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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1924-6-4, Page 3�wT SOUTH AMERICAN ABORIGINES HAVE EDEN STORY LIKE THAT IN BIBLE Tell of "Tree of Life" and of Labor, but Embellish Le A new eter,y of the oreatiou of man, told by a tribe of South American In- dians wlto . ]lad never ~seen a white man, has just been added to the known stories of primitive man. This is con- tainee in the verbatim rendering of the story, as narrated by one at tho wise Wren ot the tribe. The tribe was discoverea in the luoutltaiee wlhioh separate Brazil tram the British Cinemas, utterly cut off for matey aanturies from the rest of the' world, The tribe Is wholly unaffected by civilization, and has never even learned the art of making metal Miele- men ts. The story of the creation held by this tribe, according to records of tits University Museum, i,s strikingly sim- ilar to the account of the creation in the book of Genesis, in that it des- cribes a "tree of life from which the first men and women ate the "fruit of luhewledge" and thereafter were forced to give up the idyllic lite in the Brazillan Garden of Eden to earn their bread "in the sweat of their brows." The Indians claimed a great rook to be the petrified stump of the "tree of life." Its story was told by the old "wise man" of the tribe in the follow- ing words: •' Curiosity Possessed Them. "In thebeginning there were two gods, Taminkar and his brother Du- wid: It was Tnminkar with created men and women, and afterward the other animals. It was Duwid who brought men and women food. Day after clay Ile brought fruits and vege- tables in great quantities and In much variety for them to eat, so that they were grateful to Duwid and rendered him thanks, "Having nothing to do, the first men and women amused themselves by looking at the, animals.. They soon noticed that these were In the ]habit of Passing in one direction in the morning of each day, and returning in the opposite direction in the evening; so they said to tiheiuselves,'Let us go with the animals and see where they go, and what they dn. "So they followed the animals and Sentence of Mankind to Hard geed With New Details. cane IQ a great tree, .bearing 00 its branebes all kinds ot traits and liege. tables anon which the animels ted out day, and there was plenty for all ---the vegetables and fruits lay In great proahslon on the ground, Then they said among tliensetves; 'This is where the gee Dttwid gats our food. Let us, hereafter, come and get, it for ourselves --than we will not have to thank the god for it," "Next slay, therefore, they told Du- wid that be need not trouble himself to bring diem food any more, for thOY knew wbere to get it themselves. " 'It shall he as you wish,' said De- wid, 'but henceforth you will have to work to obtain food to eat. To -mor- row the tree will be cut down, but, in order that you may not starve utter- ly, I will tell you the If you breakoff a branch bearing each kind of fruit and plant this in the ground and water it every day cultivate it, and pro- tect it, it will grow and bear its own kind, Then you may plant the seeds which are in the fruit, and they in turn will grow anal -produce each after its kind. Thus you may continuo to eat ot the fruit of the tree, but you will have to work for it. Were Lazy; Lost Many Foods. "Following the instructions ot Do- wld', the first men proceeded to break oft branches ot the tree, selecting those which bore different kinds of fruit and vegetables. Presently they grew tired of their labor and stopped; hence, when the tree was cut down only a few of the many varieties et food which it bore had been saved for mankind. Conseenently, there are only a few varieties of edible .plants in the world, whereas, if the first peo- ple had been more industrious, these would have been found in greater plenty. Motllover, to this day it is necessary to work hard to make the cassava grow. The stump ot the tree remains to this day." Anthropologists are aware that aim - liar legends are to bo found in many parts of the world, but ,they are at a loss to account tor their spread prob- ably thousands of years ago. =stn .... ; .: Wr.r.. ..... . ...... 