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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-07-04, Page 23Page 8--Crossroads—July 4, $84 The sex life of the vegetable patch By P trickDenton iPerha you haven't given. it muc thought, but you know, a garden .columnist doesn't get much of a chance to write about tantalizing sexy topics. Though it's true we speak of earthy things, any spice that enters the pic- ture must be of the herbal or flowery kind, and the sex life of most plants remains something less than tantaliz- ing. -•-, Just the same, around this time of year a number of questions arise about the na- ture of reproduction among vining plants like cucum- bers, melons, pumpkins and squash. For this reason, to- day will feature a strictly adult column as we delve into the sweet mysteries of pollination and fertilization of garden vegetables. Happily, some of our most prized vegetable garden in- habitants bear flowers con- taining all the necessary bits and pieces to make a fruit. Such are tomatoes and pep- pers, whose flowers are per- fect, or hermaphroditic, complete in themselves. Within each flower are both a female center and male pollen platforms. This greatly simplifies the process of fruit production, for it means that the trip be- tween the male pollen and the center female receptacle is a short One. Often all that is needed is a gentle shaking of the plant to transfer pollen grains to the sticky recept- acle atop the female inner egg apparatus. Outdoors, the wind usually accomplishes the transfer. But pollination, or the transfer of pollen, is still only half the trip. A pollen grain has a tight journey yet to make as it elongates down the female pistil of the floi�er until it fuses with,an egg cell to form a seed. ,This fusion constitutes fertilization. Most of our garden vege- tables will not form fruits unless this fertilization has taken place. Once fertilization is com- plete, the enclosure holding the fertilized eggs begins to swell into the fruits for which we grow these plants a simple and straightforward process.. Why then, you might ask, do not all tomato and pepper flowers become tomatoes and peppers? The weather is usually the culprit. Sometimes pollen doesn't ripen properly if con- ditions are too cold or too wet. Poor weather can also make a pollen grain ' trip down to fuse with an egg cell rather difficult. Sometimes f tilization is incomplete `-a4i d the hormonalactivity accompanying fertilization not quite right. In this case fruit will often form, but it will be misshapen. Catfacing in tomatoes is often due to poor weather conditions at pollination. Now let's leave this sim- plest of flower types and move on to a kind of vege- table plant whose flowers -display a different system in their domestic arrange- ments. Now so self-sufficient 'nor as neatly arranged are Melons, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers and corn, for these go in for a segregation of the sexes and bear both male and female flowers on each plant. The term used describe them iso monoe- cious, which means "one house" and signifies that one dwelling (a single plant) is inhabited by both male and female flowers. Now this arrangement makes the pollination -fertil- ization process a wee bit more haphazard, since the male pollen and the female egg -holding receptacle are located in different flowers. The home gardener mostly Jriust rely upon flying and -crawling insectslike been and ants to carry ollen to open female flowers, though nature can be given hand by transferring polle with a small brush or cotto swab. In my next colu n we'll look at some of the reasons for poor fruit set in these plants, and we'll also go on to view some kinds of plants with all female flowers, and others that don't need fertil- izing at all to set fruit. At wit's end by Erma Bombeck There are four- kinds off people who buy garments with a label inside that reads, "DRY- CLEAN ONLY". There are those who don't sweat, those who do not de- clare all of their income to the government, and those .who cannot read a word of English. - I belong to the fourth group. We're _idealists who never believe a bird will spritz us . when we . are in- doors; We never imagine there will be a fresh blue- berry (for which there is no antidote) . on a park , bench. ' We never consider the odds of reaching for salt and hav- ing our bosom drag through the gravy on our roast beef. ' No, we • just dance along the yellow brick road like we have some sort of immunity to the stains and spots of life. Clothing manufacturers wait for people like me to` be born — people who pick up a gar- ment that looks like you can throw it in the washing machine and.who never read the • label until we have fallen .in love with it'and taken it ' home, I would like to think I am the same person when I wear, a DRY CLEAN ONLY as I' am When I,'m wearing a MACHINE WASHABLE, but who am I kidding? I'm as tense .as a'bullfighter enter- ing Abe arena with irregular- ity problems. As I, slide a pure silk dress• over my head (that I THOUGHT was poly- ester when I