AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 6, 1997
OPINION
Any Good Horse Doctor
We smile at the ignorance of our forefathers. Before vaccina
tions and pasteurization were developed, you let blood for a cure.
In a book published in 1957, entitled “History of Veterinary
Medicine in Lancaster County,” we find that centuries ago there
were no trained veterinarians. The neighbor who was “handy”
with animals became the designated animal doctor.
Along with the first settlers came horses and oxen; horses were
preferred. The first animals brought in for food were pigs. The
land was ideal for pigs to scrounge and to root through the areas
not yet cleared. Chickens came next, followed by sheep and
cows.
The favorite breed of cows in those pioneer years was the large
brindle and white cow with long, smooth horns. By today’s stan
dards it would probably resemble an Ayrshire.
The “horse doctor” was the first to gain some rcknown, as he
would usually locate in the cities and cater to the riding and car
riage horses. This person was of little value to the farmer living in
the oulreaches of the county.
Dr. John fireneman (1813-1877) of Mt. Joy rode horseback to
surrounding farms to administer to the needs of horses and cows.
Dr. Henry Freed Breneman (1843-1912) learned under the tutel
age of his father and wrote in his notes about a disease called
“Locked-Joy.”
“Locked-Joy:h\ecd largely, then apply chloroform until he
opens his mouth, and give him 2 drams of acifidity every 6 hours
and a dose of physic. This will relief if there is any cure for him.”
The ignorance of our ancestors was hard to understand until
last week when Knight-Ridder (national) News Service reported
that scientists have now concluded that middlcagcd men who
donate an occasional pint of blood to rid the body of excess iron
are less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, undergo heart
surgery, or require heart medication.
Any good “horse doctor” in the 1800’s could have told you that
letting blood will make you well.
Susquehanna County Holstein
Sale Fairgrounds, Harford,
noon.
Berks County 4-H Fair, Benefit
Auction and Chicken Bar
becue, 4-H Center, fair 9 a.m.-3
Conservation Society of York
County 75th Anniversary,
Indian Steps Museum, Airville,
2 p.m.
Woodland Demonstration Tour,
PP&L Montour Preserve,
Green Township Community Fair,
thru Sept. 13.
Managing Price Risk Using Dairy
Futures, Farm and Home Cen-
ter. Lancaster.
Pasture Walk and Conservation
Tour, Levi J. Fisher, Quarryvil
le, 10 a.m.-noon DST.
Albion Area Fair, Albion, thru
Sept. 13.
Denver Community Fair, Denver,
thru Sept 13.
Sinking Valley Fair, SkelpT thru
Sept. 13.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
mentoring meeting, Ephrata
Berlin Brothersvalley Community
American Gold Cup and Fall Festi
val at Devon, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
thru Sept 14.
❖ Farm Calendars
The Great Frederick Fair Ag-
Stravaganza, thru Sept. 20.
Hinkclfest, Farmer’s Pride Air
port, thru Sept. 14.
Mushroom Festival, Kennctt
Square, thru Sept 14.
Northeast Lamb Pool, Troy Sales
Bam, Troy, grading noon, sale
Schaeffcrstown Harvest Fair, Alc
xander 'Schaeffer Farm
Museum, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Cambria County District Horse
Show, Bedford.
Pasture Management Field Day,
John Rodgers’ Plum Bottom
Dairy Farm, Belleville, 11:30
Beaver Community Fair, Beaver
S ' thru Si 20.
meeting, extension office, 7
p.m.
Carroll County Master Gardener
course, extension office, 9
Farm Science Review, Molly
Caren Agricultural Center,
London, thru Sept 18.
Cooperatives Mean Business
Workshop, the Clarion Holiday
Inn, Clarion, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Harmony Grange Fair, Westover,
Solanco Fair, Quarryville, thru
Sent. 19.
To Keep Cows
Comfortable
As hot as it has been, it is hard
to think about chilling cows.
However, we are entering the sea
son when temperatures may fluc
tuate greatly and rapidly, according
to Glenn Shirk, Lancaster County
Extension Dairy Agent
Many barns are equipped with a
lot of fans to move a lot of air
That works great when tempera
tures arc high But, it may cause
problems if we fail to turn some
of the fans off when temperatures
drop If we are not careful, we
may chill cows and predispose
them to icspiratory problems
Remember, cows benclil horn
lots of fresh air. They also like
coolci tcmperatuics They do not
like cold drafts So, do not turn
off too many fans or close up the
barn too tightly We need to ex
change some air to keep it fresh
and cows healthy
To Test Feeds
As wc come into the haivcst
season, Glenn Shirk, Lancaster
County Extension Daily Agent,
reminds us to locus on forage
quality and the dany herds nutn
lional needs Wc have had an un
usual growing season Growing
conditions varied a lot this ycai
The quality of oui feeds might
vary more than usual To do the
best job feeding the herd and mak
ing the best use of your harvested
crops, be sure to have your ciops
tested. Then work closely with
your nutritionist to be sure the la
lions arc properly balanced Also,
he sure to observe the herd
closely and make adjustments as
nccessaiylo fine tune your rations
To Form Ag Security
Areas
Agriculture in many parts ol
the Commonwealth is under urban
pressure from expanding metro
politan areas. People are moving
to the country with no understand
ing or experience with agriculture
These people believe they arc liv
ing in a residential area instead ol
Food Safety Is Everybody’s Busi
ness Scminiar, St. Joseph’s
University Professional Con
ference Center, Philadelphia, 8
a.m.-4 p.m.
North East Community Fair, North
East, thru Sept. 20.
Oley Valley Community Fair,
Oley, thru Sept. 20.
Pa. Yorkshire Summer Show and
Equipment Show, West
•arm
thru Sept 27
an agricultural industrial area. As
a result, we are seeing more ordi
nances being introduced to inhibit
farming operations and prohibit
expansion of the farm business.
To address this issue, the legisla
ture passed the agricultural area
security law in 1981.
By forming agricultural secu
rity areas, farmers are notifying
people agriculture is the primary
activity. The law requires every
municipality or political subdivi
sion with an agricultural security
area to encourage the continuity,
development and viability of agri
culture within such area by not
enacting local laws or ordinances
which would unreasonably restrict
farm structures or practices includ-
A MESSIAH UNAWARE
September 7, 1997
A MESSIAH UNAWARE
September 7, 1997
Background Scripture:
Isaiah 44:21 through 45:8
Devotional Reading;
Jeremiah 37:1-9
It may come as a surprise to
many Christians to learn that in
the Bible the word “messiah” is
not limited to Jesus Christ.
Meaning literally the
“anointed,” this term appears in
the Old Testament 39 times and is
usually applied to the current king
of Israel of Judah. It relates to the
ancient practice of anointing
someone who was set apart for a
very special role as king or priest
It was only in New Testament
times that the “messiah” was seen
as someone whom God would
send to vindicate Israel. Christians
appropriated this title for Jesus,
the “anointed” translated into
Greek as Christ's and in English
Christ. So Jesus Christ means Je
sus the anointed one.
Now for the biggest surprise of
all: there is even one place in the
Bible, the Old Testament to be ex
act, where the title of messiah is
given to a non-Jew, Isaiah writes:
“Thus says the Lord to his
anointed (Messiah), to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped to
subdue nations before him and un
gird the loins of kings. . (Isaiah
45:1).
So who was this Cyrus? Actual
ly, the Cyrus to whom Isaiah is re
ferring is Cyrus n, 6th century BC
founder and ruler of the Persian
Empire, the largest empire the
world had known. Although he
conquered many lands and people
in putting together his empire, he
was known for his clemency to the
peoples he conquered. In the Old
Testament he is remembered pri
marily because he permitted the
captive people of Israel to return
to Jerusalem.
A REASONABLE TYRANT
Therefore, we can probably call
him a reasonable tyrant or even a
humane conqueror! He killed a lot
of people with his invasions, but
after the lighting was over, he
generally treated his captives rea
sonably well. But that is a big
jump from “humane conqueror” to
God’s “messiah.” In Isaiah 44:28,
the prophet reports that God says
of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd and
shall fulfill my purpose.” Then,
just a few verses later, Isaiah
called Cyrus God’s '‘anointed" or
ing nuisances. Also, state agen
cies must modify their administra
tive regulations and procedures to
encourage the maintenance of vi
able farming in agricultural secu
rity areas. There are no penalties
or added restrictions to farms in
agricultural security areas.
Now is the time to learn more
about agricultural security areas
and consider becoming a part of
one. More information is avail
able at your county Penn State
Coopciativc Extension office. Ag
ncultuial security areas could be
very important in allowing farms
to expand and stay competitive.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote
"Make all your friends feel there is
something special in them."
messiak, in Greek Christos, in
English the Christ.
God speaks to Cyrus at some
length in Isaiah 45:1-8. He tells
Cyrus that it is he, the only true
God, who is enabling him to ex
perience phenomenal military and
political success in putting to
gether his vast empire. The pur
pose is twofold: (1) "for the sake
of my servant Jacob and Israel my
chosen” and (2) “that men may
know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, there is none
besides me; I am the Lord, and
there is no other” (45:6).
So God has “anointed” Cyrus,
not to honor the Persian king, but
for the sake of his own purposes.
God is working in the world
through Cyrus. Through him there
will be a change in the plight of Is
rael an opportunity to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild it, God ful
filling the covenant he made with
Abraham and his descendants. All
this God will accomplish through
Cyrus.
WHY CYRUS?
Did Cyrus know that he was
God’s “anointed?” We cannobbe
certain, but it is very unlikely that
Cyrus knew that God had chosen
him. In fact, Cyrus probably
didn’t even hear God speaking to
him as we find in Isaiah 45:1-8. So
Cyrus, Emperor of the Persians,
was God’s “messiah” even though
he didn’t know it, just as in
Moses’ day God had used the
pharaohs to unconsciously ac
complish his purpose.
But why Cyrus? I believe God
anointed Cyrus to do his will be
cause he was in a position to ac
complish what God wanted. God
chose him, not because he was
necessarily a virtuous man, but be
cause he was in a position of pow
er. I also believe God anointed
him because, whether or not Cyrus
knowingly heard his voice, God
knew that the Persian king was
open to his influence. There must
have been in Cyrus’ personality
some opening through which God
could work.
All of this serves to remind us
that God docs not sit back and
watch history unfold; his is part of
it, working often through servants
who are unaware that they are
serving him. He is the Lord of his
tory. And, as the saying goes, "He
can strike a mighty blow with a
crooked stick.” The “crooked
stick” doesn’t have to be aware!
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main SL
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newawanger Managing Edltoi
Copyright 1997 by LanctuUr Satijng' -