HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Report or Ifoitii' l)eiiionstratif>n Aj^ent 



Continued frnni ij.-ige T). column 2 

 tension work and are not interested, I 

 hope in some way to get them interested 

 during the year, also to study with the 

 leaders of their communities and find out 

 the number of families in their communi- 

 ty really needing extension woik and to 

 interest these people. 



More definite goals will be set and ob- 

 tained on the basis of family needs. All 

 spot demonstrations shall develop into 

 project work and more stress will be laid 

 on spread of influence and publicity of 

 results as a means of arousing enthusiasm 

 for extension work. 

 For routine work: 

 135 home visits have been made. 

 106 different homes visited. 

 291 office calls. 

 99 days and 17 evenings in the office. 

 173 days and 23 evenings in the field. 

 437 individual lettei's written. 

 35 circular letters with circulation 8,103. 

 39 articles wi'itten by agent and i)ub- 

 lished in local paper. 

 Exhibits made at 3 fairs. 

 5 training meetings held for local lead- 

 ers, average attendance 10 plus. 

 86 demonstration meetings held, aver- 

 age attendance 16 plus. 

 19 extension schools and connnunity 



meetings, average attendance 46. 

 12 other extension meetings, average 

 attendance 113. 



COUNTY NOTES 



Poultrymen raising Rhode Island Reds 

 have a wonderful opportunity to obtain 

 cockerels from high producing hens at 

 the Massachusetts Agricultural College. 

 These birds are sons of hens laying over 

 200 eggs in a year. They are being sold 

 at eight dollars a piece as long as the 

 .supply lasts. S. Ellis Clark of Williams- 

 burg recently purchased two of these cock- 

 erels to head test breeding pens for the 

 coming year. Both birds are from dams 

 producing well over 200 eggs. J. F. 

 Zappy, Hillside School, Greenwich, has 

 purchased cockerels from the college to 

 head up practically all of his breeding- 

 pens. For the poultrymen who are after 

 eggs this is a wonderful opportunity. 

 Recently we noted an advertisement quot- 

 ing birds from no better dams at from 

 •$15.00 to $25.0U. With every cockerel 

 comes a card giving production of his 

 dam and of his sire's dam. 



I have been told that Silas Snow of 

 William.sburg had the best box of Bald- 

 wins exhibited by Massachusetts Fruit 

 Growers at the Eastern Fruit Show re- 

 cently held in New York. For .some time 

 Mr. Snow has been growing "the kind 

 of apples that can be eaten in the dark". 

 This year he has taken many prizes for 

 his fine apples at the fairs about the coun- 

 ty. 



FARM ICE HOUSES 



PREVENT WASTE 



No farm is complete without its ice 

 house. A supply of ice on hand through- 

 out the summei' months will prevent 

 waste of perishable faim products and 

 will prove a real economy and convenience 

 in the operation of the farm kitchen as 

 well. 



The storage house should be placed on 

 a well-drained location where it will be i 

 shaded during the heat of the day. 



From the nature of the stored contents 

 ice houses are subjected to varying de- 

 grees of dampness. Rot-proof qualities 

 of concrete provide construction that is 

 not affected by these conditions. Wooden 

 ice houses, after two or three years, re- 

 quire continual repair to keep them in 

 usable condition. All of this is done 

 away with through permanent concrete 

 construction. 



Practical dimensions for a small ice 

 house 10 X 10 X 10 feet, which, allowing 

 for packing material, will hold 20 tons. 



Concrete blocks are particularly suited 

 to concrete ice hou.se construction because 

 of the air spaces introduced in the walls 

 which provide sufficient insulation to re- 

 duce meltage of ice to a minimum, re- 

 gardless of outside temperature condi- 

 tions. The concrete floor in an ice house 

 should have a drain to carry away 

 meltage, but this drain should be trapped ; 

 so that it will be sealed against possible I 

 entrance of warm air. 



When monolithic conciete is used for 

 an ice house, sometimes double wall con- 

 struction is used' to provide insulation 

 in the wall, or a veneer of hollow tile is 

 laid on the inside for the same puipose. 

 If a concrete roof is built this is laid on ' 

 the inside for the same purpose. If a ' 

 concrete roof is built this may be insu- j 

 lated by laying two slabs separated from [ 

 each other by a layer of clean cinders. 

 Ice house walls, both monolithic and 

 block, must be reinforced in a manner 

 similar to the leinforcing of silos to pro- 

 vide against bursting due to pressure of 

 contents which may shift so as to throw 

 considerable weight against the walls. 



A blue piint of a concrete block ice 

 house can be obtained from your County 

 Agent. 



W. A. Parsons and E. C. Searle of 

 Southampton are trying out the system 

 of mouse control recommended by Mr. 

 Carlyle Carr of the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey, Washington, L). C. Results of 

 this test will be watched with interest. 



Mr. Searle also has a new apple storage 

 that is to serve as a demonstration. Prof. 

 Cole of M. A. C. furnished the plans for 

 the cellar. The front part of the super- 

 structure is to be used as dwelling while 

 the rear is for storage of bo.x'es and bar- 

 rels. 



TRY THE 



DRUG STORE FIRST 



For 

 Hoiisfchold and Farm Needs 



WISWELL THE DRUGGIST 



52 Main Street 



Northampton, ... Mass. 



I .=^ 



I 

 i 





I ^ 



Yol \V.J,XT THE BEST 



WE KEEP No (ITHEK KIND 



FRUIT GROWERS' SUPPLY CO. 



Old N. Y., N. H. & H. Freight Depot 

 NORTHAMPTON 



I "CHICKEN POX VACCINE, j 



! .")(•. per ilosf ; Syriiiiif .f.'i.OO. ! 



I Ags'iitiiiatioii test I'ur white | 



I (liaiT-lica carriers, jOc. per hird. j 



j I'cisl iiKirteiii exaiiiiiial inn of I 



I low N ami 1 realineiil outline. | 



j li^.no. j 



I ^\iialys<Ml toliacrci dust in | 



I air lii;lit ilniius for rouud j 



I w (ii'iii^ of poultry. j 



I ( »l her druiis and tonics."" I 



j J i 



I i 



I Fuller Biological Laboratory j 



104 Maple Avenue 



ITHACA, N. Y. 



