AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 6,1990
OPINION
Look At The Trees
Days that are clear and sunny and the nights that are cool and crisp
provide a spectacular show of autumn colors, making this season
of the year delightful.
Scientists do not yet fully understand all of the complicated actions
and even more complicated interactions involving pignments,
sunlight, moisture, chemicals, hormones, temperature, length of day
light, and so on that make for a perfect autumn display. As research
probes deeper and deeper into the basics of life, more and more
answers will be forthcoming.
According to Robert Leiby and David Sunbar in the Lehigh Co.
agents office, the leaves of summer are characteristically green
because of the presence of a group of pigments known as chloro
phylls. When the chlorophylls are abundant in the leaf’s cells, as they
are during the growing season, their green color dominates and masks
the colors of any other pigment that may be present in the leaf.
As autumn approaches, certain influences both inside and outside
the plant cause the chlorophylls to be replaced at a slower rate than
they arc being broken down. During this period, with the total supply
of chlorophylls gradually dwindling, the “masking effect” slowly
fades away. Then the other pigments that have been present (along
with the chlorophylls) in the cells during the growing Season begin to
show through. These are the carotenoids; they give leaves the colora
tions of yellow, brown, orange, and the many hues in between.
The carotenoids occur, along with the chlorophyll pigments, in tiny
structures within the cells of leaves. Sometimes they are in such abun
dance in the leaf that they give a plant a yellow-green color, even dur
ing the summer. But usually we become aware of their presence for
the first time in autumn, when the leaves begin to lose their chloro
phyll. Carotenoids are common in many living things, giving charac
teristic color to carrots, com, canaries and daffodils, as well as egg
yolks, rutabagas, buttercups and bananas.
Carotenoids’ brilliant yellow and orange tint the leaves of hard
wood species such as hickories, ash, maple, yellow-poplar, aspen,
birch, black cherry, sycamore, cottonwood, sassafras, and alder.
The reds, the purples, and their blended combinations that decorate
autumn foliage come from another group of cell pigments called
anlhocyanins. These pigments are not present in the leaf throughout
the growing season as are the carotenoids. The anlhocyanins develop
in late summer within the cells of the leaf, and this development is the
result of complex interactions of many influences both inside and out
side the plant. Their formation depends on the breakdown of sugars in
the presence of bright light as the level of phosphate in the leaf is
reduced.
During the summer growing season, phosphate is at a high level. It
has a vital role in the breakdown of the sugars manufactured by
chlorophyll.
But in the fall, phosphate, along with the other chemicals and nutri
ents, moves out of the leaf into the stem of the plant. When this hap
pens, the sugar-breakdown process changes, leading to the production
of anthocyanin pigments. The brighter the light during this period, the
greater the production of anthocyanins and the more brilliant the
resulting color display that we see. When the days of autumn are
bright and cool, and the nights are chilly but not freezing, the bright
est colors usually develop.
In our autumn forests, anthocyanins show up vividly in the maples,
oaks, sourwood, sweetgum, dogwood, tupelo, blackgum and persim
mon. These same pigments often combine with the carotenoids’ col
ors to give us the deeper "orange, fiery reds, and bronzes typical of
many hardwood species. So take a little time in the next few weeks to
look at the trees. The beauty of nature is an ever present sedative for
the soul in those who are sensitive to the environment around them.
Farm Calendar
World Dairy Expo, Sheraton Inn,
Madison, Wis., thru Oct. 7.
New Holland Farmers Fair.
KILE, Farm Show Building, Har
risburg, thru Oct. 8.
Feeders and Breeders Field Day,
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E Mam St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stamman Entarpnaa
Robert G Campbell General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
C*fffit ( lit IHO ty Laneaator Farmln|
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Chapel Ridge Farms, Geltys-
World Dairy Expo, Sheraton Inn,
Madison, Wis.
KILE, Farm Show Building, Har
risburg, thru Oct. 8.
National 4-H Week, Oct. 7-13.
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NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Be Careful
Around Manure Pits
This is the time of year that
many liquid manure pits will be
cleaned out and spread on the
land; the crops have been
harvested and the ground is open
enough to absorb much of the liq
uid; this is necessary rather than to
apply it on frozen ground. After
application, a pass over the field
with a disc will reduce the possi
bility of odors a great deal.
When these pits are emptied
there is a danger of poisonous
gases being present. If the mixture
is agitated before being moved
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider Dairy Farms,
Manheim, noon.
KILE, Farm Show Building,
Harrisburg.
National 4-H Week, Oct. 7-13.
Manheim Community Farm
Show, thru Oct. 12.
Penn State Income Tax Prepara
tion Workshop, Farm and
Home Center, Lancaster, thru
Oct. 9.
43rd annual conference of the Pa.
Association of Conservation
Districts and SCC, Embers
Convention Center, Carlisle,
thru Oct. 10.
Delmarva Poultry Industry annual
meeting, Dclmar, Md.
National 4-H Week, Oct. 7-13.
Manheim Community Farm
Show, thru Oct. 12.
