—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October. 7,1978
10
COMMENTS B v PIETER KRIEG - EDITOR
Farmers are generally known as an
optimistic breed. Some say they have
to be if they want to survive. The
opposite could be true. Optimism
could be wrong - even dead wrong.
Take the attitude: “It can't happen
to me."
That’s misplaced optimism. It
could end up with lost fingers, limbs,
or even death.
The warnings go out annually, and
they also appear on practically every
piece of farm equipment. “Keep
Hands and Feet Away From Moving
Parts." "Turn Machine Off Before
Servicing.” The list could go on to
include chemicals, bulls, electrical
equipment, silos, etc.
Sadly, each year brings new ac
cidents and deaths with it despite
the reports of accidents and
repeated warnings. The attitude of
“It can’t happen to me” seems to be
forever prevalent. Sad too, is the
truth that it can happen to you.
THE GODS
OF 1978
Lesson for October 8, 1978
Background Scripture:
Exodus 20:3-7;
Josua 24:14,15;
Matthew 5:33-37; 6:24;
Luke 4:8; John 4:24
TO UTILIZE
CORN FODDER
Com growers who are not
making the crop into silage
might consider the making
of the com stalks into bed
ding material. The market
value of all livestock bedding
is very high, and can be used
on the farm or sold to others.
After the com is picked and
the stalks dry, the com can
be shredded and baled.
This material makes very
good bedding for box-stalls
and feedlot pens; the fodder
absorbs water rapidly and
when shredded gives less
trouble in mechanical
RURAL ROUTE
Yes it can happen to you
Devotional Reading:
John 5:19-24
“You shall have no other
gods before me” (Exodus
20:3).
These words seem to have
a strange and archaic ring to
them.
“Other gods”? To be sure,
we realize the primitive men
m some far corners of the
world are still polytheists.
But the major religions of
mankind that account for the
vast majority of the world’s
believers - Christianity,
Judaism, Islam, Buddhism,
and even Hinduism (which
to the uninformed appears to
be polytheistic) - all these
are essentially monotheistic.
' handling. When used on the
farm as bedding, it can still
be returned to the soil as
added organic matter.
TO PREPARE FOR
COLD WEATHER
The month of October is a
good time to get ready for
freezing weather. Water
cooled motors should be
treated with anti-freeze
solutions, or drained after
being used. Exposed water
pipes need attention to keep
from freezing. They may be
buried at least 30 mches into
the ground, or wrapped with
electric heating cable.
Thawing frozen water
pipes on a cold morning is
not pleasant; frozen cooling
systems in tractors and
motors are expensive.
Prevent these problems by
getting ready for freezing
weather in the near future.
HOW COME .. YOU SAID
THE COWS LIKED THEM
Not convinced?
Consider the speed of the cylin
drical cutterhead of a forage har
vester. It travels at a rate of 16
revolutions per second. If that
doesn’t sound very fast, then try 120
feet of razor-sharp knife surfaces
hitting the corn stalks each second.
The gathering chains are fast too.
One false move by a man who dares
to challenge that frightening power
and he may lose an arm, leg, or even
his life.
Of all the farm machines which
have injured or killed people, the
corn picker is probably the most
common. Again, people oftentimes
fail to realize the incredible speed
and power of the gathering chains
and snapping rolls. Even at idling
speed they can pull an arm off m a
split-second The proof of that
statement lies in the fact that it has
happened to hundreds of farmers
who thought it couldn’t be so.
If the adherents of these
faiths disagree, it is not over
the question of whether there
is one God or many, but what
is the most accurate
representation of the one
God.
A “Jealous God”
The first commandment in
Exodus forbidding the
worship of “other Gods”
(20:3) seems, therefore, to
have little meaning or
relevance for us today. We
may not serve God with the
devotion he seeks, but
neither does he have any
competitors in this modem
age.
Or does he?
Are there not some subtle
TO OBSERVE NEW
CATTLE
Cattle feeders are facing
one of the largest in
vestments in recent years.
Replacement cattle continue
to be very high and very
much in demand. No doubt
many feeders will have more
money tied up in their cattle
this fall than ever before.
Under these conditions, it is
very important to keep
losses to a minimum.
To do this the “eye of the
master” is still most im
portant. Feeders are urged
to observe their cattle
several tunes each day;
cattle that are “slow” and
keep to themselves, or do not
come up and eat and drink
normally, should be
separated and treated. A
thermometer is a “must” to
detect serious infections.
Sitting m the shed, the corn picker
looks dead. In action, out in the field,
it is deadly. The entire machine
vibrates and hums with activity The
speedy cogs, chains, and rolls can’t
tell the difference between ears of
corn and a person’s hands.
