—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. September 6,1975
10
on
Dad stood by the side of the pick-up
truck laughing out loud while
listening to our plumber's philosophy.
Never showing awareness of his
dry, comical wit, the middle-aged
plumber spoke matter-of-factly in a
low, gravelly voice which went well
with his unshaven face. Mr. Johnson
stared out the side window of his
truck and took a few draws on his
cigarette. You hardly ever saw him
without one. Pausing a moment, he
let each word come out riding on a
cloud of smoke.
“When you have so many things to
do that you don’t know what to do
first, you just go fishing,” he said,
returning the burning cigarette to his
mouth the way George Burns uses a
cigar to plug his mouth after the
punch line.
We could have been fishing all
summer long had we taken the joke
seriously.
Aside from the usual chores in
volving livestock which can't be
postponed, we had a delay in our
“Let’s get a drink, Marv,” I said,
leaping from the hay mow to the flat
bed wagon below. We both stood
there for a moment, wiping sweat and
hay dust from our faces. Working
without a shirt, as usual, my entire
booy 'tched from the waist up.
Walking to the milk house, we
massaged our hands, pulling and
squeezing fingers which were
beginning to feel like nothing more
than bones and nerves m spite of the
callouses
After a coot refreshing drink, we
walked back down to the tractor and
wagon. A few tiny thorns and bits of
hay remained lodged in the skin and
underneath fingernails Although
most of the sweat and dust had been
wiped off a few minutes ago, the
moisture began to ooze out again as
soon as we entered the hot barn
Thank God this wagon was empty,
and we could take it easy for ten
minutes while going out for the next
load.
LIFE
the farm
By DIETER KRIEG
work schedules because of plumbing
problems and a heifer which needed
assistance with her calf. We had some
hay to haul and two cows to get in for
the breeder. They had been let out by
mistake after the morning milking.
It was also time to get ready for silo
filling, which in itself would take up
most of a day maybe more if a
problem arose. One of the silage
wagons had a flat tire but that wasn’t
really a problem. The distributor had
to be hauled up to the sop of the silo;
equipment had to be cleaned,
greased,and oiled; the filler pipe had
to be connected; and fields had to be
opened.
A section of fence by the woods
needed mending; the lawn needed to
be cut; and Mom wanted some help
picking peaches.
It's a good thing none of us in the
family ever went fishing. We never
took time to find out what it's like and
by this time didn’t bother to think
much about what we may have been
missing.
A cloudless sky allowed the sun to
penetrate the fields with highest
intensity. Without a breeze, each ray
stung our bodies with a piercing,
burning sensation intensifying the
already uncomfortable feeling of dust
clinging to sweaty skin.
We itched and sweated, but that
didn’t stop us from loading bale after
bale of hay. After four straight days of
loading and unloading one wagon
after another, and carrying milk
machines and milk pails twice a day
every day, our feet sometimes
dragged in the timothy and clover
stubbles and our arms felt like they’d
fall off.
In spite of the fatigue and
discomfort, we kept on going We had
to.
If hay is grown on the farm or
hauled in from neighbors’ fields, the
heavy work and tired muscles are as
much a part of summer on the farm
as the sizzling sun
All rights reserved by Dieter Kneg
REPRESSED
ANGEL
Lesion for September?, 1175
Backfcround Scripture:
Genesis 1 through 2.
Devotional Reading: Acts
17:22-31.
In 1890 the following ar
ticle appeared in the local
newspaper:
The vicinity of Gap,
Lancaster County, is excited
ov?r the visit of Rev. David
Kaufman, of Indiana, who
preaches in his sleep. Mr.
Kaufman arrived and went
to the house of his brother.
Shortly after 6 o’clock he
arose in his sleep and began
to preach, first in English,
then in the German
language, and continued to
preach until about 9:30. He is
now visiting various persons
in die neighborhood and will
preach every night in his
sleep. (The Reading Eagle,
Reading, Pa.)
That certainly must have
been one of die strangest
religious announcements of
all time!
Something within
Yet, at the same time it
says something significant
about the nature of man:
often there is something
within us more wonderful
than we might ever suspect.
When we are unconscious,
that “something” is often
released, like in the case of
the rough, profane sailor,
who, in a coma, prayed in
cessantly.
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl
of Vienna says that, rather
than hold that “man is a
sublimated animal, we can
demonstrate that he con
ceals within himself a
repressed angel.”
Note that Frankl did not
say that only some people
conceal within themselves a
“repressed angel,” but all
men! There is something
divine in all of us. Even the
lowest citizen in our com
munity, the worst criminal
in our jail, the most
dangerous public enemy has
that divine potential within.
This is not some strange,
new idea of our own century,
but one of the oldest concepts
in human history. In the
Judiac-Christian tradition
we find it begins with the
Book of Genesis (which
means “beginnings”). The
writer tells us: “So God
created man in his own
image, in the image of God
he created him” (1:27).
