HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 

 BOYS' AND GIRLS' WORK 



Pig Clubs and the Swine Industry 



The outstanding effect of pig club 

 work is the improvement in feeding 

 methods employed by adults who have 

 followed the lead of some club members. 

 Even in leading hog states where the 

 quality of hogs is high, very noticeable 

 changes in feeding practices have come 

 about. The distribution of rape to club 

 members in the County this year has \ 

 done a little to emphasize the truth that j 

 corn or grain alone is poor and ex- 

 pensive hog food. 



Pig clubs stimulate a demand for bet- 

 ter breeding stock. This is actually a fact 

 in Goshen where several boys insisted 

 that the Club Leader get puie bred hogs 

 for them or none at all. This attitude 

 was the direct result of feeding inferior 

 stock during their previous year in club 

 work. There are at least 6 head of 

 pure bred swine being raised in Cum- 

 mington and Goshen by club members 

 this year. This means better pigs 

 within reach for farmers in that section 

 next spring. 



Swine breeders have a tremendous 

 market through the pig clubs, a fact 

 which should induce breeders to have 

 their herds registered in order that 

 they may share in the increased demand 

 for pure bred pigs by club members. 



Pig clubs stimulate pork production. 

 Pig club members throughout the coun- 

 try are a nucleus of a great organiza- 

 tion of trained meat producers. .Just 

 what the ultimate influence is to be on 

 the increase of pork and pork products 

 is hard to say but great results may be 

 expected. To realize the opportunity 

 there is for development, it must be re- 

 membered that in some states farmers 

 have been raising razor backs, taking 

 two year.^ to produce a 1.50 pound hog. 

 Contrast this with the work of our 

 Hadley club member who in six months 

 raised a 271 pound hog. 



There are many indirect results in 

 club work worthy of mention. It es- 

 tablishes a point of contact between 

 father and son, awakening a new spirit 

 of comradship; as a result more boys 

 stay on the farm. Fathers learn that 

 club work is not a case of "Sonny's pig 

 but Daddy's hog." It means tying up 

 the interests of club members with the 

 farm. The consciousness of achieve- 

 ment by a boy or girl, has value that 

 cannot be measured in dollars and cents. 



CHAUI.KS II. <;oll.l). I.eailer 



Amherst Team Demonstrates 



A demonstration team from the Am- 

 herst Canning Club competed at the 

 New England Fair, along with other 

 County teams. A very creditable show- 

 ing was made. The same team will 

 probably demonstrate at Northampton. 



Thoroughly Interested 



Every once in a while we hear from 

 a parent of the results that club work is 

 obtaining. One parent states that the 

 canning club has so thoroughly interest- 

 ed her daughter in domestic activities 

 that she has done all the preservation 

 work for the family. 



Peach Stones 



Mr. Benson, Club Leader at Washing- 

 ton, has received a message from the 

 War Department, urging all club mem- 

 bers to save plum, peach, cherry, and 

 prune pits. These may be sent to the 

 Farm Bureau office where they will be 

 held for shipment. 



.lunior Club Exhibits 



The seasonal work for the boys' and 

 girls* clubs is exhibits. During Sep- 

 tember and October, the County Leader 

 and assistants will stage garden and club 

 exhibits throughout the County. Local 

 exhibits are not held solely to award 

 prizes to club members. They are for 

 the parents, as well. The exhibit is 

 open to the whole community, and affords 

 an opportunity for the older people to 

 see and understand what the young 

 people of the community are capable of 

 doing. 



All the Canning clubs will have their 

 exhibits during September. These are 

 being planned in connection with some 

 other local event. The garden exhibits 

 in South Hadley Easthampton, North- 

 ampton, Hatfield, Huntington, and Am- 

 herst will be held before October 1st. 



The Three-County Fair will cap the 

 climax in Club Work for the season, 

 with what is hoped to be the best col- 

 lection of junior work in Western 

 Massachusetts. 



Breaking the Ice. — "I'm quite a near 

 neighbor of yours now," said Mr. Bore. 

 I'm living just across the river." 



"Indeed," replied Miss Smart. "I 

 hope you'll drop in some day." 



— Christian Register. 



Seed Corn Storage 



The most important thing that can 

 be done now to insure a crop for next 

 year is to properly store seed. We can 

 outline three essential factors in this. 



(1) Corn from adapted, mature 

 varieties should be used. 



(2) Seed should be stored so that it 

 will dry out before freezing 

 weather comes. 



(3) A two years' supply should 

 always be saved to provide seed 



Select Seed Corn This Fall 



Seed corn should be selected from 

 stalks standing where they grew, be- 

 cause only then, with certainty, can seed 

 be obtained from them. 



Stalks that have a tendency to yield 

 well, as shown by their superiority over 

 surrounding stalks that grew under the 

 same conditions. (Such seed inherits 

 high producing power.) 



Stalks without suckers. (Such seed 

 produces fewer suckers than seeds from 

 sucker-bearing stalks.) 



Storm-proof stalks with ears at a de- 

 sirable height. 



Seed corn should be selected as soon 

 as it matures, because — 



Desirable stalks, especially early ma- 

 turing stalks with hanging ears, are 

 then most easily found. 



Freezing weather injures the seed be- 

 fore it becomes dry. 



Warm, wet weather may cause kernels 

 to sprout before drying. 



It is as easy, more satisfactory, and 

 much more profitable than selecting 

 from cribs in the spring. 



for another year in case weather 

 conditions should make it impossi- 

 ble to properly dry seed. 

 A few lessons from last year's ex- 

 perience can well be noted : 



(1) The fact that corn is mature i.*? 

 not sufficient. It must also be 

 properly dried. 



(2) Poor .seed is not entirely satis- 

 factory even when the poor ears 

 are discarded by testing or plant- 

 ed thick to make up for the poor 

 ears. 



(3) The crib is not a safe place for 

 seed corn. 



Some methods of storing are as fol- 

 lows: 



(1) Braiding the ears. 



(2) Tying husks together and hang- 

 ing over wires or strings. 



(3) Stringing up. 



(4) Putting butts of ears on nails 

 driven through boai'ds. 



(5) Making seed racks out of 2x4 

 and lathes. 



There are good storage places on 

 every farm. Some suggested are attics, 

 empty rooms of houses, lofts of sheds 

 and barns, top of corn cribs, etc. 



Artificial heat helps but is not neces- 

 sary and is seldom available. Good air 

 circulation is more important. 



Corn should be stored as early as pos- 

 sible so that it will have plenty of time 

 to dry out before winter comes. 



Field selection is of value chiefly 

 when it is desired to change the type of 

 corn giown in some way. — M. A. C. 



