■i— Lancaster Farming, < Saturday, April 4. 1959
EDITORIAL
The recent development of the "wa
iershed-meeting concept'' for
of conservation among Lancaster County
farmers is having a definite result -in .in
creasing the number of farms. enrolled
as District cooperators. For District offi
cials and others responsible for the offi
cial promotion of conservaion, this 15 m
deed an encourag ng outcome for ther
efforts.
The important thing to remember of
course, is that SCD, CVA and boro offi
cials .who donate their trie and efforts for
fhese programs, do so with the. full
knowledge that a feeling of satisfaction
will be their only reward. The forme, s
they sell on conservation are the ones
who profit.
Over the years, from Pacific slope
vinyards to Lancaster - County - tobacco'
patches; Montana wheat lands to Texas
cotton fields, we've heard hnany excuses
for farmers refusing o: neglecting to
adopt even the s-mplest conservation
practices on fheir land. We have-as yet
to hear one wosthy of consideration.’
’Someone has said that four inches of
topsoil .s all that stands between the hu
man race and starvation. Four inches
this is what research ’ndicates for aver
age topsoil depth around the entire-earth.
Four inches the vrdth of a man's
hand. Take it away and as far as the
human race is concerned, what lies be-"
rneath is nothing. Because it cannot sup
port higher life and man penshes with
out d.
Civihsations have grown from nch
raver valleys and plans where the land
provided great bounty. Great a ties rose
and dynasties flourished —and fell; when
the "soph'streated" ' populace neglected
ihe mother of their civilization, the land
The globe Is decorated with "color
ful" tributes to man's supidity in caring
for the sod. For nearly one-half century,
"Muddy Mo" was the nickname for the
silt-laden Missouri R ver, - until construc
tion of b.g dams slowed the current and
cleared the rver "too thuck to drink and
100 than to plow."
The M ssissippi Delta, extend ng
leagues beyond its boundares when the
white man discover©'! this continent, ±s
ndi testimony to the farmng skill of mid*
west land owners. Farmers who cmnaully
ship millons of tons of their best sod to
deposits below New Orleans.
The Yellow Sea s a landmark off
China's coast, created by the eras on of
The new military draft physical and genial condi
iaw passed recently by Con- tions will be more strict than
gress makes an additional in the past we are told
5,000,000 young men subject j n the past only about 2
'to induction into the armed out &i every .10 called have
forces within the next four been rejected, but, Selective
y 631-3 , _ Service says the rejection rate
That is the number which) wiU be about 3 out of every
Selective Service estimates! 10' under the new law.
-will become 18V 2 years of The President, it was ex
age and thus subject to the plained, has broad powers to
draft, between next July 1 change the number as well ad
and mid-1963, the next date the physical and mental stan
ce which the draft law is! dards of those to be
due to expire Selective Service officials,
We asked Selective Service how.ever, know of no plans
who and h. ow many it expects for changes
to call for military duty and The law fixes the age for , -
how they will be chosen.'draft at between 18!4 and 25 LancaStSf harming
'Here are some of their ans- years, but for those who have . _„„
v _ , ... , Lancaster County’s Own- Parra
wers been deferred the law makes Weekly
Draft calls so far this year them subject to draft up to p_ o. Box ir>2<
are running at around 8,000 the age of 35. As a matter 1 Lancaster, Penna.
a month. Barring world-wide of practice, most of the draft 53 North nuke sl
disarmament or a big shoot- calls are for the 22 and 23 Lancaster. Penna.
ing war, neither of which is year olds. Phone . Lancaster
expected, that rate will prob- Deferments 'w!?™* vliLr
, r ~ j . r __, _ , . , , LMn McOrew, Editor;
ably continue. The rate is The law does not provide Robert G Campbell. Advertising
at about 100.000 a year. for deferments to permit the Director a Business i»maxer
One In Twelve youths to continue through, Esta'dished November i, isai
Only about one out of ev- h’gh school and college, but p y
■ery twelve young men who Selective Service officials say 5 aw cte matter at
Tbecome of draft age actually that unless there Is a nation- Lancaster Pa under Act of Mar.
