HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



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FEB 





FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Tol. II. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., N(JVEMBER, 191^ 



No. 11 



November Grain Rations 



The feed situation is an unusually per- 

 j)lexing one this year. A shortage of 

 available freight cars presents us with 

 the possibilty of there being no grain on 

 the market at mid-winter for the single 

 bag buyer, and all wholesale dealers are 

 advising buying in quantities large 

 enough to carry the feeder through a 

 period of several months, and are making 

 their deliveries on present quotations sub- 

 ject to delay through car shortage or em- 

 bargo. Practically al! feeds are high in 

 cost price so that a closer study of the 

 value of the different feeds is necessary 

 if the dairyman is to come out even in 

 liis dairy operations. Also some of the 

 by-product feeds that have in past years 

 been in general use, such as distillers' 

 grains, have been withdrawn from the 

 •open market, as practically the entire 

 supply of this feed is now being used 

 in the manufacture of the different ready 

 rations. It will be safe to predict that 

 these ready rations will be more gen- 

 erally used this year than ever before. 



For the dairyman who desires to mix 

 Ms own grain ration wheat bran, the 

 wheat mixed feeds, cotton seed oil, oil 

 meal, gluten, and oats make up a list of 

 feeds that at present prices offer the most 

 economical, or rather the less costly, 

 solution of the feed problem. Cotton 

 seed meal, oil meal, and gluten feed will 

 all furnish total nutrients at about an 

 equal cost when the fertilizing value of 

 the different feeds is considered. The 

 use of oil meal will be favored where 

 silage or some other succulent feed is 

 not available. Even though the new 

 crop supply of both cotton seed meal and 

 gluten feed is now on the market the 

 price of these two feeds has advanced 

 within the past week, holding out little 

 hope for lower prices in the future. At 

 the present prices oats seem to be the 

 most economical source of the carbohy- 

 drate part of the ration and in addition 

 they are highly palatable and a good 

 milk producing food. A somewhat in- 

 creased acreage of oats was grown in 

 this state this year and the dairyman 

 who has a supply of this home grown 

 grain on hand is to be envied. 



Taking into consideration the feeds 



available, their fertilizing value, and 



their price, the following mixtures are 



suggested : 



Concluded on page 6 



Seed Corn Demonstration 



Now is the time to select the seed corn, 

 if this was not done in the field before 

 hai-vest. The Farm Bureau carried on 

 two variety test demonstrations; one at 

 Albert Howes, Ashfield, to determine the 

 best corn for husking ; and one at Charles 

 Tenney's, Northfield, to determine the 

 best variety for ensilage that would ma- 

 ture so a part of the ears could be picked 

 for husking. 



The results seem to show that it is use- 

 less to plant Flint corn for the silo, as 

 the early Dents mature nearly as cjuickly 

 and give much more ensilage per acre; 

 the only Flint corn giving over 10 tons 

 per acre being Sanford and the only 

 Flint giving over 3 tons of green ears 

 per acre were Sanford and Davis. Those 

 Dents giving over 15 tons per acre were 

 Williams' Dent, Burlington Dent and 

 Early Mastodon, while those giving over 

 •5 tons of green ears per acre were Wil- 

 liam's Dent and Ashley's Dent, both 

 from seeds raised and acclimated in 

 Franklin County. Those Dents giving 

 over one-third of their total green weight 

 in ears were Ashley's Dent, 40 per cent; 

 Burnham's Dent, 39 per cent; Pride of 

 the North, 38 per cent, and William's 

 Dent, 35 per cent of ears. 



In maturity the only Dent varieties to 

 mature before the killing frost were 

 Ashley's, William's and Burnham's Dent, 

 the seed of all of which was grown in 

 Franklin County. These results would 

 seem to indicate that the best variety of 

 corn to grow for the silo in this locality, 

 where it is desired to pick some of the 

 ears, is the William's Dent, as this is one 

 of the highest in total yield, percentage 

 of ears, and early maturity; and that 

 only seed corn grown in the county 

 should be used if the corn is expected to 

 mature. Some of the varieties that 

 made a good showing and would probably 

 mature if acclimated a few years were 

 Burlington Dent and Luce's Favorite. 



The great superiority of seed corn 

 grown in the county was demonstrated 

 conclusively, and everyone should either 

 save their own seed or arrange to secure 

 county grown seed for next season. 

 Many thousands of dollars were lost this 

 season by planting for ensilage, seed of 

 late varieties from unknown sources. 

 Make sure of next year's seed corn now. 

 Franklin County Farm Bureau. 



Best to Plow Clover Under in the Fall 



Clover cut and allowed to remain on 

 the surface of the ground for 7 months 

 from fall to spring loses about the same 

 amount of organic matter as when fed 

 to livestock, according to recent experi- 

 ments at the Ohio Experiment Station. 

 This amount of humus may be largely 

 saved by plowing the crop under in the 

 fall. 



Only about one-third of the clover re- 

 mained in the spring in one test when 

 the crop was left on the surface. When 

 it was plowed under, about three-fourths 

 of the original weight was found in the 

 spring. Analyses of the drainage water 

 showed that four times as much nitro- 

 gen was lost from the plot with clover 

 lying on the surface as fi'om that having 

 clover incorporated in the soil. 



Tobacco Plant Beds Best Steamed in Fall 



Fall steaming of tobacco plant beds to 

 prevent root rot has proved more satis- 

 factory than delaying the steaming 

 process until spring. Unfavorable spring 

 conditions can be avoided in this way. 

 The cost of operation is usually returned 

 by the benefits accruing from the ex- 

 termination of weeds and insects in the 

 beds. — Oliio Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. 



Sheep Destroy Weeds 



Sheep will pay for their keep as weed 

 destroyers alone, says the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, which just 

 announces the result of a study lately 

 completed in New England. 



One of the fields of the Morgan Horse 

 Farm in Vermont, maintained by the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry of the de- 

 partment, largely for the purpose of 

 keeping up a supply of good horses for 

 the Army, was infested with the weed 

 known as paintbrush, Indian paintbrush, 

 or devil's paintbrush. This weed has re- 

 cently come into northern Vermont, and 

 it is said that some farms have been 

 ruined by it. It is now common through- 

 out the Northeast. It throws up a tall, 

 slender flower stalk, but the damage is 

 j done by the leaves, which are spread 

 from the crown and form a dense mat on 

 the surface of the ground, eventually 

 killing out all other vegetation. 



Concluded on page 6 



