—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 2,1979
10
COMMENTS By krieg, editor
The old adage that good news is no
news has been confirmed once again
Last week an effort was made by
some people to show that Penn
sylvama’s farming communities were
healthy In wake of all the reports
and documentaries on the accident
at Three Mile Island and its af
termath that is certainly good news
it’s welcome news - at least to most
of us But evidently not to the big
news chiefs around the country, and
some stubborn individuals who are
bent on believing nothing but the
worst
The wire services didn’t think that
a story about healthy cattle near
Three Mile Island was worth
covering Dead ones would have
been another matter
When the stories coming out of the
Harrisburg area were negative,
everybody wanted to write and talk
about it in the media Give’em a
positive story and it doesn’t go too
far Granted, some newspapers in
the area carried the story, and they
did so quite well, but that in
formation didn’t reach New York and
Chicago, etc where the positive
THE W!LL
OF GOD
Lesson for June 3, 1979
Background Scripture
1 Samuel 13-16
Devotional Reading: “Destroy The Sinners”
Psalms 40 4-6 Of course, Saul was
There is a compelling disobedient to God, as
TO BE ALERT
FOR LEAF HOPPERS
Weather conditions have' done as a preventative
not been very good for measure, do not wait until
harvesting the first cutting you see yellow alfalfa and
of hay; however, by the tune then spray, it will be too
this article is in the mail we late Sweeps over the young
hope that many more acres growth should detect the leaf
will be harvested, the local hoppers, if they are present,
alfalfa is ready to cut in then the crops should be
relation to stage of maturity sprayed Refer to the 1979
One of the most serious pests Agronomy Guide for rates
to bother alfalfa growers in and materials
RURAL ROUTE
WHY DON'T WE CELEBRATE
DAIRY month 8Y going fo
THE DAIRY QUEEN ?
Is good news really no news?
temptation to skip the sharp
edges of this story about Saul
and Samuel It would be easy
to focus upon Saul’s
disobedience and greed
Many people will study this
passage and easily ignore its
sharp cutting edge that
ought to prick the con
science of every person who
acknowledges Jesus Christ
as Lord and Master the
writer of 1 Samuel believes
that Saul is rejected by God
because he has failed to obey
the command to slay every
Amalekite - man, woman,
child, oxen and sheep’
i i/Mii Tl ir TUir By Max Smith!, Lancaster County Agricultural Agcnt3
NOW IS THE TiAfVE J
this part of the country is the
potato leaf hopper This
insect attacks the second
growth and makes it turn
yellow and become stunted
- The treatment is to spray
when the new growth is 3 to 6
inches high. This should be
effort is needed must And in all
cases the good news didn t make
page 1 in the daily papers Maybe
that space is reserved for depressing
and upsetting news only
To many people that may not make
much difference one way or another
On the other hand there’s the lady
in New York, for example, who
refused to go to Allentown with her
husband because she is convinced
that Pennsylvania is contaminated
with radiation For every person with
such an attitude, I wonder how many
rumors and fears are spread about
our part of the country And I'm
convinced that those type of people
would never knowingly drink a drop
of milk or take a bite of beef that
came from Pennsylvania All that just
because the negative stories get top
billing and the positive ones get
tossed out or buried on an inside
page somewhere
As a result, our image was hurt
One newspaper columnist ob
served that while the crisis at Three
Mile Island was going on, the
reporters and editors were anxious
Samuel saw it But isn’t
there something in this story
more troubling than Saul’s
disobedience 7 Saul is
rejected as king because he
failed to do an act which
each of us, following our
Christian conscience, would
regard as nothing less than
sheer barbarity Samuel, the
revered prophet of God,
earnestly believed that it
was God’s will for Saul and
his forces to wreak a
holocaust upon the
Amalekitc-s because they
were regarded as a sinful
people “And the Lord sent
jou on a mission, and said,
Go, utterly destroy the
sinners, the Amalekites, and
fight against them until
TO PROTECTCORN
CROP
With the growing practice
of no-till corn growing we
can expect more corn insects
to be wanting their share of
the crop This is more true
during wet weather than dry
weather Cutworms are
working on all small plants
Corn stalk borers have been
found in small plants In
addition, we usually have
some trouble with army
worms eating corn as well as
small grains Growers are
urged to check their fields
several times each week in
order to keep on top of the
to the point ut almost hoping that
each day would give them a more
sensational story When the reactor
cooled down some news media
personnel were disappointed in
stead of relieved the writer ob
served They were thriving on the
negative
Is this what life is all about 7
