R.3T0BLER-

"What

do

you mean

^it'sdeep?It'snot evenupto

my

knees."

TheNational

FUTURE FARMER

Two

of the poinsettias grown by students.

From

left: Tim Moore, student;

Herbert Lackey, instructor;

Mark

Beaty, student and Charles Arnold, instructor.

Growing a Useful Product

By Sue

Little

POINSETTIAS—

^{about 1,200 of}

them

^{in red, white and} pink with blooms of nineto 12 inchesin diameter

—

were sold last Christmas season by vocationalagricultural studentsofBrad- ley Central High School in Tennessee.

The

students potted the plants the last

week

in August, putting two plants in each ^pot. Their instructors

who

say they "reallyenjoy our jobs" areCharles Arnold and Herbert Lackey.

"You

can't believe the

amount

of

work

our vo-ag students do," Lackey

says. "In caringfor the poinsettias, they even

came

to school on weekends.

Some

people say

now

that

young

people won't work. It just is not true.

The

stu- dents here are nice people, they

work

hard and they're interested inlearning."

The

reason poinsettias are

grown

each holiday season, Arnold says, is "to give students experience in growing a useful product. We're not competing with any commercial suppliers," he

says, "because

we

can't beginto supply area needs.

What we

aredoing ^is train- ing andeducating students and creating an interest in horticulture."

Explaining the methods used to pro- duce the enormous blooms and healthy green plants. Lackey says that after the N.F.

Hegg

poinsettiaswere growingfor three weeks, they were 'pinched' back

to create adwarfed, low, compactplant.

"We

also fed them each time they were watered," he adds, "and

we

used black plastic to keep out the light and cause the leaves to turn to red.

The

rule is that if it is light enough to read a newspaper where the plants are lo- cated then it istoo light."

August-September, 1976

The

temperature mustalsobe closely regulated. Plants were started in a 68 degree climate which was kept at 58 degrees after blooming began.

"When

people

came

in to buy the Christmas plants," Lackey says, "they would think they wanted only one, but after seeing our 'sea of red' would pur- chase four or five, so

we

were soonsold out."

Four

years ago, students at Bradley built the entire nursery facility at the school, including constructing a green- house, pouring concrete, installing con- duit, the heating and cooling system, laying a brick patio and doingthe land- scaping. "Three other school systems are

now

trying to duplicate our facili- ty," Arnold says.

An

area has also been set aside next tothegreenhousefor a propagation bed wherestudents raise holly,red barberry,

mugho

pines, dwarf pyracantha and

many

otherdwarfshrubs from cuttings.

In the spring, theywill raise a variety of bedding plants, including begonias, ferns, spider plants, tomato plants and othervegetables, which will be sold be- ginning in April.

About

190 students are enrolled in theseven vocational agriculture courses where greenhouse management, nursery management, productive agriculture, mechanics

A

and

B

(which emphasizes electricity and welding), landscape de- sign, agricultural science and agricultur- al suppliesand services are offered.

The

school's

FFA

chapter is rated

"among

the top in the nation."

They

have

won

gold medals almost ever>' year since 1963.

Learn at

Home.

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67

On

the first day of kindergarten, a ^5- year-oldboy was nervous and upset and wanted to talk to his

mommy. A

^teach-

er helped him place a telephone call to his mother, but

when

his mother an- swered the phone, he was too insecure to speak right away. So the mother, on the other end of the line, said: "Hello, ii7;ois this?"

"This isyourson," said thelittle boy, bursting intotears.

"Have

youforgotten

me

already?"

Mary G. Noblitt DeUind, Florida

Q:

What

has fourlegsandflies?

A:

Two

pairs ofpants.

Les Hershey Kirkwood, Pennsylvania

"Well, son.

how

do youlikehang gliding?"

She was only a moonshiner's daugh-

ter, but I loved her still.

Nancy Trafford Leslie, Michigan

I wanted to be a photographer, but nothing developed.

John F.

Lamb

Stanardsville, Virginia

The

ship was sinking rapidly.

The

Captain called out.

"Anyone

here

know how

to pray?"

One man

stepped for- ward, ^"/do, Captain." "Good," said the Captain, "youpray

and

therest willput on li/e preservers. We're one short."

Joyce Blosser

New

Lexington, Ohio Restaurant patron to waiter:

"Two

eggs, please. Don't fry them a second after the whi'' is cooked. Don't turn them over.

Not

^, ^

much

grease. Just a pinch of salt.

No

:>"pper. Well, what are you waiting for?'

Waiter: "The hen's

name

is Eleanor.

Is that allright?"

Charles Back Zephyrhills, Florida

One

winter morning, the

man

heard his neighbor trying unsuccessfully to start her car.

He

went outside and asked, "Did you try choking it?"

"No," she replied, gritting her teeth,

"but Isurefelt like it."

Galen Wetzel Arcanum, Ohio Q:

How

did Jonah feel

when

the whale swallowed him?

A:

He

felt

down

in the mouth.

Betsy Sorrells Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee

Hear

aboutthedairyfarmer

who

quit farming to

become

a minister?

When

asked the reason for the switch in pro- fessions he curtly replied, "I've been pastorized."

Keith A. Chike

New

Albany, Indiana

A

young

man

saw a middle-aged

man

bending over an old

woman who

appeared to be having a heart attack.

The

young

man

pushed the middle-aged

man

asideand announced: "Stand back, I've had a course in first aid." After a while, the middle-aged

man

tapped the younger

man

on the shoulder and said,

"When

youget to the partaboutcalling the doctor, I'm already here."

H. Hiernblaer Floresinlle, Texas

A

tourist while stopping at a gas sta- tion in the Texas Panhandle, tried to

make

conversation with the attendants, a grizzled old

man

and a

much

younger fellow. "Lookslike

we

might get a little rain." said the tourist.

"Well, I hope so," replied the old- timer. "Not so

much

for

me

as

my

grandson here. I've seen rain."

Bobbie

Mae

Cooley Bowen, Illinois

Sign in a pet shop: "Situation wanted

—

_Healthy kitten wants

good

home, honest, loyal, sober, willdo lightmouse- work."

Pam

Domeco Tracy. California

Customer: "Waiter,

Vm

^{in a} hurry.

Will these pancakes be long?"

Waiter: "No, sir. They'll be round."

Margaret Coker Vaiden, Mississippi

A

^city dude walked into a general store in a country town. ^"/ don't sup- pose you'd have anything in the shape of an automobile ^tire, would you?" he asked haughtily.

"Sure do," answered the unimpressed storekeeper. "Doughnuts, rubber bands, and funeral wreaths."

Cindy Fredrickson Taylor, Wisconsin

Charlie, the Greenhand

"Congratulations. Charlie, for beingselected as the

good

sport toreplace the sickgreasedpig."

68 The National

FUTURE

F.\RMER wUlpay $2.00 for each ioke selected for piiblicaUon on this page. Jokes must be luhmilled on post cards addressed to The .\ation.-iI

FUTURE

FARMER, Alexandria, Virginia22309.In case of duplication, payment will be for the first one received. Contributions cannot be acknowledged or returned.

P.O. DRAWER 9518 / EL PASO.TEXAS 79985

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