AiO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 19, 1994
OPINION
Many Reasons To Be Thankful
Thanksgiving day was supposedly started by the Pilgrims. And
that’s true. In 1621 a Thanksgiving day was held. Actually, it was
for three days. But the day was not proclaimed nationally until
1789, and then it was not a regular festivity at a specific time until
about 100 years later.
The proclamation for the first Thanksgiving day was issued in
1789 by George Washington when he entered office. He repeated
the call in 1795. But to become a regular national holiday took
some time. Some political leaders, including Thomas Jefferson,
did not like the idea. In addition, many state governors didn’t sup
port it because they thought it was civil interference with religion.
But Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of the Boston-based Ladies
Magazine, is credited with keeping public attention on the issue
until on Oct. 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the fourth
Thursday in November as “henceforth a day of thanksgiving and
praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
Commercialism got in the way when Franklin Rooselvelt set
aside the third Thursday as Thanksgiving in 1939 and 1940 to
give more time to buy Christmas presents and prepare for the
Christmas rush. But mostly since the official begining in 1863,
the fourth Thursday of November has been the official yearly day
of Thanksgiving just as Sarah Hale proposed.
And this year it happens again next Thursday. Join us as we
remember our many blessings. We have a lot of reasons to be
thankful.
Farm Calendar
Mercer County Holstein Associa
tion annual meeting, extension
office, Mercer, 7:30 p.m.
1994 Equine Expo and Trade
Show, Days Inn Conference
Center, Allentown.
Delmarva Forestry Seminar, Che
sapeake College, Wye Mills,
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Md. Polled Hereford Association
24th Annual Red, White, and
Blue Sale, Frederick County
Fairgrounds, 1 p.m.
Lehigh Valley Horse Council
Annual Expo and Trade Fair,
Days Inn Conference Center,
Rt. 22 and 309.
G-Bread House Competition,
Quality Lebanon, 10
a.m.-4 p.m.
Lebanon County pesticide test,
extension office. 9 a.m.
Octorara Young Farmers Associa
tion pesticide meeting, Octora
ra High School Ag Ed Room,
7:30 p.m.
Fayette County DHIA meeting.
Lancaster County Ag-Industry
Banquet, Host Resort Inn, 7
p.m.
Franklin County Farm-City Ban
quet, Kauffman’s Community
Center, 6:45 p.m.
York County DHIA meeting,
Shrewsbury Fire Hall, 7 p.m.
Lebanon County DHIA meeting,
Myerstown Brethem Church, 7
p.m.
Perry County DHIA meeting,
Landisburg Fire Hall. 7 p.m.
Northwest Pa. Holstein Show and
Sale meeting, Mercer, 10:30
a.m.
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Lehigh Valley Horse Council
meeting, Whitehall Mall Com
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Summit On Risk Management In
American Ag, Omni Shoreham
Hotel, Washington, D.C., 7:45
Westmoreland County Extension
dinner meeting, Lakeview
Liquid Manure Application Sys
tems, Rochester Marriott Thni
way Hotel, Rochester, N.Y.,
thru Dec. 2.
Beaver County DHIA meeting,
Estate Planning Seminar, Colum
bia Inn, Columbia, Md., 9
National 4-H Youth Congress,
Orlando, Fla., thru Dec. 8.
Estate Planning Seminar, Howard
Johnson Plaza Hotel, Hager
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Brynwood Inn, Lewisburg.
Intensive Grazing For Dairy Cows
Seminar, Franklin County
extension, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Lehigh County annual meeting.
Bake Oven Inn, Germansville,
Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Exten
sion Meeting (MACE), Univer
sity of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Sinbad’s Restaurant, Wysox.
Lancaster County DHIA meeting.
Good and Plenty Restaurant,
11:30 a.m.
Berks County DHIA meeting, 4-H
Center, Leesport, 7 p.m.
To Evaluate
Alfalfa Stands
Most fanners evaluate the con
dition of their alfalfa stands in the
spring.
University specialists in Minne
sota and Wisconsin recommend
assessing stands in the fall to give
more time for planning. Fall
checks also allow farmers to evalu
ate weed control needs.
Spring stand evaluations are still
needed to assess winter damage.
Identifying less profitable fields or
fields likely to suffer winter injury
in the fall gives farmers time to
change fall tillage and cropping
strategies before spring.
The specialists recommend a
two-step process to evaluate
stands. Use stem counts to esti
mate current yield potential and
check crown and root health to
determine future yield potential.
To Determine
Alfalfa Yield
Potential
To make a stem count to deter
mine current yield potential, select
three or four representative areas
of a field and mark off a two square
foot section in each area. Count
only stems that are over two inches
tall. Then divide your count by two
to calculate stems per square foot
Then calculate the average stem
count for the field to determine
yield potential.
Counts with more than 55 stems
per square foot means stem density
will not limit yield. Counts of 40 to
Bradford-Sullivan Forest Land
owners Association directors
meeting, extension office, 7:30
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Berks county Ag Center,
Lecsport.
Wayne County DHIA meeting,
Bethany Church, Honesdale,
7:45 p.m.
Clinton County DHIA meeting,
Big Wrangler, Mill Hall, 11:30
a.m.
Extension Strategies For Dairy
Farms National Conference and
Trade Show, Turf Valley Hotel,
Ellicott City, Md., thru Dec. 9.
Adams County DHIA annual
meeting. Fire Hall, Hamey,
Md., 7 p.m.
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Quality Inn, Carlisle.
Centre County DHIA meeting,
Logan Grange, Pleasant Gap, 7
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Lancaster Farm and Home
Center.
PennAg Nutrient Management
Seminar, Eden Resort Inn, Lan
caster, 10 a.m.-noon.
Armstrong County DHIA meet
ing, Bonello, 11 a.m.
SS probably will result in some
yield reduction. Stem densities
between 35 and 40 may warrant
consideration for replacing the
stand.
To evaluate the crown and root
health of a stand, dig plants from
three or four representative field
locations. Be sure to include the
top 6 inches of the root Examine
crowns for size, symmetry, and the
number of shoots present. Then cut
the root lengthwise and check for
crown and root discoloration or
rot.
Categorize the plants as follows:
0. healthy, 1. some discoloration,
2. moderate discoloration or rot, 3.
significant discoloration or rot, 4.
greater than 50 percent discolora
tion, and 5. dead.
Healthy stands have fewer than
30 percent of plants in categories
3,4, and 5. Plant health becomes a
major consideration in marginal
stands. For example, healthy
stands with 40 stems per square
foot may be worth keeping while
similar a stand with a high percen
tage of discolored crowns and
| BY LAWRENCE W ALEHOUSE
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PROSPERITY AND PIRTUi
November 20,1994
Background Scripture:
I Kings 9:1-9; 10:1-24
Devotional Reading:
Proverbs 3:5-15
In much of the Old Testament
it is obvious that prosperity is
linked to virtue. The good pros
per, the sinner does not. Prosperi
ty is a sign of virtue; poverty is an
indication of sin. (It was in contra
diction to this idea that the Book
of Job was written).
That Old Testament idea is still
quite prevalent today. I frequently
find that religious movements are
judged “successful” if they are
materially prosperous and vice
versa. In fact, their material pros
perity is regarded as a sign of
God’s favor and blessing. Televi
sion evangelists dress like movie
stars and live a material life-style
that is not second to “the rich and
the famous.”
There’s nothing wrong with
prosperity per se. It is said by reli
gious historians that because the
poor people of England responded
positively to the preaching of John
Wesley, they became industrious
and eventually achieved a modest
prosperity along with their piety.
But with their material prosperity
came the temptations of prosperi
ty. Whereas piety led to prosper
ity, prosperity had also led at
times back to impiety.
BEGINNING HUMBLE
We can see the seeds of this
kind of situation in the story of
King Solomon. He begins as a
upright king, whose
piety seems to be rewarded with
immense prosperity and fame. His
wisdom and affluence were by
words throughout the known
world. It was this reputation that
brought the fabled Queen of
Sheba to see him.
In 1993 my wife visited
Yemen on the southern coast of
the Arabian Peninsula. Visiting
the ancient and exotic interior city
of Sana’a, we were told that it was
the historic capitol of the ancient
kingdom of Sheba and that it was
probably from there that the
Queen of Sheba set out on her
journey to King Solomon. Spices,
precious stones and gold are still
roots would not.
To Be Thankful
Thursday marks our national
holiday of Thanksgiving. It is a
time for us to give thanks for the
many blessings we have espe
cially the blessings of family and
health.
Take time and spend it with
family and recount memories of
the past, joys of the present, and
the hopes of the future. Look at the
positive things in life the smile
of a child, birth of an animal, the
bountiful harvest of crops, and the
other miracles of nature. Look for
ways to help families, friends, and
community.
Surprise someone with a visit or
help a neighbor, or even better, get
to know a neighbor better.
Let’s use this Thanksgiving as a
time to celebrate the joy of being a
member of a loving and caring
family and being a good neighbor.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Feather Profs Footnote: “In
the race to be better or best do not
miss the joy of being."
important trade items in the camel
Caravans that cross Yemen’s
deserts. (That some scholars dis
pute Yemen as the site didn’t
make the visit any less exciting
for us.)
For some reason, the Queen of
Sheba has always been a rather
mysterious figure in Middle East
ern legends. To the Arabs she was
known as Bilkis and to the
Ethiopians her name was Makeda.
One legend has it that Solomon
fathered a child by Sheba and that
this child is the foundation of the
royal lineage of Ethiopia. Other
legends indicate that King
Solomon, and perhaps the Queen
of Sheba, were involved in gold
trade with the exotic Mashona
land, the ruins of which can still
be seen in the African nation of
Zimbabwe.
PROSPERITY BREEDS
ARROGANCE
Whatever else the Queen of
Sheba was or represented in the
time of King Solomon, her pur
pose in I Kings 10 is obviously to
emphasize the legendary wealth
and acclaim of Solomon and his r
kingdom. Solomon was more than
equal to all the hard questions she
posed to him and his brilliant
answers literally took her breath
away . .there was no more spirit
in her...” (10:5). He was even
more impressive than his reputa
tion: “...but I did not believe the
reports until I came and my own
eyes had seen it; and behold, the
half was not told me; your wis
dom and prosperity surpass the
report which I heard”(lo:s6).
At this point the Queen of
Sheba ascribes Solomon’s fame to
the right source: “Blessed be the
Lord your God, who has delighted
in you and set you on the throne of
Israel!”As long as Solomon didn’t
believe his own press notices and
continued to give the credit to
God, he would be alright.
But, unfortunately, power and
prosperity often corrupt us, turn
ing humility to pride and pride
into arrogance. And arrogance
seldom rears its head without
causing our fall and ruin.
Lancaster Fanning
Established 1955
Publlshad Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main SL
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Laneaatar Farming, Ino.
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Hobart Q. Campbell Ganaral Managar
EvaM R. Nawmangtr Managing Edtor
Canrrighl iae4 by Uncaaur Farming