fr' On being *— -And a farm wife Joyce Bupp Days, weeks, months go by dur ing which we pay little note hereabouts to the marvelous inno vative improvements which add to the quality of life in general about the farmstead. It was the orange plastic baling twine which stirred this philoso phical reflection. Not that plastic twine is new. It’s just new here. The traditional sisal or hemp or whatever it’s made from - has always been the baling twine of preference of The Farmer. Howev er, initial grders of twine don’t completely wrap up this hay baling season, and we went looking for emergency supplies. What came home was the orange plastic. n/icfT pDimir JrlwSJ mKAMEt smmse MATERIALS XT LOW CONTRACTOR DDVfTCI MimmMMjml&e Pressure treated Pasts * Baseboards • Walt Girt Materials Corner Trim istlding Doors • Walk-in Doors Gutters and Downspouts •Door Track Hardware Metal Roofing, Color Siding- Steel or Aluminam LOCATION: Route 272 North (3 miles N. of Ephrata) HOURS: Mon. - Fri.: 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Make Red Rose Your Building Materials Supplier While the orange plastic stuff lacks the asethetic, all-natural appeal of the more familiar tan, fiber twine, it boasts qualities otherwise lacking in non synthetics. A thread of bright orange has far greater visibility than one of beige, when buried in a pile of similarly-hued straw, for instance. This takes on some signi figance when you forgot to throw down heifer bedding, twilight is descending, and nary a string can been seen in the semi-dark con fines of a bam. Then, too, plastic is no doubt more durable than fiber when exposed to the weather. For actual bale storage use here, weather dur- >lete Inventories of Cojn; Xredrose / BUILDING MATERIALS I Stevens, PA r " v ts=\lrm ■ t iU PHONE: (215) 267-4911 (717) 738-4248 DELIVERIES AVAILABLE ability is no big deal, since bales go into covered mows. Instead, it’s for all those extra curricular uses for baling twine in which plastic’s durability wins points. Like tying pasture gates together or shut - or open, or weav ing “temporary” repairs in fencing breaks. Pounding rain, blankets of snow, harsh, drying winds and baking sunshine do less damage perhaps to plastic than to fiber. We shall all rejoice over more firmly twine-anchored gates and fences. Except maybe for Holly the Heif er, whose 1 a.m. neighborhobd explorations may be more effec tively halted. As substitute neckchains for those cows which slip and break their links on a continuing basis, plastic promises less frequent fash ioning of stall tiedowns from twine lengths. On the negative side, cut ends of plastic twine unravel and fray much more readily than fiber. A flock of kittens playing with a cou ple of plastic strings can reduce them to shreds with far greater effi ciency. By spring, we’ll no doubt have a whole new wave of envir- toA Rose Ephrata onmental decoration, birds’ nests woven and artistically decorated with shredded bits of orange twine. Along the same line of ag tech nological improvement is the woven plastic feed bag, adding a space age synthetic twist to the classic method of feed delivery. Of course, while a great majority of feed is now handled via bulk bin method, smaller batches still keep feed firms brown or beige, bagging it. These, too, have proven a boon for impromptu farm improve ments. With one side and the bot tom of a plastic feed bag slit open, you have a usable piece of durable material about a yard square. This size just fits some of the windows in our young stock pens. Stretched over a simple wood frame, plastic feedbag remnants are a perfect storm window: lightweight, easily installed and removed by even a non-mechanical farm wife. And cheap. A plastic feedbag use list is lim ited only by the imagination: quickie tractor seat cover for damp mornings, water-resistant, heat- 51 Valuable PRIZES A BEAUTIFUL HAMILTON WA^^^CK Made in Lancaster, Pa. Value $250.00. The dale as well as the lime is revealed on this school house clock housed in a cabinet of solid oak. 31 day keywound movement. Register Your Name on Each Store visit for Drawing November 14 • 25 Turkeys • 25 Pensupreme Ice Cream No purchase necessary Winners will be notified W.L. ZIMMERMAN & SONS 717-768-8291 Intercourse, PA Cowtown Rodeo I Cowtown, N.J. "Cow Capital of the First Frontier" Located on U.S. Route 40, eight miles east of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in Salem County MAY 23rd-SEPT. 20th Every Saturday Night ★ ★ 7:30 Rain or Shine Admission $6 Adults ★ ★ $3 Children 12 and under Free Parking ★ ★ ★ Refreshment Stands Group Rates Available: Call 609-769-3200 (222\ Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, f9fr7=Kj c A & J Fencing All kinds of fence. Specializing in high-tensii fence We also do post driving Please Write To: 261 Wolf Rock Rd. Paradise, PA 17562 Leave Message At 717-442-4784 Call between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. retaining blanket for a chilled calf, and, folded together, a cozy cush ion for sitting on scratchy bales. Tomatoes ripen well under them, cats like to sleep on top of them, and, tied shut with the original feed bag string, garbage holds well inside of them. And they are dog and-cat-damage resistant. Purists who remember uses for real cloth feedbags are no doubt shuddering. Plastic replacements are absolutely useless for stitching into housedresses, pieced quilts, rag rugs or dish-drying cloths. And they’ve rendered the term “burlap bag” obsolete, relegated to lan guage history with the likes of “shoe button hook,” “butter paddle” and “goose grease.” Sociologists have long lamented our becoming a “plastic society.” But, never let it be said that far mers aren’t right up there on the cutting edge. Even in the plastic revolution. Quick Quilting Workshop Come, learn a whole new con cept in quilt making for busy peo ple. Enroll in this workshop, spon sored by the Delaware County Cooperative Extension Service of The Pennsylvania State Universi ty. You can piece a quilt top in'two days. This course will emphasize the use of the rotary cutter and strip quilling by machine. It will be held at the Hunt Club Building at Rose Tree Park, 1521 N. Providence Road, Media, Pa., 19063 on Thursdays, September 24, Oct. 8, 22 and Nov. 5 from 10:00 to noon. To register, send your check for $14.00 made pay able to D.C.E.S. by September 17.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers