HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-08-30, Page 5The International
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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1989. PAGE 5.
7 contestants seek
Queen of Fair title
Animals
have likes
and dislikes
BY RAYMOND CANON
One of the nicest things about
the business I am in is that you get
to read reports on economic topics
from all over the world. Included in
these are numerous reports on the
agricultural sector since this indus
try, like many others, is going
through rather rapid changes, all of
which means that farmers cannot
avoid the necessity of constant
adjustment.
Without a doubt one of the most
fascinating studies to cross my
desk in some time relates to an
examination of what farm animals
like and dislike. If you are going to
raise large quantities of such
animals, it pays to have a better
insight into what makes them tick.
This insight, needless to say, can
translate itself into higher incomes
for the farmers.
The first bit of information I have
out of research being done at the
University of Illinois is on pigs.
Contrary to popular belief, pigs are
extremely clean animals; in addi
tion it was discovered that they
liked to play with toys which they
liked to have suspended and out of
the muck. Pigs which were allowed
to play with some simple toys did
not get fatter any faster but they
were certainly easier to handle.
One of the examples of this was a
greater willingness to go through a
narrow shute which can be useful
Column
Blue Jays get an unlikely fan
BY BONNIE GROPP
Stee-rike three. Batter’s out!
I have never been a fan of
baseball and I have considered
myself rather fortunate in the fact
that my husband isn’t one either.
While he loves to play the game, he
has always found it rather boring to
watch. Fortunately this means I
have never been one of those
women forced to watch the televis
ed games or attend them just to
spend some time with their spouses
during ball season. Therefore, no
one was more surprised than my
husband when I told his brother
we’d love to go to last Wednes
day’s Jays game with him and his
wife.
However, like a lot of people it
was not the game I wanted to see,
so much as it was where it was
being played. Certainly, I wonder
ed how fair it has been of me to
judge baseball without seeing the
pros, but primarily my curiousity,
like so many others’ was piqued by
the infamous Sky dome. And let me
tell you my first impressions were
not good.
As we approached the stadium
from the Gardiner Expressway I
was struck with the impression that
I was looking at a colossal cement
snail. It is perhaps the ugliest
structure dominating the core of
downtown Toronto which consider
ing some of the architecture there
lately, is quite a pronouncement. In
physical appearance Skydome is an
atrocity.
So is the price of parking. For a
brief 10 minute walk - that’s if you
hurry and can manage a walk of
that distance - you can pay a flat
rate of $10. We were lucky,
however, and found a parking lot
at a slaughterhouse. Pigs which
panic can get bruised while stress
affects the texture and appearance
of the meat.
Pigs also like to get visited. This,
too, seems to calm them down
somewhat. Even five minutes a
week does the trick but it is not
enough to just greet the pig from
an aisle; you have to actually enter
the pen. There is such a thing as
overdoing these visits; one student
spent so much time with her pigs
that they refused to go through the
shute to the slaughter.
Another researcher at the Uni
versity of Texas has also been
studying pig toys. He discovered
that pigs like to gnaw on a hanging
chain; it, too, adds to the feeling of
comfort. He also discovered that
the animals like what is called a
head-box. This is slightly bigger
than a pig’s head and has a special
purpose. When one pig attacks
another, it usually goes for the
head and ears. A submissive pig
can avoid such an attrack by
putting his head in the box. These
boxes have been shown to reduce
fighting significantly - and there
fore wounds - among young pigs
that have been put together for the
first time.
Current research is directed
toward seeing what sort of play and
toys will result in the pigs putting
on more weight. The research
which has been done shows that
pigs are even more intelligent than
suspected but even chickens can
benefit from such activity. They
also like music! I should point out
that one of my chief claims to
temporary fame was a letter I wrote
to the Globe and Mail one year
pointing out that chickens increas
ed their egg production because
that offered a discount rate of six
dollars.
When we entered the dome I was
amazed at the amount of work that
is still not completed. It was like
walking into a construction zone
jind I began to think I should have
worn a hard hat.
We had excellent seats for the
game, overlooking right field, and
my impressions began to change
gradually as I looked around me.
The stadium is immense and is
really quite a spectacular sight.
The evening was beautiful, so the
dome was open, providing us with
a canopy of blue sky and fluffy
clouds. Also, though there was a
record crowd that night of 49,233
people attending - and I tend to be
a claustrophobic, there was a sense
of openness and fresh air, a rarity
Letter to the Editor
Riddell says thanks
THE EDITOR,
I have been delighted by the
many cards, letters, and telephone
calls which I have received from
friends and acquaintances from all
walks of life following the recent
changes in the Ontario Cabinet as
announced by Premier David
Peterson.
In my capacity as a Cabinet
Minister in the Peterson govern
ment for the past four years, the
contacts and experiences which I
was afforded were of measurable
benefit to me, from both a personal
and a career point of view. As many
of you will know, the privilege of
being entrusted with the responsi
they liked classical music, espe
cially Mozart. If, therefore, you
wanted to reduce the size of the
flock, the cheapest way was to
substitute hard rock music for the
classical.
To my surprise the Globe gave
the letter a prominent position on
the editorial page and entitled it
“Rock Around the Coop.’’ It came,
therefore, as no surprise to find
that the researchers at Cornell
University found that the chickens
also like Vivaldi. (So do I). The
music, together with some toys
nearby, results in the chickens
gaining about six per cent more
weight for a given amount of feed.
If all chicks were raised this way, it
has been calculated that farmers
would save about $60 million a year
in feed costs.
Chickens also like a kind word;
the controlled group at Cornell that
got such words were more resistant
to a variety of infectious diseases;
they were calmer and easier to
handle and they gained 20 per cent
more weight than the other chick
ens for the same amount of feed.
Vivaldi, toys and kind words seem
to be an unbeatable combination.
Perhaps we should start a “Be
Kind to your Chicken Week.”
Other research is being done on
horses; one of the first things to
come out of this is that they do not
like the dark. They, too, aiso like
having friends around. All this
makes me amazed just how soci
able animals are.
The upshot of all this is that, if
you can use psychology on people
to get them to accomplish more,
you can apparently do the same for
animals. We may be surprised
what the researchers find in the
next decade.
in Toronto.
Suddenly about halfway through
the game a strange thing occurred.
I found myself cheering and shout
ing right along with everyone else.
I was thoroughly enjoying the
game! Perhaps it was the fact that
we had unknowingly of course,
picked a winner - there was a total
of four home runs by the Jays and
they defeated Detroit 11 - 4 - but, I
felt it was the spirit surrounding
me. I found myself drawn into the
audience and their excitement. The
camaraderie and sense of good fun
is contagious and hard to ignore.
To my husband’s bemusement, I
suggested returning sometime and
bringing the children to a game.
Don’t misunderstand! I don’t want
a steady diet of it - I couldn’t afford
it - but I did enjoy myself. Actually
I had a ball.
bility to represent all Ontario
farmers at the provincial level had
been a life-long ambition for me,
and one which few people are able
to attain.
As most of you will also know,
along with the privileges accorded
a Cabinet Minister comes a lengthy
list of what often seem like onerous
responsibilities. The long hours of
work, extensive miles of travel, and
the difficult and often controversial
decisions which had to be made
were all part of the job. Many
times, such responsibilities afford
ed less time than one would like for
Continued on page 19
Seven local young women will compete for the title of Queen of the
Brussels Fall Fair this year. The seven allowed their names to stand
for the competition as of the deadline last weekend. The judging for
the event will be held at a dance September 9 at the Brussels, Morris
and Grey Community Centre.
PAT COWMAN
Pat Cowman, RR 2, Bluevale, is
a Grade 12 student at F. E. Madill
Secondary School, Wingham. She
is the daughter of Gordon and
Sharon Cowman and is sponsored
by J.R.’s Texaco in Brussels.
SANDRA MARKS
Sandra Marks of RR 4, Brussels,
is the daughter of Dave and Alice
Marks. She is a Grade 13 student at
F. E. Madill Secondary School in
Wingham. She is sponsored by the
Majestic Women’s Institute, Brus
sels.
HEATHER McGAVIN
Heather is 17 years old and a
Grade 13 student at Seaforth
District High School. The daughter
of Neil and Marie McGavin of
Walton she is sponsored by the
Walton Women’s Institute.
TRACEY FISCHER
Tracey is 17 years old and the
daughter of Don Fischer of RR 3,
Brussels. She is entering Grade 13
at Seaforth District High School.
She is sponsored by the Brussels
Livestock Inc.
PATRICIA ALBERS
Patricia Albers is the daughter of
Pete and Lenie Albers, RR 2,
Bluevale. She is a Grade 12 student
at F. E. Madill Secondary School,
Wingham. She is sponsored by
Diesel Car Diner.
LORI WILLIE
Lori Willie is 17 years of age and
entering Grade 12 at F. E. Madill
Secondary School in Wingham. She
is the daughter of Lome and Jane
Draper of Brussels. She is sponsor
ed by the Brussels, Morris and
Grey Recreation Committee.
MARGARET CRONYN
Margaret is the daughter of John
and Yvonne Cronyn, RR 2, Blyth.
She is entering Grade 13 at
Seaforth District High School and
has an interest in 4H work,
baseball and broomball. She is
sponsored by The Citizen.
OPP warn about
misleading ads
The Ontario Provincial Police is
warning the public to beware of
a misleading advertising circular
that promises major prizes, but
doesn’t deliver them.
The circular, originating from a
company in Vancouver, B.C., was
sent to a number of local business
es in the North Bay area, and
indicates that the recipient is an
automatic winner of a car, a trip or
a cash reward. .
The recipient is asked to call the
company to confirm receipt of the
certificate, and is then asked to
send money to cover the cost of
shipping. The “prize” is apparent
ly never received.