HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' WORK 



CHARLES H. ftOULU, Leader 



Club Analysis 



In the Canning Club, the county en- 

 rollment was 202, representing an S57c 

 increase in 1917. There were 22 clubs 

 with 31 leaders starting work. These 

 club members have canned 5367 quarts 

 of fruit and vegetables, which is 17% 

 gi-eater than the 1917 record. These 

 were valued at .?2,332, while the 1917 

 output was worth $715.13. According 

 to present estimates, all returns not yet 

 being filed, 45% of the enrollment will 

 finish the contest, against 19% in 1917, 

 an increase of 267c. The canning club 

 work has been carried on with the as- 

 sistance of the Home Demonstration 

 Agent. One county canning team en- 

 tered the inter-county demonstration of 

 the New England Fair. 



HOME ECONOMICS CLUB 



The Home Economics Club contained 

 218 members, part of whom were en- 

 gaged in a sewing project, the rest in a 

 bread-making contest. The records show 

 that 2832 loaves of bread were made, 

 which at $.15 equal $424.80. Two hun- 

 dred and forty-four gai'ments were made 

 valued at $142.89. This latter figure 

 really represents a saving, for these gar- 

 ments were made by members at a cost 

 much below what the garments could be 

 purchased for. As an additional piece 

 of club work these girls made 942 arti- 

 cles for the Red Cross. Forty-five per 

 cent finished the contest, an increase of 

 14% over 1917. 



POTATO AND CORN CLUBS 



Due to the scattered enrollments in 

 these clubs, it has been difficult to man- 

 age them in an organized way. Twenty- 

 eight potato club members and 24 corn 

 club members have been engaged in the 

 work. Both clubs are slightly larger 

 than last year. These clubs are most 

 successful in Hadley where good soil and 

 careful supervision exist. 



PIG CLUB 



Only 23 % of the 1917 pig club came 

 through. The best record in good club 

 work belong to 4 Middlefield boys, who 

 all finished, and one gained a State prize. 

 None of these boys had previously be- 

 longed to the club. 



The 1918 club contains 205 members 

 or 71% more than in 1917. The First 

 National Bank of Amherst and the 

 Northampton National Bank financed 

 about 50 young swine raisers. 



A number of pure bred pigs were sold 

 to boys in the hill towns. These boys 

 are planning to breed the sows this 

 winter, and have a supply of good stock 

 for sale next spring. At the Cumming- 

 ton Fair, pig club members exhibited 9 



of the 11 head of swine shown. This 

 may or may not be an indication of who 

 is raising hogs in the hill towns, but if 

 there is any club which has a direct in- 

 fluence on the agriculture of the com- 

 munity it is the pig club. To prove this 

 it may be cited the introduction of pure 

 bred stock in communities where very 

 little existed before: the distribution of 

 rape seed to club members, has proved of 

 positive value in reducing grain bills, 

 several people have said this. The club 

 members are granted the opportunity of 

 having their hogs inoculated against 

 cholera. Thirteen members availed them- 

 selves of the opportunity and this led to 

 15 head being treated for adults. 



Pig "Squeals" were held this year in 

 Northampton, Easthampton and Am- 

 herst, about 100 pigs being thus distrib- 

 uted. 



GARDEN PROJECT 



Home Garden projects were instituted 

 in Hatfield, Florence, Leeds, Northamp- 

 ton, South Hadley, Huntington, Ware, 

 Amlierst, Hadley and Easthampton. 



Supervision in Amherst was taken 

 up by Professor Hart, in Hadley by 

 Mr. Burke, in Hatfield by a corps of 

 volunteer visitors, and in Ware it would 

 have been done by a man employed by 

 the Public Safety Committee. 



The town of Huntington suffered 

 through a lack of consideration on the 

 part of parents, yet a very creditable ex- 

 hibit was made. The project in North- 

 ampton suffered through a disinclination 

 on the part of garden visitors to appre- 

 ciate their duties. Mr. Rand's reports 

 show that he made at least 450 personal 

 visits to his clients, and spent about 30 

 days on detailed organization of his 

 projects. 



Mr. Rand was instrumental in secur- 

 ing 41 garden visitors. The work of the 

 visitor is refiected in their reports which 

 show, that 117 came in promptly and on 

 time. Forty-six came after considerable 

 urging, and 165 did not come in at all. 

 On the basis of 163 reports finally re- 

 viewed it shows their method of super- 

 vision was 49% effective. 



Excellent garden exhibits were held in 

 Hadley, Easthampton, and everything 

 was in place for a large display in Am- 

 herst, when the influenza broke out. 

 Fine exhibits were also held in the other 

 towns, entered in the project. 



A cotipeiative agreement of the Farm 

 Bureau with the Hillside Agricultural 

 Society will place all competative garden 

 projects in the hill towns under juris- 

 diction of the society. This gives prom- 

 ise of better garden work in the hill 

 towns. 



1919 Home Economics Club 



1. Time of contest — January 15th to 

 April 15th. 



2. Stories due — May 1st. 



3. Club members selecting bread-mak- 

 ing must complete the regular 20 hours 

 and make at least 20 loaves of bread 

 during the three months. 



4. An ordinary sized pan of biscuits 

 may be counted as one loaf of bread. 



5. As long as we are allowed to use 

 wheat flour without substitute, the prev- 

 ious ruling that quick breads may be 

 counted to complete the 20 hours will be 

 i-ecalled. Substitute bread should be 

 encouraged, however, as much as possi- 

 ble. 



6. Club members taking sewing as a 

 major must also do 10 hours of any form 

 of cooking. 



7. Sewing done in the class room dur- 

 ing regular school time under the super- 

 vision of the teacher is not counted as 

 club work. 



8. The mid-contest judging of patching 

 and darning and bread-making where 

 the products are scored will not be re- 

 quired. The local leader of each club 

 should set aside one meeting during the 

 contest when all bread-makers bring in 

 bread for her to criticise for improve- 

 ment of club members. In the same 

 way, one meeting should be held when 

 children are taught how to patch and 

 darn, each member making a patch and 

 darn. If, however, club members do not 

 bring in bread during the contest or 

 make a patch and darn at a meeting, 

 they still complete all requirements of 

 the club providing they complete the 60 

 hours, keep report, exhibit at final ex- 

 hibit and write story. If club members 

 do bring in the above, they not only com- 

 plete all requirements but receive 5 

 points of credit to their final score. 



9. A different patch and darn than 

 made at one of the club meetings must 

 be exhibited at the final exhibit. At 

 least one garment as well as patch and 

 darn must be made during the 20 hours. 



FIELD DAYS 



These were held with 39 club members 

 in Westhampton, Goshen, Greenwich, 

 Hatfield, Belchertown, Williamsburg. An 

 all day's outing to Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College was the drawing card. 



COMPARISON WITH 1917 



Total club enrollment -1.8% 



State club enrollment -f-79. % 



Garden club enrollment -17. % 



Personal visits -f 25. % 



Local leaders 4-728. % 



Club exhibits -|-100. % 



