THE HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



tained at tie Farm Bureau Office or 

 of tue M. A. C. li^xtension Service. 



Talk tliis matter i^p in your com- 

 munity. Decide to go and bring as 

 many with you as possible. Remem- 

 ber the dates March 13-17 and keep 

 them for Farmers' Week. 



DAIRY RECORDS. 

 Cows in the Connecticut Valley 

 Cow-Test Association making over 

 1000 lbs. milk or 40 lbs. butter fat 

 for the mouth of January: 



E. T. Whitaker, Hadley, Grade 

 Holsteins. 



Milk Fat 



1184 lbs. 42.6 lbs. 



Hugh Bridgman, Westhampton, 

 Pur-i-Bred Holsteins. 

 1002 40.1 



1194 41.8 



F. D. Bridgman, Guernsey. 

 957 40.2 



James McAuslane, Easthampton, 

 Pure-Bred Holsteins. 

 1094 43.8 



1255 46.4 



W. A. Parsons, Southampton. 

 921 44.2 



964 40.5 



981 52.0 



806 42.7 



Broadlie Farm, Easthampton, Pure- 

 Bred Guernsey. 



756 41.6 



W. C. Heiden, Hadley, Guernsey. 

 741 41.5 



T. E. Dimick, Hadley, Holsteins. 

 1056 37.9 



1358 44.8 



E. D. Waid, Amherst, Holsteins. 

 1381 42.8 



E. C. Harlow, Cushman, Pure- 

 Bred Jerseys. 

 1125 55.1 



636 46.4 



877 43.9 



605 42.4 



611 41.5 



C. W. Ball, South Hadley, Pure- 

 Bred Holsteins. 

 1505 40.6 



1302 33.8 



1215 36.4 



J. L. Ingham, Granby, Holsteins. 

 1082 40.0 



STERILIZATION OF TOBACCO 

 SEED-BEDS 



There are several methods of soil 

 sterilization used in different parts 

 of the country, but the best and most 

 eonvenient are sterilization either by 

 ■team or formaldehyde. These are 

 the only two that will be discussed at 

 this time. 



method is the one most commoaiy 

 used, and wneu properly carnea oui 

 is certain in i^s eucc^s. The so-caUc;u 

 iuvertea pan meiuoa is most aaapt- 

 able for use ou tooacco seeu-ue^s. iu^ 

 pan should be made of about 18 gauge 

 galvanized iron relnlorced lo stiffen 

 It, or it may be made of tightiy 

 matched boards. It may be any con- 

 veuient size; a pan approximately 6 

 feet wide by 10 feet long by 14 inches 

 deep has been found very satisfactory. 

 To this is attached a nipple and hose 

 connection for fastening the steam 

 hose from the boiler. The boiler 

 should be capable of generating and 

 holding pressure at the gauge of from 

 70 '.o SO pounds. For convenience in 

 moving the pan, hanr^es are usually 

 placed at the corners. The method 

 of precedure Is as fo'lows: 



The edge of the inverted pan are 

 pressed into the soil from 2 to 4 

 inches, the soil previously having 

 been spaded and pulverized, and the 

 steam is turned in. The beds should 

 be steamed for at least one-half hour 

 in order to be certain that thorough 

 sterilization has been effected. A 

 little longer, however, will do no 

 harm under ordinary circumstances. 

 In certain soils it has been found that 

 the bed can be sterilized in a shorter 

 p-riod of time, but this is not ad- 

 visable. 



After sterilizing the soil under the 

 pan, the pan is removed and placed 

 over the next portion of the bed, and 

 the soil just steamed Is covered with 

 some thicknesses of burlap to retain 

 the heat as long as possible. 



Steam sterilization has a three- 

 fold value. It not only kills the 

 fungi that cause disease, but renders 

 some of the plant food more quickly 

 available, and also another great ad- 

 vantage, kills weed seed. It is usu- 

 ally unnecessary to weed beds that 

 have been sterilized by steam. Seed 

 should not be sown in beds that have 

 be-n steam sterilized for perhaps two 

 days after sterilization. This will al- 

 low ample time for the bed to cool 

 and dry out if necessary. The length 

 of time elapsing before planting the 

 s~ed varies with the character of the 

 so'l and condition of the bed. 



Beds that have been steam steril- 

 ized are likely to dry out more quick- 

 ly on the surface than beds whicn 

 have not been so treated, and it is 

 therefore necessary djiring the first 

 few days to water lightly at more 

 frpfiuent intervals than Is usually the 

 custom. 



2. Formalin Sterilization. Thp 

 formalin treatment is also much used 

 in different localities, but owing to 

 carelesness In manipulation and lack 



of attention to details, bad results are 

 sometimes ootained. The character of 

 tne soil also should determine some-^ 

 what the advisability of using this 

 method. A clean, clayey soil which 

 packs and puddles easily does not re- 

 spond readily to this treatment, ex- ' 

 cept as a surface sterilization. 



The method of application is as 

 follows: — 1 volume formalin, 37-40 

 per cent, is added to 100 volumes wa- 

 ter and applied to the seed-bed at 

 the rate of 1 gallon to the square 

 foot. Care should be exercised not to 

 apply it so fast that it will puddle 

 or stand on the soil. The bed should 

 then be covered with boards for at 

 least two days, and then the board 

 should be removed and the soil raked 

 over to allow all fumes to escape. Oc- 

 casionally it has been found neces- 

 sary to use the formalin in the pro- 

 portion of 1-50 or 1-75, owing to soil 

 conditions or to resistance of organ- 

 isms to treatment. Six to eisrht days 

 shou'd elapse before planting the seed 

 to allow all gas to ef^cape, as the 

 presence of any formaldehyde gas in 

 the soil will kill the seed. 



While the formalin treatment does 

 not render more qnlckly available 

 any fertilizing coistituents of the 

 soil, it will kill all di=e^se producing 

 fungi. It destroys weed seed to a 

 certain extent also, altho'ish in this 

 respect it is not so efBcacious as the 

 steam treatment. 



GEO. A. CHAPMAN, 



Continued From Page One 



FERTILIZER SUGGESTIONS 



tion of the first and third has some- 

 times given exceptionally good re- 

 sults. Quantity of this mixture or 

 any of the single materials, 100 to 

 200 pounds per acre. If phosphoric 

 acid also is deemed necessary, a high- 

 ly nitrogenized commercial brand 

 may be desirable. 



b. Top-dressing clover and alfal- 

 fa. — Wood ashes if obtainable are 

 probably the best under the peculiar 

 conditions now existing 



c. Corn. — Use manure and 300 

 to 500 pounds of a fertilizer carry- 

 ing 2 1-2 to 3 per cent of nitrogen 

 and about 10 per cent available phos- 

 phoric acid. 



d. Potatoes, root crops and vege- 

 tables. — Use some manure if avail- 

 able and In connection with It 500 

 to 600 pounds of a mixed fertilizer 

 containing about 2 1-2 per cent ni- 

 trogen and 8 per cent phosphoric 

 acid. If manure Is not available and 

 the soil is strongly acid, broadcast 

 800 to 1000 pounds of wood ashes 

 and use 1000 to 2000 pounds of mix- 

 ed fertilizer containing about 4 to 



