—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 8,1978 18 Earthworms are a different kind of farming SMYRNA, Term. - While fanners all over America clamor for public awareness of their financial plight, there is a segment of the Agricultural Americana Folk Festival set DAUPHIN - Log-hewing is just one of many crafts which will be demonstrated daily at the Agricultural Americana Folk Festival, Dauphin, Pa. Other crafts include blacksmithing, leatherwork, cop persmithing, egg decorating, stained glass ' -- i-~~- -- Hagi' ‘ aKsri-. nSSfegr;’ <r’SJ- ‘ 'i*%s, t^ *2 * * '***'*“ •' '■'*■ *' Log-hewing will be part of the Agricultural Americana Folk Festival to be held from July 22 to the 30 near Harrisburg. AERIAL SPRAYING ALFALFA - Blotch Leaf Minor Must be sprayed on re-growth. Use our aerial service - NO WHEEL TRACKS WOODLAND - Gypsy Moth Protect your trees. 30 Acre minimum. CORN - SPARK growth regulator. Returns proven in Lancaster and Chester Counties. Closed Saturdays - July & August ,1 f BULK BLENDS ) ORGANIC K PLANT * [ ANH/DKOUS AMMON* A J FOOD CO. 2313 NORMAN ROAD, LANCASTER, PA PHONE: 717-397-5152 farming population that has remained silent. Earthworm farmers are quietly tending to their business and reaping , work, applehead dolls, cornhusk dolls, lace-making, and more. These demon strations, along with children’s games and con tests, music, and exhibits will take place at the Agricultural Americana Folk Festival, Dauphin (six miles west of Harrisburg). rewards from their crops. Today the earthworm is climbing to its zenith in productivity and uses. Thus, more and more people are turning to earthworms as a The dates are July 22 through 30 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Other demonstrations include butter-making, applebutter-making, turkey shooting, panning for gold, flintlock and more. The children’s activities include a pie eating contest, spelling bee, com-shelling contest, peanut scramble, hay wagon rides, and rooster catch. There will be fun for all at the Agricultural Americana Folk Festival, July 22 through 30. *»** source for a stable income or part-time employment. Requiring very little upkeep and time, ear thworms are - quickly becoming one of the most popular agricultural “crops” in the world. Earthworms are practically unlimited in their uses. From putting nitrogen in the soil to help grass grow better to being used as a gourmet food, earthworms are. becoming more versatile than their ancestoral fishing worms. While earthworm farming may not sound as elite as tobacco or beans, the ear thworm farmer cpn frequently make more money than both combined. All that is needed is a small investment and enough room in your backyard or field for bins measuring four by eight feet. One Tennessee farmer estimated that 16 such bins would return $12,000 an nually. That includes only four harvests per year, with one pound of the, wigglers being sold to the National Worm Growers Exchange for $3. Approximately 1,000 worms make up a pound. Now one shouldn’t get greedy and go out and dig up a handfull of worms and put them in a hole in his backyard. Chances are he’ll ■ be very disappointed. Earthworm farming is scientific. It takes a little research to do it right. Farming correctly is the key to earthworm crops’ suc cess. *'*. v*"a f> National Worm Grower Exchange, located in Smyrna, Term.,-has all the information one ever wanted to know about earthworms. Earthworm farming can be a family project. Mr. and Mrs. George Boyer, Bell Buckle, Tenn. are a retired couple who wanted a little extra income “for the finer things in life.” After only three harvests, Boyer said he had a return of his investment and began making a profit. Mrs. Boyer had some trouble at first handling the worms. Somewhat shiddish at the thought of handling the wigglers, she said all that changed after the first check arrived. “Now I think of them as money,” she commented.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers