It’s one of those earthy fra grances that instinctively identi fies itself. Not quite as pungent as well-aged stable manure hauled on a damp morning. Not quite as subtle as the odor of earthworms after a warm rain. Not soothing like a whiff of pine or the clean scent of moss-covered forest floor. Our son labels it “gross.” The Farmer jokingly calls it “ground” meat. I prefer to consider it the fine fragrance of promise, thank you. Admittedly, the distinctive aro ma of sterilizing soil wafting out of the kitchen comes up short of that of chocolate cake or roasting chicken or a cheese-smothered pizza ready to exit the oven. Purchased potting soil would eliminate sterilizing my own. But the manure and organic-matter rich soil available outside the back door—literally—is plentiful and free. In pre-microwave years, I would bake it for an hour or so in the oven, during which time the distinctive aroma of baking soil permeated the whole house, while weed seeds and disease-causing microorganism hopefully met their end. A microwave oven makes the procedure much quicker. Then, the plastic-enclosed container of steaming soil is plunked immedi ately on the back porch to cool. 26th ANNUAL SPRING SALE 10% DISCOUNT SALE: HARDWARE - TOOLS - PAINTS - OIL • PIPE FITTINGS ■ PEERLESS BATTERIES - RED BRAND FENCING ■ WHEELBARROWS • EXPRESS WAGONS 32 In. Ftnet Wlra, 6 In. Stay slo6*° 39 In. Fanea Wlra, 6 In. Stay ,'sl22 M 47 In., 6 In. Stay sl39°° 47 In. 6 In. Stay, Solid No. 9 s2lo°° 19 Ft Hog Panala $l6“ 16 Ft. Cattla Panala 12 Ga. 4 Point Barb Wlra.... High Tanalla Barb Wlra.. High Tamil* Wire 2000 ft. roll* s36°° 4000 ft. roll* ..s6s°° 200 FI. Houm Wlra si67°° K«*p Sal* Diamond Horaa Wlra 105 Ft. Rolls We Have Special Prices On Poly Wire ft Tape. All Styles Of Post Fences For Gracing Purposes. HOT BEDS ,ft DOG KENNELS RECONDITIONED MAKITA DRILL SET • Cordless Drill w/Case • Battery a • Charger Thus, the “gross” scent has little time to poke its way around the house. This season’s first batch of soil dutifully went from the micro wave to the porch, where it was left sit overnight and where the container promptly froze to the picnic table as the Arctic bombed us with a glacial air mass. One warm afternoon several days later finally thawed it out and set my fingers itching to plant something. Anythingl T’was but a few days until the first seedlings were poking through the ground, nudged by the gentle warmth utilized by placing the flat of damp potting soil on the hot-water heater in the basement. So much for fancy seed-starting equipment. Since the greenhouse is kept at barely plant-maintenance temperatures during cold weather, the two-leafed babies were snug gled onto the west windowsill in the living room, to bask in warm, afternoon sunshine. The sun does still shine. And will more fre quently soon. We promise. Our first windowsill infants are of the Purple Coneflower genre, a perennial which is reputed to thrive in hot, dry places and bloom the summer long, once estab lished. Purple coneflowers are similar to die bright yellow glori osa daisies, except they are March 4 to March 23, 1996 RED BRAND WIRE 10% Off Of These Prices .....$17 ,# .....s4s°° .....$29“ •237“ A few plants of Early Girl and Big Girl (sounds like a feminist plot), plum-shaped Enchantment (the first and last tomato {ricked from our garden last year - seeds available by catalog from Pinetree Garden Seeds, Box 300. New Gloucester, Maine 04260) and a couple of stalks of Long Keeper should keep ustfresh-iomatoad dicts seeing red f.om June through early December. All for a couple dollars worth of seeds. Where else can you get a bargain like that? Time lo “grow" up the kitchen again with another batch of steam ing soil. There’s a packet of Butter crunch Lettuce seeds downstairs calling my name. Baler Twine Special $20.95 Nat Par Bala l New Holland Ar|H i f **»##**#***#»»»< 111111111 20% ON $lOO.OO WORTH OF PAINT, PAINT SUPPLIES AND LADDERS EXTRA SPECIAL 2% OFF Entlra Involct If Total Is Ovar $l2OO Must Ba 1 Chtck and Good By March 26, 1996. March 4. 5, 6 - FREE DRINKS & COOKIES ft Valuable Gilts on Totals Over $5OO SQUARE TUBING GATES 4’ - $38.00 10’ - $52.00 16’ - $67.00 6’ - $44.00 12’ ■ $57.00 18’ - $78.00 8' - $47.00 14* - $63.00 20* - $BB.OO CARRIAGE & MACHINE BOLTS NUTS & WASHERS SPECIAL PRICE 95 £ lb. NET BY THE POUND well, you know, purple. They’re a plant I’ve wanted to try fix several years and will be this year’s an nual, new-plant experiment And on his stop at the Agway store recently. The Farmer picked up my requested pack of Heinz #1370 tomato seeds. This is a can ning tomato, which I stumbled across by accident a few years ago. It*s medium-sized, solid, meaty yields nearly all ripen at the same time, mid-to-late August. So, I can "put up’’ our winter to mato needs within a week or two and not be still buried under bask ets of ripe tomatoes when more important things like silage harvest and the York Fair are under way. (Full It Half Slzaa) Ida’s Notebook Ida Risser Recently, I reread an aunt’s 1904 diary to see what she did that winter on the farm. Mostly, I picked out differences between then and now. They baked their own bread and made 30 pounds of butter at a time. The upstairs was swept with a broom and after butchering hogs, they “fried up sausage.” Now I’ll admit that I too have “fried up meat” but then I canned it rather than covering it with lard in a crock. One day die aunt and her mo ther “cut our aprons” and also cut up material for rag carpet. There were tradesmen who turned the rags into colorful floor coverings. The men on the farm cut and hauled ice to the ice cellar. They stripped tobacco and then sold it for TA 0 a pound. Church was attended every Sunday and many funerals were noted in the diary. Time was also spent at a local lyccum or public lecture. There was a Literary So ciety in the community too. And, spelling bees bcoi Check These Warranty Features: ■ 50-Year Protection Against snow-load damage to the structure with no weight limit. ■ 50-Year Protection Against decay or insect attack on preservative treated columns and preservative treated lumber. ■ 20-Year Protection Against red rust including damage caused by atmospheric pollutants. ■ 10-Year Protection Against wind load damage to our optional AlumaSteel® sliding doors with no wind velocity limit. ■ 5-Year Protection Against wind load damage to the structure with no wind velocity limit. All warranties include materials and labor and are not prorated. 717/624-3331 908/454-7900 3368 York Rd., P.0.80x 126, Gettysburg, PA 17325 Phillipsburg, NJ 08801 Call or write today lor more Information 1-800-447-7436 i'ooo °26660G Un&»t»f J ttrtfrnfl, Saturday. Uifeh % tnWj hoods together. A new cook stove was ordered and housecleaning was started by cleaning the garret. Later in the spring they moved the kitchen to the summerhouse in order to keep the house cool. The garden was dug and manure put on before planting potatoes. During this time, many uncles and aunts visited together with cousins. They not only came for meals but stayed overnight And, when someone was ill, the rela tives came to sit with the patient They traveled by horse and car riage on muddy roads as that was the accepted method of transporta tion. The lady who wrote this diary was 20 years old in 1904. Little did she know that she wotdd live to be over 100 years old and see many changes not only in travel but in housekeeping methods too. Electricity brought many changes and made work easier, although, I would guess, they were as happy MORTON BUILDINGS Since 1903
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers