ia—l anrgcfgr- Farming, Saturday, March 17, 1973
Spring Comes Again
‘‘When Spring unlocks the flowers to
namt the laughing soil," wrote Reginald
Heber, a wonderful thing happens; the
Farth bursts forth in a vibrant splash of
color, and the air is sweet with the scent of
prowmg things This year March 20 marks
the official beginning of Spring. The
crippling snowstorms and floods which
accentuated a harsh winter are fast
disappearing In their place will come light,
gentle days filled with flourishing crops
and home gardens, children's laughter
echoing from playgrounds and trips to the
serenity of the countryside, mountains or
The Spark of Progress
There have always been a few among
us—the inventors—who have been
capable, not only of recognizing the need
for something better, but of drawing upon
their knowledge and creativity to produce,
often after years of dedicated effort, a
device or whole new technology to fill that
need The U S patent system has been the
bulwark of protection ior these creators of
new things By granting them an exclusive
right to use their inventions for 17 years,
the system has encouraged early
disclosure of p.tentable inventions,
virually eliminated the concealment of
technological advances and provided in
centive for commencal development of
inventions and their introduction on as
broad a scale as possible in the market
place
In recent years, the patent ysytem, which
has served us so well, has been weakened
materially by congressional action, an
titrust activity and adverse court decisions
In 1966, a congressionally-appomted
commission recommended legislative
clarification of patent rights Although a
proposal was introduced in the 92nd
Nineteen hundred and seventy-two
could in retrospect, prove to be a history
making turning point for the United
States-and for the world It was the year
m which the prospect of trade as a road to
peace became more than a nebulous
vision It was also a year m which America
as a maritime nation made impressive
earns
Mr James J Reynolds, former U S
Under Secretary of Labor, and currently a
key spokesman for the American Institute
of Merchant Shipping has reviewed U S
maritime progress with specific emphasis
on the merchant marine He observed,
The value of the American Merchant
Marine as a creator of jobs, as an in
strument to better our balance of
payments situation, as a goodwill am
bassador to help create world peace, as a
builder of foreign trade between our
country and foreign nations, as a
developer of new markets overseas, and
is a more versatile logistical arm of the
military were strikingly apparent in the
vear just ended ” Mr Reynolds pointed out
that since passage of the Merchant Marine
Act of 1970 contracts have been signed for
49 vessels with three to five times the
capacity of older conventional ships In
cluded in this construction program are 36
new vessels and conversion of 13 others
mto fast efficient container ships In ad
dition the expanding merchant fleet is to
include liquefied natural gas carriers and
oil tankers to meet the i ismg needs for sea
transport of petroleum and natural gas
In brief 1972 as Mr Reynolds ex
presses it, was “ a year that marked the
largest peacetime backlog of merchant
Giant Awakening
beach “to get away from it all."
Spring is the eternal symbol of renewed
life and happiness, with a lesson to teach if
man will but listen. In essence, the
message is that man’sworld will be only as
good as he makes it He can follow nature's
lead and channel his energies into con
structive directions - or he can destroy this
planet As this new season dawns, let us
hope that it brings greater freedom, peace
and understanding to a troubled world,
and inspiration to the human race to
rededicate itself to creating a better way of
life
Congress, no action was completed. As
time passes, the urgency of strengthening
the patent system increases. The U.S.
balance of trade deficit ran at an annual
rate of $7 billion in 1972 as compared with
$2 7 billion in 1971—the first such trade
deficit since 1893 The fundamental
weakness in our trade position is the fact
that we are losing out as the world's
number one supplier of high-technology
products This situation must be corrected
if the U.S is to continue to import essential
supplies of oil, natural gas and raw
materials from other nations.
Throughout our history, the patent
system has sparked the creation of new
products and better uses for old ones—not
to mention the formation of whole new
industries employing millions of people It
has given impetus to our development
from a frontier agricultural society to the
greatest industrial power on Earth. The
human qualities of innovation and
creativity were never more crucial to the
progress and even the survival of the
United States It is time steps were taken
to make certain that these qualities are
protected and encouraged
ship construction since this country's
beginnings Eighty versatile ships, ex
ceeding 45 million tons, were on order”
These ships, as they slide down the ways
and take to the seas, will offer the best
evidence that America, the sleeping giant,
has awakened to its opportumties-and
obhgations-as a maritime power in a
changing world
Grassroots
Opinions
BENNETTSVILLE. SC, MARLBORO
HEARALD-ADVOCATE “Stop worrying
about your competitors and start worrying
about your customers You’ve got a lot
more customers than competitors, and
vour competitors never gave you a nickel’s
worth of business and never will ”
HOUSTON TEXAS, TRIBUNE “Perhaps
we pay too much attention to the things
that are wrong with our country, and too
little to the things that are right about it
We might well pause to reflect now and
then upon two facts In recent years
between 300,000 and 450,000 persons
have immigrated into the US yearly
(besides a large number who entered
illegally) They came here to better
themselves, and because there were more
things wrong with their native lands than
with ours And, on the other side of the
com can you think of anyone who is keen
on leaving this country to live anywhere
else 7 ”
■f •
XXX
$ S
*•* * *
I NOW IS
*%
I THE TIME . ..