0 os. Davy Jones gained 0 rare prize when the British virtue A.D.H, 18 took e nese dive into the channel and disappeared beneath the waves never to be seen again, Casualties nil, What Some Plants Can Do. Some kinds of plants have dtpen found which can be made to photo- graph themselves, A beam of light is turned an tient, the plants absorb it, just as phosphor- us -will absorb light, and then give it out again. A •photographic plate is placed over the plants, and when. the light is yielded up by them they photo- graph 111e outlines of their men form and structure oil the sensitive plate. They ere very small plants which thus supply their own photographs, so small as to be seen properly 0017 un- der the microscope; but they may be you iniportant for good or evil, for the bacteria, the yeasts and the moulds, are all microscopic plants. it has • always been difficult to ob- tain trustworthy .portraits of the M- elees of these tiny things, but now It has been found that in many at then the suititances which toter them have this pother of giving otrt light again, and an sy'nducing the color Dhoti), granite, erode•RoaSarcasm, Bug Traffic Cop-. "Hey, Mr, Snail, • this is the third time I've warned you about obstructing traffic, get n terve• on," q Yeti gel; cheerfulness out of life in proportion as you put cheerfulness in. You canna invest counterfeit coin and pltpeet dividonde 111 real money, Colors. Oh, scarlet butts, like some strange hist; Mauve stills your heart with sleepy things; Blue dreams forever; yellow laugbs; But green—green singe.0 021,` silver is a -shining peace, Aud purple throbs, like Baccltic kings; Opal bas quick, fair mysteries; But green—,green sings. —Weir Vernon. 'No Need to Ask. • One atter another the neighbors bad come in to admire the new baby that bad arrived at the Jones' household. Little Mary was rather fed -up with all the atteutinu that was lavished on the newcomer --attention which had, up t111 then, been hers, ".Does . the baby teak yet, Mary?" asked ono of the friends of the family. "No," replied (he baby's disgusted sister, "the baby doesn't need to talk," "Doesn't steed to taut," exclaimed the friend, astbeishetl, "NO," said the, little girl bitterly. "A11 the baby lies to do is to yell, and 11 gels evorythiug worth having in the house," lie Hurried. "How far away were you when the (Irst allot was fired?" asked counsel, "Pour verde," replied the wttnesa, "Take your time now," cautioned the cross-examiner. "'This is ani import- ant question, Where were you when 1110 second shot was area?" The alae in the box hesitated, "As a natter <rf fact, sir," he snit] et last, "1 didn't take my 11010, bat I'. was about half 0 mile :may." .:AND Till WORST IS YET TO COME eraie 11111111111111111111111111111111111 �� i III � 1 JII i ISL EiLAS'r,IC GARTER Developing Canada's Mineral Resources, Government reports indicate that the mineral output of Canada in 1923 amounted to $214,102,000, and that in 1922 minerals to the value of U84,- 297,242 were produced.• While we appreciate that the value is rapidly increasing,we do not quite realize what Canada's mineral re- sources mean to her. It is only when comparisons are made that big figures can be fully appreciated. One of the largest figures with which Canadians lieve to be our potential resources." generally are familiar is that of the As an indication of the possibilities national debt, On December 31, it amounted to $2,415,588,100, truly a large figure, hnainly the result of the war; but the value of the minerals produced in Canada slnoo 1910 amount- ed to $2,410,225,000, almost an equal amount. The importance of mining to Canada is very aptly put by Dr. Camsell, de- puty minister of the Department of Mines, in his annual report for 1923, when he says: "The mineral resources of Canada are among its greatest natural assets, and, owing to our natural climatic conditions and the relatively limited area of the country capable of agri- cultural development, the mining in- dustry must necessarily occupy a pro- portionately larger place in our econo- mic development than in those coon, tries of the world more fortunately en - dewed with respect to climate, Min- ing Is not affected by climate and can be carried on irrespective of it. The importance of this industry is Indi- cated by the growlug increase in the annual production of minerals per capita, wbich has risen during thirty- five years from $2.23 to $28.40 a head of population. This production is in. creasing from •year to year until It should ultimately exceed that of any country' in the world." The range of minerals found in Cana- da in commercial quantities is very large, and in many this country has almost . a monopoly. In others the Canadian supplies are nearer to large United States m rkets than their own, such as in the,,case' of the gyp- sum of --the Maritime :Provinces, and in these development ifs taking place at a rapidly increasing rate. Many ot our own minerals, unfortunately, are being exported in a raw state, and sup- ply the materials for large industries outside of Canada, It is of interest, however, to note that there is a grow- ing tendency to Manufacture more of our mineral products at home. This is especially noticeable with regard to nickel ,asbestos, lead and zinc, In discussing the question 01 greater home manufacture of mineral