HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



MAR 2 6 191 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Vol. III. 



NORTHAMPTON, INFASS., MARCH, 1918 



No. 3 



The Food Problem 



Food Administration in the State of 

 Massachusetts falls naturally into three 

 divisions; first, production; second, dis- 

 tribution and control ; third, conserva- 

 tion. The distribution and control na- 

 turally falls to the Food Administrator, 

 vkrho holds Federal commission and all 

 persons who feel aggrieved at the rul- 

 ings now enforced; all those who do not 

 understand what these rules may be, as 

 applied to their own purchases, and all 

 those who may have knowledge of in- 

 fringement of the regulations, are in- 

 vited to correspond with the Food Ad- 

 ministrator and these communications 

 will be held confidential. It will be the 

 duty of the Administrator to in- 

 vestigate and adjust. Most of the 

 people of the County are very loyally 

 trying to conform to the regulations and 

 one of the difliculties, with reference to 

 them, is that they have, for one reason 

 or another, been changed from time to 

 time. These changes will probably con- 

 tinue to come, due to the varying con- 

 ditions which arise and which cannot be 

 foreseen. But we are persuaded that 

 our people are willing to assist in every 

 possible way and feel confident that 

 those people who are in general charge 

 and who are bearing the burden, are 

 making every eff"ort to first provide for 

 our armies abroad; second, to provide 

 for our own people. 



Concluded on page 7 



Potash for 1918 Potato Crop 



Last summer the potato crop sufi'ered 

 considerably from either a lack of pot- 

 ash or an insufficient amount of this 

 element in combination with nitrogen 

 or phosphoric acid. In many cases the 

 vines seemed vigorous but there was a 

 lack of tubers, while in others, a spot- 

 ting of the leaves indicated a lack of 

 potash. 



While phosphoric acid is a necessary 

 element in potato fertilizers, it will not 

 take the place of potash but should be 

 supplemental to it. Most brands of 

 mixed fertilizers do not contain potash 

 and it is costly in those that do. How- 

 ever, it seems economical to use potash 

 where it can be obtained in the fertilizers 

 for high price crops such as potatoes 

 or vegetables. 



TEST ALL SEED CORN 



GET YOUR SEED CORN NOW 



ORDER SEED POTATOES NOW 



ORDER GRAIN SEED NOW 



USE THE FARM BUREAU 



Why We Should Spray 



It is perfectly clear that any kind of 

 standard food, anything that can furn- 

 ish acceptable energy to the human body 

 or to animals is of prime importance, 

 and the first danger is that the orchard 

 man is going to forget that fruit can do 

 nearly as much in this line as milk or 

 corn or potatoes. Let us orchard men 

 get that fact clearly before us and keep 

 it there! The fellow who can furnish 100 

 lbs. of apples is doing practically as 

 much as the man who furnishes 100 lbs. 

 of milk or 100 lbs. of potatoes. The old 

 idea that apples are a luxury must be 

 gotten rid of forever. 



When we get that into our heads then 



we ^\^ll see that it is a poor type of 



patriotism to let 100 barrels of apples 



go to waste for lack of spraying in order 



Concluded on page 6 



Manure is the best source of potash 

 this year; while there has been an ob- 

 jection to using manure on potato land 

 because of more favorable conditions for 

 scab that are brought about, yet, scab 

 will not appear unless the organism 

 producing the di.sease is either in soil or 

 the seed. Scab may be controlled on the 

 seed by treating with corrosive sublimate, 

 and if potatoes have not been grown on 

 the land for three years there is not 

 much danger from the disease in the 

 soil, unless scabby potato peelings are 

 added to the manure. 



All wood ashes produced should be 

 stored under cover and applied to pota- 

 toes and garden crops at the rate of 800- 

 1000 lbs. per acre for most sections in 

 the state. 



Potatoes should be grown on the best 

 available land and, if possible, on land 

 which has recently been fertilized or 

 manured. When manure or wood ashes 

 are available, applications should be 

 broadcasted on the potato crops. — Mass. 

 Agr. College. 



Pruning Apple Trees 



With Uncle Sam calling for more 

 beans, and labor at a premium, we may 

 have to abandon, temporarily, some of 

 our less important orchard practices. 



The deep snow may make the prun- 

 ing season a rather short one, but this 

 is our "apple year" and if it is to be a 

 "fighting" crop we must see that the 

 trees get the sunlight and air necessary 

 to the production of perfect fruit. Few 

 tools are needed. A sharp saw and a 

 pair of hand shears will prune any tree. 

 Make all cuts as smooth and as close as 

 possible to the trunk or parent branch. 

 A large wound should be allowed to dry 

 and then the center (i. e. the part that 

 checks or cracks) should be covered 

 with a thick paint of lead and raw oil. 



Always look a tree over carefully be- 

 fore starting to prune it. If there are 

 any branches to come out they can be 

 seen best from the ground. When you 

 have a pretty good idea as to what you 

 are going to do to the tree, climb as 

 high as you can get and start work. 

 While it is quite possible to start at the 

 ground and prune up, it is surprising 

 how much easier it is to do a good job ff 

 you begin at the top. Prune the large 

 scalfold branches one at a time, begin- 

 ning at the end farthest from the trunk. 



Cut out the dead, diseased, or broken 

 branches first. Then if the branches are 

 still too close together, remove those 

 that are least desirable, taking out rela- 

 tively small branches, preferably not 

 over 4 inches in diameter. Where two 

 branches ai'e parallel and crowd each 

 other, remove one of them; where 

 branches ci'oss, remove the worst ofl'encl- 

 er. See that each little branch has room 

 enough to get the sunlight and air which 

 it needs to produce a perfect fruit. Thin 

 out watersprouts or remove them en- 

 tirely. Where a watersprout can be maae 

 to fill an open space in the top, it should 

 be left. 



Care must bo taken, however, not to 

 prune too heavily or the crop will be 

 seriously curtailed. If you have to re- 

 move half the branches to get the top 

 thinned to your satisfaction, you will 

 probably reap a harvest of waterspj-outs 

 and but little or no fruit. Prune lightly, 

 but prune every year. 



E. A. Van Meter, 



M. A. C. 



