10—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, Aj
Keeping the Horn
Much of the world depends upon
America’s "horn of plenty" for the
food and fiber necessary to sustain
life And the U. S., in turn, depends
upon open channels of international
trade to help keep that horn brim
ming. For in the delicate economic
web, which binds the world together,
export sales often act as a balancer,
absorbing the impact of surpluses to
even out prices.
According to an American Farm
Bureau Federation official, much of
the credit for last year’s historic rise
in farm income lies in the dramatic
expansion of export markets. Fully
one quarter of the harvest produced
by U. S. farmers goes to foreign
consumers. Therefore, mutually
advantageous trade between
countries is vital, not only in terms of
Environmental
Clean-Up Tool
The nation's railroads can haul
more goods with less pollution than
any other medium of transport. They
can step up this movement several
times over with little further use of
land for rights-of-way and other
facilities. Due to their capacity to haul
long strings of freightcars with a
minimal number of power units, they
are great fuel conservers.
But as-a leading rail spokesman has
observed, “The railroad industry is
not resting its environmental case on
its natural advantages. In 1969 and
1970, the industry spent $55 million
on capital investment for en
vironmental programs and another
$lO million a year to maintain those
programs for a total of $75 million. By
the end of 1972, the funds spent or
committee had skyrocketed to $250
million with more than $lOO million
spent for capital investment and
maintenance m 1972 alone "
Rail capital investment in en-
The Birthrate Decline
Although there are more young
women capable of bearing children
than ever before in the United States,
fewer babies were born in 1973 than
in any year since 1945 The last great
baby boom peaked out in 1957 and,
with some fluctuation, it has been
going down ever since, with a 4
percent drop in 1971 and an 8 4
percent decline in 1972 The reasons
for this change may be rooted in
worry over the national economic
National Goodwill Week
A handicapped body does not
automatically signify a handicapped
mind or lack of will to work Yet for
many years, most people with
physical disabilities were labeled
misfits and pushed from the public
eye Fortunately, such a tragic waste
of human potential is being corrected,
with Goodwill Industries in the
forefront of those helping the
disadvantaged to achieve productive,
self-supporting citizenship
National Goodwill Week will be
of Plenty Full
iril 27. 1974
more equitable prices in the domestic
marketplace, but because it enhances
our foreign balance of trade. For the
American consumer, freer trade also
means that agriculture will have
sufficient profit incentive to produce
enough goods to keep home and store
shelves relatively well-stocked. For
the farmer, released from the stifling
bonds of federal farm subsidies and
futile arbitrary price controls, it
brings a promise of higher net income
and prosperity.
Our nation’s well-being is clearly
and inextricably linked to the for
tunes of agriculture. Thus, a market
oriented American agricultural
system, maintaining a high level of
international trade, must always be
allowed to flourish.
vironmental improvement is ex
panding. It includes research projects
to lower locomotive emissions even
further, development of
biodegradable herbicides for the
control of weeds and brush along
railroad nghts-oTway and installation
of new equipment to meet govern
ment regulations prohibiting human
waste disposal on roadbeds. They are
even working on ways at their own
expense to eliminate the litter
dumped in railroad rights-of-way by
the public. Special trains are
operated to haul garbage from cities
to land-fill areas miles away, thus
eliminating incineration in heavily
populated areas.
Railroads are a basic tool of en
vironmental improvement. Rail
managements are sharpening that
tool to help cut through the massive
environmental problems that lie
ahead.
outlook The pace of inflation and the
rising cost of raising children should
give pause to all but the most
irresponsible or the very wealthy.
To look for the silver lining, it may
be that inflation, which appears to be
a near permanent condition, will
enable the U S to achieve control of
population growth that could
otherwise outrun the supply of
available resources A backhanded
benefit, but something nonetheless.
commemorated May 5-11 this year
and focuses national attention upon
the large, highly-successful network
of Goodwill job training workshops
and rehabilitation programs across
the country Our donations of
repairable clothing, appliances and
furniture mean that the handicapped
can learn not only valuable job skills
while rejuvenating such articles, but
also earn money from their sale
National Goodwill Week is an ex
cellent time to show that we care
PORTRAIT
WITH “WARTS”
Lesion for April 28,1974
Background Scripture: Acts
15:36 through 16:40.
Devotional Reading: Psalms
51:10-17.
Someone studying the book
of Acts once remarked to me
that she sometimes did not
understand Paul the Apostle.
Some of his actions and
utterances puzzled her
greatly. Pointing to one of
his seemingly contradictory
actions, she asked: “Why did
he do that?” My answer to
her was simple “Because he
was human.”
A portrait with “warts”
Although the admiration of
the writer of the Book of Acts
for Paul is obvious, he is not
so biased in his favor that he
overlooks the obvious
evidences of Paul’s
humanity. In most of Acts,
Pad is an admirable, even
heroic figure. But there are a
few passages in which Pad
appears in a less attractive
light.
It is said that a famous
British artist was com
missioned to paint a portrait
of Oliver Cromwell who
rded England at a critical
point in its history. Looking
at the unfinished portrait one
day, Cromwell noticed that
the painter had not
duplicated a large wart on
Cromwell’s face. His intent,
obviously was to put the
great general in the most
flattering light. Cromwell,
however, ordered the painter
to portray him “warts and
all!”
