10—Lancaster Farfrlni. Saturday. September 13, 1975
LIFE on the farm
Some of my earliest recollections of
life on the farm were pushed to the
front of my mind earlier this summer
while I watched an antique farm
machinery show in Port Royal
The exhibits and activities carried
my imagination back to my home
town of Lichtenhagen, Germany, now
a sprawling suburb of Warnemuende
Located just a short distance from
the Baltic Sea, our rural village was
complete with old homes with
thatched roofs and unpaved streets
I lived there a generation ago, and
that part of my life exists as my only
link to a way of life which has
disappeared. The memories of those
years are especially dear to me
Summer began whenever I could
take my shoes and socks off and
knead the warm sand with my feet
while catching the breezes of the
Baltic Sea in my hair Summer was a
barefoot race through the stubbles of
a wheat field; green apples for the
taking; a visit to the blacksmith
shop, making mud castles by the
pond; and watching the threshing
machines in action.
Our changing times
Sometimes things written many
years ago have a ring of frightening
truth to them Such is the case with
the following item According to a
column I read recently, a lady found a
30 year old newspaper with thought
provoking information about great
cultures printed on one of its pages
“The average life of the world’s
great civilizations has been 200
years During this period each has
Editor out of order
Political cartoons usually amuse
me, but one which appeared recently
in some papers across the country is
a direct slap in the face to farmers
and a total misrepresentation of
agricultural markets.
Near the left margin of the drawing
was a tall stalk of corn, somewhat
higher than the eye of the GOP
elephant which stood next to it
Above the tassle of the corn stalk
were the words “gram prices " The
GOP elephant stood next to the crop
winking an eye and with the words
“76 Farm Vote" inscribed across his
chest.
The "Dreschkasten" was still in
widespread use during the early 'so’s
and nothing fascinated me more than
to watch it chew up sheaves of gram
Those were the good old days
The wide, flat belt danced
gracefully in an up and down motion
as it sped around and around in a
figure eight from tractor to thresher
Occasionally it slapped a little,
reacting to a change in the load The
tractor growled; the thresher
hummed and rustled, men sweated,
and I was there to watch it all until
bedtime
Always reluctant to be dragged
home, I left the scene covered with
dust from head to toe.
Once tucked into bed, I continued
listening to the unique sounds of the
thresher and tractor, mixed with the
singing voices of crickets and frogs
The light of the full moon poured into
my bedroom window, as I dreamed on
about the spinning pulleys, vibrating
belts, chaff blown in the wind, and my
bare feet digging in the sand
Sadly, that is no longer a part of
life on the farm.
All rights reserved by Dieter Kneg
progressed through
sequence
1 From bondage to spiritual faith
2. From spiritual faith to great
courage
3 From courage to liberty
4 From liberty to abundance
5 From abundance to selfishness
6. From selfishness to com
placency
7 From complacency to apathy
8 From apathy to dependency
9 From dependency back to
bondage ”
The caption underneath this
ridiculous drawing said - “As high as
an elephant’s eye ”
Farmers know the drawing is
inaccurate, and although prices may
seem high to those who depend on
need grains to produce their products,
prices are not high in relation to the
expenses involved in raising a field of
corn
It’s unfortunate that cartoonists
misrepresent agriculture It’s worse
that some editors were so unin
formed to place it into their paper
rather than file 13 where it belonged.
the following
THE CULPRIT
I.rsvin (or September U, 1975
Background Scripture:
Genesis 2 15-17; 3
Devotional Reading;
Galatians 5. 13-25.
Who’s responsible for the
way that I am 9
Many people have
meditated, theorized and
battled over that question. It
is a question still pursued
today whenever people are
confronted by moral
judgement.
Many and varied answers
are given: God, my en
vironment, my genes, my
educational opportunities,
my associates, my
superiors, my cir
cumstances, and “the other
guy.”
The subtle temptor
The Bible is unambiguous
with its own answer to this
question.
The early chapters of
Genesis are a case in point.
It begins with Adam and
Eve (which is not really the
story of two people who lived
a long, long time ago as
much as it is our story). We
find them in their wonderful
Garden of Eden, leading a
blissful life of innocence and
plenty.
But along comes the
serpent: “Now the serpent
was more subtle than any
other wild creature that the
Lord God had made” (3:1).
It is an apt description of
temptation: subtle, crafty,
ingenious. Carefully he
beguiles the Eve and the
clincher is a touch of envy:
“For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil”
(3:5).
Note, the ingenuity of the
three-fold appeal: (1)
((
the woman saw that the
tree was good for food ..
(3:6) (2) .. and that it was
a delight to the eyes ..(3)
. and that the tree was to
be desired to make one
wise..
To fill her hunger, to
please her eye, and to gain
wisdom these were the
inducements the temptor
gave Eve to disobey the
specific command that God
had given.
And it was enough just
as it often has been since!
“The other guy”
The first two appeals were
to the stomach and the eye,
but the third was the most
dangerous of all: the temp
tation to want to be equal
with God. This means that
man is often dissatisfied with
being the creature and wants
instead to be the Creator, to
be his own God. This is
man’s basic sin: to say, in a
sense, to his Lord, “My will’s
as good as your will!”
