TiiE HAMPSHIRE CuUXTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Published By The 



Hampshire County Farm B-ureau 



A. F. MacDougall, County Agent 



Office, First National Bank Bldg. 



Northampton, Mass. 



OFFICERS OF THE FARM BUREAU 



Charles R. Damon, President, 



Williamsburg. 



W. D. Mandell, Treasurer, 



Northampton. 

 John J. Knenedy, Secretary, 



Northampton. 



Advisory Board 

 C. E. Hodgkins, Chairman, 



Northampton. 

 M. A. Morse, Belchertown. 

 Martin Norris, Southampton. 

 Perley E. Davis, Granby. 

 E. B. Clapp, Easthampton. 

 Warren M. King, Northampton. 

 Chas. R. Damon, Williamsburg. 



EDITORIAL 



ANNOUNCEMENT 



The members of the Farm Bureau 

 support and maintain this paper. 

 One-half of their membership fee 

 goes toward a year's subscription of 

 the paper. If you are not now a 

 member, please send one dollar to 

 the Farm Bureau which entitles you 

 to its membership and the paper for 

 a year. 



their own records, but for the big 

 majority a Cow Testing Association 

 is the only solution. Dairy talk and 

 suggestions are cheap and free but 

 it is the accurate account of each 

 cow in the herd that is going to help 

 put the balance on the right side of 

 the ledger. 



At the present, practically the 

 whole county has to be covered to ob, 

 tain enough members for one asso- 

 ciation. Why is this? The same 



130- could be given as the reason 

 why the dairy organization of the 

 Connecticut Valley is just alive. 

 More interest is needed on the part of 

 every dairyman for the benefit of 

 all. The proseprous dairyman as 

 well as the one hustling to make 

 both ends meet should join together 

 to help each other along. 



The farmers in Ware have shown 

 their eagerness to get together and 

 are demanding a cow testing asso- 

 ciation. With Belchertown, Enfield, 

 Greenwicli and Prescott joining, the 

 farmers in that section are sure to 

 improve their own business as well 

 as their community. The valley 

 towns are taken care of by the pre- 

 sent Association; but we still have 

 the cream producing section in the 

 western part of the county. Here is 

 the place, if any, in the country 

 where co-operation will help. Ver_ 

 mont has 34 associations which prove 

 it must help the cream man. The 

 hill towns are starting to co-operate 

 with their apple crop, and now let 

 the dairymen combine for the wel- 

 fare of the cow and the farm. 



THE DAIRY BUSINESS i 



The cry of "no money in milk" is i 

 held up by farmers wherever one] 

 goes. It is very seldom that a farm- 

 er is found who says he is satisfied 

 that a dairy farm can be run at a 

 profit and that he "Knows" and can 

 "Prove" that his cows are paying. 



There are two ways of improving 

 conditions to make dairying profit- 

 able; either by raising the price of 

 milk or by reducing the cost of the 

 production of milk. It is a safe state- 

 ment that at least 25 per cent of the 

 cows in Hampshire County are kept 

 at a loss. But can we ask the public 

 to pay a profit on these cows un- 

 der our present system of busi- 

 ness? It is impossible to prove to 

 the consumer that milk cannot be 

 produced for 4 cents or five cents un- 

 less we have figures. How can this 

 be done? A few farmers will keep 



NEW ENGLAND FRUIT SHOW 



The fruit growers of the country 

 will be much pleased to hear that it 

 has finally been decided to hold a 

 New England Fruit Show again this 

 year at Mechanics Building, Boston. 

 The dates set are from October 23 to 

 October 30. The premium list is 

 very attractive, offering over $1500 

 in prizes for box, barrel, plate, and 

 special exhibits. Demonstrations 

 and lectures will be given daily on 

 subjects interesting to fruit growers 

 and consumers. Everyone who has 

 attended any of the previous fairs 

 knows that this is one of the biggest 

 events of the year. 



Hampshire County should be well 

 represented at this Fair, both by 

 exhibits of fruit and by a large dele- 

 gation of fruit growers and consum. 

 ers. 



FROSTED CORN 



During such a season as we are 

 now experiencing when the corn 

 crop is late maturing, the firmer 

 often wonders which is best, to 

 chance a frost on his corn, or to cut 



it before the danger season arrives. 



There is one point we must re- 

 member and that is that the corn 

 plant at the time the ear com- 

 mences to form contains a compara- 

 tively small arount of food and is 

 mostly water. The greater part of 

 the food value of the plant is form- 

 ed from this time until the ear rip- 

 ens. If we have a field that we want 

 for fodder corn and it is just glazing 

 over at the season we expect frosts, 

 it is best to wait and let it stand as 

 long a? possible. If it is cut imme- 

 diately after the first frost, little 

 damage is done. 



For t'u; siio, the best silage is pro- 

 dured vhere the corn can be put into 

 the silo after it has reached the 

 glazed stage. If we have to let it 

 stand until we get the first frost, it 

 will still make good silage. If cut 

 early, some of the feeding value is 

 lost and also the immature corn is 

 liable to make a sour silage. Im- 

 mature corn contains a nigh per cent 

 of sugar and this is the main rea- 

 son why it makes an acid silage. 

 Every day after the corn reaches 

 the milk stage, much solid matter is 

 added to it. In fact, when corn is 

 in the milk stage, it contains only 

 about 65% of the dry matter which 

 it contains two weeks later. The 

 sugar in the corn plant gradually 

 changes to starch and consequently 

 less acid is formed in the silage, 

 although it still develops a suffici- 

 ent amount to preserve it. 



Where it has been necessary to de- 

 lay until the frost strikes it, it 

 should then be cut and put into the 

 silo at once. The chief harm done 

 by frosting is the reduction of the 

 water content of the plants. For 

 this reason it is often best to add 

 some water. The cut corn as found 

 in the silo at filling time should feel 

 moist to the touch. Be sure and use 

 enough water if the leaves are dry 

 or the silage may spoil by moulding. , 

 There is no harm done by adding 

 too much water, except that you 

 have to carry it out when the silage 

 is fed. One may add the water to 

 the silage at the time of filling by 

 running it into the blower with a 

 liose from a barrel or it may be ad- 

 ded to the silage in the silo as the 

 filling progresses. If the frosted 

 corn is not even near the glazed 

 stage, it will probably contain 

 enough water to pack satisfactorily. 



When the filling is completed, the 

 top should be leveled off and pack- 

 ed down as thorotighly as possible. 

 To prevent too much of the top lay- 

 er from spoiling, sojue means should 

 be used to exclude the air as much 

 as possible. This may be done by 

 adding water, either through the 



