—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 10, 1973
12
Christmas Tree
Grades Revised
A revision of U S grade
standards for Christmas trees
announced recently by the U S
Department of Agriculture
(USDAi adds “well-shaped” .is a
requirement (or two grades, U S
No 1 or Choice and U S No 2 or
Standard
According to USDA’s
Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) the revision effective
April I was undertaken at the
inquest of (he National Christ
mas Tree Drawers Association
which believed a change would
encourage wider use of the
standards by the industry
Christmas tree standards are
used in wholesale marketing of
trees Use of (he standards is
voluntary
ORDER YOUR SPRING
FARM SEEDS NOW
MANY FARM SEED ITEMS ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY
Cert. Iroquois Alfalfa Cert. Fennscott Red Clover
Cert. Saranac Alfalfa Cert. Ladino Clover
Cert. Cayuga Alfalfa Cert. Garry Oats
Cert. Vernal Alfalfa Cert. Russel Oats
Buffalo Alfalfa Erie Spring Barley
Grasses
Maine Grown Certified Seed Potatoes
DeKalb Corn Sudax
SMOKETOWN Phone Lane. 397-3539
ORDER YOUR
PATZ
YOU'LL NEED TILL FALL NOW
Price goes up April Ist.
A small Down Payment holds order.
SAVE MONEY
We have 2 green painted overhead bunk feeders, all
brand new at a Big Saving, because it was repocessed.
MARVIN J. HORST
Dairy Equipment and Ammana Appliances
R. D. No. 1 (Iona) Lebanon, Pa.
Lo ;ated on Route 897 between Schaefferstown and
Lebanon, over 30 years in business at same place.
AMS officials said that the
proposal to revise the Christmas
tree grade standards included the
intention to delete the U S
Premium Grade, leaving U S
No I or Choice as the top grade
for Christmas trees (USDA press
release 2347-72) However, as a
result of comments received, it
has been decided to retain the
1! S Premium grade Comments
from interested persons also
prompted the addition of two
species. Fraser fir and Virginia
pine to the types of trees covered
by the standards
“Well-shaped,” the new
requirement for U S No. 1 and
US No 2 grades is defined as
meaning that branches of a tree
form a circular outline tapering
EQUIPMENT
Coll 717-272-0871
USDA Updated Market News Brochure
A revised and expanded edition
of a folder describing the
Federal-State market news
from the lowest branches to the
top A tree with a “flat side" will
not meet grade requirements
Other changes in the grade
standards include-
- Provision for a color code
system for tagging trees ac
cording to height
- A requirement that “handle”
length of all trees be a minimum
of six inches, unless otherwise
specified Maximum length of the
handle will be restricted to 1%
inches per foot of tree height
unless otherwise specified The
former standards allowed the
tree handle to be approximately
one inch to each foot of tree
height
- Size of trees will be expressed
m both 1-foot and Vi-foot in-
crements, instead of increments
of only 1-foot
- Normal taper percent ranges
for fir and spruce trees will be 40
to 90 percent instead of 40 to 70
percent Taper percentage is the
relationship of the width of the
tree to its height.
- The presence of moss and
lichen growth is no longer con
sidered as a damage factor or as
an impediment to the
requirement that a tree be clean.
- "The ' description “well
trimmed” is replaced with “butt
trimmed,” a'term that is more
familiar to members of the in
dustry
The revised standards were
scheduled to appear in the Feb. 27
Federal Register Copies of the
standards may be obtained from
the Fruit and Vegetable Division,
Agricultural Marketing Service,
U S Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D C 20250
Notorious Leader
One of the most notorious
leaders during the American
Civil War was William Quan
tnll. Quantnll led 450 Con
federate irregulars against
Lawrence, Kan , in 1863 and
killed more than 150 men,
women and children. In May,
1865, aged 27, he was fatally
wounded during a raid in
Kentucky
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AAtrex* trademark of CIBA-GEIGY for atrazine
service for agricultural com
modities has just been released
by the U.S Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA)
Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS)
The brochure is aimed at
persons involved in the Nation’s
agriculture industry, from far
mer through retailer, needing
accurate, up-to-the-minute data
on the supply, demand, prices,
and movement of agricultural
products
For the first time, the brochure
includes a nationwide directory
of automatic telephone an
swering devices—a service
where the caller need only dial a
number to receive instantaneous
market news. It also describes
how the market news service
operates, how market in
formation is collected, and how
improved
AAtrex®
ROYSTER FARM SERVICE CENTER
users, especially potential users,
can get detailed information on
market news.
Market news, a public service
offered since 1915. is operated
through cooperative agreements
between USDA and 43 State
departments of agriculture.
AMS. the agency administering
the program at the Federal level,
reports trained market reporters
are now operating in 200 field
offices around the country. For a
quick exchange of information,
they are linked by a tele
typewriter network stretching
23,500 miles
“The Federal-State Market
News Service” (Marketing
Bulletin No 40), is available free
from the Office of Com
munication. U S. Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
20250.
Lancaster, Pa