the best of the dairy breeds. The only 

 unfoi'tunate part was that moie Hamp- 

 shire County farmers could not see their 

 way clear to attend the show. There 

 were no dull moments because one could 

 profitably watch the .iudging or visit and 

 study the exhibits. 



At the judging ring each of the dairy 

 breeds had a crowd of admirers. In fact, 

 anyone interested in livestock could not 

 but be impressed with the perfection that 

 has been obtained by the leading breeders 

 of the country. In the past we have of- 

 ten heard the comment that a certain cow 

 was a good show animal but — ! This 

 year it was brought out that show type 

 and production can be obtained in the 

 same animal. The senior and grand 

 champion Holstein cow had a 4-year old 

 record of .32,480 pounds of milk, 996.8 

 pounds of butter fat. The first prize 3- 

 year old Holstein had a 2-year old record 

 of 1,0.37 pounds of butter. The grand 

 champion .Jersey cow milked over 50 

 pounds per day at the show. The grand 

 champion Aryshire has a 2-year old rec- 

 ord of 11,0.50 pounds of milk. 450 pounds 

 of butter fat. The class in which produc- 

 tion and type were best combined was in 

 the aged cow class of Guernseys. Here 

 eight of the ten cows placed were class 

 leaders for production. 



County Jerseys Shown 



Hampshire County was ably repre- 

 sented at the show by E. C. Harlow of 

 North Amherst and U. G. Grofl^ of South 

 Amherst, both of whom showed Jerseys. 

 Mr. Harlow exhibited in the open classes 

 and helped to make up the state .Jersey 

 herd which placed fourth. Mr. GrofF's 

 Constance was exhibited with the other 

 highest producting Jerseys of the country. 

 Her record of 1,1.30.09 pounds of fat made 

 her Northeastern champion of all breeds. 

 This record is only 11.21 pounds of fat 

 below the world champion's record, and 

 was made last year under rather trying 

 circumstances. 



Continued on page 10. cnliinin 1 



FROM MICE 



PULLET MOULT 



Remember the Damage Done Last Year 



The girdling of fruit trees causes tre- 

 mendous losses to a large number of 

 growers every year. When the bark is 

 i removed from any part of the tnank of 

 ithe tree the roots below the injury are 

 starved. The next year these unfed roots 

 do less and less as the season advances. 

 The leaves wilt, turn yellow and some- 

 times fall off entirely. The fruit is 

 small and of very little commercial value. 

 Usually the tree dies the second season, 

 or if the injury did not extend entirely 

 around the trunk, only part of the tree 

 is lost. 



Mice are the chief offenders in this kind 

 of trouble, although the other rodents, 

 winter injury and carelessness with or- 

 chard tools will cau.se the same results, 

 ''"ntiniiod nn p.MR'c !'. column 1 



ORDERING FERTILIZER 



Buy Only High Grade Goods 



A recent issue of the Dairyman's 

 League News carries an article by W. L. 

 Gay, fertilizer manager for the Coopera- 

 tive G. L. F. Exchange of New York 

 State. Mr. Gay so clearly states the case 

 for liigh analysis fertilizers that we are 

 inclined to quote from his article. 



"With the reduction of the number of 

 formulas and the concentration of a 

 greater amount of plant food into each 

 ton, it is possible to improve the mechan- 

 ical condition, cut down manufacturing 

 expense and reduce the price of plant food 

 per unit. This means that high analysis 

 fertilizers are economical fi'om the man- 

 ufacturing standpoint. 



"Farmers have long rebelled at the 

 high freight rates on fertilizer. New 

 York State farmers for example must 

 pay $5 and more per ton on fertilizer 

 shipped fi'om Baltimore, Philadelphia, 

 Carteret or Buffalo. This in the case of 

 some formulas is neaj'ly one-fifth of the 

 cost of the fertilizer it.self. A farmer 

 using low analysis fertilizer such as 2-8-2 

 and applying 300 pounds to the acre can 

 obtain the same amount of plant food by 

 using the 3-12-3 formula and applying 

 200 pounds to the acre. He saves freight 

 Continued on pa^e 2. column 3 



Carefully Watch Weight of Harly Pullets 



At times of heavy egg production there 

 is an increased feed consumption. This 

 is just a statement of fact but it raises 

 the question : Do hens eat because they 

 lay or do they lay because they eat? 

 Answer to suit yourself — the point I want 

 to make is that there does exist a correla- 

 tion between feed consumption and egg 

 production. Many eggs can not be ex- 

 pected unless the flock is eating well. 



Feeding for production is feeding for 

 health. Production is dependent upon 

 health. Health, in turn, is dependent 

 largely on proper nutrition together with 

 suitable environment. Pullets should be 

 housed when mature and at this time of 

 year (October) all pullets that are near 

 maturity belong in laying quarters. 

 Why? Because environmental conditions 

 can be controlled and made more suitable, 

 also because feeding can be more accur- 

 ately regulated. Health, production and 

 reproduction are natural sequences. 



Hard grains or scratch grains most 

 nearly approximate the natural food of 

 hens. They require energy to digest and 

 when not properly .supplimented with 

 animal protein tend to be over fattening. 

 Yet they are natural and wholesome — not 

 of a foicing character. Ma.sh has been 

 termed the "egg-maker" because it is 

 realtively high in protein. Farmers 

 often err by feeding their hens exclusive- 

 ly on grain while commeicial and back- 

 yard poultrymen are apt to err in the 

 other direction, particularly when using 

 commercial mashes composed of cereal 

 grain by-products of unknown purity. 

 Both are inclined to neglect sufficient bulk 

 of a succulent and non-fiberous nature. 

 Such feed is important for it satisfies 

 the animals' appetite without need of 

 over-eating, it develops capacity and it 

 sweeps the digestive tract clear of the 

 poisonous by-products of protein di- 

 gestion. 



Pullets going into winter quarters 

 ought to be segregated in flocks of the 

 same size and degree of maturity. They 

 should be fed heavily on grain and built 

 up in flesh for thin birds do not start lay- 

 ing. Succulent or green feed is needed in 

 Continued on pasc 2, column 'i 



