—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 28, 1966
4
From Whoro Wo St3nd * • •
And Then The Land Got 1 All!
Once upon a time, or so the story
goes, there were great floods and all the
•land in the world was drowned. And
then, gradually, the waters gave way
and surrendered the land to man’s gen
tle care. And this bountiful land- has
been exploited by man mercilessly from
that day to this one, seemingly with
an urge toward self-destruction.
And over the years, and over the
lifetimes, and over the centuries, man
steadfastly refused to acknowledge that
when he has destroyed ail the land he
will have no other place to stand; he will
have no other place to rest his weary
head; he will have no other place on
which to grow his food.
When the njran and his plow have
■no place on this land, then the waters
■might as well reclaim the resulting dung
■heap, for it is of no further use to man
'kind, nor he to it. He will have exploit
ed it, and any possible'future genera
tions, beyond any point of reclamation.
Too dramatic? Impossible? Short
sighted? Perhaps. But isn’t this what is
really happening, even if only in slow
motion?
True, as our knowledge has improv
ed, our ability to wring ever greater
yields from our groaning earth has in
creased. And it will continue to in
crease, protest as it may. But even this
ability has its final, physical limit.
Everything in nature is in some
sort of precarious balance. Let any por
tion of this delicate balance be disturb
ed, and temporary chaos results until
a new point of equilibrium is reached.
Disturbing this balance is not necessari
ly wrong, as some moralists may sug
gest. Every time we spray a new chemi
cal on our fields, or even introduce a
new, more resistant variety of grain to
mass cultivation, we are disrupting
some phase of that balance, causing the
natural forces to seek a new level of
equilibrium, hopefully in our favor Wit
ness the starling, which reputedly was
imported from the orient to combat
Japanese beetles here in the dim, dark
days before DDT and such. Now the
chemicals control the beetles, but if
there’s anything, or anyone, controlling
those 'blasted starlings it hasn’t had
noticeable effects. Thus, a new balance
is established.
The greatest balancing factor since
time began including wars, plagues,
and. politicians has been food. When
food was plentiful for several genera
tions, populations expanded. When
famine stalked the land, populations de
creased proportionately.
Knowledge disturbed that natural
balance as we learned how to grow
more with less and less land
and labor. And we learned how to pre
serve what we grew in times of plenty
so that in enlightened lands like Ameri
ca the problem of famine became the
fallacy of surplus
Once famine was caged and econo
mic prosperity established, Americans
began to multiply And as Americans
increased, available land decreased pro
portionately And where there had been
a food surplus, there was suddenly a
dangerous balance between production
and consumption. Our country is fight
ing a limited war in southeast Asia If
that war were to suddenly be expanded
we would not have the food reserves
to meet the added demand. We talk of
feeding the world. Maybe tomorrow,
'but not today. We can do a fair job of
predicting the weather except local
ly, of course. But we can still not con-
Loncaster Farming
Lancaster County’s Own Farm
Weekly
P. O Box 266 - Lititz, Pa.
17543
Offices:
22 E. Main St.
Lititz, Pa. 17543
Phone - Lancaster
394-3047 or
Lititz 626-2191
trol it; we can not prevent droughi
extended period of bad weather <
leave our pitiful storehouse of fooi
hausted.
All these factors are sayin t
same thing “Don’t let first rate ,
land be irrevocably lost to agricul
production! If the crop producet
some land is in surplus, then divert A
duotion to a deficit crop. Land will
grow at least 100 food crops in 100‘
years, but it will grow only one, or at
the most two, crops of houses during
that time. Houses will-grow very nice
ly on land-that will not grow food.
People need-houses today, but they will
need food tomorrow.”
"A.s one conservationist remarked
this week, the kind of thinking being
done in this country on land use
planning is about on a par with that
of our ancestors who said there was
no end to the buffalo.
There was an end to the buffalo.
There is an end to productive land in
America. If we insist on following the
“leadership” of the selfish spoilers
of land, we may one day discover, to
our dismay, just where the buffalo
went.
★ ★ ★ ★
Best Remark Of The Week
A county 'dairyman, asking a group
of other dairymen to support the trade
association’s Dairy Princess campaign,
remarked “these people are out pro
moting milk and milk products while a
lot of you dairymen are sitting home
eating oleomargarine sandwiches.”
★ ★ ★ ★
An Appeal For Road Safety
Uy Henry D. Harral, Secretary
Pennsylvania Department of Highways
With the four-day holiday period
commemorating Memorial Day virtually
at hand, I speak for 15,000 Pennsylvan
ians comprising the State Highways De
partment in appealing to all motorists
using the Commonwealth’s 43,200-mile
road network to drive carefully.
During' a similar long weekend last
year, 65' persons were killed an traffic
accidents.
The State Highways Department
expects to spend almost $290 million
for new road construction this year
an all-time record to make driving
safer and more enjoyable. Considering
this vast program, prospects of high
way carnage are cruelly disillusioning,
and heart-breaking as well. Must “sud
den death” prevail? We think other
wise!
The State Highways Department
is utilizing its full resources to make
Pennsylvania’s roads the best and saf
est in the nation. But it’s a two way
street if our goal for your benefit!
is to be attained.
We are doing something about this
problem. Unfortunately, the attack is
only a limited one because of the avail
ability of funds. Nonetheless the De
partment of Highways just a month ago
initiated a $1 6 million hazard removal
program that will only eliminate 118
high frequency accident areas.
We need the conscientious help
of every driver and pedestrian, too!
to eliminate this senseless slaughter,
particularly over the Memorial Day
period.
What price a multi-million dollar
new highway if it is stained in priceless
human blood?
safely,
Don Timmons, Editor
Robert G. Campbell, Adver
Using Director
Subscription price —S2 per are competition for the crop The hot summer months aie
year in Lancaster County; $3 in the need for sunlight, mois- approaching and ail kinds oi
ture, and plant food. Every livestock and poultry will be
*V r, u . , T - effort should be made to con- more efficient-.if given free
Established November 4, Pioneer printers of the 15th trol them; the use of chemi- choice of fresh water and
1905 Published every Satur cen t ury deliberately misalign- cals will reduce labor required shade. Animajs on pastui e
day by Lancaster Farming, Lit- ed type to i mi tate the and may be used on many need tliese same items to pi°'
itz, Pa. Second Class Postage uneveness of 'the manuscripts crops. Mechanical cultivation duce their best. The least
paid at Latitz, Pa. 17543. they copied. may still be used and will „ (Continued on Page 3)
Please do your part by driving
“Little
goes by.
Little by little a day,
Little by little you reach
your goal
Or let it slip away!”
by little an hour
death. -So idolatry wu cMfetaed
bclfrwMl fcrii.hir*: II Klnff 17: II » *l2. Hmm Wife Other «h», nOt leUt V which
MMMv 11Ktn,r17,?2 3f. P* l **" **** ,h «
prophet*, they eaw a» evil in
Whew a -person In our country themselves, though they could see
dies, It becomes the immediate the elns of other nations easily
duty of'some-doctor or-officer-of enough. They were-like aaAmeri
the law-to make statement can '-audience listening -to (aaj)
showing the cause of death. If the Billy Graham. Dr. Graham makes
death was by violence,-usually ano impression on some in that
"coroner’s jury” is formed to audience. He can draw a very
adjudge first of dark picture of life in America
all, if possible, and the state of danger we are in
who struck the (from God’s hands and man’s),
fatal blows. In but many listeners will say just
our passage wa what they must have said about
have a strong Amos and Hosea and other
statement by preachers, "it’s all exaggeration,
prophets ( and That preacher just gets people
hence
ing the justice to name the best nation in the
Dr. Foreman of God) on the world, wouldn’t you maybe pick
causes of the deafli not of a per- America? Well, Samaritans pick
son but of a nation. The reader ed Samaria, but God didn’t. A
may remember that remark: conceited nation is never as good
"Mortality among nations is as it thinks it is.
100 T&'. te to “GOO removed them
city and nation of Samaria or God’s judgements on nations
Israel. A few years (say six or are not left to some time-beyond
ten) before it crashed, it was one time, some far-off JudgementDay.
of the strongest nations along the God uses such things as foreign
curve of what is known as the armies, disease, arrogance, and
Fertile Crescent or the Middle much more, to weaken and des-
East. But when it perished as a troy the nations he judges. It
nation, though the city of Samaria would be the "coroner’s verdict’’
was rebuilt at various times, the of God that Samaria died by her
nation of Samaria or Israel never own hand, perhaps "while of un
lose again. What killed Samaria? sound mind.” So theprophet-adds
mmiTM r/iinrn simply, God removed it. From
IDOLATRY KILLED SAMARIA that verdict and that sentence
Samaria died because of the what attorney can appeal?
nation’s idolatry. This is quick to . „ ~ ~ .
, J * _j t #n outlines copyrighted by m» Division
say, but it needs explaining. Idol" of Christian Education, Notional Council af the
atry as the Old Testament sees it church** af chnst m th« u s > «aia«ad by
. * . , j Community Prasi Sarvica J
is not mere wrong opinions, bad
theology. Remember that these
Samaritans were Jews at that
time, and had known or could be _
supposed to have known the true, ATTEND THE CHURCH
invisible >et almighty God, the
God whom had delivered them Qp YOUR CHOICE
from Eg\ pt and had (through
the prophet Ahijah) actually start-
ed the infant nation of Israel on
its way with the blessing of God.
Now the Samaritans wanted a The first libel suit in the
god they could see. They wanted US. was brought against
to be like neighboring nations John Peter Zenger of the New
whose temples were magnificent York Weekly Jounul. The
and beautiful. So the nation of ease was fought bp August 4,
Samaria or Israel tried to wor- 1735 by Andrew’ Hamilton
ship (at least) two gods, the true
Now Is The Time ...
By Max Smith, Lancaster County Agent
To Fertilize Alfalfa
One of the best times to topdress an
established- stand, Qf alfalfa is immediately
after the removal of the first cutting, the
application should be made within a few
days after haivest for most benefit and
should be applied when the field and plants
aie dry The use of a phosphorus-potash fer
tilizer- is recommended because alfalfa is
a very heavy feeder of these soil elements
To Plant Temporary Forage Crops
Many livestock producers may be in
need of supplemental summer pasture or
forage The use of sudan grass or some of
the sudan-sorgbum hybrids will make maxi
mum amounts of feed; most of these tem- SMITH
porary crops have the ability to grow well in spite of diy
weather The seeding time is usually after corn planting time,
until the middle of June Staggered planting dates will give
some spread to the proper time to harvest or graze various
areas
To Control Weeds eliminate the developing of a
Any kind of a plant in an hard crust over the aiea
unwanted place might be Weeds are more easily killed
called a weed; even alfalfa or when small with an> kind
clover in a corn field is a control
weed at that time. All weeds To Provide Shade and Watei
irodt and the'gol&iSatef-faHHa*
done, gllaid-bull calves »Hkiy bu|
ridiculous. Trying to bs like other
people "keeping up wkK th«
Joneses* lute often literally
killed thoie. who haveiried ii
Living by the world's low Stan*
ards, for a man or for a nation.
Is fatal.
Pit IDE KiUED NATION
All die causes of a natierf*
death are tied together. There le
usually more than one-omss «|
represent- stirred up for nothing.” If asked
SUNDAY