pro- ducts Dr, Camsell says: "It is urgently necessary that we should develop home markets by the establislunent of industries comple- mentary to the mining industry, se that the prodedts of mfr.mines. nay be utilized for manufacture into finished arttctes. A study of oar mineral trade Matinee will show several instances wbere the ,raw material for n menti-. do toelay," factured article is produced in this country, but is shipped outside for manufacture and is then sold back to us at many times the value of the ma- terial in it. The securing of capital for the development ot these comple- mentary industries appears to be more in the general interests of the country than capital for the production of raw material, and until those "complemen- tary industries are established in our own country the production from the mine will not increase to a stage bear- ing a proper relation to what we be - of mineral production in Canada in 1918 the copper output was 118369,434 pounds, while last year it was 86,312,- 000 pounds, and the latter was more than double that of the previous year. In 1918 the production of nickel was 92,507,293 pounds, while last year it was 61,444,000 pounds, and in 1922 it was but 17,597,123 pounds, In 1913, when building construction was nor- mal, there was over one million bar- rels of portland cement more produced than the 7,652,000 barrels recorded for last year. In 1918, notwithstanding the great demand for lead created by the war, Canada's total output was but 51,398,000 pounds; the production of 1923 was more than double that amount, being 112,660,000 pounds, Development of natural resources Is cue of the most pressing problems with which Canada is to -day face to face, and in none is the situation more acute than in that of minerals. The Mines Department is giving particu- lar attention to finding markets for our wide variety of both metallic and non-metallic minerals, in their raw state and as manufactured goods, and in ,this work the department has the whole -hearted support of the Cana- dian public, Points About Common Salt. Coal sprinkled with a strong solu- tion of salt and water will last much longer ou tbo fire, and its heat -giving properties will not be affected. 'The colors ot a carpet that has been sprin- kled with salt before sweeping will 'tote up" well, A tablespoonful oc salt dissolved In a tumblerfui of luke- warm water is a simple emetic. A handful of It thrown on the fire when the kettle has belled over will prevent a disagreeable odor. Added to the bath salt gives an Invigorating effect. Headless, Too. ITow could Washington Irving's headless horseman find his way?" "Just •as easily as many motorists NATURE'S BALANCE OF LIFE IS NOW THREATENED BY CIVILIZATON Rul of World May Pass to Busy Insects '-_-• Extinction of Species That Prey Upon Lower Forms of Life May Wipe Out Reigning Power on Earth. By 0. A. Brown, Nature delights in balancing organic lite. Throughout the history at ani- mal life on the earth we And that, While there has been an endless sue• oeeelen of type and species develop - Mg and decaying ever loug intervals of time and in more or less restricted areas, there always bas been a notice- able balances of forces, To -day we Sind parasites living on parasites in- sects upon insects, fish u001 fish, bird upon bird, animal, upon animal, and, economically, man upon man through- out the animal kingdom, Thls '.interdependence of organic life fellows fixed laws'vebich are de- finite ports of the physics el the uni- verse. They assure a balance of life, the proper disperse] of birds, insects, fish and animals over the surface of the globe where they eau secure 00 abundance of food and do the econo- mic work nature sets for them. Man is Subject to Great Laws Which Govern Animal Life. Man has been subjected to the oper- ations of these great laws teem the remotest period of his history. He has been restricted by them when they have operated against him, and he lhaa been their agent when called upon' to.atack other animals. Being always a mighty hunter, he has always tended to keep down the spread of big game animals like the lion, tiger, ele- phant and buffalo. Since he has be- come eivilized he has exerted strong- er and ever stronger activities against the other species of organic nature, and to -day we find many authorities warning us that the balance of nature is being destroyed and that this will, in the near future, lead to world-wide economic disturbances. Game, bird, forest and plant preservation associa- tions are carrying on broad campaigns for the balance, while farmers and others are advocating the continuance of a war of extermination against pre- datory animals, birds, insects, plant diseases and germs. It has taken nature many millions of years to design