4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 5,1970
On Cutting
Fire is still a major farm problem
Hardly a week goes by, it seems, with
out some farm building burning down in
Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Nearly every farmer who hasn’t lost a
farm building to fire knows of many rela
tives and friends and acquaintances who
have.
Sometimes two or three barns burn in
Lancaster County alone in one week.
Kinds of Fire Losses
Fortunately, relatively few lives are
lost to fire, but sometimes livestock and
poultry are lost; machinery and equip
ment, as well as feed, hay and supplies, are
frequently damaged or destroyed; build
ings are often a total loss or sustain many
thousands of dollars of damage
Altogether, fire represents a-relatively
minor personal danger to the farmer. but a
very major economic danger. Fire in a few
minutes or hours can literally wipe out the
efforts of many years.
■ Fire insurance, we hope, generally re
imburses a large portion of the fire loss.
But we feel sure most farmers, even
with insurance, don’t get reimbursed for
, everything.
Often the insurance was adequate
when it was taken out, but wasn’t increas
ed over the years to reflect higher building
- costs. Often the insurance does compensate
the farmer for the value of his building, but
this may be only a small portion of the
amount that will be required to build a com
parable building.
In some fires, the loss of livestock,
equipment and supplies equals or exceeds
the building loss. Many farmers don’t take
1 much care in insuring the building contents,
so that fire loss can be tremendous even
,when the building itself was adequately in
,sured.
In addition to the direct fire losses are
the indirect losses. There’s the problem and
, expense, for instance, of feeding and hous
ing livestock between the time a barn burns
down and is rebuilt. There’s the cost of re
placing equipment and supplies at higher
prices today than when they were originally
purchased.
' Because of today’s high interest rates,
’ this replacement cost factor can be particu
, larly important.
There are many other indirect losses,
such as the physical and psychological
shock of the fire, the rebuilding program,
and the additional exertion necessary to
keep the farm together until rebuilding is
accomplished. Depending -on the persons
and their situation, the physical and psy
chological blow can be more severe than
1 the economic blow.
The Helping Hand
Good neighbors and friends are itally
important in minimizing fire loss. Their
presence and assistance in time of need
can bolster the morale of a family' WhTcfr “
has just seen years of effort go up in smoke.
The local custom of assisting friends
and neighbors in need, particularly follow
ing a fire, can be vital in getting fire vic
tims back on their feet.
A barn raising saves huge sums of
money in the form of wages.
But even more important can be the
savings in time. Often, a family which
would be forced off the farm if it had to
wait additional months to build a barn can
find the courage to keep going with the help
of a time-saving barn raising.
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly
P. O. Box 266 - Lititz, Pa. 17543
Office; 22 E Main St., Lititz, Pa. 17543
Phone: Lancaster 394-3047 or Lititz 626-2191
Robert G. Campbell, Advertising Director
Zane Wilson, Managing Editor
Subscription price $2 per year in Lancaster
County. S 3 elsewhere
Established November 4,1955
Published every Saturday by Lancaster
Farming, Lititz, Pa.
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa
17543.
Member of Newspaper Farm Editors Assn
Pa. Newsnapcr Publishers Association, and
National Newspaper Association
Fire Losses
Certainly, barn raising and neighborly
generosity rank along with fire insurance as
a vital means of fighting destructive fires.
There are other means however. Farm
ers should consider them in relation to their
own farm enterprises.
The Local Fire Company
Local fire companies, most of, them
manned by volunteers, are very important.
These fire companies frequently are called
on to hold fire losses to a minimum.
While farmers are often among the
most loyal volunteers and generous contri
butors to the local fire company's operation,
this is one area where more farmers should
consider getting involved.
Local firemen know, or can readily find
out, more about fire hazards on local farms
than anyone else, we think. Any farm fire
prevention program should include the co
operation of the local fire company.
We feel that if farmers did get more in
volved in their local fire companies and
really put their minds to it, programs could
be devised that would sharply reduce the
number of fires on local farms.
We feel sure that even now an inquiry
to the local fire station would bring know
ledgeable fire inspectors to the farmer’s
door to assist with an-inspection to identify
possible fire hazards and what can be done
about them. Such an inspection would cost
the farmer little or nothing and could save
untold cost and grief from a fire.
We’re surprised that no farm organiza
tion has encouraged and organized such in
spections locally. We can’t think of a better
civic project.
Informing farmers about the possible
use of irrigation systems for fire fighting
(see story on page 8) is only one of many'
fire prevention programs the local fire com
pany could sponsor; or a farm organization
could sponsor/ the program ir cooperation
with local fire companies.
Prevention
Smokey the Bear often reminds us that
we can prevent forest fires. The same goes
for building fires. Most of them can be
prevented.
Faulty electrical wiring and piles of un
necessary debris are invitations for fire.
This winter and every winter, after the
rush of the harvest is over, the farmer
should consider his operation in relation to
fire prevention. He should immediately cor
rect the obvious fire hazards.
And the farmer should periodically, at
least every few years, have someone more
familiar with fire and fire pre\ ention point
out the not so obvious hazards.
Tins by no means exhausts the possi-
bilities. but it does give an indication of the
many possible avenues open to reduce the
v __
Individual farmers and farm organiza
tions should begin to think in terms of find
ing ways to cut back on the tragic loss caus
ed by fires on farms.
We're convinced that efforts in this
direction can sharply reduce the number of
farm fires.
The effort can be very worthwhile, be
cause the fire you prevent may be on your
own farm.
Barn Movers?
