HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Farm Bureau 



A. F. Ma<'l>i»u&:.'tll, County Atr^-nt 

 Helen A. Barrhiiaii, Home I>eiii. Ayt'iit 

 C. H. Gould, Boys' anil Girls' Chih I.eadfi- 



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 8, 1879. 



Price. 50 cents a year 



$1 a year, including memijersbip in Farm Bureau 



Officers of the Farm Bureau 



Leslie R. Smith, President, Hadley 

 William D. Mandell, Treas. , Northampton 

 Ernest S. Russell, Secretary, Hadley 



ADVISOKV I50ARIJ 



Leslie R. Smith, Hadley 

 Charles R. Damon, Williamsburg 

 Perley E. Davis, Granby 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 Warren IM. King, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 



Keep Canning: 



"Keep canning, sugar or no sugar," 

 say specialists of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture. If you can't 

 get enough sugar for home canning put 

 up your fruit without it. The products 

 will keep perfeetely until a time when 

 more sugar is available or until a sugar 

 substitute program has been worked out. 

 Fruits put up in this way are excellent 

 for pie-filling and salads and may be 

 used in desserts, puddings, ices and 

 punches. 



In canning fruit without sugar, can 

 the product the day it is picked. Cull, 

 .■?tem, seed, and clean fruit by placing 

 in strainer and pouring cold water over 

 it. Pack the product carefully in hot 

 glass jars or tin cans until full. Use a 

 tablespoon, wooden ladle, or table knife 

 for packing purposes. Pour boiling hot 

 water over the product in the hot jar, 

 or a liquid made by boiling down skins 

 and caps in position, not tight. Place 

 in the sterilizer or canner, and sterilize 

 .30 minutes. 



After sterilizing remove the filled con- 

 tainers. Seal jars, invert to cool and 

 test the joints. Wrap in paper to prevent 

 bleaching and store in a dry, cool place. 

 If tin cans are used it will be found 

 advantageous to plunge them into cold 

 water immediately after sterilization to 

 cool them quickly. 



The more intensive use of farm land 

 and effort to secure the most economical 

 use of every acre, as well as all availa- 

 ble labor will necessitate the general in- 

 clusion of sheep in our system of mixed 

 farming and live-stock production. 



Preservation Report 



The women of Hampshire County will 

 be asked later to report to the Food 

 Administrator, how much fruit and veg- 

 etables have been canned, dried and 

 salted; made into jams, jellies and but- 

 ters; and how much fish, meat and eggs 

 have been preserved. Keep a list so that 

 you may give this help to the Food 

 Administrator when the time comes. 



In this issue is printed a part of the 

 summary made by the Federal Milk 

 Commission on the cost of producing 

 milk. These are figures that every dairy- 

 man should have on his own business. 

 The cost of producing milk varies with 

 nearly eveiy farm. What does it cost 

 you to produce a quart of milk? Factor 

 sheets will be furnished those who desire 

 to make a summary of their business. 

 Figures are what talk in stating the 

 cost of producing milk. 



The United States Food Administra- 

 tion will show exhibits at most of the 

 fairs this fall. Women will be called 

 upon to lend assistance in planning and 

 placing these exhibits. Therefore, let's 

 be ready to make the fair more instruc- 

 tive and a bigger success than ever. 



The Home Demonstration Agent will 

 be glad to help you plan a course of 

 study in Foods or Clothing. Make your 

 wants known to the Farm Bureau. 



Seed Selection 



As the corn crop begins to develop 

 toward sound grain farmers should 

 watch the fields and prepare for careful 

 seed selection when the grain is mature. 

 Mark the good stalks early and be ready 

 to store away sufficient seed corn in a 

 safe place for next year. 



Renew the Old Strawberry Bed 



Clean up the old strawberry bed for 

 another year's fruiting, unless a new bed 

 was planted last spring. If the rows 

 have become wide and matted, run a 

 cultivator with large pointed shovel 

 through the center of the rows to tear 

 out the old plants, but leave the young 

 plants at the edges of the row to make 

 the new rows. If the matted iQws are 

 only moderately wide, run the cultivator 

 or plow from one side only and leaving 

 the young plants on the other side. 

 Either pull out or hoe out the weak and 

 surplus plants, leaving strong plants 

 from 6 to 12 inches apart in the new 

 rows. Mow off the leaves of these plants 

 at once. New plants will be produced by 

 these to make new rows for next year's 

 fruiting. 



Give the new bed thorough cultivation. 



Cost of Milk Production 



A summary of the results obtained by 

 the Federal Milk Commission on the cost 

 of producing milk in Massachusetts is 

 given below. Also the cost of producing 

 milk in four of the other New England 

 states is given for comparison. 



FEED 



Total credits, $27.24 



Net cost, 210.12 



Managerial ability, business risk, and 

 dairy overhead, 10 7' net cost, 21.01 



Final cost per cow. 

 Production 5005 pounds 

 Cost per quart, standard method. 



$231.13 



2327 quarts 



.0993 



Average Cost of Producing a Quart of 

 Milk by States 



Stjite June, 1918 



Maine, .0845 



New Hampshire, .0836 



Vermont, .0737 



i Massachusetts, .0993 



I Connecticut, .0932 



i Weighted av., .0796 



Weight average 5,0C 



cost of producing 1 quart of milk 



B. shipping point. 



Now is the time to Select Ewes For 

 Next Year's Lamb Crop. 



Careful Shocking of Corn Will Prevent 

 Waste of Food. 



