—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. August 1.1970 4 DDT vs. the Gypsy Moth Which Is Worse: Cure or the Disease? The pesticides issue is one area of the new battle to save the cm ironment in w hich it appears the farmer has much to losj and , little to gam. This unfortunate situation is due pri marily to the highly emotional and unrea sonable manner in which the issue Js han ; died. In the pesticide issue, the farmer is .faced with the prospect of higher costs for new, expensive pesticides which don't last ‘as long and won't work as effectively as the 'present lower priced chemicals. ' And. if the new pesticides don’t work as well, the farmer is faced with lower produc tion through crop losses. In the long run, these costs must be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher food costs. Mistakes Made Mistakes have been made with pesti cides. Various individuals and ofticials question the wisdom of using some pesti cides including some which ha\e not so lar been publicly attacked. Many of these same indu iduals and of ficials who are critical of some pesticides, however, are equally concerned about what they consider are unfounded and unwar ranted attacks on some pesticides such as DDT. The feeling is widespread among many persons that DDT, which has been \ irtualiy banned from use in this country, is far less dangerous than many of the chemicals which have replaced it. Many of the suc cessors to DDT are relatively untried aid reportedly highly dangerous to handle, tar more dangerous than DDT. In prev ious editorials, we hav e endorsed the position of the Pennsylvania Farmers Association and other farm organizations and leaders in urging reason and restraint in bans on pesticides and fungicides. Not Unrestrained Use While we believe no reasonable person in this time of legitimate concern about the emironment would urge unrestricted and unrestrained use of pesticides, we also be lies that no leasonable person would uige total abolishment of pesticides While farmers a lot to lose if un reasonable restiamt is placed on pesticides, consumers will ultimately, also pay for mis takes made in banning pesticides And it mustn't be mistakenly assumed that the pesticides issue is a minor or un important one Most faimeis know mat Aithout pesticides many cions would ie literally o\er-run with insects The G\ps\ Moth One particular issue now facing Penn sylvania shows just how important and far-reaching the pesticides issue can be We're referring to the Gypsy moth. The Gypsy moth recently has complete ly defoliated 5,000 to 10.000 acres of wood land in the Saylorsburg-Kunkletow n area of Monroe County, according to Associated Press reports The moths are reportedly doing extensive damage in many other areas of the state and the menace of the Gypsy moth is reported growing rapidly. LANCASTER FARMING Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly P O Box 266 Lititz, Pa 17543 Office 22 E Mam St Lititz, Pa 17543 Phone. Lancastei 394 3047 or Lititz 626-2191 Robert G Camobell, Adveitising Director Zane Wilson Managing Editor Subscription pi ice S 2 pei year in Lancaster County S 3 elsewheie Established \oi ember 4 1955 Publi c hed e\eiy Satin day by Lancaster Farming Lititz Pa Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa 17543 Member of New spaper Fai m Editors Assn Pa. Newspapei Publishers Association, and National Newspaper Association In past years, state officials kept the Gypsy moth under control by using you guessed it DDT. The successors to DDT .don’t work as well. ha\e to be applied much more often, therefore costing much more in terms of both materials and manpower. At a, time when the state is faced with budge tary problems, the Gypsy moth is winning against a limited attack. DDT or (he Moth? The question arises: Which does the most damage to our enxironment, DDT or the Gypsy moth? Or. can we really afford the luxurv of totallv eliminating the use of DDT? As the G\psy moth spreads across the state like a plague, wiping out or weaken ing and maiming the beautiful forests for which the state is famous and which sup port such a large proportion of the state’s economy, are we going to sit idly b\ ? Are we going to let an insect wreck our enuronment while we ban the pesticide that can control that insect? Similar .experience is being found around tbe world with mosquitos and other insects. In some areas in which it was onci. thought malaria had been permanently wiped out, the once dreaded disease is re asserting itself in the absence of DDT. In such instances, it is more than jusl trees, it is human life which is being sacri ficed in the ban on DDT. Why Did We Ban DDT? If, in banning DDT. we allow' our for ests to be defoliated and mankind to be racked by disease, perhaps we ought to consider why we banned DDT in the first place. Did we ban DDT to make the world a better place in which to live, or to compel man once again to wage the bitter battle with nature for survival? We think the Gypsy moth will be just one of many examples of how e\ eryone, and particularly the farmer, will lose if the pesticides issue is allowed to be settled by those who turn off their brains. Today, it's trees. Tomorrow, it could be corn, wheat, potatoes. Use Reason Let's be leasonable Let's sate agricul ture and ouisehes at the same time we sat e the ent ironment Let's not destroy etert thing in the name of the ent ironment. Tins is not a plea ior unrestricted use of DDT But it is a plea tor i eason and recog nition that there can be lai woise things Mian DDT. Perhaps a sjstem for use of DDT ir emergencies when (he benefits far out weigh any possible damage is the answer Lawmakers’ Addresses Names and addresses of federal and state legislators, representing local residents, aie list ed here for persons wishing to write to them FEDERAL Sen. Hugh D. Scott, Room 260 Senate Of fice Biu’ding, Washington, D. C 20515 Sen. Richard S. Schweiker, Room 4317, Sen ate Office Building, Washington, D. C. 20515 Rep Harvev C Nitiauer 125 South St Myerstown, Pa. 17067. Rep Edwin D Eshleman, 1009 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D C 2> 1 515 Sen Richard A Snvder, Box 21, State Sen ate, Harusburg, Pa. 17120. Sen Claience F. Manbeck, Fredericksburg R 1 Pa 17026 Rep Harry H Gnne Reinholcls Pa 17560 Rep Sherman L HilJ. 201 Manor Ave., Mill ersv’’e 17551 Rep Jack B Horner, 23-A S. Market St, Elizabethtown 17022 Rep Marvin E. Miller, 501 Valley Road, Lancaster 17S01-. den John c Pittinger, 307 West End Ave., Lancaster 17603. STATE NOW IS THE TIME... By Max Smith Lancaster County Agent By Max Smith Lancaster County Agent To Renovate Pastures August is a good month to kill the old sod, or plow it down, to piepa-c for a new pasture seed ing the last of the month or c.iily September. The ground .-hould be tested for lime and feulizcr needs These late sum me. -eed.ngs ha\ e been veiy suc cessful. if peimancnt pastures need .mprov’jng In many cases the more productue glasses be come crowded out by weeds and ra:.ve grasses and need to be ie-=ecded foi maximum fcage pi oduction To Recognize Livestock Silage The use of all k nds of silage is oeconiing mo e common: mam pioduceis are investing in larger storage facilities in oide’ to make mo>e silage and less hay Most any kind of NO “ONLY CHILD" Lesson for August 2,1970 Baclcsreunil Scripture: Genesis 4.1-2 4/ 1 John 3 11-15. Devotional Heading: Matthew 5 21 >26, God seems to have the knack for asking disturbing questions, doesn’t he? Recall a few of them with me. First, there’s that little un pleasantness about Adam and Eve picking fruit from the for bidden tree in the "'arden of Eden, ■om their hiding iace they heard iod calling them, ’Where are jou?” inding them and .eing their hame, He asks :ain, “Who told mthat >ou were Ee\. Ahhouse naked?” Worst of all Jb the next question - “What hate sou clone?” No doubt about at, God knows how,,, to„qj.k the right questions- jl|scfrra - *Adam. had done *as Vb!l , '\htlS ■'the an swers. Good questions But the questions do not end with Adam and Eve. Cam, their son, will face some of these questions himself. In the middle of his act of sacrificial offering, Cam is surprised by God’s query: “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?" Cam cannot afford to answer that one sincerely, so he remains silent. In due time, however, another Question is put to him which he cannot avoid: “Where is Abel, your brother?” It is not difficult for us to understand the con sternation and distress that cause him to reply with a question of his own: “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Good questions all—let’s see if we can find some equally good answers. Two sons were bom to Adam and Eve. One, a farmer, is Cam; the other, a shecpheidor, is Abel. How simply and symbol ically the writer of Genesis is demonstrating a primary fact of life: no two persons are alikel forage ciop may be made inito silage with a benefit of storing a larger amount of feed nu trients. Cora silage is one of the best ciops to obtain the maxi mum amount of milk or weight gains fiom an acre of land; re duced feed costs are very impor tant and crops made into silage instead of has or grain is one piactice toward lower costs. To Utilize Wheat As A Feed Produceis fortunate enough to get their wheat crop harvested might cons.der the use of the ci op as a h\estock fee'd. iFor those yet to gel their wheal it might be in such conditioh that feeding would be the only meth od of utilizing the crop Wheat is highei in protein than corn or bailey but lowei in eneigy. Due to the pasty condition of the (Continued on Page ,10) Despite their common parentage, these two brothers are quite dif ferent from each other. Both brothers took their sac rificial offerings to God. The offering of Abel was pleasing to God, but that of Cain was not. Why? We cannot know for cer tain, but it seems likely that Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God, not because the gift was not good enough, but because Cain was nursing an ailing tem per and bruised ego within him self. More important than the gift he gave was the spirit with which his sacrifice was given. Abel brought his gift out of gratitude to the Lord, but Caia brought his only to gain Cod’s favor. Instead of coming to give praise, Cain came to seek it. Why He was angry “So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” Why was he so angry? He could not bring himself to answer God, but neither could he hide his jeal ously for his brother Abel. Just as Adam and Eve pointed the finger at the serpent, Cain looked upon his brother as the cause of his unhappiness. Remember that this is our stoiy too. Aie we not like Cam? Don’t we also seek to project our Doubles upon others and blame them for the unhappiness we feel within’ Isn't it when we cannot face our own guilt that w r e must find a scapegoat to bear it for us? Whether Cam intended to minder his brother or not, the lesult was the same. Abel lay dead because his offering had gained Gods approval. Men are still killed today for motives no greater. Where is your brother? Cain was to learn, as his par ents had learned, that one can not hide from God and his terrible questions. He meets the question first with a lie and thfen an insolent rejection. The reply of Cam is not so much a question as it is a declaration of inde pendence. But there is no inde pendence from one’s brother, whether he he near or far. I heard someone comment about this story that it was in* teresting hut didn’t “have any thing to do with me because I'm an only child; I have no brother* or sisters.” But he missed the point: m the sight of God no one is an “only child.” [Based on outlines copyrighted hy til* Division of Christian Education/ National Council of the Churches of Christ in th* USA Released by Community frtsi Service.)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers