—LincjMtcr Firming. Saturday. August 14, 1976 10 EDITORIAL COMMENTS Some fair information With local fairs m Lancaster Far ming's prime coverage area now underway, and many more getting ready to put up their tents. I find it necessary to comment on the im portance of cooperation between the news media and fair chairmen or publicity directors It is understandable that each event wants "prime'' coverage, and it is our responsibility to give that kind of publicity as much as possible However, to do so is sometimes physically impossible. We can’t do everything ourselves, nor can we afford to spend hours of our time waiting for results or catering to special wishes of various persons As requests and notices and invitations come into our office, we must sift through them and try to ' follow through on as much possible I want to take this opportunity to advise fair chairmen to maintain records of their show results. Sure, they all do, but have you ever been a reporter trying to get them 7 That can be like pulling teeth from a shark’s mouth. The records are somewhere, Doing it the hard way A reader some time ago sent in an item which brings on a sense of appreciation for the big combines, and thoughts of wonder on how small grains used to be harvested. The story allegedly took place on July 12,1858 when a husky 30-year old man took on the task of har vesting 12.5 acres of wheat in a single day. And he had to do it by hand. Even for him - standing 6 foot 3 inches tall, and weighing 230 pounds, this was a real challenge. A partial reprint of the account follows: “The sun was peeping over the horizon when Michael Cromer en tered the field that morning. This field was a part of the Adam Hoke farm east of Mercersburg in Franklin County. Cromer had a cradle RURAL ROUTE } T , * BY DIETER KRIEG, EDITOR ©Tom Atnvttrung I*l* we've been told, but they can’t be found Unfortunately, we can't wait for hours, and sometimes even a few minutes makes the difference bet ween good and poor coverage So, please have records available A copy of the show catelog is most desirable Surprisingly, some tairs haven't been providing us with such simple tools for good, accurate reporting If pictures are to be taken, make sure show winners and their animals are ready That is another prime ingredients for good publicity When good coverage is obtainable, both in pictures and words, then chances are good for an attractive layout in the apper Not every event can receive the “big page” coverage, due to space limitations As editor it is my prerogative to decide which story has the most potential for an at tractive layout That decision is based primarily on the story and pictures I have available. And as I've said throughout this commentary, it is up to a fair’s management to see to it that good pictures can be taken and show results copied So, that hopefully answers a question that is asked from time to time: “How do we get coverage like so and so had 7 ” especially designed and made for him by the Millard Scythe Company. Its silver-steel scythe was 65 inches long and five inches wide. For lightness it was constructed mostly of willow wood. He started in the center of the field clipping a swath 11 feet wide and five feet long. “Cromer ate nothing for dinner but took some broth every two hours as he halted to sharpen his scythe. A lightning and thunderstorm halted him for a short spell in mid afternoon. As the sun slid behind the west mountain he left that field with every blade of straw severed and laying down on nice swaths." The field reportedly produced 262 bushels of wheat and the event was witnessed by 200 people. BEYOND BELIEF Lesson for August IS, ll7t Background Scripture: Exodus 5 through G 9; Jeremiah 34:8-17; James 1.22 through 2 20. Devotional Reading; Isaiah 58 6-12. An aged Scotsman lay dying in his bed. Tiptomg to his bedside, his wife whispered: ‘‘The Minister is here to pray with you ” His eyes blinking open, the man bellowed: “I dmna want to pray wi* him; I want to argue wi’ him!” The story is not really overdrawn for there are many like the dying Scot sman for whom the essence of religion is disputation. The role of the “true believer,” as they see it, is to be the defender of the faith - “faith” being the doctrinal ideas and expressions which they believe to be authoritative for all who seek to follow Jesus Christ. I have known many who would much prefer to argue religion rather than to act out their faith in some tangible way. Even Demons Believe Recently I was in terviewed on one of those talk-shows in which people call in their questions and comments. The radio station was a “religious broad casting station” and the radio audience was com posed primarily of church people. In responding to a question about the healing ministry of Jesus, I recommended the practices of prayer and meditation. Soon an irate caller challenged me: “I don’t have any problem with prayer, but I don’t find Jesus ever meditating in my Bible!” I tried to explain that “meditation” may be considered a kind of prayer that was certainly known to and practiced by Jesus. My caller seemed mollified for the moment and ended the call. It wasn’t long, however, until he was calling back to argue the same point with great vehemence. This gentleman was the most extreme of my callers that day, but he was not the only one