Aio-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 28,1990
OPINION
Happy Earth Week
And Many More
To be sure our planet Earth, has a healthy future people need
to get in touch with the world in which they live.
Often we, especially in agriculture, complain that society is
not in touch with the needs and requirements of farming because
there are so many who are generations removed from working
the earth.
Perhaps the just completed observance of Earth Week will
help change some of that. Maybe nature was seen as it really is—
the only thing within reach in this universe that can sustain life.
The reason for an Earth Week should be to get across to
everyone a sense of permanence permanence, that is defined
as once done, there is no return; like breaking a tooth, losing
hair, growing old . . . destroying a stream, a mountain, a field,
or losing a species.
Earth Week is a symbol to live for tomorrow, to leave an
inheritance for our children and grandchildren.
So what should be done in Earth Week?
Walk.
In order to understand how nature works, it is necessary to see
it, to witness it. The way this can be done is through the senses;
sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste. These are the means by which
the human brain stays in contact with reality.
A ride in a car, even on a horse, is considerably faster than the
normal speed of travel at which man’s senses were designed to
respond well.
At too fast a speed, the eye can not react quickly enough,
things blur, the same is true with smelling and hearing. A blur, a
sensory numbing is, unfortunately what most of us are used to in
these times. Even those who traditionally have been in most
contact with reality are pushed to speeds beyond any reasonable
ability to sense what it happening around them.
Don’t talk.
Talking interferes with the ears. The human voice is loud and
drowns out the sounds of the Earth. Stay quiet and listen to the
songs of the birds, the fowl, dogs, cattle, insects. If you can’t
hear these things, something is wrong.
Keep your mind on the present and don’t bring in self
centered concerns while observing.
Witnessing the here and now is the only way to see what has
been done in the past and what needs to be done for the future.
No songs, spats, memories, or other interests should clog the
brain from doing the best job it can at receiving signals from the
senses.
Also, those who can only see things as they benefit them
selves run a risk of being strongly deluded.
For example, if one man sees a stream void of fish, he may see
it through a perspective that a compromise made in the name of
more jobs and a stronger tax base means better personal and
community health. In effect, that man may go away thinking
everything is fine.
Another may see it as a drainage ditch running clearly and not
in danger of flooding the local banks. Again, he may go away
under the delusion that everything is fine.
A photographer may see the bouncing light and shadows and
shapes and designs. He may walk away thinking it is a great
place, to take photographs.
All three are seeing the same stream, but due to what they
want to make it mean, they will all walk away thinking they saw
something different. Most probably won’t even notice the
absence of fish.
The point is, what really is, isn’t always what we want it to be.
If you want to see it for itself, don’t think about what it is for
you.
Take time to witness the world. It’s all around you,
Happy Earth Week to you and many more.
1/ancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Mam St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Sltlnimn Enu.prmt
Robert G Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor
Ct'itdflM IMS by Lmeistor Farmlif
OEWW ! UNCLE 0713.
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NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Practice
Pesticide Safety
Pesticides are very important to
our highly efficient agriculture.
When used as directed, they repay
our growers with higher, better
quality yields at minimal risk to
our safety and health.
** It’s important to choose the
correct pesticide and application
equipment for your particular
problem.
** Be sure to read and follow
the label directions. Make sure all
co-workers do the same.
** Without fail, use the recom
mended personal protective
equipment to prevent harmful
contact with chemicals.
** Mix accurately and careful
ly. Clean up spills. Return unused
materials to safe storage.
** Triple rinse and drain empty
containers into spray tank.
** Clean the equipment when
you have finished. Don’t smoke or
eat until you have washed and
changed clothing.
** Store pesticides in their
original labeled containers in a
locked cabinet
Let’s have a safe growing and
harvesting season this year.
To Be Alert
For Alfalfa Weevil
Now may be a good time to
begin scouting your alfalfa fields
for weevils, according to Robert
Anderson, Extension Agronomy
Agent. The past two years, wee
vils were seen by this time feeding
on alfalfa that was less than 4
inches tall. With the mild winter
and the number of fields which
were infested last year, alfalfa
growers may have a severe prob
lem this year. The weevil had not
been a problem for many years
Farm Forum
Editor,
I am writing in response to Sec
retary Boyd’s letter concerning
the Department of Agriculture’s
support of the FFA program.
I am sure we are thankful to the
Secretary for the Fair Fund
money. But the issue at hand is
state support for statewide FFA
programs. Those figures he pre
sented makes it seem as if the Pen
nsylvania FFA Association is
(Turn to Page A 34)
after the introduction of a parasite
in the early 1960’5.. After its intro
duction, die parasite had almost
eliminated the weevil.
Unless controlled, the alfalfa
weevil will cause severe losses in
the weight and quality of the first
cutting. Weevils feed within the
plant tips and on the upper leaves
as they open. Leaves will be skele
tonized by the feeding. Damaged
leaves dry rapidly and fields take
on a grayish to whitish cast under
severe feeding.
Control of the alfalfa weevil
should be based on the number of
larva feeding, the height of the
alfalfa, and the cost of the spray.
Penn State has developed a system
of scouting which will determine
the economic threshold based on
the three criteria. If you call your
County Cooperative Extension
Office, they can send you a copy
of “A Pest Management Program
for Alfalfa in Pennsylvania.”
To Prepare
For Soybean Planting
Soybeans should be planted in
warm moist soil. A thermometer
will help you decide when is the
best planting date. Special bay-
A HERESY
OF DEEDS
April 29, 1990
Background Scripture:
1 John 2:18-29
Devotional Reading:
'2 Corinthians 13:5-14,
I’ll have to confess that 1
struggled with this text for a long
time before it said anything to me
- or before I heard it say some
thing to me. John's concern in this
passage, in fact most of the letter,
seems far removed from our own
situation today. He is steamed up
over former Christians who have
become heretics. I wouldn’t sug
gest for a moment that heresy is
not a problem today for the
Church, but that it doesn’t rank at
the top of our concerns. What
John was concerned about was a
heresy called Docetism, a name
taken from the Greek word
‘dokein,’ meaning to seem or to
appear. To make a rather complex
situation simple, the Docetists
believed that Jesus was not really
a physical human being, but only
“seemed” or “appeared” to be. It
was as if God had donned a human
disguise in order to come among
us. This was because they
regarded as the incompatible an
incorruptible and spiritual God
becoming a corruptible and mater
ial person.
THE INCARNATION
Orthodox (meaning approved,
conventional, or approved)
Christianity held that in Jesus both
the divine and human were mani
fest - “fully God and fully man.”
The central mystery of Christiani
ty has always been the paradox of
God and humanity in one person.
The early Christians firmly
ID NOW
ie INTO
BANKER
LOAN...
#1
#
onet type thermometers work very
well.
The ideal temperature is about
62° F. The reading should be
taken at about 8:00 a.m. when the
soil temperature is stabilized. The
thermometer should be inserted at
least two inches in the soil.
Many people planting soybeans
will either end up with too many
plants per acre or too few. This
will happen because they will use
the pounds per acre philosophy
which won’t work for soybeans.
Because soybean seed differs
greatly in size, this also means
they differ greatly in number of
seeds per pound. For example, one
variety may average 2,100 seeds
per pound while another variety
averages 3,100 seeds per
pound...that’s a difference of
1,000 seeds per pound. So, if you
plant a bushel of seed with 85%
germination, that’s a difference of
about 48,000 plants per acre.
The only way to plant beans is
by seeds per foot of row. If a grain
drill is used, three beans per foot
of row is plenty. If a 30 inch com
row is used 8 to 9 beans per foot is
about right.
believed that Jesus was not God
pretending to be human, anymore
than he was a human pretending to
be God.
Actually, my experience in the
church - which, of course, is that
of just one person - has been that,
although Docetism long ago was
denounced as hersey, it is still
very much with us today. Many of
the depictions of Jesus - in print,
in art, on film, and even in ser
mons - are Docetic: that of a God
who only appears to be a man.
Popular conceptions of Jesus
always, it seems to me, stress his
divinity at the expense of his
humanity.
DIVINELY IRRELEVANT
Does that matter? I believe it
does, because a Docetic Christ is
largely irrelevant to human fife. If
we overemphasize the divinity of
Christ, we make him so different
from us that nothing he did or said
seems applicable to us. Jesus
loved even the “worst” of people,
but we can say, “Of course, but
then he was divine!” and that
removes that obligation from us
who are merely human. If Jesus is
to be relevant to us, he must have
known what we know and experi
ence what we experience, includ
ing the terrible pull of temptation.
But Jesus made it clear that his
disciples are to do all that he did, if
need be, to lay down our lives for
others. Actually, the bottom line
of John’s teaching is that deeds are
even more important than beliefs.
“If you know that he is righteous,
you may be sure that everyone
who does right is bom of him” (1
John 2:29). “Does right” takes
precedence over “things right,”
although both do better when they
are equal in our lives.
Ideas and beliefs are important,
because they motivate us in the
choices we make. Heretical ideas
can be very harmful, but even
worse is the heresy of unrighteous
deeds.
(Bated on copyrighted Outlines produced by
the Committee on the Uniform Series and used
by peimusion. Released by Community A Sub
urban Press.)
AND M£, HE’5
GONNA 'OKAV' ANYTHING
X WANT, JUST TO GET
007 OF HIS OFFICE.