Read it Again: Week of Feb. 22, 2001.

80 years ago this week.

Thieves have been stealing bottles of milk in Greensburg, Pa. To thwart their actions, a group of women planned together, bought castor oil, mixed the oil with the milk, refilled the bottles with the mixed milk and placed the bottles where the day’s supply would ordinarily be found. Milk thieving has ended in Greensburg.

Three O.I.C. pigs from a farm near Salem, Ohio, were shipped to the ranch of William Hortsman, Philippine Islands. The pigs weighed 50 pounds when they left Salem and their average weight was around 200 pounds when they reached their destination. En route, they were admired at various stopping places in the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China and the Philippines.

50 years ago this week.

Seventy-five growers recently finished cooperating with the Department of Forestry at Wooster and the Department of Rural Economics at Ohio State University in making a comprehensive study of maple trees. From the four-year study W.R. Anderson reported the following. It was found that weather had little effect on yield, although it conditioned the first run and determined its length and intensity. Sweet woods produced sweet sap. When it wasn’t known why a tree was sweet, it was attributed to heredity. The first runs start on south-facing slopes. Sugar bushes growing on level land did slightly better than those on sloping terrain, while north-facing trees, although coming in later, produced more and sweeter sap. If sugar content is one percent or less, a tree farmer cannot afford to tap. Tap holes should be staggered around the tree on different levels. The best syrup was produced from first-run sap.

25 years ago this week.

Feeder pigs sold at Ohio graded auctions during 1975 brought $6.7 million – an all-time high. This total exceeded 1974 sales by nearly $3 million, with most of the increase being from higher prices. The average price paid per hundredweight of feeder pigs in 1975 was $91.30, compared to $48.50 the year before. The price paid per head was $48.30, up nearly $23. The number sold was up 5 percent with 127,482 sold through 78 sales. Weight per pig, averaging 52.9 pounds was a half-pound more than in 1974.