bought it), I pinch my lips together 'until the? turn white. Not good enough — I still get lipstick on\the collar. As I wash my hands, water splashes down the front of it. The oil from the car door grabs at it. When 1 walk into a room, friendly dogs come out of nowhere and small children with sticky fingers throw their arms around my neck. Speaking of necks, I am careful not to put make- up .on i.t, yet it secretes a ring -around -the -collar that cries for the work of °a pro- fessional cleaner. What's a woman to do? I bought a. little cotton jacket. the other day that I. thought was "safe". It was one of those casual, perma-wrinkle things where you pushed the sleeves up and wore it over slacks. I threw inhibitions to the winds. I ate tomatoes in it and an ice cream bar. I stood uta"br trees, pumped my own gas and brushed my ~- teeth while wearing it. When I went to toss it into the washer, I saw' the label, "DRY YOU KNOW WHAT". As a friend of mine said when I gave her a hand - painted bib at a baby shower . that said,, "DRY CLEAN ONLY" ... "Erma, you're a loser." Brazil to gasify wood for new fuel Brazil is embarking on a $130 million research pro- gram to determine the tech- nical, financial and econom- ic feasibility of producing methanol by gasifying wood. The aim is to replace with wood -derived substitutes some of the petroleum-based fuels Brazil uses. At present Brazil imports 85 percent of its petroleum needs. - Brazil has already had re- markable success in pro- ducing ethanol from sugar- cane. Ethanol now repre- sents 20 percent of the na- tion's gasoline consumption. Methanol from wood would provide a substitute for diesel fuel. a v nilyrr fY.f 6rrp • OAK DESK ... Not technically antique, but very popular with collectors 170 Antique or Junque A rare doll By James G. McCollam Member, Antique Appraisers Association of America Q.: My doll is 14 inches tall, has sleep eyes, human hair wig, 'open mouth and ball joints. The mark is sketched as shown. Please tell what you can about its age and value. Ron H. • WILLIAMS DRAINAGE R.R. 1, Listowel, Ontario Inc. •FREE estimate • Farm & Municipal Drainage • FREE map of completed drainage system • We install - Clay - Cement - Plastic CALL 29103587 Anytime! WE GUARANTEE ALL OUR WORK HEY IIIBSI, LEARN TO DRAW WITH DANNY COII611UIN SpeciaI Savings Up to 50% off _. • Swimwear • Selected Sportswear • Selected lines of Merchandise • Waterloo Town Square • Mort -Sat. 0:30440. 40. thurs.Y Ft i, till x.06 p.m 4 1. He'r'e's Danny's complete drawing. 2. Finish what Danny started. 3. Now try it yourself! A.: Your doll was made by Kammer & Reinhardt in Waltershausen, Germany, in the early 20th century. The current value is about $2,000, so you have a rare one. Q.: Enclosed is a picture of my, solid oak antique desk. When was it made and bow - much is it worth? A.: Your desk was factory made and machine carved around the, turn of the cen- tury. • Although furniture of this type is not technically an- tique (100 years old),. it is very popular with collectors and would probably sell in the $375 to $425 range. Q.: When I asked you about my elaborately carved teak chair you referred to it as "Chinese export" furni- ture. What does that mean? A.: Chinese export furni- ture was made in China ex- pressly for export to Ameri- ` ca and Europe. It was made to look like what the experts thought Chinese ft rniture should look like. Chinese .household furni- ture was very plain with very tittle carving. In our opinion, it didn't look "Chin- ese". • The same applies to Chin- ese expert porcelain; it was made to please us; it was quite different than the por- celain made for -the Chinese people. 0 0 0 Send your questions about antiques with picture(s), a detailed description; self-ad- ressed envelope, and $2 per item to James G. McCollam, 2006 Beverly Place, South Bend, IN 46616. Pictures cannot be return- ed. Join Us For A Drink afe,Gean,Clear... WATER Culligan Aqua Cleer System Controls contaminents such as: m chlorine • asbestos • min,erl salt ® nitrates sulfates sodium arsenic - barium • cadmium • lead • mercury • insecticides pesticides dioxin Get. the name •.. AQUA CLEF R- it means "BETTER. HEALTHIER DRINKING WATER JUST CALL Collect 364-3830 and say 0;11 VEYCULU6AN MAP4t want the best drink in town! - Canadian Cancer Society� CAN CANCER BE BEATEN? YOU BET YOUR LIFE IT CAN. magine for a moment a world where cancer is as obsolete aslhe dinosaur. It can happen.The research is willing but un,fortunatelyythe funds are weak. Alt bequests received by • the Canadian Cancer Society are used to support cancer • research, unless otherwise stip- ulated in the will. That's where 'you come Please insert one simple sentence in your will: "I give to the Canadian Cancer Society the sum, of , • dollars" Our hope is to free the - world from cancer. And where there's a will, there's a way. SUMMER SALE Reductions up to 1/2 PRICE on select fashions WESTMOUNT PLACE, WATERLOO 146-1822 ' 9:30 A.M.-6 P.M. THURS. & FRI. 9:30 A.M.-9,P.M: 120 CUMBERLAND ST., TORONTO 416-922-0636 9:30A.M.-6 P.M. THURS. UNTIL 8 P.M.