Urbanization of Farming Land Becoming
National Problem; Zoning May Help
SOIL CONSERVATION magazine this boards have an interest in the preservation
month carries an interesting survey of of farmland and are making some progress
the urbanization of farm land and the con- through zoning However in most.cases the
tinuing non-farm use of farm lands. planning by city boards for the benefit of
The author of the story had traveled the °S,v on o of the
over the nation and everywhere found that fa Lf P „f Greatest obstacles
urban developments, especially housing g™er B
TiMef SS nroduS BeSt" poWs^thft
along highways is also taimg more goo cjal[y the y oun g er ones with good business
farm land out of productio . eS) and some for sentimental reasons, de-
Industrial sites, however, do not seek s ired protection against the encroachment
the best farm land, according to the story. 0 £ urbanization. Most of them, however,
Industry is dependent on location of rail, are o pp o sed to restrictions in the sale of
water or road facilities and the best site their land and many of them want to see
available often has to be leveled or filled day hastened when they can reap the
to make a satisfactory industrial location. golden harvest they have not yet been able
Soil Conservation notes that attempts to bring in.
are being made, with more or less success, The general public is not worried
in several states to prevent or reduce ur- about the shrinking of farm acreage
ban taxes on farm land and the encroach- brought about by the increasing number of
ment of urbanization on farm land by spe- housing developments, roadside business
cial zoning legislation or the incorporation eS) industrial parks and the like. As long
of farm municipalities. as they can buy food at a reasonable cost,
Most progress in agricultural zoning they are not going to notice, much less
has been made in California. Within the complain.
limits of Los Angeles, “Dairy City” has This is a problem that is placed square
been incorporated for protection of the ly on the farmer. And this is a problem
dairy farmers. In this same area, “green that is becoming acute in this area,
belts” zoned around the city are occupied If you want to keep your farm taxes
by vegetable farms and citrus groves. down, if you want Lancaster County to re
in most places, just as here in Lancas- main the Garden Spot county, if you want
ter County, the great urban sprawl is, like this to remain a dirt farmers type of
Tbpsy, “just growing.” In several states, place to live, then you are going to have
notably California, Michigan, Illinois, New to start taking the steps to keep it that
Jersey and Virginia, county planning way. No one is going to do it for you.
BY JACK REICHARD
75 Years Ago
■During Saturday afternoon and
evening on July 28, 1883, many
Lancaster County tobacco growers
were struck a destructive blow By
so|vere thunder storms accom
panied by hail The storm in the
afjternoon broke about 1.30 p.m,
cutting tobacco crops in East and
West Hempfield, Manor, Cones
toga, Pequea, West Lampeter and
Strasburg Townships into ribbons.
The course of the storm was about
one mile in width and hail feil
for nearly a half hour It was esti
mated that 3,000 acres of growing
tobacco had been destroyed by the
hail.
The same areas were visited
by an evening storm of greater
severity between 6 and 7 p.m. On
the farm of William Phillips, Cole
rain Twp, ten cattle were in the
Leld when the storm broke and
ian to the edge of a woods for
protection Just as they reached
the woodland a bolt of lightning
stpuck in the vicinity, killing two
of the animals
The hail stones were reported
unusual large in size, ranging
from the size of hickory nuts and
walnuts to small hen eggs. “A
wagon that had been left out had
its body so full of the hail that a
shovel had to be brought into
service before the wagon could
be used”.
ONE SHERIFF
GETS TO HEAVEN
Back in July, 1883, a Lancaster
business man who was much har
assed by his creditors related to
a friend a strange dream he had
“I dreamed that I was dead”, he
said
‘‘l thought that I had passed
away peacefully and calmly, and
when the mist cleared away from
before m> e>es I was in that bet
ter land where the weary are sup
posed to be at rest. I was speech
less with jov, and for a moment
stood enraptured with the beauti
ful scene that met my ejes and
the angel music that came to my
cars Then I stai ted to walk down
the golden street, and the first
man I met was the Sheriff”.
JS Week*
ster Farming
On August 1, 1883, the Lancas
ter Watch Company suspended all
operations, throwing some 250
workers out of employment The
suspension was the result of the
failure of A. Bitner, late manager
and principal stockholders of the
company. The directors of the
company issued a statement that
the suspension was only tempor
ary.