who was intent on arguing with me. The pur pose of the program was to witness to a wonderful healing that had been ex perienced by a woman in a class I was teaching. But some of the callers seemed to ignore what God had done for this woman and were more intent in determining whether she and I had the “right beliefs.” By Tom Armstrong Too BAD yoUR LE <r GOT MORE ACTIVE THAN j . yoUR UPPER 3 *. to TO WAIT FOR DENT STAGE IN CORN this month no doubt many dairy and livestock producers will be starting to make silage from their com crop. What we need now is some hot dry weather to mature and ripen the com no doubt it will soon be coming. The best time to ensile a stalk of com for top quality silage is when the ear is in the dent stage of maturity. This is not dif ferent m relation to what we have been suggesting for the past several years. Since some of the com in this part of the state was planted around the 20th of April, it will soon be getting into the dent stage with the right kind of weather. At this stage of maturity the feed nutrients are at a maximum level; this is the same regardless if the com silage is to be fed to dairy cows or to fattening cattle. Cutting it earlier might get a bit higher protein content but less total feed value. TOTOPDRESS ALFALFA THIS FALL Many good alfalfa growers topdress their stands with a phosphorus-potash fertilizer in the fall after the last cutting has been made; this provides the needed elements for maximum growth this fall and next summer. The alfalfa plants remove large amounts of both phosphorus and potash that need to be replaced if the crop is to yield any tonnage. After the alfalfa stand has been established, it is doubtful if any nitrogen fertilizer will do much good; healthy alfalfa plants should be able to develop their own nitrogen from the root nodules. Applications of manure on alfalfa will tend to encourage faster growth of any grass or weeds that are present and crowd out Works show our faith I am always distressed when I find Christians putting so much stress upon “right beliefs.” For one thing, they always assume their beliefs are “right” and yours are “wrong.” For another, however, the word “belief” for these people focuses upon ideas and verbalizations of belief. This kind of “belief” is never enough ((in fact, it is often a substitute for real faith). The writer of James says: “Even the demons believe ...” (1:19). Obviously, we must go beyond belief. Real faith is belief that is made manifest in works of love. The faith is not really defended with argumen tation and condemnations of “wrong doctrine”, but with actions and deeds that witness to the love of God in Jesus Christ. It is never a matter of “faith or works?”, for works are the fruit of real faith. If half the zeal that is put into disputation over religion were to be tran sformed into works of love, the Kingdom of God would be much more a reality iiumr midst. NOW IS THE TIME... Max Smith County Agr. Agent Telephone 394-6851 the alfalfa. Manure will be more useful on straight grass pasture fields, or on cash crops. TO TEST SOIL THIS FALL It might be a bit early to talk about testing soil before the ground freezes this fall, but we suggest that producers make plans to do their major amount of testing before Christmas this year; this will permit time to place fertilizer orders early and get the analysis wanted. The soil needs for the 1977 cropping season will be just as accurate this fall as next spring; by testing in the fail the owner will avoid the spring rush and have more tune to make definite plans for the soil needs. Also, wheat or barley fields that are to be seeded down to alfalfa or clover next year should be tested now and the lime worked into the topsoil before the winter gram is seeded this fall; don’t broadcast the lime on top of the grain next winter and expect it to do as much good. TO ENTER HAY SHOW With all the good hay producers in this part of the state, we do not have very many who are interested in the Pennsylvania Hay Show. This event is held in con nection with the Ag. Progress Days on August 25 and 26 and requires an 8” to 10” slice of hay wrapped for safe handling. There are many classes to enter which represent all kinds of hay. I’m sure that we have hay good enough in many of our barns to stand well in the > state competition. We have a brochure available that gives all of the information. The big beneift from com peting in the hay show will be to realize the requirements of top quality hay, and what it takes to get more feed nutrients from good hay rather than from more ex pensive grains. Farm Calendar Today, Aug. 14 4-H Club Thomasville meeting, 12 noon, 4-H Center near Bair. Lebanon County 4-H hog sale, fair grounds, 1 p.m. Chester County 4-H hog sale, Vintage Sales Stables. Monday, Aug. 16 Kutztown Fair begins at the Kutztown Fairgrounds. Carlisle Fair begins in Carlisle. Franklin County Fair begins in Chambersburg. Huntingdon County Fair begins in Huntingdon. Tuesday, Aug. 17 Ninth annual University of Maryland crops and soils field day on the Eastern Shore. Wednesday, Aug. 18 Warren County Farmers Fair, Fairgrounds, Harmony, N.J. Somerset County 4-H Fair* Somerville, N.J. Friday, Aug. 20 Lancaster County Poultry Queen Contest, Farm and Home Center, 8 p.m.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers