AlO-Lmcasttr Farming, Saturday, October 25,1986
OPINION
Enjoy Nature At Its Best
It happens every year. Our
forests don their red and gold garb
for a royal display before the
leaves flutter away from their
summer home. In Pennsylvania
and other northeastern states
where hardwood forests cover
millions of acres, the color display
is particularly magnificent.
Why this fall splendor? Ac
cording to an Indian legend,
celestial hunters slew the Great
Bear in the autumn. His blood,
dripping from the sky onto the
forest, colored many leaves red.
Other leaves turned yellow from
the fat splattering out of kettles as
the hunters cooked the meat.
Other people had other legends.
But now we know that the color
change is caused by chemical
processes that take place in green
plants as the season changes from
summer to winter. .
According to the Wayne County
Extension Service, the bright
green of plant life in summer is
caused by the pigment, or colored
substance, known as chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll absorbs energy from
sunlight. The energy is used to
transform carbon dioxide and
water to carbohydrates such as
sugar and starch. During summer
nights, these sugars pass through
the leaf veins to all parts of the
plant.
Yellow pigments (xanthophyll)
and orange-yellow pigments
(carotene, which gives the carrot
its familiar color) are also present
in leaves. During most of the year,
these yellowish colors are masked
by the greater amount of green
coloring. But in the fall, partly
because of changes in the period of
daylight and changes in tem
perature, the leaves stop their
food-making process. The
chlorophyll breaks down and the
green color disappears. Then the
yellowish colors become visible,
giving leaves part of their fall
splendor.
Colors that vary from yellow to
red to blue are caused by the
mixing of varying amounts of
chlorophyll and other pigments
during the fall season. Chemical
changes in the leaves of trees such
as dogwoods and sumacs give rise
to reddish and purplish fall colors.
Other changes turn sugar maple
leaves to orange, fiery red, or
yellow. In the leaves of trees such
as quaking aspen, birch, and
Farm Calendar
Saturday, October 25
Pa. Simmental Association Sale,
Green County Fairgrounds;
contact: Adeline Angevine, 814-
966-3762.
Penn State Angus Sale, Ag Arena,
University Park, 2 p.m.
hickory, the yellow pigments
dominate and are responsible for
the yellow autumns foliage. Many
oaks are mostly brownish, while
beech turns golden bronze. The
brown color in the leaves of these
trees is caused by the presence of
another substance, tannin.
Brilliant red autumn colors are
formed when warm sunny days are
followed by cool summer nights
with temperatures below 45*F.
Much sugar is made in the leaves
during the daytime but cool nights
prevent movement of sugar from
the leaves. The red pigment called
anthocyanin is formed from the
trapped sugars. Familiar trees
with red or scarlet leaves in
autumn are red maple, silver
maple, flowering dogwood,
sweetgum, black tulepo or black
gum, northern red oak, scarlet
oak, and sassafras.
The degree of color change may
vary from tree to tree. Leaves
directly exposed to the sun may
turn red while those on the shady
side of the same tree, or on other
trees in the shade, may turn
yellow. The foliage of some tree
species turns dull brown from
decay and never shows bright
colors.
The colors on the same tree may
vary from year to year, depending
on the combination of weather
conditions. When there is much
warm, cloudy, rainy weather in the
fall, the leaves may have less red
coloration. The smaller amount of
sugar made in the reduced sunlight
moves out of the leaves during the
warm nights and no excess sugar
remains in the leaves to form the
pigments.
Conifers, commonly called
evergreens, also have color
changes in the fall. While most
species of conifers keep their
needles for several years, all shed
some each year. The larch, a
deciduous conifer, rivals even the
most colorful hardwoods in the fall
by turning several shades of yellow
and dropping all its needles every
year.
Fall foliage rightly draws our
attention to the magnifence of our
forest resource. And this year in
Pennsylvania, the fall splendor
provides the most appropriate
decoration for the statewide Year
of the Forest celebration. So let’s
get out into the woods and enjoy
nature at its best.
Maryland Holstein Association
Field Day. Topic: E.T. and
Your Genetic Future. Hills-
Hope Farm, Emmitsburg, Md.
Sunday, October 26
Pa. Florists Association Con-
WELL... TIU\NK PART
OF THE SOLUTION CAN ,
BE FOUND IN THE
CHAMBERS OF THE
SENATE AMP CONGRESS
mm
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
To Check Ventilation
Equipment For Winter
Exhaust fans in dairy and
poultry houses have a heavy
ventilation job to do. They remove
moisture and dust, and in many
cases run almost continually from
October to April.
To prepare your ventilation
system for winter, several items
may need attention. The fan
blades, motor enclosures and
louvered shutters need cleaned
frequently. Loose belts are com
mon on belt driven fans. Fan
output varies directly with fan
speed. A 10 percent loss in
R.P.M.’s of the fan means a 10
percent loss in air delivery.
Check the thermostat for ac
curacy by hanging a thermometer
beside it for easy comparison. Be
sure the sensing element is clean
and free from dust.
ference, J.O. Keller Conference
Center, Penn State University.
Monday, October 27
Flower Growers Day, Penn State
University, Kem Building.
Pa. State Grange, Reading Motor
Inn.
Tuesday, October 28
Slit Tillage Field Day, Herb
Myer’s Farm, % mile east of
Lampeter on Route 741, 1 to 3
p.m.
Wednesday, October 29
New Holland Sales Stables annual
dairy show and sale.
Vet Nutrition Forum, Host Town, 7
p.m. Topic: Risk Factors For
Abomasal Displacement.
Speaker; Dr. Ed Robb, New
Bolton Center. Contact:
Shannon Newmann, York
Extension, 717-757-9657.
Delmarva Poultry Nutrition Short
Course, University of Delaware
Research and Education
Center, Georgetown, Del.
Others sessions; Nov. 5 and 12.
Thursday, October 30
Lebanon County Holstein Club
annual meeting, Schaef
ferstown Fire Hall, 7 p.m.
Tickets, $6.
Friday, October 31
Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale,
State College.
Saturday, November 1
Annual Banquet, 7 p.m., Bucks
County Holstein Association,
Kellers Church. Contact Joseph
Peters, 215-348-5591.
Herr Farms Angus Sale, not
tingham, 10 a.m.
Upper Leacock Women’s Club
WAVE VO O EVER S BBN
TWE S/ZE
7* WE COU
f STORE
Have your fan motor protected
by adequate overload protectors.
To Plan Winter
Weed Control in
Alfalfa
As the alfalfa plant slows down
and prepares to go into dormancy,
other plant populations in that
same field can be increasing in
vigor and growth. These are the
winter annual weeds: duckweed,
shepherds purse, yellow rocket
and some grassy weeds which
overwinter. All are in their young
stages of growth.
You’ll not see crop injury now,
but wait until that first cutting
comes off next May. Those same
little weeds all will have flowered
and set seed by that time. Not only
do yield losses occur, but field
curing problems and lower hay
quality results.
Fall applied herbicide(s) will
largely eliminate the costly winter
weed problem. The Agronomy
Guide lists a number of effective
materials.
To Hunt Safely
The small game hunting season
will open next Saturday. We need
to remind ourselves to be cour
teous and considerate while
hunting on farms. We encourage
all hunters to practice good
relations between farmers and
hunters. Criticism of hunting often
starts because a few hunters forget
the landowner is his host. By ob
serving a few sensible hunting
manners, hunters will keep
themselves from becoming
uninvited guests.
Most landowners permit
spaghetti dinner, 4:30 to 7:30
p.m., War Memorial Building,
Leola.
Sunday, November 2
Standardbred Horse Sale, Farm
Show Complex, Harrisburg;
continues through Nov. 7.
Monday, November 3
Octorara Young Farmer’s
LIGHTEN
THE YOKE
October 26,1986
Background Scripture: 1 Kings 11
through 12.
Devotional Reading: Amos 7; 10-17.
As wise as King Solomon is
reputed to have been, it is also true
that he often ruled most unwisely.
By the time of his death, there was
far-reaching dissatisfaction in
Israel with his heavy-handed and
extravagant ways. So, when the
twelve tribes assemble at
Shechem, they say to Rehoboam,
Solomon’s son and heir; “Your
father made our yoke heavy. Now
therefore lighten the hard service
of your father and his heavy yoke
upon us, and we will serve you” (1
Kings 12:4). Unwilling to commit
himself at this time, he asks for
three days in which to consider this
proposal.
reasonable hunting. Asking per
mission to hunt is a small courtesy
in return for a pleasant day in the
field, yet too few people follow this
rule. Landowners may actually
need protection from indifferent,
careless and destructive hunters.
When the trouble starts, many
farmers post their land for
protection from irresponsible
hunters.
It takes very little time and costs
nothing to observe a few common
courtesy rules whije hunting: ask
permission before hunting, close
gates, pick-up litter after eating
lunch and stay out ofunharvested
crops. Keep a safe distance from
buildings and livestock while
hunting and be sure to respect the
property of others as you would
expect others to respect yours.
To Check Chimneys
and Flues
The heating season is here and
many stoves and heating units will
be fired up. Is your system safe
from a fire hazard standpoint? In
this part of the state many tobacco
sheds and bams have stoves for
working conditions. There are
many things that can happen to a
stove pipe, flue, or a chimney that
will allow sparks to enter into a
building. We suggest these items
be carefully checked before a fire
starts. In some cases the chimney
may need to be repaired or
repointed in order to make it tight.
Don’t take chances with heating
units. Building replacements are
too costly.
The Cooperative Extension Service is an af
firmative action, equal opportunity educational
institution
Banquet. Contact Ivan Stauffer,
Octoraro Vo-Ag Department,
215-593-8259. Topic: Farm
Stress.
Mercer County Barn meeting,
Mastitis Control and Milking
Systems.
Adams County 4-H Beef Show and
Sale, Wengers Saddlery, north
of York Springs on Route 15.
Show, 10 a.m., sale, 7 p.m.
(Turn to Page A3l)
BE ASERVANT
Rehoboam goes to his advisors
for counsel in making a reply to the
twelve tribes of Israel. The advice
which they gave him is honest and
wise: “If you will be a servant to
this people today and serve them
and speak good words to them,
tften they will be your servants
forever” (12:17). No ruler ever got
more sound advice than that.
But that was not the advice that
Rehoboam wanted. Like many
people, what he wanted, ap
parently was not advice, but
confirmation in what he had
decided to do. And from his young
advisors he heard exactly what he
wanted to hear: “Thus shall you
speak to this people... ‘whereas my
father laid upon you a heavy yoke,
I will add to your yoke. My father
chastised you with scorpions’”
(12:10,11).
Although you and I can recognize
what incredibly bad advice this
was, still perhaps, we can un
derstand the kind of thinking that
lay behind it: Do not compromise
with a challenge; respond with
intimidation - show them who is
boss! We can understand this line
of reasoning because there is much
of it abroad in the world we live in.
Compromise is regarded as
weakness; concilliation as a fault.
SO ISRAEL DEPARTED
Don’t think for a moment that I
am critical of Rehoboam because
he didn’t listen to the older ad
visers and hearkened only to those
who were young. Age has nothing
to do with it - except it is
frequently true that age has the
benefit of experience. Rehoboam
made the same mistake we often
make today, worshipping power as
if it, not love, was the supreme
force in the world. We may well
have the power to make the yoke
heavier, but often what we need to
do is to lighten the yoke.
Based on copyrighted outline* produced by the
Committee on the Uniform Series and used by
permission Released by Community and Suburban
Press