Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-26
Ehrntt19 Ul1at


portant hereabouts these days of pre-
paredness as transportation, manufac-
turing, equipment and training, is be-
ing held back considerably in this part
OF pennsylvania by Old Jack Frost
Mr.: Frost put in his foundations so
well last fall and winter that there are
many farms where the turning up OF
the SOIL has been held back and spring
ploughing may be later than for Z
long time. Tests have shown the frost
to have penetrated from one to two
rect in many favorably placed Locations
ana some of the Legislators from north
ern and western counties who arx
here for the session say that they ha,y,
heard OF four and five feet of frosr
being observed. Three feet of frost is
apparently not uncommon in some
sections of the state. With these con-
ditions it is not surprising that there
should be so much mud and that the
farmers should be so held back in
their spring work and the city builder
and the contractor despair of getting
under way to any extent before the
i1rst of April. The frost was so severe
IN many sections and the periods or
thawing and freezing came when there
was SO little snow that the wheat has
undoubtedly suffered in a very year
when all hoped for a big crop. There
are some who are hoping that after
'i LhS oiludIiOIl III regard TO the frost
In the ground and the damage to the
| crops by the hard winter weather,
which had so much snow at the wrong
time, may be like the result of the
| frost on the water. Not for a decade
| nave the rivers and creeks been filed
with SO much ice and not since 1904
were signs so ominous along the
streams. But the ice caps broke and
gorged and either moved on or melted,
because we have not had much trouble
and there is comparatively little ice in
the Susquehanna and little in any of
| its tributaries.
One of the things which must i'm
| press the average city man Who>goes
Tor q ride into thercountry or who
takes q railroad ride through one of
the valleys is the extensive use of lime
as fertilizer. This was caused by tho
abrupt shutting off of the German sup
ply of potash, which like everything
else that the Teutons could corner
| they managed pretty effectually to
control. The country has been unable
to get back to u fertilizer condition
approaching what it was before the
war started and as q result the great
agricultural regions of the State are
turning to lime. 1t is fortunate that
TINS section is SO rich in limestone. In
fact, 1T was the limestone that made
this portion of PENNSYLVANIA so notable
making the Keystone State stand so
well on the roll of agricultural COM
monwealths, Il showing which is re-
markable when one considers its pre-
eminence in manufacturing and min
ing. Now limekiins that have not been
used for years are in operation and
new ones are being built. The num-
Der OF kilns burning lime near this city
would be surprising as the number OF
farmers that are using the product.
If there is one thing which this
Legislature appears to be specially in
terested in it must be weeds. There
are bills of various unusual object in
hand, among them proposed licenses
for cats al ID dogs and some restrictions
on use of automobiles, bells and eX-
plosives, the blowing of sirens and the
emission of smoke, but the weed APP
pears to be the pet object. No less
than seven bills for extinction of weeds
and the consequent encouragement of
agriculture, the increase in production
of foodstuffs and the benefit of the.
farmer are in hand. They would
abolish the blue devil" or chicory, the
wild mustard, the wild parsnip, the
hawkweed and other pests, including
the thistle. In fact, while some bills
vary as to the pests all go after the
thistle. 1t has no friends and it's ban
ishment ought to be carried out with
out new acts. Under the terms of the
last anti-weed bill that beauty of the
tields-the daisy-is to be cut out
along with the wild carrot and the
devils paint brush. The proposed acts
not only Danish the weeds which
charm so many with their flowers and
cause the farmer to say harsh things,
! from the roads and rights of ways of
railroads and trolley lines, but decree
that owners of vacant land and fields
lshall remove them without notice.
In regard to the cat license bill
mentioned it is not such a bad propo-
sition. The idea of licensing a TOM
cat strikes one living in Harrisburg as
almost as absurd as decreeing the cut
ting out from a field near Dauphin OF
q patch of daisies. Yet both are pieces
of legislation of considerable import
ance to the farmer. The trend of the
times is toward increase of production
of foodstuffs. If there is one thing
war may do it is to teach us to rely on
our own things and not to neglect
natural resources of the Susquehanna's
fertile valley and buy stuff produced
in Kansas which will make the profit.
The daisy is one of the worst pests OF
a farmer and is a noXious weed that
helps spoil crops. The cat destroys
more birds than any other agency. The
birds are the greatest benefactor OF
the farmer and the gardener. The bill
for the cat license would not impose u
general State system, but enable each
city or borough to enact an ordinance
for a license for each furred songster
of the night. The measure was pre-
sented by Representative Robert A.
Stoffet, of Easton, and the advantage
is that while Camp Hill might be
plagued with cats and desire to en-
force a license system to thin out those
whose owners did not care enough for
them to pay a dollar it would have
| atItI Ia opifU IN rna a ordinance whtln
Middletown, for instance, not being
bothered, would not require such a