1-2 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



^ I*es: WeiiknOMs in <'lii4-kN 



Continued frnni p;i>;e 1. cnluniii ;; 

 B, is the water soluble vitamin abun- 

 dant in cereal grains and yeast. Ordin- 

 ary grain and mash mixtui-es contain 

 plenty of this vitamin. C, the anti- 

 scorbutic vitamin, is apparently not i-e- 

 quired by chickens. 



III. Absence of Direct Sunlight 



For years poultrymen have noted that 

 early chicks confined to houses have gone 

 leg weak on rations which gave satis- 

 factory results later in the season when 

 chicks wei'e running out on the ground. 

 Some attributed the lameness to the 

 floors; others to an unknown deficiency 

 which was supplied when contact was 

 made with the soil. As a matter of fact, 

 direct sunlight, invigorating air and ex- 

 ercise are the advantages of out-of-doors. 

 Glass windows in the front of a brooder 

 house admit light but they filter out the 

 longer wave lengths — the ultra-violet 

 rays. Continued confinement in a room 

 lacking ultra-violet light tends to produce 

 a rickety condition. If chickens must be 

 confined to the house, the windows should 

 be removed part of each day or replaced 

 with cotton cloth. 



IV. Devitali/ing Heat 



Hot, close brooding quai-ters in houses 

 affording no place of retreat or relief 

 devitalize chicks. When such conditions 

 are concurrent with the causes of leg 

 weakness previously discus.sed they tend 

 to aggravate them, as well as other mal- 

 nutritional factors of a less specific na- 

 ture. Hovers should be hot but the 

 houses must be ventilated sufficiently to 

 be cool so that chicks may have fresh 

 air and opportunity to choose their tem- 

 peratui'e by the distance they take from 

 the stove. 



W. C. Mtintilxni. 



I'j"). In order to obtain these two sizes 

 of aggregate, a l" screen should be used 

 to separate the fine from the coarse in 

 the "bank-run" gravel. This precaution 

 gives you definite sizes of materials to 

 work with so that when they are re-mixed 

 you know that you are going to have a 

 dense concrete. In no case .should the 

 concrete floor be made less than M inches 

 thick, as a thinnei- floor will not be 

 serviceable. 



Remember that the concrete wants to 

 be mixed as dry as possible and still have 

 it workable. Mix the materials thor- 

 oughly, place on the foundation and 

 finish with a wooden float which will give 

 the floor a gritty surface and increase 

 its resistance to wear. 



A very important thing to remember 

 when making a concrete floor or walk, 

 where a large surface is exposed to the 

 air, is that it should be kept damp or 

 moist for at least ten days after the con- 

 crete is placed. As soon as the floor will 

 resist the impression of your finger, cover 

 it with stiaw, burlap or sand and keep 

 this damp for the above period. This 

 precaution increases the strength of the 

 concrete, its resistance to wear and pre- 

 vents cracking. This is due to the fact 

 that the cement requires plenty of water 

 to complete its chemical change and if it 

 is not present for ten days aftei' placing 

 the concrete, you will not get the full 

 benefit of the cement which binds the ma- 

 terials together. 



These suggestions should enable any- 

 one to build a concrete fioor (or walk) 

 which will be entirely serviceable for more 

 than one lifetime and still not be expen- 

 sive in its first cost. 



A very interesting bulletin on Concrete 

 Floors will be sent free by the Portland 

 Cement Association, 10 High Street, Bos- 

 ton. 

 I L. T. C. Lnring. 



CONCRETE FLOORS FOR 



POULTRY HOUSES 



Concrete is unquestionably the best 

 material for poultry floors because it is 

 permanent, sanitary, ratproof. rotproof 

 and will be warm and dry if properly 

 constructed. 



Gravel, cinders oi' stone are suitable 

 for the foundation of the flooi', and should 

 be very well compacted and made com- 

 paratively level before the concrete is 

 placed. If this precaution is not taken 

 the floor will be apt to settle and crack. 

 Before the floor is laid, a thickness of 

 tar paper should be placed on top of 

 the foundation which will act as an in- 

 sulator. 



The concrete for the fioor should be 

 mixed in the proportion of 1 sack of 

 Portland Cement to 2 cubic feet of sand 

 (less than \") to three cubic feet of 

 coarse gravel or crushed stone (V to 



Spray Soliortlile 



('onlinufd from pai^f II. rolunni 2 

 it is worth while to apply enough to pro- 

 tect the crop, whether that is three sprays 

 or seven. In most orchards at least one 

 application later than the Calyx spray is 

 advisable, and two are usually a worth 

 while investment. It never pays to stop 

 praying too soon. A careful examina- 

 tion of the cull barrels at harvest time 

 will throw a lot of light upon the sprays 

 which should be emphasized in any or- 

 chard. 



Standard materials are safest, always. 

 Disastrous results have too often followed 

 the use of new and untried sprays. Let 

 the experiment station or your neighbor 

 try them first. Bordeaux will be used 

 by a few growers this year for the early 

 Scab sprays, but most of them have come 

 back to lime-sulfur again. Lime-sulfur 

 will control Apple Scab if properly used ; 

 without careful spraying no material will 

 give control. Dry lime-sulfur seems to 

 f '.'Til inu' «l on i)a^"e l.T. coUniin 1 



Back to the soil 



Whether you are an amateur or 

 professional crop raiser we have the 

 clothes for the job. 



Overalls, Khaki pants and work shirts 



MERRITT CLARK & CO. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



OLD DEERFIELD 



FERTILIZERS 



■ 1 U';i soil :i III*' ill l)(»ll:ii-.s :iii(l Seii.se** 



MANVFACTliKED BY 



A. W. HIGGINS, Inc. 



SOUTH DEERFIELD, MASS. 



l'<-ll-|ili<>iie III) * 



A Business Bank for 



Business Farmers 



This is a message for business 

 farmer.s — for those progressive 

 crop and cattle raisers who know 

 that to get profits from fai'ming 

 there must be knowledge not only 

 of ci'ops, but of markets, of prices, 

 of soil treatment, of other factors. 



This bank's primary object is to 

 help farmers of this section to pros- 

 per. Our complete banking facili- 

 ties and oui- dependable sources of 

 infoimation valuable to farmers are 

 at your disposal. 



We'll he glad to sei've you. 



NORTHAMPTON 

 NATIONAL BANK 



THE B.\NK FOR EVERYBODY 