The snapping rolls travel at a
speed of 12 feet per second. Too
many men have tested the accuracy
of that statement by ignoring the
warnings on shields and in operator’s
manuals.
A third danger of the corn harvest
is in the silo. It’s as deadly as an
unseen poisonous snake waiting for
its prey. Many times, the tragedy
strikes without warning The danger,
of course, are the gases which are
released during the fermentation
process.
Farmers are warned each year not
to enter a recently filled silo, and if
they really must, then they should
never do it without having a blower
gods that contend with the
Lord of the universe for our
worship and service?
Theologian John Bright once
wrote:
“For that to which a man
looks for his ultimate well
being, his salvation no less,
and that from which he
derives his standards of
conduct that is his god.
And we have no lack of them.
(THE KINGDOM OF GOD,
Abingdon Press, 1953)”
If Bright is right - and I
am convinced he is - then
God still has good reason to
be the “jealous” deity
depicted for us in the Old
Testament.
Animals that are
segregated from the rest of
the herd, and treated soon
after they-go off feed, will
usually recover in a few
days. Delayed treatment
results in the infection
spreading and greater
mortaihty.
TO KEEP PIGS WARM
The extremely cold
weather of the past two
winters has resulted in high
pig losses in the feedlot.
Most farrowing operations
have supplemental heat in
the building to keep the baby
pigs warm. However, when
they are sold to the fattening
operator, they often do not
have warm enough quarters
We urge that feeders be
sure the pigs are com
fortable; when they pile up
By Tom Armstrong
force fresh air into the structure
beforehand, as well as during their
time inside the silo.
A fourth danger that comes with
the annual corn harvest can be found
in the gram bins All those bushels of
corn can act like quicksand if a
person dares to walk inside. Slowly
but surely, he can be swallowed up
by the crop. It happens somewhere
every year.
Whether the danger comes in the
form of a fascinating but dangerous
machine, a storage bin, chemical,
gas, mean bull, or loose floor board,
the first rule for preventing accidents
might well be to realize that
tragedies don’t just strike anywhere
but home. The philosophy of op
timism doesn’t apply to avoiding
accidents.
The God of Mammon
Nor is this strictly an Old
Testament concept. On the
Mount of Temptation
following his baptism, Jesus
cries: “Begone, Satan, for it
is written, ‘You shall wor
ship the Lord your God and
him only shall you serve’ ”
(Matthew 4:10). Later, in the
Sermon on the Mount Jesus
updated the first com
mandment so that even his
nominally monotheistic
countrymen could un
derstand its challenge:
“No one can serve two
masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the
in cold weather, they are too
cold. Insulated sidewalls,
solid partitions, hovers over
their sleeping quarters are
things that can be done Jo
keep them warm.
Cold pigs means
Farm Calendar
Today, Oct. 7
Third annual Fall Festival of
the Frederick County
Farm Museum Assn.
Today and tomorrow.
York County 4-H leader
and teen leader banquet.
Monday, Oct. 9
Manheim Fair begins.
Continues through the
13th. See page 108 for
details.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
Lebanon County Holstein
Club banquet, 7 p.m. at
the Mount Zion Church
social hall.
Chorus to perform October 11
LANCASTER The Lancaster Liederkranz Singing
Society is hosting the 65-member all-male Ludenscheider
Master Chorus from Luden-Scheid, Germany. The chorus,
which has been compared with the same singing quality
and precision as that of the prestigious 200-plus member
Mormon Tabamacle Choir, will be performing at Hensel
Hall on the Franklin and Marshall College Campus.
It will be a 2-hour concert featuring sacred music, m
German, a variety of classic works, as well as traditional
folk songs and popular American favorites.
There will be just one performance, that taking place at
8 p.m. on Wednesday evening, October 11.
other. You cannot serve God
and mammon. (5:24)’
Baal, the Canaanite god, is
long-forgotten, as are Melak
and Astarte, but Mammon is
still with us! An Arabic word
meaning “wealth”, Mam
mon is ' very much wor
shipped today for it is to
material wealth that many
of us look for our ultimate
well-being, our salvation “no
less,” and even our stan
dards of conduct. One does
not have to be a theologian to
realize that in this year of
1978 there are still “other
gods” who vie for the wor
ship and service that belongs
to the Lord alone.
respiratory and digestive
troubles. When they are
warm enough they will
spread out in the sleeping
area. Check temperatures
down at floor level - not at
man-high levels.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
Lebanon County Con
servation District board
of directors meeting, 8
p.m. in Room 207 of the
Lebanon Municipal Bldg.,
Lebanon.
Thursday, Oct. 12
Elizabethtown Young
Farmers barn party.
Friday, Oct. 13
Pennsylvania Egg
Marketing Association
meeting, 7 p.m. at the
Treadway Resort Inn,
Lancaster.