—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday. December 5. 1959 4 FROM WHERE WE STAND - Secretary Benson Praises Farmers Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Ben&cn today made public a letter writ ten by him recently to ttie presidents of nearly 100 leading farm and non-farm nationwide organizations urging that they help focus public attention on the "debt of gratitfade which all Americans owe to their neighbors on farms and ranches." Text of the letter follows; "My recent trade development and good will trip to Europe left me more than ever impressed with the fact that the Am erican people owe a special debt of gra titude to our farmers and ranchers. Their efficiency and productiveness are basic to our national progress and high stand ard of living. "Each farm worker in the United Stales produces, on the average, enough food and fiber for about 25 persons. In contrast, a farm worker in the Soviet Union produces enough for only six or seven persons. Never have so few pro duced so much for so many as our farm ers have done in recent years. "The productivity of our farmers and ranchers has not only supplied abundant quantities of food to consumers and raw materials to industry; it has also released manpower for the needs of the total Davidson Secretary of Agriculture mer at the time of World War Ezra Benson returned recent- I, and it is only about one iy from a first-hand survey of third the current U. S. output farming and farm living con- per worker, drtions inside Russia. His au- Consider that in this coun '.hontative comments and try we are attempting to re comparisons with American strain farm production, while agriculture probably are the j n Russia there is a great ef most reliable that are avail- £ o rt to expand production, able from behind the Iron and you see that the Russians Curtain. have a long, long way to go The Secretary traveled to catch up with us ' t a through farming areas, stop- * There is, Benson noted, pmg often to talk with Rus- S a P between their pro sian farm people. He also ductivity and ours a still talked with Russian agricul- Wlc * er between their tiiral officials. Prom his ob- marketing and ours and a servations we get a good tremendous chasm between comparison between U. S. their farm standards of liv ■aftd USSR farming. in g and ours. “You have read,” lie said, A “Compared with a typical “that the Soviet Union has American farm, life on a So made, and is making, great ™ et fa ™ 13 alm f st Primitive strides toward a more effic- have about one million lent agriculture. This is true, tractors all owned by the “Yet, according to Soviet ha Y e nearly five sources some 50 million per- milll °n, owned by individ sohs were working in agri- uals culture in 1956—43 per cest Hand Labor vs. Power of their total labor force. “Few Soviet farms have The Soviet Union, in other electricity, compared with words, has several times as 96 per cent of ours, and with many people actively engag- electricity in the U. S. have ed in agriculture as we have, come running water, radios, yet our total production ex- television, refrigerators, deep ceeds theirs by a wide marg- freezers, vacuum cleaners m.” and a whole multitude of F6riy Years Behind labor-saving devices un- Khrushchev has boasted known on the average Rus from time to time that Soviet sian farm agricultural production will “Many families on Soviet soon eaual, and then surpass farms live in wooden cabins, that of the United Stales even mud huts. They get to Russian farm output per town about as often as farm worker is about equal to that ers m this country used to GO of the average American far- or 75 years ago. “Our farm families drive modern cars on hard-surfaced highways. The Soviet farm family rides in horse-drawn carts over roads to match We have more telephones on farms in this country than can be found in all of Russia city and farm combined. “After a first hand look at agriculture under contrasting Lancaster Farming Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly P O Box 1524 T monster, Penna. Oftxes: 52 Xoi ih Duke St. Bancaster, Penna. 1 anca°ter Phone 4-W47 .Tack Owen, IMilor Robc-t g Campbell Advertising forms of government and in Dir. rtnr k Business jihn iger three Communist countries,” EetnMished n«ember 4 iPG Benson said, “I’m all the towtir t arming ipnca’trr pa more convinced of the super- Ground corn cobs are good Entered as 2nd civs matter at ionty of our - agricultural * eed f° r beef catt’e during Pa under Art or Mar system of privately owned *be winter if the cobs are jnv p q1 ' entrv at Tr "' rl, f arm iy farms, the profit mo- supplemented with three and Subscription Bates- j 2 per vear; tive, competitive markets, a half pounds of supplement Oree years f 5. Single copy Pries and f ree dom for the farmer P° r cow dai! 3 r 6 Cent- _____ Pubisn- dGC uC Wnat IIG Wants to ere' A^nci-itmn. National Editor, grow and market ful we should be, and how UI Association “How fortunate we are to determined to keep our coun live in this land, how grate- try free and strong.” THIS WEEK —ln Washington With Clinton Davidson Farming In Russia economy, which has given America the highest standard of living in all history. . "The accomplishments of American, agriculture thus give striking evidence of the value of free enterprise, individual in itiative, and creative achievements. Four fifth of our agriculture is free of govern ment controls. Our surplus problems are limited to a very few commodities—com modities for which agriculture has not had full freedom to make necessary ad justments. I have complete confidence that our farm people, given necessary freedom, will continue to do a great job. "It seems appropriate to me that ad ditional public attention be focused on this debt of gratitude which all Americans owe to their neighbors on farms and ranches. Having farmed for many years and worked with agriculture all my life, I have always had a keen appreciation of the excellent job farmers do. I have tried to express this feeling at every op portunity and I can pleased about the good work being done by many groups to publicize these facts. I hope all of us who are deeply interested in this will make every effort to remind the general public about agriculture's fundamental contribution to our Amencan way of life." Oats Winterkill In January Say PSU Researchers Winter oats kills in Jan uary in Pennsylvania and not in March as often assumed, according to the latest ex periments b y Robert P. Pfeifer of the Agricultural Experiment Station, the Pennsylvania State Univer sity. Dr. Pfeifer and associates have found that the major portion of the winter-kill of oats occurs when the soil temperature falls below 22 degrees Fahrenheit. This is usually between January 1 and February 6. Their dis covery has held true during the past two years of field studies and special cold chamber tests. “Only the deep-freeze ef fect of frozen soil on oat seedlings makes them look ajive,” Dr. Pfeifer explains “Under these conditions dead seedlings will look alive un til frost leaves the ground in March or later,” he adds. The Penn State research ers are now using their soil temperature discovery to de termine winter hardiness of the different oat varieties. By freezing seedlings in artifical cold chambers, they can de terming winter kill for any one varietl. This method of determin ing winter hardiness can also be used with winter wheat and barley, Dr. Pfeifer points out. We can now pre dict winterkill of winter grain well oefore the Spring planting season, he adds. Tests indicate that cold hardiness of the more frost res stant oat varieties is di rectly related to earliness of planting. Winter injury in creases with late plantings Seeding? made on September 10 had 48 per cent winter injury When planted Sep tember 21 the winter injury rose to 52 per cent. Winter injury sharply increased to 88 per cent when the planting date was October 2. “ In future experiments we want to find out what hap pens in hardy oat varieties to cause them to build up resis tance to freezing tempera tures,” Dr Pfeifer states. Bibl* Material; .Acts 9 10-31. Derftttaast Bend toe'- Colossiane 3.12-17. New Convert Lesson for December 6, 1959 FIFTEEN thousand, nine hun dred eigthy-two persons decided ior Chtist when Billy Graham was down m New Zealand last "spring.’’ <lt was .fall down there ) What will happen to those 15,000 new con verts ? What has happened to con verts in .other Billy Graham meet ings? The answer to that question on the converts them- selves; but it^'de- pends also a great deal, oih what other Chris tians ’do.about it. Billy himself has .“After, the said, obstetrician comes tlje pedia trician.”. ' Tie D r - Foreman bn th of a baby is important good news; but suppose from that mo ment everybody forgets the baby and nobody does a single thing for him? In that case the baby might as well never have been born. Getting Acquainted Saint Paul Was a new convert once The church of the ages owes much to him, but" we also owe a great debt to some people without whose help Paul would haidly have become the great apostle and mis sionaiy that he was. He was very eager to get back to Jeiusalem where he had built up his career as an anti-Chnstian. He risked his life, in fact, to get back there. He knew that the most effective place to give a good wit ness is just where you have made a bad witness in times past It is much easier to go to a strange place for a complete new start, than to make the new start in the old surroundings. But Paul seldom took the easiest way, and so wo find him back in Jerusalem ... a lonely man For not a Christian there would speak to him He was known