—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 3,1971
4
Some farmers already have been busy
with plowing, signaling that the spring rush
is arriving.
Any time now, with a few days of con
tinuous good drying weather to bring soil
moisture to a reasonable level, and the rush
will be on to get the ground plowed and
planted.
While all this is going on. we want to
remind again that accidents usually occur
when people are in a hurry.
Farmers should particularly recall last
year about this time when a rash of farm
accidents, many of them resulting in
deaths, occurred in Lancaster County and
surrounding areas.
A little thought will avoid most acci-
On Making Plants Resist Bugs
Have you ever wondered why insects
attack certain plants and not others?
There undoubtedly are many reasons,
but some recent research by Japanese
scientists isolates one reason and illustrates
the tremendous opportunities to control in
sects without endangering the environment.
The scientists found that some plants
and trees produce substances which inhibit
hormone production and thereby stop re
production in some insects.
Imagine the day when we can take this
kind of knowledge and use it on a large
scale basis. Maybe we can find out, for
instance, what makes these plants resist
ant; from there, maybe we can proceed to
make plants resistant to any insect we
single out as a menace to our crops.
In our area right now, for instance, if
we had this kind of choice, we would prob
ably make corn resistant to corn rootworm.
Use Care While Burning
The days are getting longer and warm
er, flowers are blooming, and farmers are
putting things in order so they can spend
most of their time for the next several
weeks out in the fields.
One of the chores which farm families
like to take care of before plowing is clean
ing up and burning up debris which has ac
cumulated during the winter.
But burning can lead to serious prob
lems.
This is the time of year noted for high
winds. The wind in itself is a very great
fire hazard Wind often takes small fires
which would otherwise be easily controlled
and whips them into much larger fires,
which can be a danger not only to wood
land, but to buildings.
The wind is a hazard in another way,
too. It dries things out, making them much
easier for fire to consume.
When the action of the wind and drying
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: $3 elsewhere
Established November 4,1955
Published every Saluiday by Lancaster
Farming, Lititz, Pa.
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa.
17543.
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Pa. Newspaper Publisher > Association, and
National Newspaper As~ '•'ion
Rush, But Safely
dents. The farmer should never allow him
self to get in such a hurry that he forgets
to do his work in a safe manner.
Usually, safety does not really take that
much time.
Farming is listed, in some reports, as
the nation’s moat dangerous occupation.
We think a little care during the spring
rush will go a long way toward eliminating
this agricultural first.
Farmers have many things for which
to be proud, but the accident record is not
one of them.
Let’s keep safety in mind as we get the
equipment ready and get out in the field for
what we all hope and think will be another
good crop year.
It sounds a little wild. But it is not really
unrealistic in terms of the kind of work
which is underway. Many scientists are
working from many directions to find
means of saving farm crops while preserv
ing the environment.
Many of these new techniques, how
ever, are many years away from develop
ment and application at the local farmer
level. Farmers must continue to stress that
the public will have to pay dearly through
higher food costs for forcing farmers to
quit using right away the pesticides now
available.
Meanwhile, we can expect scientists to
place increasing emphasis on answering
such basic questions as why insects attack
certain plants and not others.
And we can be sure that the answers
which are found eventually will have great
importance for the individual farmer.
out the material combines with the accumu
lation of debris from a winters accumula
tion, plus all the dead matter from last
summers growth, we can see how fire can
get started and get out of control.
'Local fire companies often issue warn
ings at this time of year to use extreme
caution with any type of burning during this
dry season. It is good advice and anyone
who has much burning to do should strongly
consider consulting his local fire company.
Another possibility is the local forest
fire warden.
The Valley Forge Forest District 17 at
Fort Kennedy notes that the Bureau of
Forestry manned fire lookout tower at
Mount Penn in Berks County can be reach
ed by calling 372-2008.
The forest district also urges reporting
all wild fire hazards and fires to one of the
following: District Foresters Office, Pat
rick Lantz, Port Kennedy, 783-0650; William
Keller, Forest Inspector, Point Pleasant,
297-5773; Kenneth Glassmoyer, Forest In
spector, Douglassville, 326-3479; Mt. Penn
Fire Tower, Mt. Penn, 326-2008; Cornwall
Fire Tower, Lancaster County, 665-4755, or
contact your local fire wardens.
The rebellious tenants
So it was not a flattering refer
ance to Israel for the prophet was
saying that, despite the tender
care God gave his vineyard, it
was unfruitful, failing to yield
the results he had intended. Once
again, then, Jesus is comparing
Israel to a vineyard. This time
the inference is not that the land
is unfruitful, hut that the tenants
who tend it are rebellious against
the owner, refusing to give him
the fruits which are rightly his.
