HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Farm Bureau 



A. F. ]>Ia<'I>t>iis::tll. County Agreiit 

 Helen A. Harriuian, Home l>ein. At;eiit 

 C. H. Goulil, Boys' an<l Girls' Club Leader 



Offic^e First National Bank Building 



Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as second class matter Nov. 9. 1915. at the 

 Post Office at Nortbampton, Massachusetts, under 

 the Act of March 8. 1S79. 



"Notice of Kntry " 



"Acceptance for mailing at special rate of pott- 

 age provided for in section 1103. Act of October 3. 

 1917. Authorized October .31, 1917." 



Price, 3,'; cents a year 



Officers of the Trustees 



Leslie R. Smith, President 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Vice-President 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Charles H. Gould, Secretary 



Trustees for County Aid to Agriculture 



Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 

 Charles E. Clark, Leeds 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Milton S. Howes, Cuinmington 

 Mrs. Clifton .Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 Leslie R. Smith, Hadley 

 John A. Sullivan, Northampton 



Paper and Pencil Help Make Money 



How about making farming a business 

 this year? Do you really know, without 

 keeping an account book, whether it costs 

 6 or 9 cents to produce a quart of milk ? 

 Whether the brindle cow produces milk at 

 a profit while the cow standing side of her 

 was losing all the brindle made? Can you 

 sell potatoes at $1.50 a bushel and make a 

 profit, or does the wife make more on her 

 hens than you made on the pigs ? If you 

 are interested in knowing why you farm, 

 spend a little time with the pencil. The 

 account book printed by the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College is very simple and 

 complete. They may be obtained at the 

 Farm Bureau office. 



Towns Continue to Support Bureau 



The response from the towns in making 

 appropriations for the support of the Farm 

 Bureau has been of the best. The ten 

 towns that held meetings on February 3, 

 all made appropriations and in nearly every 

 case equalled their allottment. The budget 

 was divided among the towns according to 

 the population, and the towns desire to 

 pay their proportion of the expense. 



The Farm Bureau is now an established 

 county organization, with practically all 

 the towns ready with a program for devel- 

 opment along the lines of agriculture, 

 home-making, and club work. 



BETTER SEED TO BE USED 



Potato Men to (let Certified Stocl< 



In growing potatoes, the first and most 

 important factor is the selection of good 

 seed. In those towns where potato grow- 

 ing is important, the farmers realize this 

 fact, and at their meetings have appointed 

 one of their number to find suitable seed 

 stock for their town. Professor Earl Jones 

 of M. A. C. recommends that farmers buy 

 certified stock where they desire to keep 

 their own seed. 



Certified stock means that the seed 

 comes from fields that have been inspected 

 twice during the growing season and once 

 after being dug, for disease and trueness 

 to variety. This work is carried on by the 

 state colleges in the several states. Seed 

 that passes the inspection is certified and 

 a farmer purchasing such stock is sure of 

 obtaining the best possible. 



The following leaders for potato work 

 have been appointed : 



Howard Johnson -Worthington 

 H. L. Merritt -Chesterfield 

 Darwin Wells— Cummington 

 N. K. Lincoln — Plainfield 

 F. A. Cottrell- Middlefield 

 John Reid — South Hadlev 

 John Hawes — Belchertown 



EARLY HATCHING MEANS MONEY 



Records prove that the early hatched 

 pullet is the profitable one. Winter pro- 

 duction, which is the most profitable, is 

 in close correlation to the time of hatching. 

 Early hatching means more days of ma- 

 turity or a large laying period and conse- 

 quently a higher winter production. As a 

 general practice, all hatching should be 

 completed before May 1, and with larger 

 flocks, approximately one-third the hatch 

 should be made before March 10. 



Lime and Phosphate Help Pastures 



Farmers are beginning to realize more 

 and more the value of a good pasture. 

 Have you had any experience in improv- 

 ing pasture land ? Have you used acid 

 phosphate, lime, or wood ashes with good 

 results ? The Farm Bureau would wel- 

 come any suggestions you have. 



Some have had good results with lime 

 and acid phosphate and a few test plots 

 will be tried by the Farm Bureau in dif- 

 ferent sections of the County this year. 



Soy Beans Worth While 



Dairymen looking to lower feed costs 

 should read carefully the article in this 

 issue, written by Earl Jones of M. A. C. , 

 on the use of soy beans as silage. This 

 crop has come to stay on a great many 

 dairy farms, and this vear should see a 

 big increase in its acreage in Hampshire 

 County. 



Don't Tell Anyone We Told 

 You But: 



W. L. Chilson & Son have loaned the 

 Farm Bureau an exhibit of mittens and 

 gloves, showing the practical and imprac- 

 tical varieties for people to buy. The 

 Home Demonstration Agent is taking this 

 exhibit to the clothing meetings. 



Mrs. Albert Deane of Northampton ex- 

 perimented with Crisco cans last summer 

 and found that they are cleaned well and 

 make good receptacles for canning pears, 

 either by the open kettle or cold pack 

 method. 



Mrs. Byron Pontius of Amherst, after 

 giving Mr. Pontius a second helping of 

 steamed apples, which he seemed to like 

 pretty well, told him how they were made 

 in that labor saving, time saving instru- 

 ment—the fireless cooker. 



Make a syrup of }4 c. sugar and % c. 

 water. Place in it halves of apples. Bring 

 to boiling point and place in fireless cooker 

 for 2 or 3 hours. Remove while still warm 

 and place on a marshmallow. Brown 

 slightly in oven. This makes a delicious, 

 dessert. — Mrs. Pontius, Amherst. 



George Timmins, Ware, has a Watson 

 four-row potato sprayer for sale. It is a 

 traction machine, practically as good as. 

 new and all ready for business. It is also 

 equipped with an orchard spray attach- 

 ment. Apply for information to the owner 

 or at the Farm Bureau office. 



Trustees Smith and Howes and Agent 

 MacDougall attended the recent meeting 

 of the State Department of Agriculture. 



ONION SHIPMENTS 



In the survey trndi by Mr. William L. 

 Machmer, District Market Agent, of the 

 onions held in commercial storage in the 

 Connecticut Valley, December 1, 1918, 

 1129 cars were reported. The ship- 

 ments for December and January are 

 given below : 



stations l>eceinber .lanuary 



South Deerfield 33 cars 160 cars 



Hadley 26 " 50'^ " 



Hatfield 10 " 29 " 



North Hatfield 6 " 20 " 



Whately 7 " 19 •' 



Amherst 7 " 10 " 



Deerfield 4 " 5 " 



Montague 3 " 4 " 



Northampton 5 " 3}4 " 



101 



301 



HAVE YOU GOOD SEED CORN? 



The Corn Show at the Mass. Agricul- 

 tural College, March 17-20, should inter- 

 est a large number of farmers in Hamp- 

 shire County. The forty-ear germination 

 test is especially valuable. For informa- 

 tion and entry blanks, send to Prof. Earl 

 Jones, Mass. Agricultural College, Am- 

 herst, Mass. Don't delay, as some of the 

 exhibits have to be entered by March 4. 



