HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' WORK 

 CHAKLES H. GOULD, Lea.Ier 



A Sheep Club 



The Bradley Knitting Company of 

 Delavan, Wisconsin, conscious of the 

 growing shortage of wool and aspiring 

 to start at least 5,000 boys as shepherds 

 in a small way, is seeking to interest 

 boys everywhere in sheep clubs. The 

 company is working with the approval 

 of the U. S. D. A. and the cooperation 

 of local club workers. At the present 

 time boys all over the United States, 

 properly recommended, are taking an 

 examination on sheep-raising. Later all 

 who present satisfactory papers will 

 receive a flock of four bred ewes, giving 

 their note for them at 5 per cent interest. 

 Some of the flocks are financed by the 

 Company itself; the others by banks, 

 corporations and individuals interested 

 in the project. There are to be annual 

 prizes for the largest increase in flocks. 



Although little else has been done with 

 this in Massachusetts, Mr. Gould has 

 taken hold of it and the following boys 

 are taking their examinations: Kenfred 

 and Walter Root of Easthampton, Sid- 

 ney Sears and Dexter Beals of Lithia, 

 Edward Montague of Westhampton, 

 Atherton Parsons of Southampton, James 

 Swanton of Amherst, and Stanley Mason 

 of Worthington. 



The Northampton Exhibit 



On September 8 an exhibit of the boys' 

 and girls' garden products was held in 

 the city hall, Northampton, under the 

 direction of Mrs. B. B. Hinckley of the 

 City Committee, and the Bureau. The 

 vegetables were brought in the morning 

 and were judged in the afternoon, the 

 vegetables by the supervisors and the 

 canned products by Miss Harriman. 

 During the afternoon as many of the 

 exhibitors as wished to, placed the ex- 

 hibits, and those scoring most nearly 

 to the judges' decisions received prizes. 

 The prize money was furnished by Mr. 

 Childs, who also offered the prepared 

 land on West Street for 130 gardens, 

 and by the Board of Trade through 

 subscription. This also includes the 

 prizes for the best plots. The Bureau 

 furnished supervision for nearly 200 

 gardens. 



Blueberries in the Northampton mar- 

 ket September 18. Isn't that pretty 

 near a record? 



Odds and Ends 



Just now the youngsters are getting 

 ready for the fairs. 



In Worthington and Chesterfield ex- 

 hibits are under way in which the 

 produce of the home gardens will be 

 shown. In Ware there are three prizes 

 of generous size to be awarded October 

 6 for the best general exhibits from 

 school gardens. 



The Cummington boys and girls will 

 exhibit their garden stufl' at the Cum- 

 mington fair September 20-21. In Am- 

 herst the work has been under the direc- 

 tion of H. T. Stowell and nearly .300 

 gardens have come through the season 

 in good shape. There will be an exhibit 

 at the Amherst fair under the direction 

 of Prof. Hart. 



The boys are beginning to pay for 

 their pigs. Five have already sent in 

 their cash. 



Prof. Farley of the State College gave 

 a talk in Plainfield in August on boys' 

 and girls' work, and Mr. Gould intends 

 to organize clubs there as soon as possi- 

 ble. 



Tobacco Men Organize 



On September 1.3 a meeting of the 

 Franklin-Hampshire Tobacco Growers' 

 Association was held in the Board of 

 Trade rooms, Northampton. The con- 

 stitution was adopted and the following 

 officers elected: 



Secretary-treasurer — L. C. Field, Had- 

 ley. 



Board of directors — F. L. Whitmore, 

 Sunderland; A. W. Ball, Deerfield; G. 

 F. Pelissier, Hadley; Charles Wade, 

 Hatfield; Seth Warner, Florence. 



Committee of audit — W. L. Harris, 

 Deerfield; L. R. Smith, Hadley; T. 

 Graves, Hatfield. 



The directors will hold their first meet- 

 ing at the Farm Bureau office on 

 Sept. 20. 



The frost came during two days when 

 Agent MacDougall was out of town. One 

 50-50 investor has suggested that he 

 was faithless to his job. "What do we 

 hire a county agent for anyway, if he 

 does not protect us from frosts?" 



The Bureau has several nicely bound 

 copies of the annual repoit of the state 

 board of agriculture, which contain in- 

 teresting papers on various subjects and 

 may be had at the office for the asking. 



County Comment 



One of our county farmers was seen, 

 filling his silo August 30. He may have 

 had a personal reason which made it 

 imperative, but the fact remains that he 

 was cutting his corn just before nature 

 had put the greatest food value on the 

 stalks. 



Perley Davis of Granby has mowed his 

 grass, carried it in, spread his manure, 

 in fact done practically all his farm work 

 this season with a tractor. 



For the most part the fields financed 

 by the 50-50 project are in good shape. 

 The investors in town are beginning to 

 inquire about their crops and are coming 

 to appreciate more and more what the 

 farmer is constantly up against in the 

 way of obstacles. 



One Easthampton girl reported 76 

 summer squashes from six hills the last 

 time we visited her garden. The boys 

 who planted peanuts are anxiously begin- 

 ning to dig for them. 



The manufacturers' corn and potatoes 

 are the most thrifty looking plots in 

 The Meadows. 



Although the growing number of in- 

 quiries regarding sheep indicate a grow- 

 ing interest in them, there have been 

 but few definite orders. It will not be 

 wise to attempt to buy under a car-load 

 lot. If you would really like some, let 

 us know. 



The potato lice, for some time dis- 

 appeared from the valley, were later re- 

 ported in the hill towns, but in small 

 numbers. The damage attributed to 

 them is largely due to weather condi- 

 tions instead. 



In Middlefield the girls' canning club 

 has been preserving surplus garden 

 produce. It is hoped that a similar 

 practice will prevail in other towns 

 during the fruit season. 



It has been a poor month for dairy 

 records. H. M. Bridgman and Lombello 

 Brothers are the only ones to report 

 tests, and none is over 40 lbs. of butter 

 fat. 



Last year the Baldwin and Ben Davis 

 apple yields were three times larger 

 than that of any other varieties. In 

 the forecast for 1917 the Ben Davis 

 leads. In spite of this the Ben Davis 

 is the most abused of varieties. One is 

 reminded of the boys who presented 

 their instructor with an artificial apple 

 for identification. He finally bit into it 

 and remarked, "It's a Ben, and the best 

 I had had this year." 



Farmers and the Draft 



Hampshire county farmers will be 

 glad to learn that Agent MacDougall, 

 who was accepted for the national army, 

 has been released for at least six months 

 by the District Board. 



Mr. Smith, who has interviewed the 

 board on behalf of local conscripted 

 farmers, reports that it is thoroughly 

 sympathetic and scrupulous in its de- 

 cisions, but unable to exempt any but 

 those who are obviously more valuable 

 at home than at the front. Unless a 

 careful investigation reveals that the 

 young man is rendering an important 

 agricultural service, he cannot expect a 

 release. 



