THE HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Itiower at the last of the filling^, or 

 by adding it directly after the silo 

 is filled. It should then be tramped 

 down thoroughly every day for sev- 

 eral days. Another method is to 

 cover the top with a layer of millet, 

 grass, or weeds to protect the silage 

 below from the air. Still another 

 way is to wet the surface and sow 

 oats. Even under the best condi- 

 tions, however, from 6 inches to a 

 foot will have to be discarded when 

 the silo is opened. 



WINTER LAIRYING 

 Many Advantages in Having Dairy 



Cows Freshen in the FaU — Of- 

 fers Best Returns to 

 Producers 



In many sections most of the cows 

 freshen in the spring. The more ob- 

 serving and careful dairymen, how- 

 ever, having found that winter dairy- 

 ing has many advantages, are breed- 

 ing their cows to drop the calves in 

 the fall. The following are some of 

 the advantages of winter dairying: 



First, higher prices are obtained 

 for milk and cream. As the usual 

 season for cows to freshen is the 

 spring, milk has always been plenti- 

 ful during the early summer and 

 scarce and higher during the winter. 



Second, milk and cream can be 

 handled in cold weather with less 

 danger of souring, so there is little 

 loss on account of milk returned 

 from the creamery. 



Third, the amount of labor on tlie 

 farm is better distributed through, 

 out the year. If the cows freshen in 

 the spring, they are in ful flow of 

 milk and need the best care when 

 work in the fields is most pressing. 

 ( n the other hand, if the cows calve 

 ;n the fall and are milked during 

 tiie winter, the farmer can give them 

 close attention, has more time to 

 study the problem of feeding, and 

 can give his men employment all the 

 year, and, in that way, get better 

 help. 



Fourth, the lactation period is 

 lengthened and the amount of milK 

 given during the year increased. 

 Cows that freshen in the spring, 

 milk heavily while grass is good, 

 but as the pastures dry up the flow 

 of milk falls off and with the ap- 

 proach of winter the cows are nearly 

 dry. If they freshen in the fall, 

 they should at once be started on a 

 good winter ration, and when they 

 have been milked six months it is 

 time to turn them to pasture and for 

 a time the flow of milk will be 

 nearly as great as that from fresh 

 cows. Recent investigations by ex- 

 periment stations verify this obser- 



vation. 



Fifth, fall calves can be raised 

 better than those born in the spring. 

 Young calves should be fed on milk 

 for several months, after which they 

 must be weaned and ted on solid 

 food. If they are born in the 

 spring they will be tormented by 

 flies all summer, they may be ne_ 

 glected because of the farm work, 

 and when it is time to wean them 

 they must be put on a dry winter 

 ration. Fall calves come at a time 

 when the dairyman can give them 

 the closest attention, and when 

 weaned they can be put on grass at 

 an age when an easily digested and 

 nutritioHs food is most needed. 



As more milk can be produced, 

 higher prices obtained, the labor 

 more evenly distributed throughout 

 the year, and better calves raised, 

 winter dairying offers the best re- 

 turns to producers. 



U. S. D. A. 



(Continued from Page 1) 

 ested and stored at once. Avoid, 

 even now, leaving the dug tubers in 

 the field for any length of time and 

 do not cover tubers with the dry 

 but diseased vines, as this will be 

 coveting disaster. 



Harvesting time is also the time 

 for selecting next year's seed. For 

 ;his pi'.iyose a portion of the crop 

 will have to be dug by hand. A 

 good rule to go by is to save all the 

 tubers from only those hills which 

 contain at least 6 of marketable 

 size. One man writes that in four 

 years he was able to increase the 

 number of such hills from 17 to 70 

 in 100. It is interesting to note 

 that when the tubers are planted 

 in rows 3S inches apart with 14 

 inches between the hills that an 

 average yield of one pound per hill 

 will yield 235 bushels per acre. 



"Number One" potatoes should 

 weigh not less than 4 oz. nor more 

 than 12 oz. A little more figuring 

 will enable one to see the yield that 

 seems possible — onpaper — when 



each hill produced 6 tubers of mark- 

 etable size. W erealize that our 

 ideals very rarely materialize; how- 

 ever, it is well to set out ideals 

 high. 



The marketing end of it seems to 

 be the most difficult part, but if the 

 yield can be increased by 50 per 

 cent, the grower can acord to sell 

 for a lower price. 



The government crop report for 

 September 15, reports a grand total i 

 jield for the U. S., approximately! 

 the same as the final yield for last 

 year, although the New England 

 states are reporting a decrease of 34 I 

 per cent from last year. Moreover, 



tl>e reports from Ohio, Indiana, 

 Pennsylvania, New York and New 

 England indicate that many fields 

 arer rotting badly. These reports 

 would point toward a smaller total 

 yield than the mammoth crop re- 

 ported in lfll4. If the.-^e reports 

 prove true, tlie farmer who holds 

 hir- crop until later will be the wise 

 man. Locally, farmers have been 

 Piishing their crops upon the market 

 and this has temporarily lowered the 

 price, but it is confidently expected 

 that the price will rise after this 

 rush is over. 



It has been found that many deal- 

 ers in potatoes object to buying 

 locally on account of the odd lots 

 which come in. The Maine poattoes 

 all come in 2-bushel bags and it is 

 not necessary to weigh each bag. 

 They cause less bother, are more 

 convenient from the dealers' point of 

 v'iew and it is reflected in the price 

 he is willing to pay the local men. 

 !f a few of the growers in the hill 

 tow-ns would market their crop in 2- 

 bushel sacks of uniform weight with 

 a good guarantee, we believe that 

 tliey could increase their revenue to 

 a considerable extent. 



R. K. CLAPP. 



Smith Agri. School 



ONION PROSPECTS 



The condition of onions for the 

 State of New York on September 1 

 was reported at 56 per cent of a 

 normal crop. There are in Wayne 

 the Orange Counties approximately 

 9,000 acres in onions, or about 75 

 per cent of the total acreage of the 

 State. There is an increase in these 

 counties of from 12 to 15 per cent 

 over the acreage of last year, which 

 will partially and may entirely 

 equalize the loss in yield per acre 

 this year caused by an unusually 

 wet season which caused the crop 

 to mature earlier than usual, the 

 ravages of the onion thrips, and 

 blight, all of which causes have com- 

 ))ined to reduce the size of the 

 onions grown. In Wayne County 

 the condition was reported at 3 8 per 

 cent. The reports from Orange 

 '^ounty show a condition of 65 per 

 cent of a normal crop. 



In the State of Ohio, high winds 

 and flods have probably reduced tie 

 acreage to about 50 per cent of that 

 of last year, and the attacks of the 

 onion thrips and blight have reduced 

 the State condition on the acreage 

 planted to 26 per cent of normal. 



In Indiana, where the conditions 

 which have so disastrously affected 

 the onion crop in New York and 

 Ohio have obtained to a large extent, 

 the condition of onions on September 

 1 was reported at 64 per cent. 