We have no choice m accepting
unfortunate circumstances when
they happen But why must we be
deprived of the opportunity to read
and hear the good news when we or
others are fortunate 7
Is there no room for encouraging
reports 7
My hat is off to those individuals
who have done what they could to be
a positive and honest source of in
formation
The general public needs am
bassadors who are willing to give all
the facts, not just the negative ones
A tip of the hat is also due to the
many scientists and researchers and
official spokesmen who worked and
are still working on the question of
whether or not radiation may have
actually damaged our agriculture or
they are consumed’ ’ 1 1
Sam 15 18)
This is not the only place in
the Old Testament where we
find God represented in a
way that seems to quite
justify a violent and vengeful
course of action upon people
judged as evil and sinful We
tend to justify those
bloodthnsty commands
because the victims are
‘sinners,” people who ap
parently do not merit mercy
or compassion This is ob
vious even in the case of Saul
who, although apparently
repentent, does not receive
forgiveness or reconciliation
with Samuel Although he
pleads, "Now therefore, I
pray, pardon my sm, and
insect infestation Pesticide
dealers and Extension
Agents can give suggestions
relative to materials to use
Unfortunately, some of the
more effective insecticides
on these insects have been
removed from the maiket
Sevm, Diazmon, or Guthion
may be used to keep down
the infestation
TO BEWARE OF
WOOD TICKS
Reports indicate wood
ticks to be quite common this
spring These are usually
found on bushes and trees
near wooded areas Theyaie
dangerous from the stand-
By Tom Armstrong
worse yet our families They are
working not only with the problem of
finding and identifymg and assorting
and answering What they do takes
time A simple sample of soil sent to
Penn State for example takes two
weeks to return sometimes longer
What’s more, these scientists are
also working with the human
elements of emotionalism and
i
suspicion They must sift through all
of that, and more and come up with
realistic, honest answers
They assure us that nothing was
damaged
Such news deserves a triumphant
headline, and I hope it will come
But so tar the scientists and official
spokesmen aren’t getting the type of
headlines that were given to
damaging reports That’s a shame
Good news is important news We
must share it
And we thank and congratulate
those who make an honest effort to
spread the encouraging happenings
of life
return with me that I may
worship the Lord,” Samuel
replies coldly, T will not
return with you for you have
rejected the word of the
Lord, and the Ixird has
rejected you from being king
over Israel” (15 25,26)
Beyond Bitterness?
No less evident is this
malevolent spirit when
Agag, the king of the
Amalekites, is brought
before Samuel We are told
that Agag came to him
cheerfully,” saying ‘Surely
the bitterness of death is
past ” But Samuel replied
As your sword has made
women childless, so shall
your mother be childless
point they may be carrying
the Rocky Mountain Fever
infection Parents are urged
to inspect their youngsters
after being to picnics, hikes,
or in wooded areas They
often attack a person around
the head at the hair line
Pets are also often infected
with the wood ticks Sevm
and Diazmon can be sprayed
on trails, picnic areas, and
on the grass in recreational
areas The dust of Sevm or
Rotenone can be used to
treat pets carrying the wood
ticks
TO PLANT TEMPORARY
FORAGE CROPS
Livestock and dauv
Farm Calendar
loda>,June2 servatiuii District
t tiestei Counts Dans meeting, 730 p m in the
imi ess Pageant Bpm Kai m and Home Centei
at ttie Kimbeitoii Ine links Counts Sheep and
Wool Grow eis
luesda\ Junes Association annual wool
1 aslun Milk Pmiuttis pool, 7,10 a-m to 1 .10
toopeiativi annual pm at Fulpehocken
meeting S>rat ise.N Y I-arms
Wednesday June b
i tUit i 1 (>\ifi f 'on
[V
among women ” And
Samuel hewed Agag m
pieces before the Lord in
Gilgal” (15.32,33)
The history of Christianity
is full of such scenes the
inquisition, the crusades,
and pogroms against the
Jews, to mention only a few
Destroy the sinners” is a
cry that has been frequent on
the lips of Christians Yet,
we seldom stop to question
whether the Father of Jesus
Christ could ever have given
those commands, whether
such passages could ever fit
into the New Testament, and
whethei such barbanty
could evei i epresent the will
of God
idimeis who die ahull ul
summer forages might
consider the planting of
either Sudangrass or one of
the Sudangrass-Sorghum
hybrids These hot-weather
crops will grow rapidly and
be ready to graze or green
chop in 6 to 8 weeks They
have the ability to grow well
during extremely hot, dry
weather One word of
caution - in the fall after a
killing frost, both of these
crops should be handled very
carefully, they may contain
harmful amounts of prussic
acid and poison livestock
However, during the sum
mei they aie very
productive
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