HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Farm Bureau 



A. F. i*IaoI>4>uffall, County Aceiit 

 Helen A. Harriinaii, Home I>eai. Ajceiit 

 C. H. Gould. Boys' and Girls' ( lub Leader 



Office First National Bank Building 

 Northampton, Mass. 

 Entered as second class matter Nov. 9. 1915. at the 

 Post Office at Northampton. Massachusetts, under 

 the Act of March S. I.sr9. 



Price, 50 cents a year 



$1 a year, including membership in Farm Bureau 



Officers of the Farm Bureau 



Leslie R. Smith, President, Hadley 

 William D. Mandell, Treas., Northampton 

 Ernest S. Russell, Secretary, Hadley 



ADVISOISY HOARD 



Leslie R. Smith, Hadley 

 Charles R. Damon, Williamsburg 

 Perley E. Davis, Granby 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 



Wal<e Up Massachusetts 1 or go Hungry 



Are the people of Massachusetts to 

 have enough to eat next winter, or will 

 staple foods be as scarce as sugar and 

 coal were last? The answer to this de- 

 pends largely on what the people of 

 the state are willing to do to produce 

 more of what they eat than they have 

 in the past. The principal obstacle in 

 the minds of the farmers for increasing 

 crop production in Massachusett.s this 

 year is the shortage of experienced farm 

 laborers. Our state has been in the 

 past peculiarly dependent on two trans- 

 portation systems to bi'ing in about five- 

 sixths of the food which we consume. 

 With these two systems already taxed, 

 and with the probability that as the war 

 continues traffic conditions will become 

 worse rather than better, it behooves all 

 residents of the state who profess any 

 patriotism whatsoever to get into the 

 fields this year and help produce what 

 they will need to eat during the next few 

 months and especially next winter. 

 The policy advocated by federal and 

 state authorities is for every person and 

 every community to make himself or 

 itself as nearly self-supporting as 

 is possible. By doing this, congested 

 transportation systems will be relieved. 

 We shall not need to call so heavily on 

 other sections of the country for our 

 food, thus releasing much of what we 

 have consumed in the past for the use 

 of our soldiers and some of the Euro- 

 pean nations which have been on the 

 verge of starvation for more than three 

 years. With less than one-quarter of 

 the land of Massachusetts under culti- 

 vation; with many farms already 

 equipped with machinery enough for 



State Machinery 



The State will lease various farm ma- 

 chines to responsible parties for their 

 operation, and farmers will pay the 

 State sufficient rent to cover interest 

 and depreciation. The following prices 

 will be charged for the lease of farm 

 machinery of the following types for the 

 season : 

 Grain drill, with fertilizer and 



grass seed attachment .$40.00 



Grain binder 38.00 



Potato planter 29.00 



Potato digger 25.00 



Corn planter 23.00 



Corn harvester 39.00 



No machinery will be leased on work 

 done, without a written contract between 

 the farmer and the State. 



i County Notes 



Tractor units are at work in Amherst, 

 Hadley and Northampton. 



Small grains are being put in, in 

 Greenwich and vicinity; also in the hill 

 towns. 



The Northampton manufacturers are 

 growing 80 acres of corn and 20 acres 

 of potatoes this year. 



Soiling System for Pigs 



RAPE 



Rape makes an excellent forage crop 

 for growing pigs, as it comes up very 

 quickly and grows rapidly. It should be 

 sown early in the spring and will be 

 ready for the hogs in two months and a 

 half. An acre of rape will take care of 

 from 1.5 to 25 hogs, according to size. 

 About four pounds of seed are required 

 to an acre. 



OATS AND PEAS 



Sow at the rate of 11-2 bu. oats and 

 1 bu. peas to an acre, as early in the 

 spring as possible. The pigs can be 

 turned into the oats and peas or they can 

 be cut and thrown into the pen. By 

 cutting before the oats and peas are 

 ripe this crop will furnish about a 

 month's feed for the hogs. 



SWEET CORN 



Sweet corn makes an excellent forage 

 crop to follow rape or oats and peas and 

 gives the best results when it is cut and 

 thrown into the pen. This should be 

 ready to feed to the pigs about the 

 middle of August and will furnish food 

 according to the acreage you plant. 



Rye, clover and grass also make good 

 forage crops for growing pigs. It isn't 

 the kind of crop that counts as it is that 

 the pig has plenty of green food 

 throughout the summer. Three acres of 

 forage crop pasture, if properly rotated, 

 will take care of about 40 growing pigs. 

 With this acreage some grain and skim 

 milk, if you have it, should be fed. 

 — Franklin County Farm Bureau. 



Soy bean demonstrations are to be 

 carried on by the following men this 

 year: 



Chas. W. Ball, Granby 

 E. T. Whitaker, Hadley 

 W. M. Waugh, Prescott 

 Charles Berry, Prescott 

 C. W. Felton, Enfield 

 Peter Hanfin, Belchertown 

 William Sauer, Belchertown 

 W. P. Boomhower, Belchertown 

 Charles Kilbourn, Worthington 

 M. D. Griffin, Ware 

 H. A. Cleveland, Granby 

 Wilfred Learned, Florence 

 Edw. Searle, Southampton 

 W. A. Parsons, Southampton 



N. K. Lincoln of Plainfield and W. N. 

 Mason of Worthington are cooperating 

 with the Mass. Agricultural Experiment 

 Station in variety tests of spring wheat 

 and oats. 



Pruning demonstrations have been 

 held in the orchards of E. B. Clapp in 

 We.sthampton and Miss Rice in Worth- 

 ington. 



The Norwood Engineering Company 

 of Northampton is cultivating gardens 

 for its employees. 



"It's generally the fellow who doesn't 

 know any better who does the thing that 

 can't be done. You see, the poor fool 

 doesn't know it can't be done, so he goes 

 ahead and does it." 



maximum production, and with a will- 

 ingness on the part of farmers to do 

 everything possible provided they can 

 see the labor in sight, our state can pro- 

 duce at least three times as much food 

 as we have cities who have some time 

 and strength that they can give during 

 the next six months to get out and help 

 produce his food. — M. A. C. 



More than 50 bu. spring wheat have 

 been sold in Amherst and vicinity. One 

 store in Northampton has sold as much, 

 and many more farmers have bought 

 wheat from out of the State. The in- 

 crease in wheat acreage will be nearly 

 100 9r. 



Hampshire County farmers have the 

 option on 30 head of pure bred Chester 

 White and Berkshire pigs, at $12.00 per 

 head. 



Grade Heifers 



The Farm Bureau can occasionally 

 get from the Agi-icultural College herd 

 good heifer calves. Any farmers want- 

 ing any of these calves at $10.00 a head 

 are asked to make their wants known at 

 the office. 



