HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Vol. IX. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., MARCH, 1924 



No. 3 



POULTRY DISEASE CONTROL 

 CAMPAIGN STARTED 



78 Poultrymen agree to Follow Methods 



One hundred ninety-five people inter- 

 ested in poultry attended the Poultry Ex- 

 tension Schools held in this county the 

 week of February 11. Seventy-eight of 

 those present agreed to try out the Poul- 

 try Disease Control Program as outlined 

 by Professor Wm. C. Monahan, Extension 

 Poultry Specialist of the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College. If these poultry- 

 men follow out the recommended system, 

 it vidll mean that 58,000 chicks will have 

 a chance to be healthy. Letters have al- 

 ready been sent to over two hundred other 

 poultrymen who .should be carrying on 

 this work for their own benefit. Before 

 chicks arrive, it is hoped that at least 150 

 poultry plants will adopt disease control 

 measures. Last year 26 poultrymen 

 demonstrated the worth of the progiam 

 so those who ti-y it this year are not ex- 

 perimenting. They are simply adopting 

 a tried and proven practice. 



Why Raise Healthy Stock 



As a preface to his talk on the control 

 of Poultry Diseases, Professor Monahan 

 admitted that it is hard work to repro- 

 duce a healthy flock each year. He 

 raised the question, "Is it worth while?" 

 At every one of the schools it was agreed 

 that it was. When asked why, the ma- 

 jority stated that the main reason was to 

 reduce mortality. Other reasons were: 

 (1) to remove uncertainty; (2) healthy 

 flocks reproduce better; (3) it is more 

 satisfactory to care for healthy birds. 

 Important as all of these may be, the 

 main incentive is that healthy birds not 

 only grow better than those having dis- 

 ease, but they lay better. In short, 

 healthy flocks are productive flocks. The 

 slowness of growth and lack of egg pro- 

 duction in unhealthy flocks is usually a 

 source of loss to poultrymen long before 

 the birds actually begin to die. Hence, 

 mortality is the final straw. 



What Determines Health 



Breeding and Environment are two im- 

 portant factors which determine health 

 of poultry. By careful culling, the 

 poultryman can eliminate the physically 

 unfit and only use birds of great consti- 

 Continued on pagre 13, column 1 



THE CLARK HOMESTEAD 



INTELLIGENT USE OF LIME 



County Agent Prepared to Test Soil 



Professor J. B. Abbott of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural College gave the 

 following information concerning the use 

 of lime at the Dairy Farmers' Extension 

 Schools: — 



"The so-called lime loving plants such 

 as alfalfa, red clover and timothy are 

 more valuable for dairymen than other 

 hay crops. This is because they are rich 

 in protein and the essential mineral nu- 

 trients, yield well per acre and maintain 

 a profitable stand for a long time if prop- 

 erly handled. If a soil is adequately 

 fertile all of these can be grown on soils 

 which are slightly acid without liming. 

 The liberal use of acid phosphate and pot- 

 ash may be necessary. Manure will help. 



On soils of strong acidity these crops 

 will not make a normal yield without lime. 

 Then it becomes a question whether it is 

 best to go to the expense of liming for 

 the sake of better crops or deliberately 

 accept poorer crops to save the expense 

 of liming. Aside from the dollars and 

 cents aspect the effect on the farmer's 

 morale is a factor not to be passed 

 over lightly. There is a satisfaction in 

 growing good crops which cannot be 

 measured in money. It has been said 

 that a farmer in time comes to look like 

 the crops he grows. 



Continued on page 8, column 1 



A PROFITABLE FRUIT 



AND DAIRY FARM 



Sereno Clark does Everything a Little 

 Better Than the Average 



They say it is an ill wind that blows 

 nobody good. Seventeen years ago the 

 state of Michigan lost a good farmer. 

 The town of Williamsburg gained one 

 when Sereno Clark came back to the home 

 farm. He was more fortunate than some 

 in that he did not have the farm left to 

 him. He bought it from his father. 

 Seventeen years ago his physical assets 

 were little more than a fine wife, good 

 health and a willingness to woi-k and 

 save. To-day, the farm is paid for, he 

 still retains the aforesaid assets and has 

 in addition two attractive daughters, two 

 sturdy sons, a flivver truck and a Reo 

 touring- car. 



We do not know what his bank balance 

 shows, but we do know that his credit has 

 been and still is good. 



The Clark farm has no fads. It is 

 simply an every day place. Many may 

 be disappointed in this story for this rea- 

 son. For news purposes, most farms are 

 given a write-up because they are doing 

 something out of the ordinary. Profita- 

 ble farming does not depend on doing 

 some one thing well, but upon doing 

 everything a little better than the aver- 

 Continued on pagre 12. column 1 