Penn Stale Income Tax Prepara
tion Workshop, Farm and
Home Center, Lancaster.
43rd annual Conference of the Pa.
Association of Conservation
Districts and SCC, Embers
Convention Center, Carlisle,
thru Oct. 10.
Dairylca Cooperative Inc. annual
meeting, Sheraton Inn, Elec
tronics Parkway, Liverpool,
National 4-H Week, Oct. 7-13.
Manheim Community Farm
Show, thru Oct. 12.
43rd annual Conference of the Pa.
Association of Conservation
(Turn to Page A 36)
WMAT SORT
oFFmrs?
then good ventilation must be pro
vided above the pit. Also, never go
into a pit without a gas mask or
some type of respirator. Keep in
mind that these gases can be
explosive as well as poisonous to
man and animals. Special care is
needed in and around manure pits.
To Salute 4-H
National 4-H Week runs from
October 7 through October 13. I
wish to congratulate the over
4,000 members and nearly 600
volunteer adult leaders, and the
professional youth workers for
their accomplishments and service
to Lancaster County.
Through 4-H projects and activ
ities, youth from all social and
economic backgrounds, both rural
and urban, demonstrate that they
can make a difference in food pro
duction, conservation of our
natural resources, improve eco
nomic understanding, and in the
formulation of future career
decisions.
As a result of the fine exchange
programs, 4-H also contributes to
international understanding and
increased world food production.
Four-H provides an important
pathway to the future for many
youth through their motto “To
Make The Best Belter.”
To Beware Of
Grazing Hazards
Dairy farmers who are grazing
their milking herds in woodlots, or
GOD CALLING!
October 7,1990
Background Scripture:
2 Kings 9: 1-13
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 20.
This story is more than it seems.
It appears to be the story of God
calling Jehu. But it is really much
more than that. It is also about
God’s call to everyone and par
ticularly to you.
The first person we encounter is
Elisha the prophet. He had been
called by God to become the suc
cessor to the prophet Elijah, who
symbolically had passed on his
mantle to him. The message from
God came first of all through Elis
ha. He was called to transmit that
message and he did.
The next person in the story is
listed simply as “one of the sons of
the prophets” and identified only
as “a young man.” He is given a
vitally important and perhaps even
dangerous mission. (We’re not
sure why Elisha warned him to
deliver his message and “then
open the door and flee,” but he
was probably fearful that either
some would reject this command
from God.) Although he fulfills
his mission and is successful, still,
his name is not recorded for us.
And that’s the way it is very often;
WELL, save NEW
BALING- WIPE.
PAPERCLIPS,
ELECTRIC TAPE,
CHEWING GOtA
<"V»
in pastures with oak trees, should
be on the alert for fallen acoms.
Our Veterinary Science people tell
us that acoms are somewhat toxic
to cattle and will dry up most cows
for the rest of their lactation. We
are aware of many oak trees in
pastures, and in most years there
will be a pretty 'good acorn crop.
If the cows start eating these
acoms, then the milk flow will be
reduced drastically. Either cows
should be removed from the area,
or someone should pick up the
acoms before the cows are turned
each day.
To Apply
Lime
First, soil test, then apply the
needed lime before the soil
freezes. That 1-2 order of events
should have a high priority now as
we finish one growing season and
plan ahead for the next.
In order to do its job of correct
ing soil acidity, lime must come in
contact with the soil particles, not
just those on the soil surface.
Weather changes during the next 6
months will provide just the right
conditions to do lots of mixing of
lime and soil within the topsoil
layer. Freezing and thawing, rain,
snow and ice, help to move the
lime downward.
During the fall season fields are
firm and usually dry enough to
allow lime spreading trucks to
move about more easily.
it is the mission God gives us, not
personal recognition, that is truly
important. How many missions
for God have been performed in
this world by people whose names
have been lost to posterity!
RELUCTANT JEHU
The third person in this story is
Jehu, the army commander. The
writer is careful to indicate that
Jehu was a hesitant or even reluc
tant candidate. When, at first, the
young prophet arrives in Ramolh
gilead and approaches the army
commanders, Jehu asks him:
“Which of us all? (9:5). And later,
when the prophet has annointed
him king and left, when the others
ask him what the prophet wanted,
Jehu stalls a bit; “You know the
fellow and his talk” (9:11). It is
only when they insist that he re
veals to them that the prophet has
annointed him King of Israel. Jehu
was satisfied to be an army com
mander; he wasn’t looking for a
bigger job, as often neither are we.
That is not the end of God’s
calling in this story; “Then in
haste every man of them took his
garment, and put it under him on
the bare steps, and they blew his
trumpet and proclaimed, ‘Jehu is
king’.” If Elisha, the anonymous
prophet and Jehu had all answered
God’s call and the people had not
accepted their new king, God’s
plan would have been dealt a set
back. Sometimes his call to us is
to follow the leadership he sends
us.
So each of us must stay alert so
that we too can know when it is
God calling us!
(Bated on copyrighted Outlines produced by
the Committee on the Uniform Senes and used
by permission Released by Community ft Sub
urban Press.)
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