HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



A Sueoessfiil One Family Farm 



Continued from page 1, column 3 



he took up painting and paper-hanging as 

 a profession. Twelve years ago he 

 found that this line of work was injur- 

 ious to his health, so farming was decided 

 upon and the present place was bought. 



Only those who have ti-ied to rouse a 

 slumbering farm into activity know the 

 long hours of hard manual labor that it 

 takes. In the early years Mr. Steele had 

 the farm as a sideline to his painting 

 business, because it was not developed to 

 a point where it would support his fami- 

 ly. As the years went on the farm was 

 developed to a point where it became the 

 main enterprise and painting was used 

 only as an anchor in times of poor crops. 



Fruit Business Developed 



Twelve years ago the greatest source 

 of income on the place was an old Green- 

 ing orchard. New orchards have been 

 planted with more desirable varieties, 

 such as Mcintosh and Wealthys. Peaches 

 have been a profitable crop on this farm, 

 due perhaps to the sheltered position of 

 the orchard. Cherries, raspberries and 

 blueberries have helped the farm income, 

 too. Fruit has been the main source of 

 income for several years. Fungus dis- 

 eases and insect pests have done a mini- 

 mum of damage, due to thorough spray- 

 ing. Until two years ago all the spray- 

 ing was done with a barrel pump and 

 excellent results were obtained. Now a 

 IJower sprayer is used. 



Spraying alone is not responsible for 

 the fine fruit grown on this farm. Every 

 year the trees are carefully piuned and 

 fertilized. After the ".June drop" all of 

 the apples are thinned. As a result the 

 quality of the fruit is excellent and the 

 prizes won at fairs are well merited. In 

 fact Steele's apples have for years been 

 "the kind you can eat in the dark." 



Poultry Keeping Found Profitable 



Within the past few years the poultry 

 enterprise has been developed on this 

 farm to a point equal to the fruit busi- 

 ness. With increased business came new 

 problems. For two years this farm has 

 been caiTying on a successful disease 

 control demonstration. This year 1,000 

 chickens are being reared. From these 

 about 400 pullets will be selected for this 

 winter. At the present time these birds 

 are making a fine growth and there 

 seems to be no reason why they will not 

 equal the record made by last year's 

 flock. 



Here is the flock record from October, 

 1923, to the present time: 



No. 



October 



November 



December 



January 



February 



March 



April 

 May 

 June 

 July 



Average per bird (10 mos.) 161.34 



This record carries with it several les- 

 sons. First, compai-ing the number of 

 birds kept in the different months, from 

 October to June, only 19 birds were culled 

 out. This shows that the pullets must 

 i have ben carefully culled before being 

 I put into the laying houses. This is a les- 

 \ son many could profitably take to heart. 

 I Lights were used on the flock, yet high 

 hatchability was secured. This year, in 

 .spite of selling day old chicks, Mr. Steele 

 had his own chicks in one lot, which 

 makes for efficiency in rearing. Orders 

 were turned down to this, but Mr. Steele 

 sees the practical application concerning 

 "the goose that laid the golden egg." 



Disease ControJ and Labor Savers 



The chick range is an example of effi- 

 ciency. Mash hoppers are used which 

 were built on the M. A. C. plans. An 

 improvement is made, however, in that 

 the rooves are of galvanized iron. Two 

 sheets make the roof. These are nailed 

 to an "A" shaped frame. A ridge pole 

 of s X 2 inch furring is used. The ends 

 of the hopper box are notched to hold this 

 ridge pole, thus preventing the roof from 

 blowing oft'. In filling, one end of the 

 roof is picked up and the whole roof slid 

 to one side. The two hoppers hold 300 

 pounds each and do not have to be filled 

 very often. The filling is done from the 

 end of a flivver truck. 



A water barrel at one end of the range 

 is filled with a hose from the kitchen 

 sink. The water is allowed to drip from 

 the barrel to a galvanized eave trough, 

 so the chickens always have a supply of 

 fresh water. There are box hoppers con- 

 taining grit, oyster shells and charcoal. 

 By using these labor saving devices, Mr. 

 Steele says that he cares for 1,000 chicks 

 now, easier than he cared for 500 before 

 he used these devices. 



In the summer his hens are given range 

 in a field, using the houses built on the 

 Tolman plans, published last year in this 

 paper. He has four of these hou.ses now 

 and says he likes them so well that he is 

 going to build four more. Each house 

 comfortably cares for 70 hens. 



An Efficient Dairy Herd 



Napoleon once said to his army, "We 

 are few but we are fit." The Steele's 

 could say the same of their dairy herd. 

 It consists of 12 head, four of which were 

 milked last year. The foundation cow 

 produced 20,000 pounds of milk last year. 

 Two first calf heifers produced 12,000 

 pounds each. The other eight heifers, 

 two of which calve this fall, have a right 

 to be good. Their dams have been extra 



Clothing that combines comfort with 

 dignity. 



That's what we try to sell, Not 

 how cheap, but at a price as low as 

 good fabrics and good tailoring will 

 permit. 



Prices ^30 to ^55 



MERRITT CLARK & CO. 



Corona is the standard Portable 

 Typewriter. 



9^ Take it with you. Set it anywhere. 



^ Will do anything a big machine can 



<{> do. 



?g $50.00 cash or small monthly pay- 

 ments. 



<> 



good prc'-.cors and the sire's have pro- 



I NORTHAMPTON 



I COMMERCIAL COLLEGE, Inc 



^ A ff Hilts 



I 76 Pleasant Street 



^ Northampton, Mass 



£xi6e 



BATTERIES 



Demand a battery that gives 

 you lasting satis fa ctfon — 

 plenty of power and care- 

 free service. Then see that 

 you get an Exide. 



The G. P. Trowbridge Co. 



129 King St. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



Phone: 480 



