The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1915-02-18

the future.
In the matter of purchasing plant
food in commercial fertilizers ] have
been able to save Bennington county
4 farmers considerable sum. Last
year 200 tons of raw fertilizer materi-
ais was purchased at a saving of at
least $4,000 Only small portion Of
farmers took advantage of home-mix-
ing and cooperate buying which is
responsible for this saving. Were
home mixing to be universally prae-
ticed in this county over $4,000 an
nually would be saved to Bennington
county farmers. Further than this a
larger sum would be saved through
the farmers learning the value and
effect of the different plant foods pur-
chased on plant growth.
In organization work | am contin-
uing to get farmers together for the
purpose of discussing their problems,
and finding means to alleviate them.
Farmers are slow to see the necessity
of this, or to state the matter a little
more correctly are quick to realize the
necessity, but slow to originate formal
organizations. If farming is to ad-
vance in Bennington county farmers
must get together and grasp their
problems in a wholesale way. Such
organizations might be termed rural
boards of trade. Price control or the
like is not the object sought, but rath-
er community effort to secure better
business methods and consequently
more profitable farming. Such organ
izations, furthermore, mean more ef-
fective work on the part of the County
Agricultural Agent: that itself is
worthy of the effort. | am glad to
state that farmers are rapidly coming
to this viewpoint. The Dorset Farm
ers Association, while not large, is one
of the best examples of cooperative
effort in the state. The County Agent
has been presnt at nearly every meet
| ing of this organization and the farm
ers are beginning to appreciate the
problems which confront them and to
seek methods of solving them The
Bennington Farmers Association has
continued this same work though not
quite so effectively. ! hope to see in
the coming year at least three times
the number of farmers organizations
that there are at present.
Having given brief report of the
main lines of work which ! have un-
dertaken, will now turn to the minor
| lines of work. Chief among these has
been the cooperation with ten orchard
owners in the county in spraying,
pruning and general management OF
orchards. The results were very sat
isfactory. Apple maggot commonly
known as railroad worm, very troub-
lesome orchard insect, was successful
ly combated. This insect has never
surrendered to any ordinary treat
ment up to four years ago. Two plots
of alfalfa were started in cooperation
with two farmers in different locali-
ties. Ten plots of mixture of winter
oats and vetch were placed in as many
places. This mixture promises to be
of considerable help in increasing the
hay yield, but its effectiveness will not
be fully determined until the coming
hap crop is cut. The proposition is to
add to oats a leguminous crop OF high
feeding value. Being winter crop
sown in the spring it does not mature
grain the first year but grows up IN
the oats and gives mixture OF vetch
and oat straw for feeding, which has
much more value than oat straw alone.
The following spring it grows up with
the clover and grass sown the year
previous, increasing the crop yield APP
proximately so per cent. One realizes
the value Of this, furthermore, when
one learns that vetch as forage is
richer than alfalfa.
By automobile and road | have tray-
eled nearly 1900 miles this year,
which is less than last year by 20 per
cent. BY train | have Travelled approx
imately / 500 miles, making total OF
5000 miles.
In connection with publicity | beg to
state that have addressed 30 meet
Iings with a total attendance of 1,loo
persons. Several articles have been
published along different lines OF
farming at least to the extent OF ten
The matter of publicity by means OF
the printed page has not been partieu-
larly emphasized, for the reason that
your County Agent has been unusually
busy with other lines Of effort" ~
Is not easy to do considerable work
and write il up at the same time