THK HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Published By The 



Haanpsliire County Farm Bureau 



A. F. MacDougall, County Agent 



Office, First National Bank Bldg. 



Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Nov. 9, 1915 at the post office at 

 Northampton, Massachusetts, under 

 the Act of March 8, 1879. 



Huntington are aiming for and if 

 quick action is taken, witliout doubt 

 tliey will have a school. The towns- 

 women showed a great deal of in- 

 terest in the talks by Miss Laura 

 Comstock of the College last spring 

 and iignified their desire for more 

 work of this kind. 



The proposition of holding Exten- 



OFFICERS OF THE FARM BUREAU 



Lcsl.e 11. Suiith, Fresideul, Haaiey. 

 W D. Mandell, Treasurer, Northainp- 



ton 

 K. K. Clapp, Secretary, Nortliamp- 



ton. 



Advisory Board 



Leslie R. Smiih, liadley 



Chas. R. Damon, Williamsburg 



Ferley E. Davis, Granby 



C. E. Hodgkins, Nortliampton 



Vvarren M. King. Northampton 



M. A Aiorse, Belchertown 



Mari'n Norris, Southampton 



ic acid in acid phosphate 5%c lb. 

 By ordering early, better prices 

 arc usually obtained, shipments are 

 n;ore prompt and the farmer is more 

 ; eady for rush of spring work. 



LIME 

 There is hardly a farm in the- 

 County where lime cannot be used 

 ! sion schools in Granby and Ware to advantage somewhere in the crop 

 ' was discussed last year to some ex- rotation. Last spring after it wa? 

 tent and several farmers in these time to be planting, several in- 

 towns are apparently interested quiries came into the Farm Bureau 

 this year. It may be possible to office asking where lime could b? 

 hold a third Extension school iti obtained. 



There are several reasons why the 

 purchasing of lime should be at- 

 tended 'o early in the winter in- 

 stead of waiting until late spring. 



1. One cannot afford to purchase- 

 ground limestone except in carload 

 farmers are turning their attention i lots on account of the freight charg- 

 to purchasing next season's fertiliz- ps. Neighbors should pool their or- 

 er. Agents have been more than | ders early and get a car-load into 



! the county and without doubt, i' 

 will be held somewhere in th» 

 eastern part of the County. 



FERTILIZER 



Now that the crops are harvested. 



EDITORIAL 



EXTENSION SCHOOLS. 



With the approach of winter, 

 many towns in the County are con- 

 sidering ';he possibility of having: 

 an Extension School from the Mass. 

 Agricultural College. This method 

 of the college reaching the peopie 

 has proved one of the most popular 

 and beneficial ways of any tried by 

 the Extension Service. The farm- 

 ers and their wives go to school 

 the farmers receiving instructions 

 on dairying, soil fertility, fruit 

 again for a period of four days, 

 growing, poultry, etc., while the 

 women listen to helpful Calks on 

 Household Management, home dec- 

 orations, home nursing, etc. On 

 the average, two schools are held in 

 each County. The town of West- 

 hampton has decided to have one 

 the first week in December. This is 

 a town of hard-working, industri- 

 ous and prosperous farmers, but 

 they are anxious and willing to 

 take a few days off to listen to 

 talks on ways in which to increase 

 profitable crop production and meth- 

 ods of dairy improvement, etc. 



The farmers in the town of Hunt- 

 ington are seriously dpnsidering 

 holding a school. The farmers in 

 this 'town are scattered to quite 

 an extent which makes it rather . 

 hard for them to meet at a central 

 point. A school of this kind is a 

 great help in bringing the people 

 in closer touch with each other and 

 creating more of a cooperative spir- 

 it. This is what the farmers in 



active in the Connecticut Valley 

 for the past month and a large per 

 cent, of the farmers have placed 

 their orders. The prices offered by 

 reliable agents of old established 

 concerns are practically standard- 

 ized. The .source and availability 

 of the plant foods vary with the dif- 

 ferent brands and it is these two 

 very important points that the buy- 

 er should study carefully before 

 placing his order. Buy on analysis; 

 it is pounds of nitrogen, phosphoric 

 acid, and potash you want, not 

 pounds of filler. High-grade fertil- 

 izers contain less filler and the 

 price per pound for the plant food 

 elements is less than in the cheap- 

 er grades and it usually comes from 

 a better source. A ton of high- 



the community. 



>2. In the spring the roads are 

 bad and with tlie rush of -woBk, 

 *ime is too valuable to spend it on 

 the road. Haul it' in the winter 

 when the sledding is good. 



3. The lime quarries are rushed 

 in the spring, orders are delayed. 

 freight cars are usually in more 

 demand and consequently ship- 

 ments are late. 



4. Prices are generally higher, 

 some concerns adding 25c a ton on 

 all shipments after .\pril 1st. 



Group meetings should be held 

 within the next month or two of 

 the farmers in a community inter- 

 ested in using lime At this time 

 the prices and analysis from dif- 

 ferent concerns should be discussod 



grade goods may contain as much and orders placed. 



A 



minimum 



plant food as a ton and a half or 

 i even two ton of a low grade mix- 

 ture. Buy the best, use less and 

 your cost of crop production will 

 be reduced. 



If a farmer is so situated that he 

 can buy the raw materials and mix 

 his own goods, he has the advant- 

 age of being able to select the kind 

 and quality of the different materi- 

 als he wishes and usually can save 

 several dollars per ton as com- 

 pared with mixed fertilizer. 



The following approximate prices 

 will give an idea of the fertilizer 

 market this year. These prices 

 are on the basis of cash on delivery, i oughly done 

 Nitrate Soda, 15 %N 

 Si'lphate Ammonia, 20% N 

 Cyanamid. 20 %N 

 Fish. S%N 1,T% P O 

 Tankage. fl%N 5% P 

 Acid Phosphate. 14% P O 

 Potash 



car on the Boston & Maine is 20 

 tons and on other railroads 25 ton.>5 

 making it necessary for only 4 to S 

 farmers to cooperate in placing an 

 order for a car. 



Continued from Page One. 

 APPLE GRADING 

 .3. That the day of the scrub ap- 

 ple tree is over and that only fruit 

 from well pruned and sprayed trees 

 can be harvested at a profit. Any 

 'apple tree that is sound and good va- 

 riety will give big returns for all 

 money spent in pruning, spraying, 

 etc.. providing the work is tlior- 



.$69.00 I More interest than ever sliouia be 



^2.f*0 taken in all sections of the county 



^^•-^ this coming winter in the pruning 



cQ 'upland spraying of the fruit trees, 



16 00 ' rn3l<ing an effort to produce more 



$150-31200 i "Fancy" and "Grade A" fruit, re- 



The price per pound nitrogen in , ducing the waste of time and money 



nitrate soda, 23c, Sulphate Ammo- 1 in harvesting, grading and packing 



nia 23c, Cyanamid, ISc, Phosphor- 1' poor grade fruit. 



