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
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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.