Ai.^ 



■ I J It 



JUL 25 19)8 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY ""-^^-" 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Vol. III. 



NoirniAMI'ToX, MASS., .JILV. l!»ls 



N 



o. ( 



Why Dip Sheep? 



The inexperienced sheep man often 

 asks why is it necessary to dip sheep, 

 why go to this seemingly needless ex- 

 pense? These questions can be.'^t be an- 

 swered by first de.scribing the habits and 

 life of the sheep-tick and then mention- 

 ing the other results accomplished by 

 dipping. 



The heep-tick is not a true tick like 

 the ci mon wood-tick of New England. 

 It h. no wings and has only six legs 

 inste. a of the eight as does the wood- 

 tick. It passes its whole life on the body 

 of the sheep. Like all other animal life, 

 it has one or more stages of growth in 

 its life cycle. Fully matured females 

 often measure one-quarter inch in length. 

 The life of the sheep-tick may be divided 

 into four natural divisions or stages; 

 commencing with the egg, which is not 

 laid, but is retained in the female's. body 

 developing into a larva usually in about 

 seven days. This larva or young tick is 

 covered with a soft white membrane 

 which turns brown and hardens into a 

 shell in about twelve hours. It is this 

 stage which is commonly known as the 

 "egg" stage, but scientifically called the 

 pupa. The pupa is attached to the wool 

 fibres by a glue-like substance easily dis- 

 solved in water. The young tick within 

 the puparium, or brown shell, developes 

 and hatches into a full fledged tick in 

 about three weeks from the time it was 

 discharged from the female. The time 

 necessai-y for the pupa to hatch varies, 

 depending upon the temperature, hatch- 

 ing in less time in warm and taking 

 longer in cold weather 



At the time the tick is hatched, it is 

 almost as large as a fully matured tick. 

 In three or four days the tick has become 

 sexually mature. Within ten days of 

 mating the female deposits her first 

 "egg" pupa which will in turn in about 

 three weeks again hatch a tick. 



The two important stages in the life 

 cycle with which we are concerned in 

 dipping are the pupa and adult tick 

 stages. Dipping properly done will kill 

 all ticks but will destroy a part of the 

 pupae. Those that are not destroyed 

 will hatch out in the course of about 

 three weeks and a new brood of ticks will 

 infest your sheep. Therefore, a second 

 dipping is necessary if we could be ab- 

 Concludqd on page 5 



The Huropean Corn Borer 



This dangerous pest has recently been 

 found near Boston and now occupies an 

 area of 125 to 150 square miles. The 

 adult is a moth which lays its eggs near 

 the top of the young corn plant. The 

 caterpillars which hatch from the eggs 



I bore into the stalk and tunnel through 

 it, weakening it so that the tassel cannot 

 mature and the stalk frequently bends 

 over. When through feeding the cater- 

 pillar changes to a small, brown, rounded- 

 oval pupa, fi-om which the adult moth 

 escapes after about two weeks. Early 

 corn in some cases last year was reduced 



I 207f : late corn 707f by this pest. 



The winter is spent in the tunnels as 



, the caterpillar. Early corn is attacked 

 first, and late corn by moths produced 

 from the caterpillars in the early corn. 

 Possibly there is a brood earlier in spring 

 than either of these, but this is not yet 

 definitely known. 



Although corn is the important crop 

 injured by this pest it has also been 

 found in barnyard grass, foxtail grass, 

 pigweed and dahlia, and it probably at- 

 tacks other plants also. As it is entirely 

 an inside feeder in corn, therefore, is to 

 destroy the corn stalks including the 

 stubble, by burning them. Shredding 

 and feeding the stalks to cattle, or using 

 them as ensilage is effective. In any 

 case, destroy all pig-weed and other large 

 stemmed weeds and grasses near the corn 

 at the same time. Destroy or treat as 

 above, all stalks of early corn as soon 

 as the crop has been gathered. — M. A. C. 



Selection of Seed Corn 



In recent years the selection of seed 

 corn from standing corn before harvesting 

 the crop has been advocated. The rea- 

 sons for advocating this practice can be 

 summed up as follows: The character 

 of the stalk which produced the ear can 

 be determined, and also the stand of 

 corn and the conditions under which it 

 grew. It has been assumed that corn 

 which grew where fertility conditions 

 were not especially favorable and where 

 the stand was normal would be more 

 productive than corn which grew under 

 more favorable conditions. The Ohio 

 Experiment Station has, for a period of 

 years, grown corn under varying condi- 

 tinos as ; one, three and five stalks per 

 Concluded on page 7 



An Act 



TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT IN 

 COUNTIES OF TRUSTEES FOR COUNTY 

 ' .4ID TO AGRICULTURE. 



I Be it enacted by the Senate and House 

 of Representatives in General Court as- 

 sembled, and by authority of the same, as 

 follows: — 



Section 1. In each county except 

 Suffolk and counties maintaining voca- 

 tional agricultural schools, the county 

 commissioners shall, on or before the first 

 day of October, nineteen hundred and 

 eighteen, appoint an unpaid board of 

 nine trustees, to be known as trustees for 

 county aid to agriculture, three of whom 

 shall serve for one year, three for two 

 years, and two for three years from the 

 first day of April in the current year, 

 and thereafter, as the term of each trus- 



] tee expires, or as a vacancy occurs, the 

 county commissioners shall appoint a 



j successor for a term of three years from 

 the first day of April in the year of 

 appointment, or for the unexpired term. 

 All of said trustees shall be residents of 

 the county in which they are appointed 



, and four, so far as possible, shall be 

 taken from the directors, chosen as here- 

 in-after provided, of such cities or towns 

 as have appropriated funds toward cairy- 



I ing out the provisions of this act. Choice 

 of the aforesaid directors .shall be made 

 in such towns at the annual town meet- 

 ing at which such appropriation is made, 

 or at the next succeeding annual meeting 

 whenever such appropriation is made at 

 a special meeting, and in such cities, by 

 the mayor and aldermen, or body exer- 

 cising similar powers, not later than 

 fifteen days following the vote author- 

 izing said appropriation. Said directors 

 shall serve for such terms as the voters 

 of the town or the appointing authority 

 in cities may determine. 



' Sec. 2. The trustees may on behalf of 

 the county, receive and apply to the 

 purpo.ses of this act money appropriated 

 therefor by any county, city or town or 

 by the federal government, and may con- 

 trol the expenditure thereof either solely 

 or in conjunction with representatives or 

 agents of the commonwealth or of the 

 United States, or of any department, 

 commission, board or institution created 

 under the statutes of the commonwealth 



I or under the acts of congress. The trus- 

 Conchided on page 6 