To be sure, man is a
combination. Physically, he
is composed of perishable,
common material: “Then
the Lord God formed man
of dust from the ground
...” (2:7). There is nothing
everlasting about man’s
physical beginning. It is the
perfect example of “built-in
obsolescence.”
The breath of
life
But there is more to man’s
nature than “the dust of the
ground.” For, says the
writer of Genesis, when God
took that common dust, he
“breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man
became a living being”
(2:7).
Thus it is God’s Spirit (his
“breath”) that gives life to
the common perishable body
of flesh. Note, once again,
that the writer does not say
that he breathes his Spirit
j;:
To U«e Proper
Livestock Equipment
The handling of livestock
correctly Is very Important
in order to reduce stress and
avoid injuries. The equip
ment needed to do this is not
costly and In many cases,
can be constructed by the
farmer himself. I refer to
loading chutes, cutting
gates, and a catch gate for
the individual treatment of
animals. All of these are
very important to the suc
cessful handling of all types
of livestock. Also, a sick pen
for slow animals is very
important because in most
cases they should be
segregated from the herd or
flock. Plans for this equip
ment are available at Ex
tension Offices throughout
the state without charge.
Bruises, broken legs, and
excitement are not a part of
good livestock handling and
are costly.
To Consider Pelleted
Feed For Hogs
In some recent ex
periments pelleting in
creased feed conversion in
swine about 8 percent. Some
of this may be due to less
waste especially with old
feeders or with bulky feed.
Some other advantages of
pelleting are less separation
of the ingredients, less dust,
and an increase in the rate of
gain. Some disadvantages
could be higher cost of feed,
and a decrease in vitamin
content if pelleting is done
improperly. Pelleting might
be considered by local
feeders as a good practice if
the cost does not increase the
cost more than 8 percent.
To Make Corn Silage
The com crop looks very
good on most farms and silo
filling time is approaching.
The making of a com crop
into silage is the best way to
preserve the most feed
nutrients. More milk and
beef will be produced per
acre from com when made
into silage than to harvest it
in any other way. The full
dent stage is desired by most
cattle feeders and most
dairymen as the proper
stage of maturity. Protein
content can be increased by
adding 10 pounds of urea per
ton at the silo and cattle
feeders might want to add 10
pounds of ground limestone
per ton for best results. A
stalk of com with one or two
ears in the full dent stage has
into only some men, but all
men.
In two different, but
significant ways, therefore,
the writer of Gensis is saying
that there is something
unique and divine about
man. He bears the “image”
of his Creator and within him
is the divine “breath” of
God. In short, there is a
divine potential in every"
man, a likeness to God that
links him to his Creator.
Think of it; within you
there is the image of God, a
“repressed angel” waiting to
get out. Why Not?
(Based on outlines
copyrighted by the Division
of Christian Education,
National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. Released by Com
munity Press Service.)
NOW IS
THE TIME, .. I
Max .Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone IW-6K51
all of the ingredients for
fermenting into good silage
providing the storage place
is air-tight. Silo gas is a
potential danger around all
sUos and owners should warn
their families and employees
of this situation for 10 days to
two weeks after filling the
silo.
To Buy Rugged
Healthy Cattle
Many cattle feeders will be
on the market in the coming
weeks. The old saying,
“There’s more Money made
the Day the Cattle are
bought than the Day They
are Sold” is still very true
and should be kept in mind.
Big-framed, fast-growing
cattle are preferred in order
to make good use of
roughages and give fast,
efficient gains. The small,
quick-maturing cattle
cannot be expected to make
as rapid gains and are more
likely to carry more waste
and extra fat when finished.
Fresh cattle can be expected
to start quicker with less
health problems than cattle
that have been shipped in
and out of several market
places before reaching the
feedlot.
Silo Filling
Silo filling time is ap
proaching and it might be in
order on many farms to give
some attention to the interior
of the concrete silo. If the
surface is rough and pitted,
it needs to be “pointed” with
cement or other material
suggested by the
manufacturer. A rough
interior surface may mean
small air pockets and
eventual molding of the
silage. Production costs are
very high and good care of
the silo will provide a place
for air-free storage and good
quality silage. The proper
time to cut corn for silage
continues to be in the early
dent stage for maximum
feed values.
Farm
Calendar
Saturday, Sept. 6
York Fair runs through Sept.
13 at York Fairgrounds.
Nightly entertainment
and agriculture ac
tivities.
Kempton Dutch Festival in
Kempton through the 7th.
Monday, Sept. 8
Lancaster Co. Poultry
Association meeting 8:00
p.m. Farm & Home
Center.
Wednesday, Sept. 10
Lancaster County Ag
teachers meeting at
Solanco High School 4:30
p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11
Goat club to organize at
Schuylkill Cooperative
extension office 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Solanco Fair runs through
the 20th in Quarryville.
Wednesday, Sept. 17
Penn Ag annual convention
at the Gettysburg
Sheraton in Gettysburg
continues through the
19th.