■wi’l be called, Selective Serv al emergency the present *> additional entry at Mo”t>»
ices’ figures indicate Hovl practice on deferments will su bS c rip tion \t per year:
we asked, will those to be be continued three yearn »5. singla copy Prtoa
.called be selected? The present practice, whicK * c * nU ’-
Only those m excellent could, however, be changed
physical condition and above by a presidential order, is to lai Association,
average mentally will be defer fathers and expectant
chosen. The tests on both fathers, providing they keep ■>. ■», —-»
THIS WEEK
—ln Washington
With Clinton Davidson
NEW DRAFT LAW
■that civibzal on's lop so 1. For centuries,
■while mill ons starved in. famine after
famine, Chna shipped her He-g'.vlng soil
. to sea.
How often does the Lancaster Coun
ty farmer—famed for 3ns product on sk'U
—neglectfully plant corn rows up 2ffid
down a steep slop© in the rush of spring
work. How many do it without thnking
of the soil they are exposing to the un
impeded rush of heavy rainfall.
We have been told that nearly all
Lancaster County farmers farm w.th con
servcrt.on practices throughout.
We have reason to doubt.
Less than 2,000 county farmers are
cooperating members of the Soil Conser
vation District. There are too many roads
.n the county where topsoil from adjoin
ing fields pours over the asphalt after ev
ery heavy ran. There are too many gul
lies visible along hillsides. There are too
many streams that are "too th’ck to drink
and too thi n to plow."
Erosion of soil and water resources
doesn't show as fast in Lancaster County
as m. Frontier County, Nebraska, where
ths writer was covering cloudburst dam
age last year. You would hardly expect
to see a gully, 20 feet wide and 10 to 15
feet deep, washed in one of the h llsides
here from a 45-mmute rain. But it hap
pens in that Hgh Plains country.
It happens, on land where farmers
have neglected to protect their most pre
c ous resource. We found the gully men
tioned above, where it had completely
cut through a road. But, on- 7 the other
sde of that road was another held. It
was being farmed on the same rotation,
lyrig fallow one year to produce wheat
the next. The only difference being it
didn't erode heavily after that cloudburst.
There were some smcdl washouts
through that held, but they were very
mnor. Conservaton farming, with ter
races, contour stripping and a stubble
mulch cover, had not only saved the
land; bu 4 absorbeds nearly four inches of
ranfall. That fanner no worry of
clewing around a canyon in his whea*
held, or having hs wheat "dust-out."
s He had his crop insurance pad in
full —through conserved on. And tWhen the
Mississppi comple'ed 1958's shipment of
sit to the Delta; his farm had a very
smcdl freight b 11. ,
\ How much will your 1959 water
f e'ght for soil cost?
the'r draft board informed
of their status.
The law also provides
another way to avoid active)
duty in the military forces.
A young man can sign up wit
one of the military reserve
units, including the National
Guard, for six months active
duty training.
After that he must attend
weekly drills and a two we
eks annual training period.
This would continue for sev-.
eral years, in most cases un
til he reaches the age of 36
and thus becomeexemptfrom S
the draft j
CARE FOR PLANTS
If you got some flowering
plants for Eaiter, you can
keep them and they will
flower again, provided you
take care of them. Ask your
county agent for. a copy of
Penn State Ciftular 488,
“Your Holiday Plants.
One Plus God
Lesson for April 5, 1859
• ‘/'ANE PLUS GOD” is a slogan
vAhat might fit many a strong
life It is not only the secret of such
men as were the prophets of old,
not only for Saint Paul and Saint
Augustine and Martin Luther, and
other famous per
sons admired by
Christians. The
reader should
realize that this
can be true of
every one wi»o
puts his trust in
God. The price of
admission to' the
goodly - company
of the saints is
not, cheap, but it is in every one’a
reach: Faith.
