A Little Americana (Continued from Pago Alt) Enlarged gift house Recently, Swartz has enlarged the gift house, begun a Morgan horse operation and a carriage ride, and built the “Gem Mill Junc tion,” where visitors can pan for gems at a waterwheel built from material from an old com bam. Swartz said he became involved in conducting tours at Circle L after speaking to a local extension agent The agent “planted a bug” in Swartz's ear. he said. “He said that Penn State has no way to show people anything about agricul ture,” particularly in this area of the state. Also, Swartz recently read an article in Lancaster Farming (“Rep. Stairs Proposes Mandatory Ag Education,” Vem Achenbach, in the May 16 issue). Swartz said he believes that people are becom ing agriculturally ignorant. “Their ag IQ is about zero,” he said. “So I thought that these peo ple from the city, I mean, sure, farm people would End my tour probably somewhat boring... but these people from the city, their ag IQ is zero. They know nothing.” Purina Mills, Inc. congratulates Farm Crest Feeds of Lititz, Penn, on becoming a Purina Mills dealer. Farm Crest will handle the complete line of dairy, hog and animal health products. For more information, give Farm Crest’s Dave Heckel a call at P.O. Box 325, 35 N. Cedar St., Lititz, PA 17543 717-626-0331 1-800-432-3040 45-minute tour The 4S-minute tour describes the farm acreage, the history of the land, and the lineage and charac teristics of Texas Longhorn cattle. “Most of these people coming out here, you know, they think, where do you get beef? Where do you get milk? They have no con ception of where anything comes from.” Swartz said the tour will be geared to the basics of fanning to provide some education into how a cow/calf farm is managed. But Swartz said the ideal tour guide would be a fanner. "It sure would be nice if we had some farmers to give these tours, though, rather than train a guide to do it,” he said. “A guide will just have rote memeory, and he’ll just say what he’s supposed to say.” However, according to the veter inarian (who works at the London derry Animal Hospital in Middle town), a fanner ‘ ‘can interject little things” about personal experience in farming. Simple things ‘ ‘I don’t teU them anything fan cy,” he said. “Just simple things, 717-626-0331. like, animals graze in a pasture. We make hay in this field." Swartz said the Texas Long horns have "a lot of attributes that are very durable and very desir able, that carry into other breeds." Historically, the cattle were introduced into the Southwest by the Spanish. By the 1840 s, there were millions of them running at large in the Southwest, according to Swartz. But because they offer a leaner carcass, and weren’t as beefy looking as some of the other breeds such as the Herefotds, for a time the Longhorns fell into disfavor. “I think the reasons Texas Longhorns are so popular is because they’re highly fertile ani mals,” he said. “They are very easy calvers.” Swartz said because they pro vide a smaller calf, Texas Long horns are used extensively to crossbreed with cattle such as Herefords or Angus. Swartz said the Texas Long horns are known for their foragea bility, also. ‘ ‘On a poor quality for age, they will do very well. “From what I gather, they PURINA MILLS NOUNCES DEALER! <b Used to crossbreed H. the lowest fat and cholesterol beef that’s known.” he said. “Sup posedly, their fat and cholesterol is even lowo* than a skinless piece of chicken.” Swartz said he enjoys giving the tours (which cost $2.50 for adults and $1.50 for children) because “I like to teach. It’s the teaching instinct in me.” Appreciation of farming He said he hopes visitors will Dairy Goat Showcase June 13 LEHIGHTON (Carbon Co.) The Delaware Valley Milk Goat Association (DVMGA), the oldest organized goat club in Pennsylva nia, will be holding their annual Dairy Goat Showcase on Satur day, June 13 at the Carbon County Fairgrounds. There will be shows for bucks, senior does, and junior does along with the Alpine Specialty Show for District n of the American Dairy Goat Association. The DVMGA show has been run annually for more than 40 years. More than 200 of the best are Since 1972 ... The Original And The Largest POURED SOLID CONCRETE START WITH THE BEST! POURED CONCRETE WALLS I You get about 40% more V concrete for your dollar with a poured, solid concrete basement as compared to a hollow core block basement. A poured solid concrete basement weighs about 50 lbs. more per cubic foot! Far denser. What’s more, poured solid concrete walls are monolithic ... there are no joints! This is why laboratory tests show poured, solid concrete base ments have many times the flexural and compressive strength to withstand the side and down pressures caused by earth, wind, water and building loads and the material density to resist water penetration. Best of all, thanks to modern and efficient construction tech niques, poured, solid concrete basements are competitively priced. • Manure Pit Walls • Hog House Walls • Barnyard Walls • Chicken House Walls • Retaining Walls Balmer Bros. CONCRETE WORKS, INC. Invest In Quality - It will last a lifetime. Knotty Fanning, Saturday, Kay 30,1W2-Al9 “come away with some under standing and appreciation of fum ing in America as we know it.” Swartz said he speaks about the area and its many contributions to agriculture. “I just want them to go away with a little bit, maybe, of Amer icana. It’s like panning for gem stones out there. It’s like the caverns. I want them to feel that they’ve learned something when they get off that wagon.*’ dairy goats from five states con verge on the fairgrounds to com pete for the “Best in Show” honors. There will be a raffle table with items donated by crafters and bus iness people as well as crafts and goat-related items for sale. A food wagon from Sublet’s Catering of Lancaster will be on the premises horn morning until close of show. For more information, contact Joan Stump, show chairman (21S) 723-5415 or Lorraine Yankovich (215) 965-9744. 'i v. Solid Concrete For: House Foundation Walls Silage Pit Walls Cistern Walls Concrete Decks Concrete Pit Tops r <9-> S m STORAGE SYSTEM SPECIALISTS 243 Miller Road Akron, PA 17501 (717) 733-0353 6:30 A.M.-3;30 P.M. (717) 859-2074 Afttr 6:00 P.M.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers