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