HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



NOV 3 7 ,Si8 



FARM BUREAU MONTHtY 



iii-ai 



Vol. III. 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS., NOVEMBER, 19JS 



No. 11 



Tobacco News Service 



Sometime ago an attempt was made 

 by the Franklin-Hampshire Tobacco 

 Growers' Association, cooperating with 

 the Farm Bureaus of these Countie.s and 

 the Ma.ss. Agricultural College, to ob- 

 tain Market News Service on tobacco, 

 similar to those now obtained on onions. 

 After considerable effort, a statement 

 was received from the Bureau of Mar- 

 kets, Washington, in which the News 

 Service was assured. 



A representative of the Bureau of 

 Markets inspected the New York market 

 on September 12th, and made the follow- 

 ing report: 



"We find that there is very little of 

 Havana Seed or Broad Leaf on the mar- 

 ket at the present time and that in order 

 to fill an order for 100 or 200 cases, it 

 will perhaps be necessary to pick this up 

 in lots of 10 or 1.5 ca.ses. 



"On account of the very unusual con- 

 ditions in the tobacco market at this 

 time (due to the war) practically all to- 

 bacco is picked up when it is offered or 

 contracted for, long before delivery. 



"Under ordinary conditions the most 

 active months for trading in Havana 

 .Seed are January, February and March. 



The most active months for trading in 

 Broad Leaf are July, August and the 

 early part of September. 



"Our attempt to gather prices on trad- 

 ing that had taken place during the past 

 two weeks was entirely unsuccessful and 

 interviews with the larger packers here 

 lead me to believe that we cannot gain 

 any information that would be worth 

 while before the first part of the year." 



Two-Year Course in Agriculture 



A two-year course in practical agri- 

 culture is now being off'ered by the Mass- 

 achusetts Agricultural College. Owing 

 to shortage of farm labor, only one term 

 will be held this year, beginning Decem- 

 ber 2, 1918, and closing March 22, 1919. 

 The course is open to young men and 

 young women, sixteen years of age or 

 over who have at least a common school 

 education. This course should interest a 

 great many of our young people who are 

 not prepared to take the regular college 

 work. Full information may be ob- 

 tained by writing Prof. John Phelan, 

 Director of Short Courses, Mass. Agri- 

 cultural College, Amherst, Mass. 



Register Lime Orders 



Farmers who desire lime foi' agricul- 

 tural purposes should register their re- 

 quirements at the Farm Bureau office. 

 This is necessary in order to conform to 

 a recent ruling of the War Industries 

 Board. In order to secure satisfactory 

 shipments, orders should be placed im- 

 mediately. Lime .should be used to a 

 large extent this fall and next spring in 

 order that the best results may be ob- 

 tained from the manure and fertilizers 

 used. 



How to Spoil Seed Corn 



Many farmers still persist in hanging 

 their seed corn on the outside of the barn 

 or in some other equally exposed place. 

 The folly of this practice can easily be 

 seen. The cob will absorb moisture 

 whenever we have a damp rainy spell. 

 The germ of the kernel is next to the cob. 

 With freezing and thawing, this germ 

 is bound to be more or less injured. 

 Tests of seed corn have amply proved 

 this. 



First make sure that the corn is 

 thoroughly dry and then store it in dry, 

 well-ventilated attic or shed. 



Date Set for Annual Meeting 



The annual meeting of the Farm Bu- 

 reau will be held Tuesday, December 3, 

 1918 at 10.30 o'clock in Odd Fellows 

 Hall, Northampton. The date of the 

 meeting has been changed to the first 

 part of December, hoping that the trans- 

 portation question will be easier for 

 those in the outlying towns. 



The meeting should be of extreme in- 

 terest to all citizens of the county. A 

 reorganization of the Farm Bureau has 

 been necessary and many vital changes 

 in the administration will follow. The 

 best thought and support of the people 

 of the county are needed in order that 

 the agriculture of Hampshire County 

 may keep on advancing. 



We are also entering upon a new era 

 in agriculture and in order that we may 

 meet the changes and profit by them, 

 the agricultural communities must be 

 thoroughly organized and prepared for 

 the future. 



Although our task in food production 

 and conservation was great last year, it 

 Cijncluded on page ■'» 



Potato Qrowing in Hampshire County 



There are certain sections in Hamp- 

 shire County well adapted to the grow- 

 ing of market potatoes. In the Con- 

 necticut Valley and near-by towns, there 

 are a great many farmers growing large 

 acreages. In the hill-towns, of high ele- 

 vation, conditions are very favorable to 

 the growing of potatoes. However, very 

 few farmers are growing over 5 or 6 

 acres and for the most part, the crop 

 is grown on one or two-acre pieces. 



In the valley, the seed deteriorates 

 rapidly and large yields are maintained 

 only by getting in new stock every year 

 or at least once in two years. In the 

 hills, the vigor may be maintained if 

 the original seed is healthy, by careful 

 selection and practicing good cultural 

 methods. 



It would seem with these conditions, 

 that the hill town farmers should gi-ow 

 some seed stock. But what do we find? 

 The yields, except for a few individual 

 farmers, runs below that desired for 

 seed stock. Most of the varieties are 

 Concluded on paye 7 



Lack of Nitrogen 



There is definite information that the 

 fertilizers on the market next year will 

 be lacking in quickly available nitrogen. 

 Nitrate of soda, ammonium sulphate, 

 and calcium cyanide have been prac- 

 tically all diverted to other uses and the 

 quantity available for use in making 

 fertilizers is small. 



There will be nitrogen available for 

 use in fertilizers but it will have about 

 the same availability as tankage. Much 

 of this will be produced by treating un- 

 available materials with sulphuric acid. 

 There is a good supply of cotton seed 

 meal. This means that top dressing 

 fertilizers for grass will not be avail- 

 able and that other crops may suffer 

 from the lack of available nitrogen. 



Nearly every farmer needs com- 

 mercial fertilizer or chemicals to get the 

 best lesults. Place your order now. 

 Immediate shipments are as necessary 

 as early ordering. Normally the fer- 

 tilizer factories begin their heavy work 

 after the first of the year, but owing to 

 the present labor shortage, it will help 

 a great deal to be able to ship the fertil- 

 izer as it is produced. Order for im- 

 mediate shipment. 