Lancaster Farming has just received this
letter of distress from Mi s Harriet P. Covert of
Muncy RD4, Pa . 17756-
“We are soon to lose our faim home to a
Beltway to be constructed east of Muncy In
January our house will be moved but movers
ar o skeptical of moving our barn
“To see it demolished and wasted would be a
teinble experience for us
i have hoard of the Amish people being
excellent barn builders Do you think an ad in
year papei would find any Amish farmers who
would be interested in dismantling a good barn
for then future use ”
Please leply, Mrs Covert uiges
Our reply is that firs Coven has already
expiessed herself very well
Although we don’t know the details of what
Mis Coveit has in mind, we feel sure that our
local farmers, Amish or whatever, will feel just
as badly about needless waste as she does and
will take care of this matter in their usual effi
cient manner.
To Manage Cattle Carefully will get too fat when kept too
, „ „ , „ ~, , tight and this will result, in
High Price Feeder Cattle and weak offspring. Plenty
High Price corn usually lead to oi good roU g hage should be the
small profits, or even losses, in basis of most rations outside of
the cattle business. Feeders are the lactating” dairy cow. Moldy
urged to do everything possible silage or moldy feed should be
for efficient gains. Keep cattle gj ven to other than the breed
healthy. eliminate both interna ing females m a he rd or flock,
and external parasites, feed b ut never to horses or sheep
balanced rations with free
choice of salt, mineials, and
fresh water Make a special ef-
fort for low costs of gams, other- Alfalfa growei s who are hav
wxse, your feeding operation j n g trouble with chickweed in
may be a failure _ _ their stands are reminded that
To Exercise Breeding Animals late November and December
All species of livestock that are good times to spray for con
are kept for breeding purposes trol. The use of Chloro IPC in
should have access to plenty of colder weather in stands with
outside exercise during the win- out any grasses is recommended,
ter months. This applies to The Dinitro Sprays may tie
sheep, both dairy and beef used in warmer weather (above
cows, and to maies Exercise 50 degrees) on mixed stands
keeps 'the’ adult female more~of alfalfa and grass. Spray no\v
healthy 'and will result in when the plants are young for
stronger‘young. Many females best control. _ 3
SICK OF LOVE
Lesson for December 6, 1970
Background Scripture- Isaiah 1:16, 17}
Matthew 5 21-44; 1 lohn 3 11-24,
Devotional Reading: Romans 15:1-6.
There was a story the other day
about a man who was sent to jail
for attacking a neighbor who had
come to his door to seek contri
butions for the “heart fund”.
When asked why he had commit
ted this seemingly unprovoked
':ack, he explain
l: “I guess I
;t my head. It’s
it that on Sun
iy the preacher
ide a plea for
special offering
• missions, yes
•day at work we
how
much wie were
Rev. Althouse ‘expected to vol
unteer’ for the United Fund,
when I came home from work to
day I found my wife had given
away my fishing clothes to the
Rescue Mission, and there was a
note from her saying I’d have to
make my own supper ‘cause she
was working at the hospital gar
den party—and then when my
neighbor came to the door sug
gesting that I ‘demonstrate my
brotherly love’ by making a ‘re
spectable contribution’,—well, I
guess I just blew my stack!”
The ‘ceaseless appeals’
Few of us would go that far,
probably, but many of us may
feel a certain sympathy for that
man. The human spirit does seem
to weary under what appear to
be ceaseless appeals to love. No
matter to how many causes we
give, it always seems as if there
are so many more that are con
fronting us. Is it really possible
for a person to be so loving,
so selfless’ Won’t all this love
for others so impoverish us that
we have nothing left over for our
selves? Can a man really survive
all this loving, forgiving and un
derstanding?
NOW IS
THE TiME...
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
To Spray Chickweed
Have you ever noticed the level
of appeal of many of Christ's
teachings? They often seem an
ill-disguised appeal to a man'*
own selfishness or desire for self
preservation. For example:
“Judge not, and you will not be
judged . . . give and it will bp
given to you ... For the measure
you give will be the measure yo£
get back.” It used to disturb mp
to think that Godjwould appeal to
us on such a base level: do good
and ’you will receive good. ' f
One day it occurred to me, how
ever,-that God is simply doing
what we often accuse of him up
doing: he is being utterly practi
cal. He knows that man will only
on rare occasions'be motivated by
the truly altruistic and loving
feeling toward his neighbor. Self
sacrifice does not seem to come
naturally to man. Thus, God “tells
it like it is” in showing us that
love, much more than something
you feel, is basically something
you do.
Serendipity: the unexpected j.
prize
Yet there is another aspect cjf
God’s ingenuity, for he is the
master of the art of serendipity.
Serendip is the ancient name for
that land in the Indian Sea which
we know toda; as Geyion. Colum
bus set sail upon the unknown
Atlantic to find a new route to
Serendip and the other “spice is
lands”. In looking for Serendip,
however, he stumbled upon the
continent of America. Thus, to
day we use the word “serenditip
ty” to describe “the faculty for
making desireable but unsought
for discoveries by accident”. '
This is what God does with his
world. He has so fashioned it so
that man will often in seeking
one thing stumble across some
thing even better. And so it i*
with his appeals to love. In seed
ing to please God by helping our
neighbor, we may just also dis
cover our brother. In striving to
get closer to God, we may find
that we have moved closer to our
fellow man. 5
(Based on outlines copyrighted by th«
Division of Christian Education/ National
Council of the Churches of Christ m the
USA Released by Community Frets
Service} ; 1
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