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Philosophy
Newton Bair
A
Old Land - New Crops
Well, we finally sold the old
homestead in York County. It will
always hold a lot of memories, for
it was my birthplace. Our children
were reared there, enduring all the
joys and hazards of growing up on
the farm. They raised their 4-H
animals, grumbled about the daily
chores, and endured the sneers
(and the envy) of their non-farm
Cub Ca.cie.tl Super
Garden Tractors
All new for 1987, Cub Cadet super garden tractors ride on
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Take your pick of an 18 or 20 H.P. air-cooled engine, or
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Whichever you choose, with standard features like power
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Each one is backed by a two year residential and a 1 year
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This 1872 Super Garden Tractor features a 18 H.P.
twin-cylinder Kohler engine with cast-iron cylinders.
Hydrostatic transmission. Electric front PTO. Power
steering. Hydraulic lift. Dual disc brakes.
Mfr. Sugg. Price $6,499 jJS/W-i
Sale Price $4 >999 % sl^soo*^
INCLUDES 60” MOWING DECK X^VN/^*
As Low As $129.00 Per Mo.**
* Savings based on average freight,
dealer set-up and may vary according
to location
48 Queen Rd.
V* Mile South of Intercourse
peers. They have adopted other
careers, but some part of the farm
will always live in their hearts.
The place holds some historical
trivia. It was the site of the old
Hake Distillery, a relic cf the days
when it was easier and cheaper to
transport corn in liquid form. The
big barn originally had a large
stable where cattle were fattened
on the spent grain from the
Model shown with optional 50” deck
•• A downpayment of 10% of the total
purchase price after sales tax is requir
ed Cub Cadet Acceptance Company re
volving charge account is available to
qualified customers
Intercourse, PA
Closed Manorial Day
Distillery.
An early photo, taken about 1865
shows several haysheds, and the
Still house standing prominently
across the road from the farm
house. A Civil War anecdote
recalls the antics of a small party
of Jeb Stewarts’ rebels who
discovered the whiskey stored in
the cellar. There were large crocks
of applebutter there too, and the
scouts plastered the walls with it,
after they got plastered with
whiskey, themselves.
The farmhouse is built of hand
hewn logs, long since sheathed in
weatherboard, and more recently
in vinyl siding. The old dinner bell,
salvaged from it’s crumbling
belfry on the houseroof, is now on
it’s way to a more peaceful
assignment than calling hungry
farm hands in for dinner. The
folding doors at the end of the
living room once opened into an
area big enough to accommodate
50 or more people for Sunday
service. The sturdy but sagging
floors, supported by hand-hewn
logs, no longer allow the doors to
fold. But the cross-paneled doors
between rooms still swing, and
Bay Program Can Underwrite Agronomy Services
LANCASTER Farmers with
Chesapeake Bay contracts have
the opportunity to be partially
reimbursed for services provided
by a professional agronomist or
Crop Improvement Associations.
The Lancaster County Con
servation District, the agency
administering the Bay Cost-Share
Program believes that nutrient
management is very important to
cleaning up the Bay.
A Nutrient Management Plan
helps a farmer make sure he is
applying the right amount of
nutrients for the crops he is
growing. An agronomist or Crop
Improvement Association is able
to evaluate soil tests, see what
nutrients are in the manure, and
advise the farmer of any extra
nutrients he should add to satisfy
crop requirements. If there is too
much manure for the farm there is
POULTRY, SWINE AND
nAiBVFRBnnir.
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AGRI'
HD 4, East Farmersville Rd., Ephrata, PA 17522
attest to the security that was
treasured by their owners.
There is a “cave” outside the
back door, a relic of the necessity
to store fruits and vegetables
underground. It was the only
refrigerator that the early oc
cupants had. It was used as a
“butterhouse,” because it was
always cool enough in summer and
not too cold in winter, for
homemade butter to handle nicely.
The “summer kitchen,” with its
walk-in fireplace where two iron
butcher kettles hung, is still intact.
Only the trace of a foundation
remains of the brick and stone
outdoor oven that was demolished
many years ago. We were tenant
fanners then, and Mama baked
bread for the whole crew. The old
smokehouse is gone too, a casualty
to progress. I can still smell the
pungent odors that came from the
smoke pit, long after the last hams
and sausages were cured there.
The woodshed too is gone,
sacrificed to make room for the
septic tank that the new bathroom
would require. Nobody mourned
the loss of the old two-holer with
the crescent carved in the door.
Moisture Corn
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100/Min.
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the possibility that a neighbor
could use the excess to alleviate
any nutrient deficit.
The nutrient management plan
that the agronomist designs will
become part of the District
cooperator’s Chesapeake Bay
Plan. The Bay plan needs to ad
dress both the erosion and nutrient
concerns of a farm. Since soil
which is eroded into the streams
carries nutrients with it, erosion
control is as important as nutrient
control on some farms. Cost-share
monies are available for the
construction of erosion control
devices as well as manure storage.
Any farmer wanting to sign up for
a Chesapeake Bay Plan, or any
agronomist wishing to be put on an
approved list should contact the
District at 717-299-5361 for more
details.
Model HMC
Cap. Lbs.
50/Min.
EQUIPMENT, .NC
(717) 354-6520
The dairy business would not
tolerate the presence of hogs in the
barnyard, so the original hogpen
that was so handy to the
milkhouse, was an early casualty.
Gone too is the whitewashed board
fence along the lane to the bam,
the one that Uncle Joe crashed his
1918 Studebaker into one dark
night. Monolithic concrete steps
still dot the pasture behind the
house, marking the location of half
a dozen extinct hen houses. No
picket fence protects the garden
anymore either, hence the cries of
consternation from the chief
gardener when the heifers got out.
No, the Farmer is not much
smarter than those critters when
they get the urge to roam.
For two hundred and fifty years
the land along Limekiln road was
prime farmland, nurtured and
loved by many owners and tenants.
But the next crop will not be com
or alfalfa. It hiss already been
surveyed for streets, sewers and
water lines, in preparation for the
next crop a new generation that
will consume the abundance
produced on other farms.