The
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Wm Business
x •\ Newton Bair
Return of Halley’s Comet
There is just a little bit of
superstitious nature in all of us. I
find it comforting to leave a little of
my fantasy to the “signs” of
nature, and forget about real
science for awhile.
All my life I have looked forward
to 1986 and the return of Halley’s
dckalb-ppizer
GENETICS
See me for your seed.
Your DEKALB-PFIZER GENETICS dealer has a full lineup of quality
products. But you’ll get more than good seed. You’ll get service all year
long. See him today.
moo
• Unsurpassed yields in its
maturity
• Strong stalks and roots;
rapid drydown
• Excellent disease and stress
resistance, stays green
• Good drought tolerance,
does well under irrigated
or dryland conditions
• Excellent response to top
management
ALFALFA
DKI3S
• Excellent yields
• Verticillium wilt, anthracnose and
Phytophthora root rot resistance
• Lush, leafy forage
• Bred for long rotations
“DEKALB” is a registered brand name. Numbers designate varieties. As a condition of sale, please note
statement of limited warranty and remedy on DEKALB-PFIZER GENETICS orders, tags and bags
Comet. I have searched the
journals of science and read books
about the heavenly phenomenon
that have fired the imagination of
people down through the ages.
With the exception of the
Christmas Star, none have
received more attention than
GENETICS
Who's recommending
top performing corn?
Halley’s Comet, especially since
Halley proved that it is the same
one that appeared every 76 years
for several thousand years of
recorded history.
I bought a pair of binoculars last
fall, just to be prepared. They are
pretty powerful, 10 to 25 power,
with 50mm objectives. I have been
observing the Comet on every
clear night since early December,
and have tracked its progress
across the constellations. It
changes position slowly but surely,
on its way toward the sun.
There is nothing very spec
tacular about the appearance of
Halley’s right now. It is just a faint
glow of light, a ball much larger
than a star’s point of light, but still
very fuzzy looking.
The tail is very faint, probably
because we are only able to see it
head-on as it approaches the sun. It
would not inspire any excitement
this time around, even if it could be
seen with the naked eye.
But the fact that it has returned
as predicted, is in itself cause for
excitement and conjecture. The
last appearance was in 1910, and
my older sister who is now in her
lam.
64th year, remembers the ex
citement that it caused then, even
though she was only 7 years old.
She is one of those privileged few
who will see it twice in their
lifetimes.
The ancients looked at the night
sky more than we do. They slept
among the stars, and became
intimate with every constellation
and observed the movements of
planets. Of course, they noticed
immediately when a new one
in the sky, and comets
' always caused a stir.
They attributed many events on
the to the movements of the
heavenly bodies, and developed
many hypotheses, myths and
metaphors which related life on
earth to the heavens. They didn’t
know as much about the scientific
facts, but they knew much more
about how those heavenly lights
affected their lives.
Some of that superstition still
exists in our modem culture. My
father liked to dig fence posts in
the dark of the moon, so they would
stay down. Also, wood shingles
should be applied only during the
“down sign”, and potatoes and
DEKALM-PFIZER
GENETICS
DK656
• New, very high yielding hybrid
• Very good seedling growth
• Good root and stalk strength
• Fast drydown,
good drought tolerance
• US day relative maturity
SOYBEANS
• Top yield performance
• Excellent standability
• Resist* shattering
• Field resistance to Phvtophthora
root rot
• late Group 111 maturity
garden root crops planted in the
same sign. Most above ground
crops thrived best in the more
favorable “up sign”. Just consult
Baer’s Almanac, 1966, for all the
proper details.
Now I don’t for one moment
actually believe that the return of
Halley’s Comet portends anything
bad or good for me personally. I’m
just glad for the chance to observe
it, even with binoculars.
But it might be fun to conjecture
that the Comets’ appearance in
1986 is a good sign for all of us.
With all the negative signs that
seem to be facing farmers right
now, we need something to cause
us to look upward and be glad.
Look for the light, even if it is
hard to see. You might discover
something very beautiful that you
never saw before.
The planet Jupiter is visible in
the west, and with good binoculars
you can see four of its moons. The
constellation Orion is high in the
East, and the beautiful glow of the
nebula in Orion’s sword is spec
tacular. The night sky is gorgeous,
even to the unassisted and
uneducated eye.
Halley’s Comet has made me
look at the heavens with more
reverence and introspection.
Nothing that happens on this earth
will ever change the heavens. The
changes that occur there are
Eternal and out of our hands. But
they arouse hope and cheer when
we take time to look up and wonder
at their glory.
Lancaster tobacco
winners named
LANCASTER The Annual
Lancaster County Tobacco Show
was held at the Farm and Home
Center Wednesday, Jan 8. The
show, which is sponsored by the
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Service, is a preliminary event to
Farm Show competition.
Don Rohrer, Lancaster, received
the Pennsylvania type cham
pionship and Timothy Breneman,
Millersville, received the top
smoking leaf honor.
Judges for this year’s show were
Jeffrey Ranch, Domestic Tobacco;
Stanley Goldstaff, General Cigar,
both of Lancaster. Below are the
top five placings in each class.
Wrappers
1. Donald Rohrer, 2. Dawn
Rohrer, 3. Roger Rohrer, 4. Kandy
Rohrer, 5. Judy L. Witmer.
Filler
1. Sallie Burkholder, 2. Bob
Burkholder, 3. Raymond
Burkholder, 4. Gary R. Neff, 5.
Lois Burkholder.
Binders
1. Kevin Bauman, 2. Donald
Rohrer, 3. Roger Rohrer, Kandy
Rohrer, 5. Gary R. Neff.
Bottom one-third
1. Christopher Neff, 2. Neff
Brothers, 3. Gary R. Neff, 4. Kandy
Rohrer, 5. Robert Miller.
Middle
1. Timothy S. Breneman, 2.
Robert Miller, 3. Roger Miller, 4.
Brian Barley, 5. Kandy Rohrer.
Top one-third
1. Neff Brothers, 2. Jeff Barley,
3. Raymond Burkholder, 4. Kevin
Bauman, 5. Gary Neff.
Vocational Agriculture Classes
Wrapper
1. Mike Cassel, 2. Laurie Barley,
3. Steven Sensenich, 4. Tobin
Shank, 5. Jeff Hollinger.
Fffler
1. Steve Sensenich, 2. Tobin
Shank, 3. Tony Bitts, 4. Eric Herr,
5. Rick Hess.
Pa. Grown Smoking - Bottoms
1. Becky Barley, 2. Greg Barley,
3. Tony Bitts, Laurie Barley, 5.
Henry Hank.
Pa. Grown Smoking • Middles
1. Becky Barley, 2. Tony Bitts, 3.
Henry Hank, 4. Laurie Barley, 5.
Becky Barley.