This parable came as a terrible
condemnation to the religious
leaders in Jesus’ day for Jesus is
picturing them as wilfully rebel
lious against God. The problem is
not that they don’t know any bet
ter, not that they are simply mak
m. c „ ing a mistake, but that they are
Therefore, we think the best advice of willfully choosing to rebel against
all is simply to think things through before Got J -14 was bad enough for Jesus
burning is started A minute nr hvn cnent su ®g est that the y were wrong,
ourning is staitea. A minute or two spent bit for him to say that they were
in this manner can save hours of grief. knowingly rebelling against Gou
While working with the people who have
had experience with fire and know how to
deal with it can help, most farmers have
had experience with burning and know
about the dangers. When disaster occurs, it
usually results more from carelessness
than from lack of knowledge.
To Set Strawberry Plants
Early spring is the best time
to start strawberry plants in
Pennsylvania. Some growers try
to set their plants about the
first or second week in April,
which is about one month prior
to the date of the last expected
frost Early planting is impor
tant because experience and re
search has revealed that the
greatest fruit yields next spring
will come from the first few
runner plants produced after
setting the plants this spring.
Rows four feet apart and plants
about 24 to 30 inches on the row
would be good spacing.
To Protect Water Supplies
Good quality water is becom
ing more important and many
rural water supplies do not
meet the health requirements
for either man or beast We are
aware of the large number of
water supplies that are too
high in bacteria count and too
high in nitrates These prob
lems are very difficult to cor
rect, but in most cases the
trouble comes fiom contamina-
L Bockaraunal Scripture: Matthiw 21:1-17,
f 33-46.
' Dtvatrenal Rtariing: Isaiah 53:1-12.
Sometimes the parables of Je
sus required some deep thinking
before their significance was com
prehended by his listeners. This
was not true of the parable
which he tells in Matthew 21:33-
46. His audience surely recog
ized the meaning
“vineyard,” for
iaiah had spoken
' Israel as God’s
lanted vineyard.
My beloved had
vineyard on a very
•■rtile hill. He dig
id it and cleared ii
stones, and plant
—— ed it with choice
Rev. Althouse vines; he built a
watchtower in the midst of it, and
hewed out a vine vat in it; and he
looked for it to yield grapes, hut it
yielded wild grapes (Isaiah s:la, 2),
NOW IS
THE TIME.. >
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
tion from the surface. Both hu
man and livestock wastes are
blamed for much of the trouble'.
Surface water must be kept
away from water supplies and
rock formations should not be
near disposal fields or silos.
More attention to the protection
of good water supplies is need
ed on many farms and in many
communities.
To Be Careful With
Weed Killers
Vegetative growth is begin
ning and this means more and
more weeds will be growing.
One of the greatest labor-saving
practices in this generation is
the control of weeds by chemi
cals rather than by clean culti
vation However, with this
change we have the problem of
the herbicides injuring other
plants, in addition to the weeds.
All gardeners and farmers are
urged to be extremely careful
by following the instructions on
the weed spray containers, and
be sure that any drift of the
spray, or fumes following the
application may cause damage.
must have been a bitter slap in
the face.
As Bishop Gerald Kennedy has
said, “One of the hardest things
to understand about Jesus is his
constant attack on classes of peo
ple we admire most.’' These men
were zealous advocates of the-
Jewish faithrthey were almost j
fanatical in their observance ol;
■ the law: surely he Should not 1
have found fault with them!
But he did. And the fault he
found was the fault of arrogant
pride. They were not humble ten
ants on God’s vineyard, but proud
and willful men who were bent
on having their own way. It was
pride in their supposed moral 1
righteousness that caused them
to turn a deaf ear to the'prophets.
He sent his son
This is not ancient history hut
also a description of our own con
temporary situation today. God'
has the greatest difficulty in get
ting through to those of us who
should be easiest to reach, yet, be
cause of our self-righteousness,
are most likely to turn a deaf ear
to his messengers. Like Israel, the
Church is often tempted to take
the vineyard into our own hands,
to enjoy its fruits and ignore the
one who owns it.
In the parable and in Jesus’
life, the son also was rejected
and, in fact, put to death. This,
Jesus points out clearly, is a re
bellious, defiant act against the
Father himself. So it was not just
Jesus whom Israel rejected, but
God.
Jesus, who should have been
the cornerstone of a renewed
Judaism, was utterly rejected by
the very people who most should |
have accepted him. One cannot
help but wonder whether we to
day might stand where they did.
Of all people, we should receive i
the Christ at work in the world
today. All that we do should be
built upon this cornerstone, yet,
aie we not in danger of rejecting
him even as they did?
(Eased on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ In-the
uS A. Released by Community fress
Service.)
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