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Page Four THE COLBORNE EXPRESS, MARCH 30th, 1944 NORTHUMBERLAND AGRICULTURAL NEWS (By R. C. Banbury) POTATO CLUBS Northumberland County girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 21 will be interested in a potato club project planned by Agricultural Representative R. C. Banbury for the Brighton and Roseneath areas. Arrangement has been made to secure one bag of certified seed for each contestant to grow. While each must pay for this seed, the crop should return many times this amount and generous prizes, consisting of $3.00 per contestant, will be given to the winners. General instruction is given by the Department of Agriculture and meetings will be held throughout the season to study the growing, knowing and showing of potatoes. All that the junior farmer requires is a suitable piece of soil and desire to grow the crop. Those interested are asked to write the Department of Agriculture at Brighton. On fair day a display will be made at the Brighton and Roseneath Fair, each of which is being asked to donate $1.00 prize money for each contestant showing. Potatoes are an important part of our food supply and it is remarkable what can be accomplished where good seed and cultural practices are observed. In some parts of Ontario clubs have been formed of men producing over 500 bus. per acre, while the average farmer probably secures less that 100 bus. per acre for this crop. Definite arrangements will be made for the contest if 12 young people wish to take part and their names are secured by Eastertime. GIRLS' GARDEN BRIGADE The family garden plays a large part in the summer food supply of a farm family. Three girls' competitions are planned by Agricultural Representative R. C. Banbury for Northumberland County. The club at Wikcklow, Vernonville and other communities surrounding Grafton have had a successful contest in the past two years and supplemented by some new members, are expected to carry on in 1944. The Wooler community is being assisted by the Couch & Newton store in Trenton, who are offering to pay $1.00 cost of the seeds and some generous prizes for a club of 15 girls recommended by a local committee consisting of Mrs. Elgin McMaster, Mrs. S. VanHorne, and Wesley Down. The third club is being offered to those who are able to attend the Warkworth Fair, and it is expected that the agricultural society will assist with the prize money. To date little has been suggested from the community and it is hoped that interested girls will write the De- HEAT YOUR HOME FOR $69.00 A YEAR The age old problem of how much it should cost to heat a six room home has been settled by the University of Illinois, according to a bulletin issued by the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating. The answer is $69.00 a year .................... if. The two ifs to take into consideration are "if" the home is perfectly insulated and "if" the home is perfectly heated. In this case the house was in every way a model dwelling. It has been described as "the most completely equipped laboratory house in the world for the scientific study of heating." Properly insualted and heated with a forced circulation hot water system with radiators ed under the windows, study of the model home brought these significent facts to light: Temperatures were uniform with less than one degree of variation throughout the house at all times, the air immediately under the ceiling varied from the air at the floor level by less than four degres, and there was a temperature differential between inside walls and room average of only two degrees. Obviously, points out the Institute, all Canadian homes cannot be heated partment of Agriculture at Brighton that this club may be encouraged. The seeds for each garden cost $1.00 and instruction is given on the planning and productive practices, and the prizes awarded on the garden score, exhibit of vegetables, canning, etc. Fine gardens will do much to assist the war effort in 1944. SCHOOL CO-OPERATION The rural schools of Northumberland County are being co-operated with by the local Department of Agriculture and the public school inspectors in staging another school improvement competition in 1944. In previous years Northumberland County schools have been amont the best in the province and further improvement is anticipated. The custom is to judge the contest on the improvement made between the opening of school last fall and the closing next spring. Mr. John F. Clark of the Department of Agriculture, Horticultural Division, visited several schools last fall and will come to Northumberland again this spring to offer suggestions and plans to teachers. The forwarding of tree planting will again be encouraged by free trees from the Ontario Forestry Department and school teachers are asked to encourage their senior boys and girls to participate in the club programmes planned by Agricultural Representative R. C. Banbury in Northumberland this year. SPROUT POTATOES i FOR EARLY USE (Experimental Farm News) The sprouting of potatoes for a | weeks before planting time has been ' found helpful to obtain extra-early mature potatoes. An early variety, such as Irish Cobbler, should be chosen for this treatment. The tubers selected for sprouting are first disinfected, then placed in shallow boxes, with the bud ends up, (hotbed flats will serve the purpose) and when placed in a room with a temperature of from 55 to 60 degrees F., green healthy sprouts will have developed in four to five weeks. Seed treated in this manner when planted in shallow drills as soon as the ground is warm enough will produce strong, vigorous tops and new potatoes less time than seed that is i sprouted. Too high a temperature direct sunlight under glass may spoil the sets. In regions where frost often for stalls maturity presprouting may coi siderably increase the main crop. ( J. Fast, of the Dominion Experimental Station at Beaver lodge, Alberta, in reviewing a date-of-planting experiment conducted for six years up to 1926 finds that potatoes put in trays at the time the first outdoor plan was possible and then planted at successive weekly intervals,' decidedly outyielded sets taken direct from the root cellar. This was especially true with the later plantings, which averaged 30 per cent more' yield from sprouted than from unsprouted sets. Sprouted potatoes are sometimes withered and the loss of moisture from the tubers may ocacsionally result in lower yields. To