THE HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Continued from Page 1 

 MEMBERSHIP 



their time between March IS and 25 

 to securing new members to tlie Bu- 

 reau. Fortliermore, some oJ: tlie. of- 

 ficers stand ready to go into tliose 

 towns where the directors rfequest it 

 and assist them in malting the can- 

 vass or by speaking beiore gatlierings 

 of farmers for the purpose of better 

 acquainting them with the work and 

 aims of the Bureau. 



In case some should question the 

 wisdom of attempting to raise addi- 

 tional money during the j'ear 1916, 

 . let me roughly state our needs. 

 Salaries have been increased approxi- 

 mately $300. We are contemplating 

 moving into a larger office where the 

 oLdce equipment can be more profit- 

 ably utilized and this will require an 

 additional $200 or $300. Your of- 

 ficers also desire to do more in the 

 line of club work with the boys and 

 girls, more particularly in the rural 

 districts, getting them interested in 

 the pig, calf, corn, potato, garden 

 and canning clubs. These clubs are 

 under the direction of the Mass. Ag- 

 ricultural College, but in order to be 

 made the greatest success they must 

 be more closely supervised than is 

 possible in the time allowed the Col- 

 leg authorities. The children are the 

 men and women of tomorrow, and if 

 our work is to be permanent, we must 

 commence at the foundation. Three 

 hundred dollars ($300) has already 

 been appropriated for this purpose, 

 but that will not be nearly enough to 

 adequately covep Ihe whole Country. 

 Some may think that the County 

 Agent ought to take time to super- 

 vise the boys' and girls' club work, 

 but when you remember the 2900 

 farms in he County with approxi- 

 mately 300 working days in the year, 

 there is very little time left after the 

 adults have been visited, their prob- 

 lems studied individually and collect- 

 ively, and the one hundred and one 

 other matters to do that are contin- 

 ually coming up to demand the Coun- 

 ty Agent's attention. 



Therefore in view of the good work 

 that the County Agent has accom- 

 plisTied and is planning to accomplish 

 during the present year and with the 

 various plans for improving the work, 

 we earnestly urge you to carefully 

 consider the question and then send 

 your dollar membership fee to your 

 director. If you have already done 

 so, speak a good work for the Bu- 

 reau to your neighbor and secure his 

 membership for your director. 



R. K. CLAPP, Secretary. 



RURAL TOWN IMPROVEMENT. 



The Improvement of Towns and 

 Villages, long considered an import- 

 |ant phase of public work, has here- 

 I tofore been undertaken only after 

 jthe community has reached a certain 

 standard of economic efficiency and 

 financial stability. Nothing could be 

 further removed from the ideal con- 

 diJon of civic growth. Any type of 

 community betterment should be 

 looked upon not as a luxury, but 

 rather as a necessity, not as a future 

 probability, but as a present possi- 

 oility, which will become an asset to 

 the Town, atti-acting thereto an ideal 

 type of citizen. 



Each one of us would far rather 

 live in a Town which boasts of clean, 

 tree bordered streets, of neat lawns 

 and artistically designed houses, a 

 Town which supports fine school 

 buildings to which we may send our 

 children, with nearby playgrounds in 

 which they may ' gain health and 

 strength. We also demand clean, 

 pure water, sanitary facilities of the 

 highest type, electric lighting sys- 

 tems, gas for light and fuel, steam 

 and electric railways, telephone and 

 telegraph and other public utilities. 



Heretofore we may have looked to 

 the individual members of a commu- 

 nity for encouragement, believing 

 that in them we have the nucleus of 

 the entire question. Now we hope for 

 the co-operation of a group of men, 

 men virtually interested in the great- 

 est good which may accrue from 

 such efforts, the greatest good to the 

 Town, and thus to every citizen who 

 has business interests within its 

 boundaries. The Grange, the, local 

 Improvement Society, the Women's 

 Club, the County Farm Bureau, the 

 public schools, the churches, — all 

 these agencies and many others may 

 do much toward molding public senti- 

 ment. 



To encourage this type of Rural 

 Town Improvement, the Extension 

 Service of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College offers the advice of 

 any expert on the many phases of 

 community betterment and of rural 

 and civic improvement. Advice will 

 be given, and so far as practicable, 

 plans will be prepared for the gener- 

 al arrangement and planting of 

 School Grounds in both town and 

 county, of Playgrounds and other 

 Recreation and Community Centers, 

 for the betterment of Railroad Sta- 

 tions and of Trolley Waiting Sta- 

 tions and their surroundings, the res- 

 toration and improvment of Village 

 Greens and Town Commons. Advice 

 will also be given upon the planting 

 and care of Street Trees, and the re- 

 planting of the borders of the coun- 



try roads. Rural Cemeteries for 

 many years have been in need of 

 vigorous measures toward proper 

 maintenance or further extensions, 

 and the planting and redesign of such 

 tracts will be undertaken. 



While lectures upon this work will 

 gladly, be given, the Extension Ser- 

 vice Expert prefers to prepare plans 

 and 'otherwise superintend actual, in- 

 dividual improvement projects, whicn 

 may, however, be accompanied by a 

 report for general town improvement. 

 The best way to secure results is for 

 the College Expert to visit the town 

 for consultation with the Selectmen 

 and other interested individuals or 

 organizations. Then, if it seems de- 

 sirable plans can he prepared for 

 special improvements. 



The work will be confined to strict- 

 ly public enterprises, and no worn 

 will be undertaken for individual.3. 

 All expenses incurred in the prepa- 

 ration of plans, superintendence of 

 planting or construction, and the 

 traveling expenses of individuals oth- 

 er than the College Expert, will be 

 charged at cost to the communities or 

 organizations served. 



F. A. GUSHING SMITH 



SPRAYING DE7M0NSTRATI0N. 



This spring all the Farm Bureaus 

 and Improvement Leagues in Massa- 

 chusetts are planning on a state- wide 

 spraying campaign. Orchards in dif- 

 ferent sections of each County are to 

 be taken as demonstration orchards 

 and the spraying in each case is to 

 be supervised and directed by the 

 County Agent. A cost account will 

 be kept and in the fall when the fruit 

 is han'ested, accurate data on the ad- 

 vantages of spraying will be avail- 

 able. 



In Hampshire County, six orchards 

 will be chosen for this work. In the 

 localities where the most Interest Is 

 shown and orchards best located for 

 demonstration work obtained, work 

 of this kind will be carried on. 



The County Agent would be very 

 glad to communicate with any iindi- 

 viduals who are interested in this 

 spraying demonstration and who has 

 an orchard suited to the work. The 

 main requierments are that the or- 

 chard shall be well pruned and ac- 

 cessible to a publice road so that the 

 community can benefit by its results. 



Besides these demonstration or- 

 chards, pruning and spraying demon- 

 strations will be given in the differ- 

 ent towns and communities wherever 

 desired. Get in touch wifh your di- 

 rectors and have him arrange for one 

 of these meetings. 