TCie end result of Adam
and Eve’s sin just like
ours is to open our eyes
and take away our in
nocence. Now they could see
the difference between good
and evil for themselves
From now on it would be
their responsibility to
choose. What they had
gained was a terrible power:
the right to make our own
moral choices ... and the
responsibility that goes with
them!
Confronted by God, Adam
responds in a manner that
has become identified as
I
I
I
To Plan For
Fall Seeding
Wheat and barley are
important crops, in fact over
35.000 acres of wheat and
17.000 acres of barley were
raised in I,ancaster County
last year. The unusual wet
conditions during the first
week of July caused a
problem for our gram far
mers. The harvesting of
wheat and barley was
delayed: this caused it to
start to sprout. The mam
varieties of wheat grown in
our area is Abe, Arthur 71
and Redcoat. Reports from
seedmen have shown that
about 80 percent of Abe and
Arthur 71 have been lost for
seed because of sprouting.
Redcoat, on the other hand,
is not as susceptible to
sprouting and much of it has
been saved for seed.
Germination tests from
the Bureau of Plant Industry
Seed Laboratory show good
results, of about 90 percent,
for all harvested Redocat.
But the Abe and Arthur 71
that was harvested after the
rains, indicated only about 70
percent germination and a
lot of sprouted grain showed
up.
This means if you are
planning to use locally grown
wheat, be sure to run a
germination test. Also if you
are planning to buy seed
wheat or barley, place your
orders now because some
varieties may be in short
supply.
To Be Aware
of Silo Gas
The most unport ant crop
in our County is corn; in fact
over half of our total crop
acreage is in corn. As we put
this real good crop in our
silo, we must be alert to the
possibility of silo gases.
The greatest danger from
“Notrogen Dioxide gas” or
better known as Silo Gas, is
during the first 12 to 60 hours
after filling the silo.
However, you should be
extra careful for at least 10
days. This Silo Gas is a
deadly gas which is
yellowish-brown in color and
smells like some laundry
bleaches. It will settle on top
of the silage, just below the
upper edge of the top door - it
will also settle down through
the chute, so be careful that
it doesn’t settle in your silage
room or even work into your
barn.
The important thing is to
run the silage blower for 15
to 20 minutes before entering
the silo and be sure your
silage room is well ven
tilated. Also,, keep the door
“typically human”: “The
woman whom thou gavest to
be with me, she gave me
fruit of the tree, and I ate”
(3:12). In this case, the
“other guy” is not only Eve,
but also God himself:
“. . . whom thou gavest
me ...” Today, we still try
to blame God for our own
choices.
And Eve, is no less
devious: “The serpent
beguiled me, and I ate.” This
sounds reminiscent of Flip
Wilson’s “The Devil made
me do it!”
But both we and God know
who the real culprit is
don’t we?
NOW IS
THE TIME.. j
Mux Smith
( 'oimly Agi. Agenl
lelephnne PlI-MCil
closed between the silage
room and the barn. Corn
silage is a valuable crop, but
your health is much more
valuable, so take
precautions to be safe
To Use Warning
Devices on Slow
Vehicles
As daylight hours grow
shorter, farmers will be
moving more farm
machinery on highways
during semi-dark or dark
hours.
Slow moving vehicles such
as farm equipment traveling
on highways present a
traffic hazard. The motorist
must recognize that a tractor
traveling at 5 to 10 miles per
hour is almost standing still
compared to a car traveling
at 50 mph. Most highway
drivers have never driven a
farm machine on the high
way and simply do not
realize how slow they do
travel.
Proper identification and
warning is real important
The triangular Slow Moving
Vehicle emblem must be
used with all farm equip
ment operated on the high
way. An additional aid in
dark conditions is a self
contained, battery-powered
light that can be attached by
means of its suction cup
base.
The SMV emblem and
light could be the best in
surance you ever purchased
for protection of property or
even a life.
To Aerate Your
Lawn
If your lawn is a popular
place for children to play,
you may find that the soil is
compacted. Fall is an ex
cellent time to aerate your
lawn and relieve this soil
compactions.
The compaction occurs
primarily in the surface area
of the lawn. A compacted
layer as thin as one-quarter
to one-half an inch can
greatly reduce water and
nutrient penetration.
But you can correct this
type of compaction by using
aeration equipment.
Aeration machines remove
plugs of soil from the turf
area.
Farm
Calendar
Sunday, Sept. 14
Open House at the Solanco
Fair Building at 2:00 p.m
Solanco’s Men’s Chorus
and a portion of the High
School band will be
performing.
Solanco’s Farm Fair will be
held in Quarryville 16-20.
Monday, Sept. 15
Twilight Meeting for fruit
growers at the Kauffman
Orchards east of Bird In
Hand at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 17
PennAg annual convention
in Gettysburg and con
tinues through Sept. 19-
Beginning of the
Elizabethtown Market
Place Fair and festival.
Continues through the
20th.
Monday, Sept. 22
All American Dairy Show in
Harrisburg, continues
through the 26tb.