50 Years Ago
July 24, 1908, an electrical
storm accompanied by heavy ram
caused great damage to bridges
and railways in upper Lancaster
County
All traffic on the Reading and
Columbia Railroad and on the
Cornwall and Lebanon line was at
a standstill. Lancaster and Man
heim trolley cars were not able
to run any further than he bridge
crossing the Chickies Creek, near
Manheim
Throughout the night and part
of the following day Manheim was
cut off from the rest of the world
All tram, trolley and telephone
service were suspended
The lower section of Manheim,
east of the Reading Railroad, was
submerged, with houses along the
Lancaster turnpike having fifteen
and more inches of water on
their first floors. The Reading and
Columbia Railroad roadbed was
washed out several hundred feet
and at some places the tracks
were carried away.
The northeastern end of the
county along the Cocalico Creek
also suffered severly. That stream
was higher than ever known by
the eldest persons then residing
in the area. Many bridges along
the stream were washed away. Be
tween Denver and Reinholds five
structures were destroyed One
was an iron bridge on the mam
toad leading from Reamstown to
Denver, some 60 feet in length,
which was washed downstream
Dui mg the storm a bolt of lightn
ing struck the silk mill at Denver
but damage was slight
At the Miracle Sweet Feed
Mill in Henryetta, Okla, an ordi
nary black and yellow speckled
bouse cat had adopted two rats
to raise along with her brood of
At the July, 1908, meeting of four kittens.
general hospital
TILLED TO CAPACITY
Lancaster Farming
Lancaster county’s Own Farm Weekly
Alfred C. Alspach, Publisher; Robert
E Best, Editor, Robert G. Campbell,
Advertising Director; Robert J.
Wiggins, Circulation Director.
Established November 4, 1955
Published every Friday by OCTOEABO
NEWSPAPERS, Quarryville, Pa. -
Phone SXerling 6-2132 or Lancaster,
Express 4-3047.
Entered as Second-Class matter at
the Post Office, QuarryviUe, p*., u»der
Act of March 3, 1179
Subscription Rates: $2 per year,
three years SS,-Smele copy Price 5
cents.
the Directors of the Lancaster
General Hospital it was reported
that the total cases was the largest
in the history of the institution up
to that year. The number of pati
ents remaining from May was 45;
the number admitted during June
was 83, with 33 dispensary cases,
making a total of 161. The daily
average number of patients, dur-
25 Years Ago
ing June, 1908, was placed at 50.
Chanty cases numbered 132, and
there were 46 operations, five in
a single day. according to the re
port
25 YEARS AGO (1933)
Back in July, 1933, the Penn
sylvania Bureau of Motor Vehicles
reported its first case where auto
registration tags were used in a
stove.
A car owner residing on a rural
route applied for and was sent
tags during the month of May, ac
cording to H Richard Stickel,
Bureau Director. When they fail
ed to arrive by the end of June
the car owner requested the post
office serving his route to find the
license plates.
The post office found it had
another person of the same name
on its list. This person was in
terviewed and the receipt of the
tags were denied The Post Office
was presistent. It interviewed a
servant who had been employed
by the second family but had left.
She admitted receiving the tags
and placing them in an abandoned
gas oven where they were found
and turned over to the rightful
ov> ner.
4 Lancaster Farming, Friday, July 25, 1958
Deuteronomy IS 7-8: Roman* 13.8-
JO; Jsme* 1 1-34; 2 1-13.
Perotioenl Beading: Roman* 12:9-21.
Community Justice
Lmmoo for July 27, 1958
SUPPOSE you hired somebody
to put up a. fence on your place,
and you had a choice between two
men. One of these would put up
a fence that would sag and break;
but he would be prompt and oblig
ing about coming to make it
right. The other '*
up a fence that
will last for
years without
attention. Tou
would have no
hesitation which
man to put on
the job. The bet-
ter fence-builder
is the man who
puts up a good
fence, not the
one who neatly patches up a bad
one. Now justice, wherever you
find it, is like that. Justice is
more than making good a wrong
that has been done. Justice at its
best is keeping the wrong from
being done.
