B4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 16,1982
‘‘V
"I wonder,” sighed a tired cattle
caretaker one day earlier this
week, "why people come back to
this Farm Show year after year. ”
"Well, why do you come back
every year?” I tossed back.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Beats me.”
On the spot, from the middle of
the dairy cattle barn, we took an
instant survey of other exhibitors
who happened to pass by.
One just tossed a sarcastic laugh
over his shoulder at the question,
as he headed off to do the afternoon
milking and clean-up chores for his
show string.
Another replied, “You know,
I’ve been wondering the same
thing.”
Still another reason it was good
advertisement for his family’s
milk sales business.
“Why DO you come back every
year?” came the same persistent
question back in my direction
again.
After a couple of hours pon
dering that. I’ve come up with
several reasons.
Because I’m fascmated with
the feel of water filling my rubber
boot when our son accidentally
turns the hose my way as we scrub
his 4-H heifer.
U.S. farmers
ARCADIA, Cal. A
plant that could satisfy
much of the nation’s
demand for natural
rubber may be ready for
large-scale cultivation
by 1985, according to
researchers at the Los
Angeles State and
County Arboretum,
Arcadia, California. ■
Dennis Perry,
Himayat Naqvi, and
George Hanson, plant ,i
breeders at the public
facility, said they have J
increased the latex I
content of guayule, a
native American rub
ber-bearing plant, to the
point where they predict
that in four to five years
an annual yield of 1,000 I
pounds of rubber per I
acre can be achieved. I
This yield should be I
sufficient to make I
guayule growing I
financially attractive to I
farmers with semi-arid I
land in the southwestern I
United States and other I
parts of the world. I
Increased yields have I
been achieved through I
selection within USDA
strains developed
during World War II
guayule breeding
programs and from
selections made among
native populations in
northern Mexico.
Another factor that
significantly increases
the rubber content in
guayule wood and bark
m selective spraying of
chemicals on the
On being
a farm wife
•And other
I hazards
I Joyce Bupp
Because I need an excuse to
concoct hamburg barbecue, or
chib, or ham and string beans, at 7
a.m., so the crockpot feels needed.
Because trotting across that
giant parking lot at zero degrees,
with a mmus-40 wmd chill, is
stimulating, refreshing and clears
the lungs.
Because doing laundry during
the 11 o’clock nightly news helps,
keep me awake to find out how cold
it will be the next morning, so I can
lay m bed wondering how many
new pipes at the barn will be frozen
sobd.
—. Becasue straw, hay, sawdust,
soggy jeans, unmatched mittens,
and assorted vests and coats
strewn into every room of the
house add that lived-m look.
Actually, I can think of two
better reasons.
Friends. And fellowship. Visiting
again with old friends we seldom
see, and making new ones.
Chatting with neighbors. Simply
being with other farm people. And,
of course, the challenge of com
petition in the showring.
That’s why we go to the Farm
Show.
And that's, all the reasons we
really need.
raise ‘rubber’ plants
growing shrubs. The
researchers said that
hybridizing guayule
with close relatives has
resulted in increased
vigor and disease
tolerance.
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an elusive little
NEWARK, Del. The common
house mouse is not a very imposing
creature. It’s only about six infches
long mostly tail weighs about
three-fourths of an ounce, and
spends most of its life pretty well
out of sight. As a result, it often
goes unnoticed, until a, dog food
bag stored m the garage develops a
hole, or until a basket of knitting on
the top shelf of a closet is suddenly
turned into a mouse nursery.
Mus musculus, the house mouse
name, means “little thief,” and it
describes this wanderer from Asia
perfectly, says Delaware Ex
tension entomologist Frank Boys.
Today “Mus” is found from the
tropics to the arctic regions all
over the world. Because the mouse
is so small and requires so little
food, it has spread much faster
than rats. It probably has the
widest distribution of any mammal
except man.
In order to control this pest, one
should know something about its
breeding potential and habits, says
Boys. Mice are extremely fast
reproducers. Since the gestation
period is only about 21 days, a
single female could produce as
many as 14 litters per year. Litter
size averages about eight young.
Females can rebreed a few hours
after giving birth. Mice also tend to
have community nests, and
sometimes as many as 50 young
have been found together.
The size of a mouse’s territory
depends upon the physical
Lancaster Co. Society 2
'Lancaster Co. Society 2 held
their Christmas social recently at
the home of Peg Barrett of Penryn.
Twenty members attended.
Following games, the members
voted to snnnort several projects:
r
"MHL"
The house mouse,
arrangement of its environment
and the number of other mice in
the area. A mouse might not travel
more than ten feet from its nest if
food is close by and/or if there are
many mice in the area. Some mice
may spend their entire lives in a
pallet of feed. „
House mice can survive long
periods without drinking water. If
their food contains some water,
they don’t need any drinking
water. However, water baits are
readily accepted.
The house mouse reacts to
change by exploring it im
mediately, often investigating
traps even though they are un
baited. In fact, your control suc
cess may be increased if you make
constant changes in the mouse’s
environment. Changing baits or
the placement of baits or traps
helps. Mice also travel along walls
or objects and in shadows. Where
studs and sills are exposed, the
mice will run on the sill and go
around each stud; rats will travel
on the floor. Traps and baits should
be placed along their normal
pathways.
If you’re not sure whether you
have more than one mouse in your
dwelling, look for small holes in
walls and doors, for tiny droppings
on floors and rafters, and for
feeding signs. When you see mice
scurrying for cover a you enter the
house, you know you have a
problem, says Boys. Don’t fall
under the common delusion that
Q-Q/lW
QA/omen
Societies
LARC, the blind, teen challenge
and Easter Seals.
The next meeting will be
January 9 and will be held at the
home of Edna Loose.
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thief
mice don’t do much damage and
therefore aren’t worth controlling.
Eliminating places where mice
can live, and making food
unavailable to them, are the only
permanent control measures.
Keep the premises clean! Avoid
piles of trash and accumulations of
junk. Pay particular attention to
the disposal of garbage and trash.
Place it in garbage cans, not
plastic bags, and keep them closed
until the regular time for dumping.
Food placed out-of-doors for pets
and birds should be watched. Clean
up scraps regularly, and place bird
food in a mouse-proof feeder.
Try to keep rodents outside
buildings; close as manV small
openings into the building as you
can. Unfortunately, mice can
squeeze through a quarter-inch
hole. Cover surfaces that mice
could gnaw through, such as
window frames and the bottom of
doors, with metal flashing or
hardware cloth.
The small breakback and
choker-loop traps can be us<' *
where there are signs of mice. Xn
buildings, place traps along the
wall, with trigger end toward the
baseboard, or against boxes or
other objects at intervals of two to
three feet. Many traps should be
used if mice are abundant. If a
mouse hole is found, place a trap
about nine inches on either side.
Bacon, peanut butter, gumdrops,
or rolled oats are effective baits
(cheese is not). A little loose bait
should be placed under the trigger
to catch mice skillful at robbing
traps. A string or light wire from
the trap to some nearby object will
prevent a prowling cat from
carrying the trapped mouse away,
and will also keep a mouse caught
by the tail or foot from
into biding. -
If you use poisoned bait, be sure
to prepare a lethal dose, as a
sublethal dose will only make the
mouse sick, and it will avoid the
bait thereafter.
In cases of heavy mouse in
festations, after all control efforts
on your part have failed, contact a
reputable pest control operator,
preferably a member of a state or
national pest control association.
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