Loading...
The Brussels Post, 1976-01-07, Page 13There's enough power here for the toughest jobs. A 16 H.R Briggs and Stratton engine with 4 speed trans-axle variable speeds from 3/4 to 7 MPH. works. when the going gets tough. Convenience features like electric start, dual headlights, adjustable rear wheel spacing and disc brakes make this tractor easy to operate. Synchro-balanced engine for minimum vibration. Two P.T.O. points 1) Universal drive 2) Front engine pulley. High flotation tires — 16" Front and 23" Rear. ' No. 545-414 iummoo FARM SALE 401C34 SALE irrereach PRICE MO I each TIRE CHAINS AND SNOW BLADE ALSO AVAILABLE $: 4 Environment Ontario Researches. redwing blackbird control Ontario ' is experiencing a soaring population explosion -- a redwing blackbird baby-boom the likes of which it has never before seen. Twice as common as house, sparrows, three times as common" as robins, the redwing is now second only to the starling -'in numbers in southern Ontario, The blackbird's curt rejection of the virtues of planned parenthood has meant many things to many people. If you're a bird-watcher, it's meant more to watch. If you're a binocular manufacturer, it may have meant increased sales. But. if you're a corn farmer, it has meant watching your crop literally feeding the problem. The massive spread of large Microwaves being studied for corn drying cornfields in the redwing's wintering grounds in the southern U.S. and in its breeding grounds is the only cause wildlife experts can see for the population explosion. More food. More birds. More harvest culprits. With the increase in crop damage has come an escalation in the ancient rite of bird warfare. Along with traditional control methods have come proposals with more than a little tinge of the bizarre about them. Take for instance the case of the blackbird problem solution that proved to be quite unpalatable. Several years ago, a group of Italian immigrants asked permission from the Ministry of Natural Resources to trap blackbirds at Holland Marsh, north of Toronto. The delicious meat would be a sensation, they argued. But the plan was doomed by an edibility, not a credibility, gap and the Ministry of Natural Resources didn't swallow it. Even had the plan succeeded, it wouldn't have ruffled many feathers in Kentucky fried chicken land. Make no mistake, the control of the redwing blackbird is a top priority in the agricultural community. Research is serious business. A pesticide that has resulted from .that research is avitrol, a solution to a problem, with problems of its own. The first signs of avitrol's handiwork are unmistakable. Soon after eating the treated corn, flight becomes erratic and then impossible for the redwing blackbird, screeching in torment from the chemical pesticide in his body. Death, when it comes, arrives slowly, ending two or three hours of retching and convulsions. There are those who would say society has more important things to do than worry about how we treat undesirable animali. There are those who would say a pest is a pest, and the only thing that matters is that we rid ourselves of it. But there are also those who would• ask, doeS the manner of death mean nothing? Environment Ontario says no. This fall the Ministry established a committee to establish guidelines for , the desirability of pesticides now in use and proposed for the future. Represe nting naturalists, science and government, the committee assessment will be based on both utilitarian and humane principles. By banning pesticides that cause pain to animal or bird pests, the ,MiniStry has assumed the responsibility to provide farmers with acceptable control methods. Research in methods that include, among o thers, electronic squawking devices, is now underway. When Environment Ontario used its authority this fall to ban the sale and use of avitrol in this province, it was merely recognizing two facts: the redwing blackbird is at worst a pest at harvest time and its numbers must be controlled; it is also at least a living creature at all times and that control Must be humane. A • study into methods of reducing the use of fuels in corn drying operations as a means. of . conserving .• energy is being conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food as part of the province's Energy Manage- ment Program. The study involves the use of microwave technology in the drying process and is being carried out by Dr. David Pei, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo. The Ministry estimates the amount of fueTrequired to dry the 1974 grain crop was approximately 1.5 'billion cubic feet of natural gas, as well as nearly 6 million gallons of propane. Dr. Pei expects -the- $3,500 research project to determine the extent of the advantages in using • microwave technology in grain drying. Because the microwaves, would heat up only the kernels of corn and not the air around them, the process should require less energy. In addition, the microwave op-oration should be almost twice as fast as .presesnt methods. Part of Dr. Pei's research will be to adapt a system where corn to be dried is moved by conveyor through a microwave energy field, Other alternatives incorporating ' " microwave technology will also be considered. Results of the research project are expected,in early 1976. They will include documentation of the costs of suitable microwave installations, energy requirements, capacities, operating costs and, prospects for future developments. The microwave drying project is one of several being funded under the Ontario Energy' Management Program which is being coordinated by the Ministry of Energy. The objective of the , EM P is to moderate, by one-third, Ontario's increasing rate of growth in energy consumption. By 1980, EMP officials are looking for a $1 billion reduction per year in total energy expenditures across all sectors. of Ontario's econotriy. Current forecasts indicate that energy spending in Ontario will be greater than $5 billion in 1975, and could double Within five years. reefing ijeiteSe? Out bi eiute? eight itt Taice a walk. .41 We like to ktio*.011( customers by hornet:. • 881-.6453 BELGRAVE BRANCH 357.,2711 UNITED tO,OPERAtIVES- Or ONTARIO THE BRUSSELS 00Sti JANUARY 7, 19T6 -la A big 8 H.F. Briggs & Stratton engine drives this powerful tri-stage Snow Thrower. Two 24" x 10" augers deliver the snow to the high speed third stage impeller. A two Speed automotive type trans- mission allows the operator to breeze through light snow and slow down to deep digging power in heavy, deep snow. Fully geared chute and automotive type transmission with / fprwatd speeds and 2 reverse speeds. Throws snow up to 45 feet, Large 12" prieu- Malin tires complete with chains. No, 545.253 46 995 Oa. 36" SNOWTHROWER ATTACHMENT Mounts easily. on the front engine pulley. Controlled right or left from opera-, tor's seat. Adjustable guides on bottom.