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
To Control Garlic
Pastures' infested with wild
garlic should be sprayed during
March with a herbicide to kill the
plants. The use of the esther form
of 2, 4-D before the pasture
legumes begin to grow is
suggested; if this is done each
spring for several years, the
garlic plants will be eliminated;
some farmers may also spray
again late in the fall. Garlic in
fested pastures grazed by
milking cows will yield onion
flavored milk which is very
objectionable to the consumer.
Attention should now be given to
garlic control.
To Be Alert forJTermites
The season is approaching
when swarms of insects may be
collecting on warm, sunny
window sills Some of these may
be winged ants, others may be
termites. The ants will do little
harm but the termites will ruin
wooden structures. Identification
of the insect is the first step; the
winged ant has a two-section
body with two large wings and
two smaller wings. The termite
will have a one-section body and
four large wings about equal in
size Property owners are urged
to be alert for termites and obtain
the help of commercial exter
minators or insect specialists.
THE OTHER SIDE
Lesson for March 18,1973
Background Scripture* Genesis 3 1-19,
Psalms 14 1-3, Jeremiah 10 23, 17:
9, 10, Romans l:2t through 2:24
Devotional Reading* Psalms 51*1-12
Two men were arguing vigor
ously over what the Bible says
about the nature of man. The one
man maintained that, according to
the Bible, man is essentially good.
The other, just as adamantly,
argued that the Biblical view of
man is basic de
pravity. Both men
were partly right
and partly wrong.
“In God’s
image”
On the one hand,
the Bible tells us
that man is cre
ated “in the image
of God,” (Genesis
1:27). The Psalm
ist of old raised this question
about man: . . “what is man
that thou art mindful of him, and
the son of man that thou dost care
for him?” (Psalms 8:4). The
answer that came to him was ex
citing: . . thou hast made him
little less than God, and dost
crown him with glory and honor.
Thou hast given him dominion
over all the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his
feet.. ” (8:5).
Man’s basic nature, it would
seem, is basically good.
Yet, there’s another side to man
and this is a dark side. Just as in
the eighth psalm we see man as
made “a little less than God,” so
in the fourteenth psalm we get
A * »'K-
To Transfer Silage Now
Silage producers that need to
move silage from a trench or
bunker silo to an upright silo
should do this work as soon as
possible and during cool weather.
There will be less heating of the
silage when moved before warm
weather. The transfer should be
made as rapidly as possible in
order to press out the air pockets
promptly. The adding of com
mercial preservatives is not
recommended. Many producers
store surplus silage in temporary
storages and then move it into the
main silo for automatic feeding.
To Control Alfalfa Weeds
The need for greater yields of
high quality alfalfa has never
been greater. Weed control has
been reducing both stands and
yields. There are many her
bicides that may be used under
various conditions some on
established stands only some
on strait alfalfa stands without a
grass companion. Most of them
for fall and winter application for
the control of winter weeds. When
the plants begin to grow in the
spring (early this year) then
caution needs to be practiced.
Growers should consult custom
sprayers on their Extension
Agent for details. Don’t tolerate
the weeds.
another view; “They have all
gone astray, they are all alike cor
rupt; there is none that does good,
no, not one’’ (14:2,3). The prophet
Jeremiah searched the heart of
man and was discouraged with
what he found: “The heart is de
ceitful above all things, and des
perately corrupt; who can under
stand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Nor does the Apostle Paul seem
much more hopeful about man:
“Full of envy, murder, strife, de
ceit, malignity, they are gossips,
slanderers, haters of God, inso
lent, haughty, boastful, inventors
of evil, faithless, heartless, ruth
less” (Romans 1:29, 30).
“They have ail gone astray. ••”
The Christian view of man is
two-fold, therefore. Man is created
for goodness, but he has much
native capacity for evil. Uniquely
endowed by God above all other
creatures, man is always finding
himself pulled in the other direc
tion. And this is true, not just of
some men, but all of us. There is
both good and evil in all of us.
This is essential for us to re
member, because we sometimes
are tempted to divide mankind
into the “good guys” and the “bad
guys ” We tend to forget that
there is evil in all of us. A man,
angry at his neighbor, once pray
ed “O Lord, let this evil man suf
fer your wrath 1 ” God politely
replied - “Which evil man’” When
we speak with God of “sinful
men,” let us remember what Isa
iah said “All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way” (Isaiah 53.6).
There is both a grandeur and a
misery about the nature of man
Whether we personally think of
man as essentially good or evil,
let us always remember that there
is another side.
(Based on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U S A
Released by Community Press Service )