as a bloodthirsty and im placable enemy of all Christians When he began speaking for Christ mstead Of against him, the Clans mans were -'locked and afraid All Now Is The Time ... BY MAX SMITH TO PROTECT BARNYARD MANURE —" Manure continues to be one of the most valuable fertilizer crops from the farm, all measures should be taken to conserve the elements throughout the entire yeai With most dairy herds the daily production is hauled directly to the field If the manure it to be stored, it should be placed in a concrete pit so that the valu able nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash ele ments will not be washed away The appli cation of super- phosphate to stored ma- MAX SMITH nure will help hold its fertilizer value. TO PROTECT THOSE ROSES—Winter winds and alternate freezing and thawing arc hard on all types of roses; espec ially the hybrid tea roses and the flounbundas are subject to winter injury. The roses are not to be covered to keep them warm, but rather to keep the soil and plant tempera tures as uniform as possible. When the ground is once froz en around the plant roots we don’t want alternate freezing and thawing We suggest mounding soil up around the plants at least six to eight inches high and then cover with straw or strawy manure Windbreaks are also needed if the plants are exposed to the west or the north TO PROTECT YOUNG CALVES-—Dairymen are reminded that the proper care and growth of the young heifer calves is essential to a good future herd in the milking string. Calf pens with plenty of light, dry, and free from drafts are es sential. In barns where an exhaust fan system of ventila tion is in operation it is important that the fan be located over or near the calf pens in order to keep them as warm as possible Most cases of scours and pneumonia can be pre vented with proper conditions and care. TO TAKE SOIL SAMPLES—There is s + ill time to take soil samples here in the southeast before the ground freezes for the w nter There are many advantages to having the testing done now as compared to waiting until next spring. The test will be just as accurate, you will get a more prompt reply due to fewer samples to be tested now, and you will have the recommendations in plenty of time to take early delivery and take advantage of reduced winter prices. Soil test envelopes and full details available at our Extension Office. but one man, Barnabas. He t nok ;his new convert and introduced him to the church leaders a- a fellow-Chnstian. And when thev got acquainted With the man Paul, things began to be different That's the first thing a Chris tian can do with new converts: just get acquainted. Do you have evan gelistic services in your church or community 9 And if so, what are the new Christians to you? Meic statistics, just a list of names 9 Or are they ically people 9 If all the new converts mean to the older Christians is statistics, then that’s all they’ll over be, statistics And m the end, statistics of missing persons. New conveits are often moie scared than they like to admit Can I hold out? they ask themselves over and over. They have not yet discovered that it is not a question of their holding on, but of God’s. Now put a man who half-distiusts himself in the midst of people who have no faith in him, just waiting like buzzards for him to fall so they can pick his reputation to the bone, and you start him off against ter rific odds. New converts need all the encouragement they can get It is nothing short of cruel for people who profess to be Chris tians, to, act and' talk as if they were betting on failure for any new Christian. Furthermore, we may note that good,practical Barnabas did not keep .his” confidence in young Paul to himself. He took him personally to.the leading Chris tians of the city. A Job Paul was a tentmalcea no! as a hobby but as a job for "pay Pei haps he worked at that trade in Jerusalem. But whether he did or not, the job that really interested him was an opportunity to witness for Christ He preached and he de bated around Jerusalem, and we may be sure he would not have been given an opportunity to do this if the Apostles had not ap proved. In short, to put it into modern terms, they gave him a job in the church Not that he was paid for it; but the point is, the chuich encouraged him to speak for Christ, to use his talents as thinker and speaker and debater, on behalf of Jesus. The most weakening thing older Christians can do for a new one is to throttle him down, to choke off his enthusiasm. The best thing older Christians can do for a new convert is to encourage him to win others. , (Based on outlines copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education. National Council of the Churches of Christ in tho TJ. S. A. Released by Community Press Service)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers