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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1955-09-28, Page 3Experts Study Weather Control NMISCHOOL LESSON Chimpanzee Was: Almost Human. built up to the full potential to become a hurricane, "We don't know anything about this today. It is wOrth investigating, But first we need to know fundamentally what is involved." About Those Crazy Marx Brothers Grouch() Marx, explains his brother Harpo, is infatuated with words. "Groucho," he says, "does not regard words the way the rest of us do. He looks at them upside down, backwards, from the middle out to the end, and from the end back to the middle,. Next he drops them in a mental Mixmaster, and studies them some more. Groucho doesn't look for double meanings. He looks tor, quadruple meanings. And Usually finds them." One day an officious lady at the Brown Derby in Hollywood pushed a waiter aside, leveled a finger at GrOucho, and demand- ed, "Are you Harpo Marx?" Groucho raised an eyebrow and replied, "No. Are you?" An elderly book clerk in Hol- lywood is still suffering from the shock sustained when Grou- cho entered her shop and in- quired blandly, "Have you some- thing obscene for a seven-year- old girl?" Groucho is said to net over $4000 a week these days with his radio and television chores, but there was a time when all four Marx brothers together had a difficult job keeping the wolf away from the door. When traveling from one town to an- other their mother, Minnie Marx, dressed them up in short pants and Buster Brown collars so they could ride for half fare. Once, when a harassed conductor in- formed Mrs. Marx that her "lit- tle boys" were smoking cigars, chasing girls, and playing poker in the coach ahead, she beamed at him-and confided, "They grow so fast." Al Shean, famous as the part- ner of Mr. Gallagher, as also the man responsible /or making Harpo Marx a silent comedian. Shean scripted the first vaude- ville act for the then-unknown Marx Brothers, and inadvert- ently forgot to write in a part for Harpo. When Harpo indig- nantly called the omission to his attention, Shean hastily explain- ed, "I did it on purpose. I want you to play in pantomime, I've got a feeling you'll be terrific." Mr. Shean didn't know how right he was! Incidentally, one of the first towns to see the new Marx Brothers turn was Wauke- gan. In the orchestra pit, a kid named Kubelsky played the fiddle, and doubled up with laughter every time Groucho opened his mouth. Today, some thirty years later, Kubelsky is still laughing at Groucho. Now, howe4er, he is known as .Tack Benny. What's in a raindrop? If you're a weather scientist it May hold the ,Secret Of practical, rain Making and climate control or even, perhaps, of a way to "do something" ai:Oilt hurricanes be- fore they have grown to destruc- tive stages, Hight now none of these things is more than remotely within men's reach. The experts have a few hints and one or two specu- lative theories, but the knowl, edge they need is still locked in the mysteries of how rain and snow, fog and clouds are formed and precipitated, That is why some 50 of these experts were meeting together for a four-day conference at the Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography. These men were trying to get down to the brass tacks of what they call "cloud physics" — the basic processes that must be understood in order to arrive at any sort of "weather control." They were shying away from the spectacular cloud-seeding, rain-making experiments that have colored their meetings in the past, even though some of the delegates have played a leading role in such experiments in other years. The trouble with these, they explain, is that the experiments are often aimed at controlling weather processes that are still not understood, "We are interested in the true- life adventure of a snowflake, not• science fiction," conference chairman Helmut Weickmann remarked. Milton Greenberg of the Air Force Cambridge Research Cen- ter, which was sponsoring the conference, followed this by pointing out that experimental "rain making" is "fast becoming a science of its own, it is gain- ing respect in the eyes of other scientists. But there is the great- est ,danger of trying to run be- fore we can walk. "Such weather control at- tempts are being made in the dark, before experts scarcely know how "to put numbers into our speculations," he said, add- ing that decisions to undertake those experiments have too of- ten been made in the "heat of emotion rather than in cool reason." These natural scientists are playing for high stakes — ac- tual physical control of the pro- cesses of the weather. Right now this goal seems to them as re- mote as the harnessing of the energies of the hydrogen bomb. Yet based on sound fundamental knowledge, they say they be- lieve there is a chance to attain it. Had Philip been, htlinan he probably would have been very distinguished person, X'es, pected for his great intellectual powers and admired for his so- vial accomplishments, Actually he was a very clever and well educated chimpanzee who died at Edinburgh ZOO not long ago at the advanced, age of nearly thirty. Almost the only thing Philip couldn't do, was speak, He was such a, past master of the art of imitating that before he was very old he had acquired practi- cally every other human accom- Plishment. When he was only a few months old, he was adopt- ed by Mr. W. E. Humphries, an Englishman living in Nigeria, For the next eight years he lived as one of Mr. Humphries' household, working as a house- boy. When Mr. Humphries came home tired at the end of the day Philip would unlace and take off his boots and put on his slip- pers. Then he would , bring newspapers or magazines for him to read, and make himself generally useful about the house, Like all servants, Philip look- ed forward to his leisure hours, when be was able to sit back and enjoy a smoke and a drink, Sometimes he decided to go for a ride on the tricycle that had been bought for him. Philip enjoyed all forms of smoking, If he was offered an open cigarette case and a box of matches he would carefully take a cigarette and put it be- tween his ilps, lighting it with a match taken from the box, He would then puff away at the cigarette with obvious en- joyment, knocking off the ash every now and again, and fin- ally stubbing out the end, just as he had seen his master do. He also enjoyed cigars when they came his way, but his fav- ourite smoke was a pipe. He never mastered the art of light- ing it, so it was considered po- lite to fill his pipe and light it for him. He would then sit back in a chair and enjoy it, careful- ly cleaning out -the ash from the bowl when it was finished, His taste in drinks .was wide, though here, too, he sheWed dis- crimination. He would -sit down and enjoy a glass of beer with anyone, and would appreciate gin and bitters or whisky and lemonade. Above all lie liked port, perhaps unconsciously em- phasizing his essentiaIlSr manly character! In his port drinking Philip went back to the good old days, when you drank it by the 'bottle. Although capable of putting the bottle to his lips and draining it in one draught, if supplied with , a wine glass he would despatch his favourite' drink in more genteel manne r, repeatedly holding out the glass for refill until the bottle was empty. As you may imagine, zoo ani- mals are not usually given to smoking and drinking, so when"' at the age of .eight(philip came- to Edinburgh ,Zoo,Ilaringing.,his tricycle with him„ hg cayised quite a stir. Philips change' of home became necessary` bedaiiie Mr. Humphries came over to England to 'live, and no longer.. needed a trained houseboy, The, zoo 'authorities were de- lighted and a little bewildered by their new guest...Zoo chimps cannot pf' tourse enjoy the same freedom as those living with families, and in any' case Philip was approaching an age when he was likely to become less good-ternpered. Nevertheless, for a time he was allowed to spend part of the day cycling around the zoo, Usually with a Cigarette between his His last social function took place some little time after his arrival. when Mr. Humphries paid a visit to the zoo with a friend, With Philip they were entertained in the library by he superintendent of the ZOO, the four of them sitting around in armchairs smoking cigarettes and drinking glasses of beer. When the zoo authorities fin- ally decided that it was no longer Safe to give Philip the freedom of 'the grounds, they discovered to their dismay that his cleverness made it more than ordinarily difficult to con- fine him to a gage, He soon realized that if shoe-laces could be unlaced, so could wire-net- ting! The first time he escaped he went straight up to a rather scared young lady and proceed- ed to unlace her shoes, Al- though he remained one of the best known personalities at Edinburgh Zoo until his death, he gradually lost some of his finer accomplishments. The time came when he could no longer light his own cigarette, though he 'continued to enjoy one if it was lit for him. 'chimps as houseboys and companions are not so rare as one would imagine, Many years ago a collector from Natural. History Museum had a startling experience on one of his trips to the interior of Africa. Arriv- ing after dark at a remote river landing stage in order to visit a white man; he was just setting off along an ill-defined path through -the dense undergrowth when he saw a lantern bobbing towards ' him. It was swinging scarcely a foot from the ground. He thought his host must have sent a native child to meet him. But guide turned out to be a half-grown chimpanzee who took his hand and led him to the white man's hut! This story unforuntaely had a tragic sequel. When the ani- mal approached maturity there was the usual change of char- acter, and fits of temper devel- oped. Despite repeated warn- ings that it was no longer safe for him to keep such a power- ful animal at la'rge about the hut, the white man refused to give up his companion. No -un- armed man would be a match for an infuriated chimp, and one day his mutilated body was found in the hut. He had been overpowered and killed by his former friend. Cheery Kearton, the ,famous naturalist and traveller, had a wonderful Chimpanzee called Toto, who was his constant companion for several years. Kearton became as attached to TotO as Toto was to him, and immortalizzed his pet in a famous book "My Friend Toto." Reading this book one can ap- preciate ,the great comfort this affectionate and helpful animal must have been to Kearton, alone in the. wilds of Africa. Tote's extradorinary devo- tion was shown on one occasion when his master went down With 'a severe attack of fever. ."Toto made himself my nurse," Kearton 'records. "All day he would sit beside, me. watching with a care that seemed almost maternal, and anything that. I wanted he would bring me. He would .go to the medicine chest when I told him to do so, and bring the bottle of quinine, and then he would fetch a glass and water." Each afternoon, his house- hold chores completed, he would lie clown on the bed be- side his Master, put an arm around him, and fall asleep. R„ Barclay Warren". B.A., WM .New Igtzeesteieelt f27;1691404; Law Nehemiah 9;1-3; 11):32, 35, 37,39 IllenlorY Selection: J ant tho Lord your God; walk In my 51a:11u:37 „and ,.keep etehilenl" nf Ek . ziOudigei 2O"JnIder the, leadership of IsiTe,, hemiah the wall of Jerusalem, was speedily built, It was, done in fifty-two days. Less than, a Week later the people assembled "as One man" in the square be- fore the Water Gate and call- ed upon Ezra to bring the book of the law of God. It was an op- portune time for religious in- terest had been quickened by the manifest help of God in the sw ft building of the wall, and hi' the joyous celebration at its dedication. Ezra stood upon a pulpit (or high platform) of wood, which they had made for the purpose. Beside him stood six helpers on his right hand and seven on his left. From early morn until noon the law was read and expounded, The people then realized how neg- lectful they had been of the law. They wept. They were sorry. But Ezra told them not to mourn but to go forth with joy and send something good to the poor. The reading on the next day reminded them of the feast of the tabernacles. They proceeded to observe it with great joy. Later came the day of mourn- ing for their sins. They entered into a covenant to observe God's commandments. When Nehemiah returned further re- forms were introduced. Inter- marriages with foreign women was stopped and other abuses ceased. At this point, Old Testa- ment history ends. The preaching of the moral. law still produces sorrow for sin. In the Scotland crusade Billy Graham preached a series on the Ten Commandments, The ceremonial law has been fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ. But the moral law is binding still. It is still sinful to steal, murder, commit adultery and bear false witness. This generation needs to be remind- ed of the sinfulness of sin. We must respect God's law. hil 4 HORSIN' AROUND—Stephan. J. Spudic, Jr., quit his job, bought and saddled a six-year-old. horse named "Rusty," whistled to his dog, "Frisco," and headed , for Los Angeles with a bedroll. He's averaged 32 miles a day. THE FAIM IRON JokA Haves he has found the answer to this problem in the use of poythene-roofed shelters. It is the plastic film widely used in the packr-e-rt of vegetables. * * * This spring, Kenyon used wide sheets of the film as a roofing material for two large frame structures which were left open on all sides to allow free circula- tion of air, Under these canopy- like covers he set out about 4,000 square feet of mum and carna- tion seedlings. i' * The results have been en- couraging. Kenyon reports a 100 per cent increase in growth compared with what could have been expected had the plants been growing unprotected from the elements or in ,conventional greenhouses. This is the first season he has atempted to grow carnations out-of-doors, a n d they have done well under the plastic cover. * * * Quality of the mums is bet- ter too, he says. When grown outside, the stems usually be- come hard and woody, but un- der the plastic they have retain- ed a desirable softness. With the new shelters, Kenyon figures that he will' be able to produce and market flowers at least a month longer than previously. * * * Big advantages of the plastic roofs are in perMitting greater control of soil moisture and in protecting the plants on cold nights. One surprise frost early this year, for example, covered the ground outside, coated the underside of the polythene roof, but did not touch the growing area underneath — the poly- thene had acted as a barrier which retarded loss of ground heat by radiation. No treasure on earth, is as, valuable as a simple ' lump • of soil. It is the very core of life from which all organisms emerge, and -it is the basis for the prosperity of all nations, writes Georges Maheux in "Farm Progress". * A mass of sand or clay, min- eral fragments, scraps of plant and animal matter all bound, to- gether, a lump of soil absorbs water and solar energy and har- bors a swarm of living things. In this minute laboratory, the very leaven of life is evolved. A tiny seed finds in it the heat and moisture necessary for germination. Here, too, is a store- house of food; assimilable ele- ments from which rootlets de- rive nourishment that is passed along to , stems, leaves and fruit, All this from a simple lump of soil! * * However, the soil can only give forth what it possesses. If rich in nutritive elements, it can prodtice an abundance of food for man and beast: lacking such reserves, it can only grow weak plants and poor 'crops. * Here is where Science inter- vend. It advises improved me- thods of tillage. With chemical fertilizers it adds to the soil re- quired quantities of the food it lacks: -It has even developed "custom made" seeds, brim full of strength and vitality, which enclose all the desirable charac- teristics of species, variety, pro- ductivity, early maturity, rapidi- ty of growth and resistance to disease. Science expands the wonders of the soil, thereby in- creasing harvests and improv- ing the quality of agricultural products. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking 3 SAO 3 3,'3 N 9*) 0 n N VII S V•N 0 V .1. I 3 d N O 3 1 3 S I MI V I H a AV a 0 WIT This is why they are being so cautious in their discussions to- day. The sound fundamental knowledge that is needed has yet to be laid down. These weather scientists say that their responsibility is to see that this knowledge is gathered as fast as possible and not to waste their energies in trying to jump to the ultimate goal too quickly, writes Robert C. Cowan in The Christian Science Monitor. The ,benefits that would ac- crue to mankind should weather control be made possible are on the same order of those in- volved in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Take hurricanes for example. Several of the delegates did not hesitate to mention possible con- trol of these violent storms as one of the first practical rea- sons for their research. In terms of what can be done today, hur- ricane control is the wildest of speculation. But in terms of what may be possible when more is learned about basic weather processes it is a strong reason for this research. Dr. Horace R. Byers, a leader in cloud-seeding experiments, explained it this way. "There may be a triggering mechanism involved in the start of httrri- canea," he said. "If we could discover that, and if it could be influenced by seeding, it might turn our to be possible to trig- ger the storm before it had V 3 a IN S a. N 1 3 21 S IN n A 3 N d V. 3 d N I `S '3 N a a v V N 1 3 3 0 3 d 0 3 9 3 IN 3 Niter 3 VS Oldd `0' 3S S Mount Robson, in B.C., is Canada's best known mountain but. Mount Logan, in the Yukon, is nearly a mile and a half higher. * Picking up a bit of soil, the farmer runs it through his fin- gers to feel its texture, its body, its resiliency.. He sniffs at it and all but tastes it. This handful of earth symbolizes the myriads of others that make up his fields, his vegetable garden and his orchard. He can well lift his eyes heavenward in thanks- giving. Let him be thankful al- so for the discOveries of science which.multiply a hundrefold the results Of his labor, * TOUGH WORDS 29. Growing out 30. Doleful 31. Greek letter 32, Make lace 34, Optical illusion 37, Diamond State (ab,) 89. Aroniatic seed 40, A tenth 41 On 42, 'Make a loan 43, Salt 44, Three (prefix) 45, Mobritain in Crete 46. Metal 6. Malt liquor CROSSWORD - S. W te ea h:r .Weary PUZZLE 9. witing k bird implement 11. Compass The head of the Los Angeles Civil Service Department says that of the 11 words most fre- quently misspelled by applicants for city jobs six begin with the letter "a" t atcommodate, ac- 'cumulate, afraid, all right, al- ready, and aqueduct, A little over 20 years ago English prOfeaSor Dr, Easley S. Jotiet, with his aSsistantS, ex- en-lined the .spelling of •Over 4,000,000 words written high school graduates, He found that just 25 words accounted for 11 per cent of the misspellings. And not one of these words be• gins with the letter "a." Which simply toed'tO show that this sort Of thing hasn't be. come an exact science. Professor' Jones found "gad Seine fielPfill things. If one ten be sure he has learned to spell words correctly he Can expect to cure -almost a 'ifth Of hiS bad spelling.' PeoPle who are bad 'spellers dOn't misspell a lot Of Word§; they simply rills, tpeil the seine *Ord§ over'end Over again, 'Or' (a feW) try to escape Andre* jackSori's tempt for a man who Couldn't spell a Word More than One *11, NO SHELL GAME .7 The turtles name 'WAS Henry, but now it's Henrietta, since "he" laid those two egos. Some firemen made her their mascot when they found her in front of the fire house, run over by an auto, 60. Timber tree point 61. Climbing 17. Age pererknia,l , , , 19.1:.tiftup • 52, Terirfindl—" 19. 'American 63,Diocese poet • 23, States of 1- DOWN ekeessilio 1. Do 'without fullness 9. Mistake 24. Peet) wagon 3. Solidly traok 4. Explosive 22'. Typo Squares deVices ' 27. Enjoyment' ACROSS Without-sugar 4, Rotating piece 7, r'ubrio storehouse' 12, Golf instructor Ail, Wing 14. Baseball teams 11. Take up weapons td.,Poreikh is. Cables ..1,01160 aliart 21. Of an MS- , toridaT Period 22. The pineapple 23, Before (Preflt) 26, F,dible bird, 113.'The•tiatt Palate 39, Sink gradually 39, Artielet belief 33, Verifier 'Petite Minister Si. Preheti reVbiutionist 26;24 hours I M., Britraned IS. DeiniSiiStra• tive prOnotin 41, 'Mil Nor 42, ltallafi, Seti inter' 43, 8fiediftii ,81bnier 11111110 2, 'Zeal' .49.,-Cettenseed' 1,1*-1narlitt,t, Flowers are Modern feriting's most beat/Uhl cash drop' They are ellen the most delicate.. ,Corn- inerdiellY grown tieWets td- quite devoted attention from the time they are first set Until the blooms, are harVeSted, One Of the problems faced by growers is:Seleeting the right time to move young plants from thegteenhoti,se Where; as the Season advances, they May re- Olte t66 much heat for proper deVeloPinent. If Set outdoOks too early; hcititeVer, theY'are exposed'. tif Wide fluctuations jn ternper"ae titre and indiattire * Kenyon, ,Who has a'. large thrySatithenituri and Carnation nursery' in thithabyi AC., be- 7 to 5 9 4 6' „:. 14 ox..1 13 12 17 16 t 1ic• 20' 19'"! kkrk'f, 24 25 23 22. 21 27 26 32 30 31!'' ti 34 33 39 38 371 36 35 4 4 • 4 42 41 47 46. , 44 45 o 43 50 51 t 52- 53' • • • 1 43 4 SUSPENSE elk 'months old holds his breath as he waits for "Patie? pef skunk of family, to train her ,orthiery elsewhere. Adopted by fitutie and her kilterit, 1114 balay woods pussy Bore ais far caused hot grit Stern's *brill of trouble. A ristver-Olstiiviier Oil this page