16—Lancaster Fanning, Friday, July 5. 1957 Forest Fire Numbers Hit New Low During 1956 Despite High Forest Use Numbar of forest fires over the nation hit a record low in 1956, although the American peo pie visited and used forest lands more than ever before, the TJ S Department ol Agriculture an nounced today A total of 143,485 forest fires were reported in 1956 on ' pri vate, state, and federal lands a reduction of 1,695 from the 1955 figure These figures were compiled by the USDA’s Forest Seivice from reports of state and federal fire fighting agencies Despite this favorable showing in fua protection a forest fire was reported, on an aveiage of eveiy thiee and one-half minutes dm mg 1956 Improvements noted in the 1956 file picture included prog ress in foicst fire prevention in the South fewer man-caused fires, and a reduction in the num her intentionally set Man-c.uised fires dropned five per cent, largely due to oigan ized prevention campaigns car ried on by federal and state ag encies, industries, private organi zation?, and individuals Most popular of these aie the Smokey Bear campaign conducted bj the Forest Service and state forest ers under sponsoiship of The Ach vertismg Conned, and the Keep Green programs conducted by states and forest mdustues Improved equipment and bet ter methods of fighting fires re duced the aiea burned by 1,462,- 707 acres, down to 6.605,894 ac res in 1956 Contributing to this decrease was the fact that org anized forest fire protection was extended to an additional 3, 148,- 000 acres, bring the 1956 total to 607,032,000 acres under pro MIW NO-PITMAN MOWER Sy glides through my hay. .. fast ...on assy tractor Revolutionary Twin-Wheel drive on the new Allis-Chalmers No. 7 mower cuts cleaner, faster, quieter. Two rotating wheels with balancing coun terweights replace the chattering pitman. Driving action is smooth, quiet... at any an gle from straight up to 45' below horizontal. Come in, let us show you the new No. 7 mower . . . complete with Snap-Couplek hitch for Allis-Chalmers tractors, or trail type for other makes. TUNE IN, National Farm and Home Hour, Saturday, NBC . Tv-in WHITT, and SNAP-COUPLER are Ailia Chalmers trademarks. ALUS-CHALMIRS <^> SALES AND SERVICE N. G. Myers & Son Rheems. Pa. Mann & Grumelli Farm Serv. Quarryville, Pa. Snavelys Farm Service New Holland. Pa. L. H. Brubaker Lancaster. Pa. taction Foresters point but that organized protection makes it possible to spot fires quickly and hit them befoie they spread. The south came in for special praise for considerable improve mant in its forest fire protection In 11 States between North Car-, olina and Texas, the number of fires were reduced by 6,372 from the 1955 total of 109,082 Acre age burned also dropped sharply, from 6,781,536 in 1955 to 5,2i)0,- 217 acias :n 1956 a reduction ol 1,491,319 acres Much of this improvement was attubuted to the Southern Forest Fac Conference of 1955, and followup meetings in each state at which fire fighting agen eves, law enforcement agencies, and other inleiested groups planned a campaign to piotect woodlands fiom fire As pait of this piogram, oiganized pi elec tion covered 157,906,000 acres in the South last year, compaiedto 155,619,000 acies in 1955 Interest m tree planting, which has giown in that region during the past yeai, also contributed to the i eduction in fires As more, people plant tiees, they become aware of forest values and more interested in forest fire piotec tion and prevention, foi esters explain “Untoi Innately, a lot of peo ple aie still deliberately sotting forest fires,” Forest Seivice offi cials saj “Incendiansts, found largely m the South, still top the list of fire causes on protected lands (Figures are not availa ble on unprotected land ) The 1956 record is' improved on this score, hovveved There were 1,758 fewer files set deliberately, a re duction fiom 25,773 in 1955 to 24,015 in 1956 ” L. H. Brubaker Lititz. Pa. R. S. Weaver Stevens. Pa. Nissley Farm Service Washington Boro. Pa. Oak Wilt Fight In Pennsylvania Most Economical HARRISBURG The gigantic survey land eradication program against oak wilt fungus disease in Pennsylvania is the largest m the nation and by far the most efficient and economical, the State Department of Agriculture says. Aerial anti ground crews of the Department began the attack in mid-June against the disease that is costly to farmers and lumbermen The' campaign will continue through September Estimated costs of survey and eradcalion per infected “spot’ in Pennsylvania is $32, the lowest in the nation This compares with programs which cost as high as $9O It costs Pennsylvania about 15 cents per square mile for the survey and medication piogram Estimated costs arc based on the number of infections found, accoxdmg to Dr Thomas L Guy tdn, director of the Biueau of Plant Industry Nearly 400 in fected locations were discovered and destroyed in 1956, 40 pei cent fewer than in 1955 So far this year 50 trees have 'been classed as infected with oak wilt, but the number is below the same period of 1956 Pennsylvania is the only State in the nation with a program which covers the entire Common wealth It also is one of the few states to cut not only the infect ed tree but all pak trees within root-grafting distance, usually 50 feet or more I Some acres of the State will be ■ covered six times by the aenal { surveyors Each area will be plotted at least once. Special at tention is being-given to locali ties where oak wilt infection has been found in past years The complete oak wilt eradica tion program m Pennsylvania is a cooperative activity with the Department of Agriculture, De partment of Forests and Waters and the Pennsylvania State Uni versity. lllliillilllilH Applying good limestone can mean cash for you 9 Don’t have your soil depleted 9 Use limestone regularly to keep up the soil 0 Have your soil tested at no charge 2: MARTIN’S LIMESTONE Ivan M. Martin, Inc., Blue Ball, Pa. Phones iii iliillli illilll Early Damage by Alfalfa Aphid Not so Heavy as Anticipated { Alfalfa growers have been 'pleasantly suiprised by the cpm 'paratively small numbers of spot ted alfalfa aphids active through May, the U S Department of Ag riculture said today By June 1, the fast spreading pest had not reached the damag ing proportions that it had by the same date in previous years since its discovery in this coun try in 1954 It now infests 30 States Eleven Western and Cen tral States listed it among their 10 most important crop insect pests of 1956. In the Southwest, where the aphid was first found, southern New Mexico has had light to heavy infestations this year Alphid-eating insects have been an important factoi in reducing populations" in the Yufna (Anz.) aiqa Utah reported damaging popu lations in late May according to USDA's Agricultural Research Service cooperative economic in sect Insecticidal treat ment was necessary in Nye Coun ty, Nevada Nebraska’s first spot ted alfalfa aphid of the year was taken May 23 The aphid first crossed the Mississippi River eastward last year, Up to early June 1957, aphid numbers in infested east ern IStates were generally light. Some honaydew, which the aph ids secrete on alfalfa, was re ported from areas of North Car olina Quarantine or eradication pro grams against the pest are im practical, because of the insect’s habits For example, it can be spread by air currents and can survive on a number of host plants other than alfalfa State and Federal agencies are push ing research to develop sound llllllllllllllllllMllllllillllllilll!IIIIWll[l[illllKiHlllllllilll!iyillllillllilllllliliilllilMlinni!llll[IHililllHIIB iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ing on its internal organs. “Mum mies” of aphids thus killed con tain living parasites and can be ; distributed in aphid infested al falfa fields Three different kinds of small parasitic wasps have been imported from France and the Near East by California and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service During 1956, almost 1- 1/3 million of these wasps were reared in California and USDA laboratories and released in in fested States More are being bred for release in 1957. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii control measures and to combat the reduced stands, low yields, poor-quality hay, and increased harvesting costs the aphid caus es. Research projects include bi ological control, use of insecti cides, and development of re sistant varieties. Natural enemies of the aphid include predators, parasites, and fungi Their success in control ling the pest has varied in dif ferent areas, apparently because of environmental differences. Ex isting enemies, however, are at least able to hold down light in festations Despite the formidable names of the aphid-eating predators— pirate bugs, assassin bugs, big eyed bugs and soldier bugs they cannot be relied upon to halt losses m heavily infested stands of'alfalfa Search abroad, by California and USDA ento mologists, has yielded several ad ditional species of predators , which are being tested m the laboratory against the aphid Thos showing promise will be reared and released in infested States Parasites lay eggs inside the aphid and depend on their off spring to kill the aphid by feed- iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers