

HAMR3HIRE: COUfsSTY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Published by the Hampshire County Farm Bureau 



PRICES 50 CENTS PER YEAR; $1.00 PER YEAR INCLUDING MEMBERSHIP IN FARM BUREAU 



Vol. 1 



Northampton, Tvlass., November 1915 



No. 3 



MABKETING APPLES 



I\^ext season it will be necessii-y 

 for the farmer to grade ar.d pack his 

 fruit according to a standard, laid 

 down by the laws of Massachusetts.! 

 Do we need this law and will it be a 

 benefit to the grower? 



Several demonstrations have been 

 given in the county explaining the 

 law and it appears that a majority of 

 the farmers are in favor of it, many 

 are on the fence, and a few are 

 against it. 



A standard package, a uniform 

 grade, and an honest stencil, are the 

 main points of the law. Why will 

 this not be a benefit to the farmer? 

 A conclusive proof in favor of it is 

 shown in the difference in prices le- 

 ceived on the London and Glascow 

 markets for Canadian and American 

 Baldwins. Canada has had a law 

 similar to ours for ten years and for 

 the past few years has been receiv- 

 ing, on the average, fifty cents more 

 per barrel for her fruit than we 

 have; the only advantage being that 

 she graded and packed her appl'5S 

 properly. Even the Canadians ad- 

 mit we can grow a better Baldwin 

 in New England than they can i.i 

 Canada, but still they are receiving 

 the better price. 



Because a grower has to put his 

 wormy and inferior fruit In one bar- 

 rel and his good fruit in two or three 

 grades, does not mean he is throw- 

 ing away apples. A good many 

 growers are getting a much higher 

 price for their seconds, simply be- 

 cause it is graded, than other growers 

 are getting for their firsts, because 

 they have not thought best to throw 

 out some inferior fruit. 



During seasons wnen fruit is 

 scarce, one may get a decent price 

 even if it is not graded, but what 

 about the years when we have plenty 

 of fruit? 



Hampshire County today is suf- 

 fering in marketing her apples be- 

 cause of the reputation she has made 

 for herself in the past. Why is It 

 that we have had only two or three 

 buyers through this section and oth- 

 er places have been flooded with 



Iniyers who ar; paying fifty cents 

 more per barrel tlian the buyers are 

 giving here? It is not the fact we 

 have poor apples, but tliat they have 

 been packed in the past in such a 

 manner that buyers who want goo.l 

 fruit do not come near. Do not 

 tliink that the whole blame is on the 

 farmer. In some cases the farmer is 

 to hlarae and in a good many cases It 

 is the buyer's fault. 



When a farmer sells his apples 

 this season for $2.00 or $2.25. he 

 will not be satisfied if much poor 

 fruit is thrown out and consequently 

 a good many poor apples get by. Wny 

 not have the fruit graded right and 

 ask a high price per barrel? Do not 

 give the whole crop away at a low 

 nrice for the sake of selling a few 

 poor apples. 



If the growers continue to be wiP- 

 ing to sell to buyers at a low price 

 and have the fruit graded poorly, 

 then the same trouble will be experi- 

 enced each year in getting reliable 

 Iniyers and a profitable return. A few 

 b\iyers who have been paying good 

 prices in other sections have been 

 interviewed and asked why they 

 skipped our district. Their replies 

 v.-ere that they could not buy in 

 large enough amounts and that in 

 the past their houses had bought 

 here through certain buyers and the 

 fruit was graded and packed in such 

 a way that they did not wish to try 

 it again. 



How can this condition be chang- 

 ed? A few growers in Williamsburg 

 this year are attempting to over- 

 throw this opinion and establish a 

 reputation for themselves. All of 

 their fruit is being graded and pack- 

 ed uniformly and the stencil tells ex- 

 actly what is inside the barrel. It 

 may take them a year or two to get 

 known on the market, but it is the 

 only way to .get the proper returns 

 for their fruit. 



Join together so that you can have 

 fruit to attract the buyers, have it 

 packed in standard barrels, grade it 

 uniformly, and put something that 

 you are ready to stand back of on 

 the market. 



FALL NOTES ON POULTRY KEEP- 

 ING 



This is the time of year when the 

 poultryman should get in his best 

 work in culling his flock. In the 

 first place feed is too high to carry 

 along a large number of non-pro- 

 ducing or low producing hens and the 

 same thing is true of pullets. 



The observing poultryman will 

 have located practically all such 

 hens in his flock by this time anct 

 tlie sooner they are disposed of the 

 better. 



In selecting hens for next year's 

 flock, either breeders or layers, the 

 following should be eliminated': first, 

 those that are over fat, logy in action 

 or apparently lazy, and those having 

 heavy abdomens or "baggy" as tlifi 

 saying goes. Second, hens that are 

 not standing the molt well and have 

 become poor in flesh or are emacia- 

 ted. Third, those that appear diseas- 

 ed or blemished. Scaley legged 

 fowls should be disposed of and not 

 kept to pass this so called disease 

 on to others. The same is true of 

 roup, chicken pox, severe colds, etc. 

 In fact every effort should be made 

 to eliminate birds that are low in 

 vitality. Fourth, hens that are prone 

 to broodiness throughout the year. 

 It will be a very easy matter for him 

 to eliminate those that have this 

 characteristic highly developed. 

 Considerable difference will be found 

 in the egg production of two hens, 

 one having been broody once during 

 the year and the other eleven or 

 twelve times, other things being 

 equal of course. Fifth, there are 

 many practical poultrymen who 

 claim that heavy laying bleaches 

 the shanks as well as the feathers. 

 In all probability this is true of 

 strains or families, but is not true 

 of every individual in a flock. In 

 other words the general statement 

 that a hen with yellow shanks at 

 this time of the year is a poor layer 

 is not absolutely true. The records. 

 at this Institution bear testimony to 

 this fact. It is somewhat late in the 

 season to advocate holding the very 

 best early hatched cockerels for 

 breeding purposes. It is well lor 

 every poultryman to have a number 

 (Continued on Page 4) 



