HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Vol. IX. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., AUGUST, 1924 



No. 8 



ARE YOUR LAYING 



HOUSES IN ORDER 



On the modern poultry plant August 

 and September are busy months. The lay- 

 ing plant has to be renovated, improve- 

 ments made and the whole plant given a 

 thorough cleaning up to make it a fit 

 place for healthy pullets to live in. In 

 the June issue we told how Henry Lego 

 remodelled his poultry houses because 

 many plants have similar houses. Even 

 those having more modern houses can 

 help them by putting cellar windows un- 

 der the dropping boards, if they have not 

 done so already. These windows make 

 the houses lighter and tend to keep the 

 birds from scratching the litter under the 

 roosts. From a disease control stand- 

 point it will help to put hen wire under 

 the roosts so that the birds cannot walk 

 and scratch on the manure. This also 

 helps in keeping eggs clean. 



Disinfect Houses Thoroughly 



All poultry houses need a thorough 

 cleaning up before the pullets are housed. 

 The first and in too many cases the last 

 operation is to scrape down the walls and 

 then clean out the old litter. This 

 should merely be the starting point. It 

 simply removes the visible filth, but does 

 not get at the seat of trouble on many 

 plants. In the case of dirt floors the old 

 sand or g:r'avel should be removed and the 

 floor drenched with a solution of 2 ounces 

 of Corrosive Sublimate in 15 gallons of 

 water. At least one gallon should be used 

 to every ten square feet of floor space 

 before putting in new sand. In the case 

 of wood or cement floors a thorough 

 drenching will do. A sprinkling can 

 makes the best utensil to use, no matter 

 the type of floor to be treated. 



The next step should be to spray the 

 rest of the house with a good coal tar dis- 

 infectant. Then the house should be 

 w^hitewashed or sprayed with Carbola. 

 The latter is easy to apply as it can be 

 sprayed on. If the house has never been 

 whitened before it is best to apply the 

 Carbola double strength. A white in- 

 terior makes the house lighter and 

 lengthens the day for the hens. 



Use Tobacco Dust 



In practically all parts of the county 

 pullets are often infested with intestinal 

 Continued oa page 9, column 1 



FRANK STEELE'S SUMMER HOUSES 



ONLY HIGH PRODUCING 



COWS PROFITABLE 



Why the Average Massachusetts 

 Farmer Must be a Dairyman 



With over production of milk and the 

 almost desperate endeavor to find an out- 

 let that will make the producer whole 

 from one point of view, this is not the 

 psychological moment to talk about the 

 importance of the high producing cow or 

 perhaps of the production of milk any- 

 how. But the high producing cow is the 

 profitable one and the only one that under 

 hard conditions is profitable. And this is 

 the time for the farmer who has not 

 watched the cost of milk production and 

 the way of keeping these costs to a mini- 

 mum to make sure that he is carrying 

 only profitable animals. Around eighty 

 per cent of Massachusetts crop land must 

 from necessity be devoted to the produc- 

 tion of hay and other forage and grain 

 crops. And this means live stock. Poul- 

 try under proper conditions and proper 

 management is profitable. But while it 

 provides an outlet for home grown grains 

 at a profitable return it does not take care 

 of the around .seventy per cent of arable 

 land suited to little else than hay. 



While all our farms can carry some 

 poultry, a few head of swine, and in some 

 instances a few sheep ; while most of our 

 farms can with more or less advantage 

 produce small crops of potatoes and other 

 Continued on page 2. column 2 



A SUCCESSFUL 



ONE FAMILY FARM 



Quality Production Still Counts 



Many poultrymen have asked, "Who is 

 Frank Steele?" Several years ago fruit 

 exhibitors asked the same question when 

 his name appeared on many of the first 

 prize exhibits at the Tri-County Fair. 

 Dairymen might well ask the same ques- 

 tion. In answer we might say that Mr. 

 and Mrs. Frank D. Steele of Cummington 

 make a farm family that believes that 

 anything worth doing is woi'th doing well. 



Frank is the fruit grower and poultry- 

 man of the farm business, while Mrs. 

 Steele is the homemaker, business man- 

 ager and dairyman. Together they make 

 a combination that is hard to beat. They 

 run, not a one man farm, but what is 

 better, a one family business. 



The Steele farm is located on the brow 

 of Cummington Hill toward Worthington. 

 To reach it, leave the Berkshire Trail at 

 the Cummington Creamery. Go straight 

 up the hill, following the Worthington 

 signposts. When you begin to descend the 

 hill on the Worthington side it is the first 

 place on the left. If in doubt, ask any- 

 one. 



Farm First A Sideline 



As a boy, Frank worked with his father 

 and learned the trade of butter-making. 

 This business did not suit his fancy, so 

 Continued on page 8. column 1 



