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HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



.OCT 3 - 1918 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Vol. III. 



NORTHAMPTON, IMASS., SEPTEMBER, ]9LS 



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To Celebrate its 100th Birthday 



The celebration of the centennial of 

 the Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden 

 agTicultural society, for which prepa- 

 rations are being made, will be held 

 October 1, 2 and 3, and will be an un- 

 usual event in the history of agricultur- 

 al societies. The Hampshire, Franklin 

 and Hampden county fair was one of 

 the first to be organized in this country 

 and has outlived those that were organ- 

 ized about the time it was founded. 



At a preliminary meeting held on Dec. 

 24, 1817, the matter of forming an agri- 

 cultural society was fully discussed. 

 The result was that an organization was 

 initiated which was to include the three 

 counties instead of founding three 

 separate societies. The reasons given 

 were there is a similarity of habits of 

 the agricultural interests of the valley, 

 because one society would be more re- 

 spectable in its membership, there 

 would be a larger board for improving 

 conditions, and would have more in- 

 fluence. If three societies were formed 

 instead of one they would be contemp- 

 tible, inefficient and useless. Early in 

 1818 the state imposed a tax on auctions 

 to provide funds for agricultural pre- 

 miums. It was provided that at least 

 $1000 should be raised by subscription 

 in any community desiring to benefit by 

 the state fund. This seems to have 

 been a leading incentive for organizing 

 the three counties into one society. 

 The act of incorporation passed the 

 legislature on the 19th of February and 

 on May -Sth, the. first meeting of the so- 

 ciety was held in the court house, at 

 which the organization of the society 

 was completed and officers elected. The 

 premiums offered for the fair on Oct. 14 

 and 15, amounted to $272.50, which was 

 to be paid in silver plate ware. 



The society was organized by men of 

 influence and high standing in the farm- 

 ing community and gave promise from 

 the first of being a successful venture 

 and one that would endure and grow 

 greater as the years went on. 



The fairs until 1857 were held near 

 the center of the town at the head of 

 King and Main streets and on the com- 

 mon near the cemetery and the town 

 hall was used for the display of domestic 

 manufactures. Ground when the fair 

 Concluded on page 5 



Notice 



If your copy of the Farm Bureau Monthly comes to you in a stamped wrapper, 

 it means that you are not a paid imbscriber. 



For the efficient management of the paper we must advise you that we shall 

 have to cross your name from the mailing list unless your care to become a paid 

 subscriber. 



The yearly subscription is $.50, which if remitted now, will entitle you to a 

 year's subscription, beginning with the .lanuary issue. If we receive your sub- 

 scription at once, we will gladly send you the October, November and December 

 issues, in addition to the series beginning in .lanuary. 



You have been receiving this publication for some time at our expense. We 

 hope that it is of sufficient value to you to justfy your subscription. Please make 

 remittances to the Hampshire County Farm Bureau, Care of Charles H. Gould. 



The above does not apply to Farm Bureau Exchanges or to our advertisers. 



Cummington Creamery Outfit 



The Field Day, held at the Creamery, 

 August 15th, was well attended by 

 patrons of the Creamery. The session 

 was presided over by President N. K. 

 Lincoln of Plainfield. 



Mr. Putnam of Contoocook, N. H., 

 one of the best dairymen in New Eng- 

 land, dwelt on some vital factors in the 

 milk business. He very clearly pointed 

 out that a 6000 lb. cow produced milk 

 cheaper than a 4000 lb. cow, and used 

 this fact to prove his point, that while 

 milk-men have done much to obtain an 

 advance in the piice of milk they have 

 done very little to lower the cost of pro- 

 duction. Regional Milk Boards expect 

 facts when passing upon the price of 

 milk and it was Mr. Putnam's belief that 

 higher pric.es would not be granted to 

 producers keeping "slacker cows" and 

 using poor business methods. The gist 

 of his remarks, proved by his own ex- 

 perience, contained this advice for 

 Creamery patrons ; 



1. Test your cows. 



2. Weed out the boarders. 



3. Buy cows that show big profits. 



What to Do when Corn Ripens 



When corn ripens, drop all other busi- 

 ness and select an abundant supply of 

 seed corn from the standing stalks. 

 The process is too important to be con- 

 ducted incidentally while husking. When 

 selecting seed corn, give the process 

 your entire attention. Get the very best 

 that is to be had and preserve it well, 

 and your increased yields will return 

 you more profit than any other work 

 you can do on your farm. 



Judging Fowls for Egg Production 



In order to lay well, a bird must have 

 a sound body. As a first consideration, 

 a bird must be VIGOROUS AND 

 HEALTHY if it is to be able to lay well. 

 Vigor and health are shown by a bright, 

 clear eye a well set body, a comparative- 

 ly active disposition and a good circula- 

 tion. 



Further, the bird must be free from 

 PHYSICAL DEFECTS, such as crooked 

 beak, excessively long toe nails, eyelids 

 that overhang so that the bird cannot 

 see well, scaly leg, or anything else that 

 would keep the bird from seeing or get- 

 ting an abundance of food. 



LOSS OF FAT DUE TO LAYING 



Color or pigmentation changes. (These 

 should be observed by daylight.) 



A laying fowl uses up the surplus fat 

 in the body, especially it removes the fat 

 from the skin. In yellow-skinned breeds 

 this loss of fat can readily be seen by 

 the loss of yellow color. The difl'erent 

 parts of the body tend to become white, 

 according to the amount of fat stored 

 in the body and the amount of circula- 

 tion of blood through that part. The 

 changes occur in the following order: 



The VENT changes very quickly with 

 egg production so that a white or pink 

 vent on a yellow-skinned bird generally 

 means that the bird is laying, while a 

 yellow vent means a bird is not laying. 

 It should be recognized that all yellow 

 color changes are dependent on the feed, 

 coarseness of skin and size of bird. A 

 heavy bird fed on an abundance of 

 green feed or other material that will 

 color the fat deep yellow will not bleach 

 Continued on page 6 



