Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-09-12

this county never have seen alfalfa
growing. Why not plan to attend
one of these meetings or at least to
visit the demonstration In your To-
cality?
One thing is very noticeable all
over the county this year-the use of
too much seed in many corn fields. 1t
is hard to mature corn in this county
at best, but it is impossible when the
corn stalks grow SO closely together
that the plants are spindling and the
silking stage is hardly reached. Plan
on planting the corn far enough apart
next year to give it chance.
Think twice before selling any
good producing cows this winter. Cat
tie are going to reach high levels be-
fore long.x 1t is stated on good au-
thority that France alone contem-
plates purchasing one million dairy
cows in this country Immediately af-
ter the war Closes Europe will need
from 100000 to 100000 head of
livestock to replace her losses, but
with the shortage in this country, it
will be extremely difficult to obtain
this number.
Nine farmers from Washington
county accompanied by County Agent
Abbott visited Newport August 18th.
A meeting was held that night at
which the organization and methods
of the Farmers Exchange were ex-
planned. There is a strong sentiment
in favor of starting similar organl-
zation in that county. The farmers of
Orleans county are glad to give the
farmers of other counties the benefit
l~.G u. cyN In
glad to see cooperative exchanges or
ganized in other counties.
Practically all the potato plants in
many sections of the county are dead
from an attack of late blight. Many
farmers have sprayed for the first
time this year and are wondering
why their vines are dying. 1t is no.
ticeable that the sprayed fields are
as yet green even though the blight
has attacked them to some extent,
while the unsprayed plants are most
| ~ dead. Wet weather has made it
almost impossible to keep the plants
Grated with bordeaux mixture; con-
sequently, it is difficult to see as much
advantage as usual from spraying.
| An ordinary year will show time and
money well invested if potatoes are
sprayed. Don't lose faith in spray
ing, for an average of several years
will show that you are far ahead OF
the man who does not spray.
| Would it not be well to put in that
manure pit this fall that you have
planned on SO long? Tt is worth
while to save every pound of fertiliz-
er owing to the present prices of
chemicals. In the average ton of good
farm manure there are
| 10 pounds Of nitrogen
pounds of phosphoric acid
10 pounds of potash
In other words, five tons of good
farm manure contain the same
amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash as are contained IN
1 300 pounds nitrate of soda
| 200 pounds acid phosphate
100 pounds muriate Of potash
From quotations already received,
the nitrate and acid phosphate would
cost at the rate of $91 and $25 per
ton, respectively, which would give a
valueof $16.15 to five tons or 1928 to
one ton. If the potash is figured at
$500 per ton, (unobtainable at any
price now, the value would be
brought to $7.23 per ton. It is posi-
BILE with manure thrown out of doors
and left to stand under the caves that
one-haH of the plant food value may
be lost and it is important to note in
this connection that those portions
dissolved out In the teaching are the
most readily soluble and therefore
the most quickly available as plant
food. Figuring even one-third loss
for manure carelessly handled, and
giving the value of potash the same
as before the war, there is loss per
COW per year for the time she is con-
fined in the barn of 1888. For 2 25-
cow dairy, this loss amounts to $217.
IF manure is handled in the same
careless way year after year, it can
be readily seen that the loss runs in
to hundreds Of dollars.