You Bo tho Judge
Justice reigns in community life,
not when all suits at law are
settled right—though even that
would be remarkable. True justice
—the mark to shoot at—will reign
when human relations, including
group relations, in that commun
ity, are such that law-suits will
never be necessary. Such a goal
is impossible? Well, yes . . . but
so is the goal of a perfectly
healthy community, so is the goal
of a perfectly educated commun
ity; but doctors and teachers keep
working "working themselves
out of a job,” and so't is that m
the best community there will be
the least patching-up to do, in
homes, court-rooms, hospitals or
on the mourners' bench.
Remembering then that Justice
means simply right relationships
between man, between group and
group, let us note a few cases,
none of them imaginary. It is
plain in every case that injustice
exists. The problem is; From the
Christian point of view—that is,
Now Is The Time . . .
By MAX SMITH
County Agricultural Agent
TO EXPECT APHIDS ON TOBACCO In recent
years there seems to be more fields infected with
aphids; these insects will multiply rapidly in dry,
hot weather and will attack the under-side of the
tobacco leaf. Harvesting will not reduce the
damage because they continue to feed upon the
leaves in the shed Spraying or dusting with
malathion or parathion will give best control
TO DELAY BREEDING DAIRY COWS Many
successful dairymen are attempting to produce
the largest volume of milk during the fall and
early winter months when the prices are more
favorable. It is good business to have a product
to sell when the prices are the highest of the
Max Smith
year Cows bred during July and August will
freshen in the spring when milk supplies are flush and when prices
are at a low level
TO KILL FLIES This should be a constant battle on every farm
and the starting place is to practice good sanitation at all times.
The destroying of their breeding places will reduce the fly popula
tion A somewhat new control that is giving great sucess is the red
cotton cord that has been soaked with a contact poison containing
parathion. It is stretched between two points in the barn and flies
will be killed as they light on it. Giving good results-
TO KEEP LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY COOL Production of
meat, milk, and eggs will be decreased when animals have to breath
more rapidly in order to keep down body temperatures. We may
still be facing the hottest part of the summer and special attention
to this comfort will pay dividends. Plenty of shade and cool water
are very essential, electric fans, sprinkling systems, and cross ventila
tion are other practices to keep down body temperatures.
TO PLAN FOR NEW PASTURE SEEDING Old bluegrass sods or
other worn-out pastures may be re seeded during late August or
early September with good chances of success. The first step is to
have a complete soil test made on the area, followed by the plowing
or discing of the old sod. Special effort should be made to kill the
old sod during the month of August when the weather is hot. The
new grasses will get a good start during the fall and winter and be
ready for grazing next spring
In Christ’s ayes—what would ixn*
be the just thing: to do? And
could you suggest a better just
thing that perhaps might have
been done if someone had tlrought
of It in time? You be the judge.
Cast tf lb# Seventh Church
There la a community barely
large enough to support one
church. There were six different
denominational churches in it,
and no member of any one of
these would attend any of the
others. Along came the represent
ative of a seventh denomination to
start still another congregation.
When the ministers already
"there” (though not one of the six
lived there) protested, asking him
Jf he didn’t think the gospel was
already pretty well represented,
he replied with dignity: "The gos
pel is never really presented till
we present it.” Is there .something
wrong here, and if so, what can
be done, or what could have been
done, about It?
Case of the Underpaid Cook
In a small southern town there
was a Negro girl whose name
makes no difference with the ease.
She worked for private families as
a cook —and she was a very poor
one —for five dollars a week. This
was low wages but at that time
it was what even the better cooks
there received. The girl lived in a
draughty crowded shack with her
own and several other families,
who, being of the race they were
and living in the state they did,
could afford nothing better. This
girl first contracted tuberculosis
and spread it around where she
worked; and then she got in
trouble with the law for prostitu
tion; and finally died in an institu
tion, after costing the state quite
a bit of money. What do you think
could have been done to prevent
some of this, and why do you sup
pose it was not done?
Csst of tho Embarrassed
Government
The United States Government
is hoarding enormous ware-house
fuls of butter and many other
products, which it has bought to
keep farmers in business. It would
like to sell these in the world mar
ket, perhaps at auction; but when
it tries to do so, it runs into
strong opposition from other
countries with which our govern
ment, would then be in direct com
petition. Is there some injustice
here, and if so, what can be done
about it now, and what could have
been done to prevent it?
(Bated on outlines copyrighted by
the Division o t Christian Education,
National Connell of the Churches of
Christ in the IT. S. A. Released ky
Community Frets Service.)