Loyalty *
Thi&was true of the famous Old
Testament hero named Samuel. He
was-what hi football language is
called a triple-threat man. He was
a priest, prophet, judge, military
advisor; and tradition even says
he was a writer, though, of course
he didnot live long enough to have
written the boohs that bear his
name in the Old Testament. (They
do not claim to have been written
by him ) Before his time there had
been no kings, and indeed_not very
much unity among the tribes of
Israel. Under his leadership the
tribes were better united, and. it
would "not be much exaggeration
to say that Samuel “licked the
tribes into .shape"—yie shape of a
kingdom which he tumect over to
the first kitig-by-tatle,“ Saul. It is
true that King Saul did not pay
attention to Samuel’s wisdom; but
all the same, after the old prophet
was dead, Saul 'thought so much
of his advice that he-actually tried
to conjure him out of his grave
just to hear him again,
What was the secreriof Samuel's
power over Israel? First of all it
was a contagious loyalty to the
one true God. It was a rime when
most men worshipped many gods.
Even the Israelites did this Samuel
ran thn riotrTrVf Tionio - innlfarl of- ae
Now Is The Time ...
TO PLOW DOWN NITROGI
CORN—The corn- crop is one of t
ier feeders of nitrogen; in many a
beat to plow down part or all of tt
gen m order to get it deep enough
ground that goes' back into con
should receive from 75 to 100 p«
actual nitrogen depending upon the
of manure applied The decomposn
actually tie up nitrogen from the
corn crop.
Max Smith-
TO START FLY CONTROL
earIy lo be talking about house ami stable flies b«
the best treatments is to prevent their reproduce
all barns, stables, and box-stalls frequently, remo\<
piles, trash, or other breeding places. The concn
barnyards and manure pits will also help. Prevent#
fly populations is better than to try to kill the®
TO PLOW COVER CROPS AT PROPER STAG!
good farrpers have recognized the value of
crops forf soil improvement. However, in many c<
crop is allowed to get too large for best results I
grass and brome-grass it is recommended ’
crops be turned when 6 to 10 inches high W (
should not be more than 12 to 18 inches. If these (
allowed to get several feet tall and then the wea* 1
dry, it is vefy hard to plow down and also, the
is too bulky to decompose rapidly. The results 1
cases are poor due to the large amount of green
in the topsoil. When, plowing down cover drops i'
best to apply 40 to 50 pounds of actual nitrogen l
on the cover crop, disc it in with the crop and tW
and then plow. This allows quicker decomposite
TO SEED BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL IN SPRING 1
7f a trefoil seeding is to be made this season,
that it be made during late March or early AP
spring oats as a nurse crop. Seed only one busW
per acre and use six pounds of trefoil and four
either timothy or S-37 Orchard grass. It is best h
ly one grass with the trefoil and no other legum*
foil seed should be inoculated very heavily in o r *
the proper soil bacteria. Remove the oats for hay
to give the trefoil a better chance.
a crank or a
his known' loy a i t
when he challenge,
away their idols, i
must have been ’,,
life that made ovej!
men sure that ont l
.greatness. *
Prayer
1 ipther marltj
Samuel’s life was L
have on recoid thesu
first prayer It w
request,-not a "qJ
all. It was '‘Spcsi j
servant heareth ” J
he would rather w]
to say than to p O J
fore God. How S J
people in praymjj
chance to speak’m
has much to say to 1
slsts on talking J
Another feature]
‘ prayer life was that]
others, even when tij
turned their backj J
did his best to pets]
lites. not to have i j
- that “power corrupt]
. dieted accurately m
tyranny which thJ
would show. But J
king all the same, 1
leave of them Smj
bitter. “Far be it/J
should: sin against]
ceasing to pray f M ]
Wisdom ]
Samuel was an »
we nowadays calls
He held* coart in {
Cludinghis home toi
is remarkable) r ( ,
one hand) the kmdi
son who retires to a
spends his life in pn
man of affairs, trust
low. He was not)
band) the kind of s
wbo keeps his rei
-hymtrtbook—in cha
takes it out and|
happy over it ones
once. Samuel on th
a man whose rehji
the foundation of h
hgion did not lift In
world;” it gave k
the problems of tl
one-plus-God life to
self alone; Godmt
to be a help to other
strong reason why
more persons who
“One-plus-God” dost
too many of us wai
by the hand to s
rather than others
(Based on ontlins
the Division of Chiis
National Council of i
Christ in the U. SI
Community Press Sens
AY MAX SMITH