Crownveteh - The Miracle Cover Anyone traveling through Pennsylvania this time of year cannot help noticing the masses of dark green plants covered with small pink and lavendar flowers that grow along many of the state’s highways. And although this plant, known as Penngift Crownveteh and widely used by Penn DOT landscapers is quite attractive, it is its unseen virtues that have made it a landscaping and environmental miracle. Crownveteh has proved to WANT GOOD SILAGE? USE FEED-RITE Feed-Rite is a Kelp meal Feed-Rite prevents juice “Run-off” Feed-Rite keeps your silage fresh Feed-Rite increases the nutrient value of your silage Feed-Rite treated silage tastes better to cattle Feed-Rite eliminates that certain odor from silage Also available now! Perma guard! Insect control for grain storage and general farm use. Gall 442-4171 to place your order now. Zook & Ronck, Inc. RDI Gap, Pa. 17527 be the near perfect natural control for erosion, weeds, poor soil and even litter. It has even been named the “roadside conservation plant.” A cousin to the pea and clover, this plant not only thrives in the poorest soil but actually enriches it as it grows. Established crownveteh, therefore, requires no fertilizing. Because of its amazing ability to smother weeds, it eliminates the need for chemical herbicides. And the plant practically “eats” litter, keeping waste paper and other trash out of sight until it decomposes naturally. Crownvetch is the ideal erosion control plant because it will grow on the steepest slopes and its dense foliage and its dense foliage and intricate roots break up the rain and hold back soil. Another plus .is that it is easy to control and never needs cutting, thereby saving valuable tax dollars. In fact, once established, crownvetch completely takes care of itself. Crownvetch is a dense dark green mass of foliage about two feet high during its growing season which lasts from May to November. In midsummer, the plants are covered with small fragrant pink, white and lavendar flowers. From December to March the plant is dormant and takes on the color of the surrounding landscape' This amazing plant, known to scientists as Comillia varia, is a native of Europe. But it wasn’t until years after it found its way to Pennsylvania as an adulterant in alfalfa seed that it’s potential became known. Dr. Fred Grau, a professor at Penn State University, was traveling near Virginville, Berks County, in June of 1935 when he noticed a purple flowered plant clinging to a shale hillside where nothing else would grow. At first, no one knew what the plant was, not even the scientist at Penn State. Robert Gift, on whose farm it grew, only knew it as “that weed.” Later, botanical clues identified it as a member of the legume family which includes peas and clover. Dr. Grau took seeds and cuttings and started growing crownvetch on two small farms near State College. The plant was named Penngift for the state and farm on which it was found. All crownvetch in Penn sylvania is descended from that which Dr. Grau first found. By 1948 crownvetch cultivation and production was sufficiently advanced that a trial planting was made on a highway cut near Port Matilda, Centre County. The experiment was so successful that others were made and by 1955, crown vetch became a standard plant for erosion control along Pennsylvania high ways, replacing honeysuckle and other hard to control vines. Currently there are over 35,000 acres of crownvetch planted along Pennsylvania highways and the plant is also coming into wide use in other states. It has also been used to cover earthen dams, levees and strip mines. It can be used for forage, and is nutritious for cattle. And some crownvetch en thusiasts say the blossoms make a good dessert wine. 7th Straight 100-lb. Fat Record for Frey Cow Fultonway Ivanhoe Rae 4977152-EX-90-GMD, a Registered Holstein owned by J. Mowery Frey & Son, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has recently completed her seventh consecutive record over 1,000 pounds of but terfat. She joins a select circle of six Registered Holsteins ever to complete as many as seven records over 1,000 pounds of but terfat and is the only one currently alive. Sired by Osborndale Ivanhoe 1189870, her seven 1,000 pound fat records, including her latest com pleted lactation, are: 4-03, 2x, 365 d, 28,530 M, 4.5,1,290 F; 54)6, 2x, 365 d, 30.863 M, 4.5, 1,388 F; 7-02, 2x, 365 d, 33.693 M, 4.8,1,615 F; 8-10,2 x, 365 d, 23.271 M, 4.9,1,143 F; 10- 05, 2x, 365 d, 22,386 M, 4.8, 1,078 F; 12-04, 2x, 362 d, 23,870 M, 4.5, 1,084 F; 13-06, 2x, 365 d, 22.462 M, 4.6,1,032 F. “Rae’s” lifetime totals now show 244,315 pounds of milk and 11,332 pounds of butterfat in 3,846 days of life. Her butterfat total puts her fifth on the all-time list for butterfat production in a lifetime. THANK YOU . . . For Making Our Grand Opening Watch For List of Winners in Next Week’s Paper! Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 20.1974 House Vote Backs Aid to Cattlemen The House on Tuesday passed by a six-vote margin a bill to provide a $2-billion emergency program of government guarantees for private loans to livestock producers. Urban opposition to the bill appeared to dissolve after the passage of amendments that cut individual loan limits from $350,000 to $250,000 and restricted eligibility to bona fide far mers and ranchers and farmer-dominated cor porations. The final vote was 210 to 204. “This is not a give-away program,” declared Rep. Spark Matsunaga, D- Hawaii, in wrapping up the final debate. He stressed the sup porters’ position that the measure would only guarantee loans. It would not make them, he said. MEAT SUPPLY Consumers would benefit by keeping the small livestock producers in business to provide a stable meat supply, he said. Agriculture Secretary Earl L. Butz said the loan bill as passed by the House was something ‘‘we can live with” and indicated that a more liberal verson ap proved by the Senate 82 to 9 last month would have his recommendation for a presidential veto. a Tremendous Success. Lancaster Tractor, The Home of The Friendly People 1655 ROHRERSTOWN ROAD LANCASTER, PA. PHONE (717) 5697063 The two amendments successfully offered by Rep. Wiley Mayne, R-lowa, cut eligibility to “bona fide farmers and ranchers” but allows approval of guarantees for loans to partnerships and coporations in which a majority of the stock is held by persons primarily engaged in livestock production. GUARANTEES The House version authorizes guarantees of up to 80 per cent of the loan, including the interest, while the Senate requires a 90 per cent guarantee. The Senate bill has no limit on the total amount of guarantees allowable during the one-year application period, while the House set a $2-billion ceiling. ERTH-RITE Soil Conditioner MAXICROP LIQUID PLANT FEEDING Vitamin & Mineral lor livestock and poultry Need for less protein, in crease butterfat, cut mastitis, increase egg production Zook & Ranck, Inc, RDl.Gap, Pa. 17527 Phone 717-442-4171 Ford Inc. 19
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers