HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to 

 Agriculture 



STAFF 

 Koliiiid A. I*ii>ne, County Agent 

 Milflreil W. Itoice, 



Home Oenionstratiuii Agent 

 Noriiian !•'. AVhippcn, C'oiinty Club Agent 

 Mary Diiiionfl, Clerk 

 Mary Sullivan, Asst. I'lerk 



Office First National Bank Building 



Noi'thampton, Mass. 

 Eniei-ed as second class matter Nov. 9. 

 1915, at the Post Office at Northampton. 

 Massachusetts, under the Act of March 

 8, 1879. 



"Sfotiee of Entry" 

 '■Accepluiice for m.-iiling at special rate 

 of postage provided for in section 1103, 

 Act of October 3, 1917. Authorized Oc- 

 tober SI, 1917. 



Priee. ."O eents a jcar 



Officers of the Trustees 



Edwin B. Clapp, President 

 Charles E. Clark, Vice-President 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Roland A. Payne, Secretary 



Trustees for County Aid to Agriculture 



Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 

 Charles E. Clark, Leeds 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 Milton S. Howes, Cummington 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 John A. Sullivan, Northampton 

 Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 

 W. H. Atkins, Amherst 



WEEDING OUT 



Authorities state that it costs Massa- 

 chusetts dairymen 82(' to produce and 

 deliver a quart of milk at wholesale mar- 

 kets. If this is true, dairymen for some 

 time have simply been getting a new dol- 

 lar for an old one. Now the price has 

 been dropped to 6lc- For a large num- 

 ber there will be no profit. For all, it 

 means that the cost of production mu.st 

 be cut to even stay in the business. 



Those who cannot cut costs, must either 

 sustain los.ses or stop producing milk. 

 Many will take the latter course. Then 

 those who do keep. on will see better times. 

 The weeding out is going to be painful 

 for all. Only the efficient dairymen can 

 keep on. 



Efficient feeding is the quickest way 

 to cut costs. This means that the dairy- 

 man must know how much milk each cow 

 is giving. There is just one way of 

 knowing and that is to use the milk 

 scales. On too many farms the process 

 stops right there. This information is of 

 little practical value unless the cows are 

 then fed according to production. 



The Extension Service can help those 



FERTILIZERS FOR 



APPLE ORCHARDS 



Dr. J. K. Shaw advises use of Nitrogen 



Recent investigation of the fertilization 

 of apple orchards all indicate that nitro- 

 gen is the fertilizing element that most 

 often increases fruit production. In 

 many cases, especially in cultivated or- 

 chards, nitrogen fails to give profitable 

 responses especially with young trees and 

 on soils naturally fertile. If an orchard 

 is in sod, nitrogen usually is profitable 

 in increasing growth and fruitfulness. 



One should not conclude, however, that 

 the use of other fertilizing materials 

 carrying phosphorus, pota.sh and lime 

 never are and never will be profitable. 

 Every crop of fruit and every year's 

 gorwth of the trees removes these ele- 

 ments from the soil as well as nitrogen 

 from the soil, and it must be that sooner or 

 later these will be needed in the orchard 

 fertilizer. However, at present it is 

 doubtful if the fruit grower is warranted 

 in spending money for fertilizers carry- 

 ing elements other than nitrogen unless 

 tests in his own orchards have shown 

 that they are needed. Where they are 

 needed, it is most likely that it will be 

 to promote the growth of grass, clover 

 or cover crops that benefit the trees 

 rather than for any direct beneficial in- 

 fluence. 



Nitrogen is likely to increase yields, in 

 at least three ways : { 1 ) it promotes more 

 rapid grovrth in young trees and thus 

 increases the bearing area; (2) It often 

 favors the set of fruit; (3) It is likely 

 I to increase the size of the individual 

 fruits. All these operate to increase the 

 yield of the orchard. 



It seems to be important that there be a 

 liberal supply of nitrogen in the tree in 

 the spring while the foliage is coming 

 out and while the first burst of growth 

 is taking place. This should continue 

 until after fruit setting, at which time 

 it appears to be desirable that the supply 

 ' of nitrogen in the tree be restricted. 

 • These conditions may be difficult to secure 

 in practice. The usual recommendation 

 is to apply nitrate of soda quite early 

 in the spring before the leaves come out. 

 If there is sufficient moisture in the soil 

 as is likely to be the case at this season, 

 the nitrogen will be all through the tree 

 in a week or so and its effect is seen in 

 the production of dark green luxuriant 

 foliage. 



After fruit setting comes fruit bud 

 formation for the next year's crop. 

 While individual spurs do not usually 

 bear in successive years, there will com- 

 monly be some trees or parts of trees 



who wish to stay in the dairy business. 

 I We offer no panacea but simply a plan 

 of self help. You don't have to be weeded 

 out! 



in every orchard that will bear each year, 

 some one year, and others the next. The 

 highest ideal is to have trees in such a 

 condition that they will bear a good crop 

 every year. This idea can be attained 

 with some varieties while with others it 

 is difficult or perhaps impossible with our 

 present knowledge. 



At any rate it seems desirable to re- 

 j strict the nitrogen supply and thus check 

 giowth shortly after blooming. In sod 

 orchards the growing grass has this 

 effect. Possibly it may be attained in 

 cultivated orchards by a very early sow- 

 ing of the cover crop. 



THE EUROPEAN RED MITE 



Dormant Spray of Miscible Oil best 

 Treatment 



The European Red Mite is spreading 

 over Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 

 Heavy infestations are being found in 

 new sections. Last season this pest in 

 some cases caused very severe damage 

 and every caution should be used to pre- 

 vent further injury. 



This minute pest attacks the leaves and 

 destroys the green color. Very often the 

 first indication of the mites presence is 

 the bronzing of the leaves. In aggra- 

 vated cases the tree looks as if it were 

 suffering from a severe case of drought. 



After such an attack the tree goes into 

 the winter in a very weakened condition. 

 The fruit is inferior both as to quality 

 and size. 



This mite, at present, is in the egg 

 stage and may be seen on buds, spurs, 

 in crevices and on the smaller branches 

 and limbs. These eggs are bright red 

 and in quantity give the bark a decided 

 reddish appearance. Baldwin trees are 

 most frequently attacked. 



The mite hatches in the spring about 

 the time the leaves are unfolding and can 

 be seen then as a very small dark red 

 mite. 40 per cent nicotine sulfate, 1 part 

 to 500 parts of water, in the usual lead 

 arsenate lime-sulfur combination spray at 

 the "pink" stage will kill the mite, but 

 one application cannot be relied upon 

 to give complete protection. 



There are several generations of the 

 insect during the summer and in some 

 of the warmer months there are two 

 broods a month. Spraying later than the 

 "pink" has not yet proved satisfactory. 

 A good brand of miscible oil applied ac- 

 cording to the directions of the manufac- 

 turer as a DORMANT spray, will kill 

 the eggs. 



Examine your trees at once and if any 

 of these eggs are evident, spray with oil 

 as the buds are swelling, before the leaves 

 appear. 



Miscible oil will also tend to control 

 scale and tend to kill aphis and tent 

 caterpillar eggs, when the buds are swell- 

 ing. 



Prof. F. E. Cole. 