avoid this, where only small lots of seeds are sprouted for early use, dry sand can be used to fill in around the tubers so as to cover them slightly. The sand is moistened and kept moist until the seed is planted. An advantage of the sand sprouting is that a strong root growth is also started simultaneously with the sprouting. Great care is to be exercised, however, at planting time on account of the danger of injuring the roots. KNOW YOUR COUPONS You can help your grocer by knowing which coupons you can use, and by keeping your ration book and coupons in good condition. for $69.00 a year, but if proper insulation and a. good heating plant is properly operated, there is no reasan why most Canadian home heating costs cannot be reduced considerably --with savings up to 30%. Your local plumber and steam fitter will gladly help you solve your home insulating and heating problem. APRIL, 1944 RATION TIME TABLE (Clip this out and keep available) COFFEE or TEA (Green)-- Coupons 14 to 29 inclusive and El to E6 (old book) are valid until declared void. Coupons T-30 and T-31 (new book) become valid April 20th. Each good for 8 ozs. coffee or 2 ozs. tea. SUGAR (Red)-- Coupons 14 to 29 inclusive (old book) now valid. . Coupons 30 and 31 (new book) become valid April 13th. Each good for one pound of sugar. BUTTER (Purple)-- Coupons 54 and 55 now valid. Expire April 20th. Coupon 56 valid April 6th. Coupon 57 valid April 13th. I (All in old book). Expire April 30th. Coupon 58 (new book) valid Apr. 20 Coupon 59 valid April 27. Expire May 31st. Each good for VzVo butter. PRESERVES^(Orange)-- Coupons Dl to D16 inclusive (old book) are valid until declared void. . Coupons 17 and 18 (new book) become valid April 13th. Good for preserves, sweet spreads or sugar (see chart). CHANGING SEED GRAIN AND ITS DANGERS (Experimental Farms News) Changing seed grain is often a da gerous practice unless there is sor guarantee that the new seed com from a reliable source, is well graded and represents a recommended iety known to be adapted to local conditions. In view of the large amount of poor quality grain harvested in 1943 and a severe shortage of good seed for the 1944 crop, many farmers will be forced to purchase new seed this spring. In many cases it will be difficult or even impossible to get good locally grown seed. When seed is brought in from a distance, the price runs high and unless registered or certified seed of an adapted variety is purchased there is no guarantee of the genuineness of the variety. There is no doubt that a good deal of the so-called poor quality grain grown in 1943, could be used as seed this spring if suffiicient care were taken in its preparation. Even if such grain germinates only 60 to 70 per cent, it might still be used as seed through grading, careful treating for diesease and by making up for loss of germination by heavier seeding. To those who comtemplate the pur- BOOKING ORDERS FOR Certified Seed Potatoes --V-- Seed Oats and Barley in Stock GEO. G. WICKETT PORT HOPE Sound Motion Pictures sponsored by 'C. L. Turney, local dealer for Cockshutt, Plow Co. Ltd. TOWN HALL, COLBORNE Saturday, April 1st, 1944 at 8.00 p.m. sharp "TOGETHER WE SERVE," a technicolor film, show-the manufacture of war equipment and farm machines. "HAVANA HOLIDAY," Travelogue "Boy Meets Dog," Comedy "Here Comes the Circus" FREE for Farmers, their Wives and Families FREE Three Prizes will be awarded to holders of lucky tickets, which will be given at door. RENTALS Landlords and tenants are entitled to apply to a rentals appraiser, W.P. T.B., for permission to increase or decrease the amount of rent charged for an accommodation. RATION BOOKS The production of consumer ration books is the biggest printing job now done in Canada. CEILING PRICES Back up your country in its battle against inflation. Pay no more than ceiling pirces for what you buy. Our soldiers are giving their lives for you. What are you doing for them? chase of new seed, as a result of the poor quality of crop in 1943, it might be well to consider the possibility of making use of home grown or locally grown grain by taking special pre-coutions in grading, germinating and treating for disease, particularly if ariety in use is known to be satisfactory. URGENT NEED TO SALVAGE EGG CASES Due to some neglect in the return of egg cases to wholesalers, some careless handling, a shortage of lumber and other incidental causes there is now a definite shortage of egg cases in Canada, states the Dominion Department of Agriculture. This shortage threatens not only to handicap the movement of eggs into the domestic trade but also to egg drying plants where egg powder is made for export to Britain. In view of the fact that it is difficult to obtain adequate supplies of new cases, the Department makes a special appeal to everyone handling egg cases not only to return them and the accompanying packing material promptly to the shipper but also to avoid damaging them in any way. OPPORTUNITY • Looks like work. It acts like work. IT IS WORK. And--Nothing else. # When a gun goes into action every man has a job to do. Seconds count, and team work gets results. Training . . . endless training . . . gets efficiency that makes each man part of a perfect machine. But something more than efficiency is needed to make a top-rank fighting unit. There must be loyalty . . . that spirit of responsibility that each man feels toward his mates. We've got efficiency on the farm front ... we're producing more, and with less help to do it. Keep up the teamwork that will make each one of us go all out to support our men on the fighting fronts. We too, are part of a fighting unit. . . citizens of a nation at war. We must not let our men on the fighting fronts down. Invasion means high tension on the fighting fronts . . . combined operations . .. thorough team work in every detail. And that call for greater action comes back to us at home. We have a job to do here, too. We must all buy Victory Bonds. We have a responsibility to our mates on the firing line. We can't let them down. And the job that we are asked to do is . . . save more, and lend more to our country. We are asked to let our country have the use of money that we do not need now. We will have the money later on to improve our farms and to buy stock and equipment; for new barns and silos; for new furnishings and conveniences for our homes. Be ready to buy more Victory Bonds. National War Finance Committee EVERY ONE HAS A JOB TO DO