This is the portrait we find
of Paul in Acts. It is almost a
relief to find that this great
Apostle was, along with
everything else, a human
being. This means that,
despite his great work, Paul
was sometimes inconsistent
and subject to human
weaknesses.
In Acts 15, for example, we
find that he falls into a
Significant dispute with his
able co-worker and
missionary, Barnabas.
Whatever eLse was involved
in this dispute, one of the
issues seemed to be the in
clusion of young John Mark
in the mission party. Paul
felt that Mark had proven
unreliable when he had left
Paul and Barnabas at Perga
on the first missionary
journey. Barnabas ap
parently disagreed and felt
that Mark should be given
smother opportunity.
“Unlike Paul”
It seems rather unlike
Paul that he would not give
John Mark another chance,
but then we must remember
that even the best of us are
not always consistent m our
behaviour. Sometimes we do
not live up to the best that we
know. Perhaps that is what
happened with Paul m Acts
15 At any rate, he and
Barnabas parted and, as far
as we know, were never
partners nor associates
again.
Later, in Acts 16, Paul
again acts in a manner that
seems contrary to what we
know of him. So that
Timothy would be ac
ceptable in Jewish
synagogues on their journey,
Paul had him circumcised.
In light of Paul’s vigorous
,',|.V.V.V.V.V.V
I NOW IS
I THE TIME...
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
To Follow The Label
The application of all kinds
of pesticides should be ac
cording to the instructions on
the label or container. Im
proper use can bring
justified criticism of the use
of spray materials and other
chemicals. The proper
amount and the timing is
very important to control the
problem and to prevent
pollution of either air, soil, or
water. The idea that a little
bit more material than
suggested will do more good
is false and should not be
done. Costs are
and more danger is
presented. The proper use of
pesticides can be a very
important part of modem
agriculture and all users
should - recognize the
potential dangers of not
following the label.
To Plan For Hay-Crop
Silage
All forage and small grain
crops are growing rapidly
and soon some of these
(winter rye) will be ready
for the silo. Many other
forage crop mixtures can be
made into low-moisture
silage, rather than hay, to
get more feed nutrients
preserved. The question of
using chemical preser
vatives on forage crops for
silage is often presented. In
most cases, with field con
ditioned and wilted crops,
these preservatives are of
little value. With direct cut
forage crops such
preservatives as sodium
metabisulfite, kylage, or
formic acid may improve the
quality of the silage. Feed
additives may also be used
on direct-cut crops to reduce
seepage. However, when
forage crops are wilted to the
55 to 65 percent level normal
Farm
Calendar
Tuesday, April 30
7:30 p.m. - SCS public
speaking contest, Farm
and Home Center
Wednesday, May 1
May 1-3 - American Egg
Board, 34th annual
meeting, Chicago
Marriott Hotel
7:30 p.m. - Lancaster County
Conservation District
Board meeting, Farm
and Home Center.
Saturday, May 4
7:30 p.m. - Centennial
celebration of Fulton
Grange No. 66, Grange
Hall, Oakryn.
Show Day for the 49th annual
arguments against forcing
Gentiles to be circumcised
this seems strange. Perhaps
Paul did this to insure the
success of his mission and
felt he had not compromised
his principles.
It is to our benefit that we
realize Paul’s humanity and
we are indebted to Luke for
giving us a portrait of him
that shows us both the heroic
profile and “the warts”!
•K
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fermentation should be
satisfactory for good quality
silage.
To Remove Fire Hazards
Before Hot Weather
One of the leading causes
of fire in homes, bams, and
workshops is spontaneous
combustion of junk and trash
stored in buildings during
hot weather. This is the time
of the year to clean out these
places and remove stacks of
old papers, rags, old
clothing, Or other materials
that might ignite easily.
Extremely hot weather and
oily rags, or any oil-coated
materials, are fire hazards.
Lightning rods should be
inspected to be sure they are
well grounded and remove
all obstacles for the rod
system. The thunderstorm
season is here and the rods
cannot function if not
properly placed and
grounded.
To Be Careful With
Weed Killer Equipment
Every year we learn of
folks who spray a
vegeatable, flower, or farm
crop with an old sprayer
containing particles of 2,4,D
herbicide. This type of weed
killer is very difficult to
remove from spray equip
ment and will not “go away”
from one season to another.
The sprayer should be given
a 24-hour soak with hot water
and household ammonia, or
invest in a separate sprayer
for weed killing materials.
Herbicides should be kept in
the original containers so
identification will not be lost.
The drift of fumes or spray
particles to a nearby crop is
always a potential danger.
Extreme care when using
weed killing materials is
strongly recommended.
Dairy Exposition, Penn
State University.
Growing
Degrees,
Rainfall
A report from Penn State
of weekly crop and weather
roundups with a report on
weather conditions for the
week ending April 22.
In Lancaster, the average
temperature for the week
was 53 degrees, one degree
more than the normal
average for the tune of year.
Growing degree days for
crops that start at 40 degrees
totaled 273 degree days, or 70
more than the normal
average. For crops starting
at 50 degrees, growing
degree days totaled 96,
which is 71 more than
average.
Rainfall for the week was
very slight. Rainfall
measured from April 1 was
4.6 inches, 2.02 inches more
than the normal average.
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