and develop her creatures and man, within a couple of generations, has completely wiped off the face of the earth some of her finest animals and birds and is to -day hastening the destruction of many other species. Within another century there will be comparatively few of the many wild animals remaining. Future generations will have to depend for their knowledge of lions, cheetas, beavers, tigers, moose, zebras, giraffes and elephants on the descriptions off them written by naturalists to -day. The destruction of wild life advances cumulatively with increased settle- ment and occupation of the land by man and his domestic herds and flocks and commercial slaughter hastens the destruction. Civilized pian and his destructive weapons are menacing , wild life throughout the world. Civili- zation is watering on nature every- where and nature is severely suffer- ing, Man is carrying the day, but wihet, will happen when nature is com- pletely'Mastered and filer wild life des- troyed? Plants, insects and tlie lower ails• mels have all played their parts in helping man to develop. Theyhave fed, him, helped him, clothed and or- namented him and protected flim. They also have warred on bim and made him develop bis brain power and co-operation and social habits, In a recent seleutifla monograph dealing with the important roles invertebrate animals have played in the develop - went o1 civilization these assertions are made: "There is no. group of animals,, yea-, tebrate or invertebrate, which has so much significance to man as the group of insects. They touch almost every activity and interest of civilized life. They attack our growing food, our or. chards and forests, our clothing and our dwellings. Our bodies and those of our domestic animals are annoyed or infected with disease germs through the activities of insects,. They are our chief competitors in the struggle for existence, and our fight against them le getting more severe and costly every year." Other scientists express fears that In the next few centuries man will be unable to continue the struggle against insect life and will not be able to sus- tain himself in the face of their com- petition. Therefore, the future holds out the prospect of the possible ex- tinction of man with the buffalo, lion and elephant and the dominance of the world by the insects. Insect pests are innumerable. Every economic crop raised in North and South America, and in all tropical countries, is subject to attack by des- tructive insects. The wire -worm is an enemy of wheat, the grasshopper destroys grass, eelworms cause root - knot in the cotton plant, the ball -wee- vil destroys the boll, the bud -worn eats the heart out of the tobacco plant, the cinch -bug, army -worm, Hessian fly, cutworm, corn -rot and other aphides; bill -bugs, white grubs, saw flies, fruit -files and weevils and beetles are all given to raiding some crop or farming stock. There is constant war- fare being waged against them. Not all the so-called predatory in- sects, animals and plants are general- ly barmful. The snakes, lizards, toads scale insects, beetles, fruit and grain flies, wildcats, rodents and multitudes of other organisms perform services i valuable to others. They feed upon or are fed upon by others, or they render similar services to the bee in fertiliz- ing plants and palms, like the date palms, they aerate or fertilize the :soil, they remove disease germs, or other harmful matter from plants and animals and in many other ways as- sist in the balance of nature. These services have become so effectively adjusted that any considerable inter- ruption of them is liable to destroy na- ture's balance and seriously jeopardize civilization, ALBERTA'S OUT l,,OOK FOR 1924 Tba agrleultnraloutlook for 1924, as compared with immediate previeua years, is most encoui'ngiug, writes G. H. Button, of Calgary. One reason for confidence is the feet that during the last two years the quality of our Canadian products has shown a de• aided improvement, with the result that our reputation in the great 000' stinting markets of the world has been rapidly improving. To -day, Canadian farm products occupy t11e best poet tion they have every held; Canadian eggs are the best of this class of pro- duct which reach the British market, Canadian bacon has made rapid strides during the past year due in groat measure to recognition by Cana- dians of the necessity of improving our quality to meet the keen competi- tion existing in that market, The progress that we have made as the result of grading our live Moss and education in this direction is an Ind!. cation that we can repeat in bacon what has been acoompiished in eggs, Great Advertising Value. The United States Government has been investigating costa of production of grain in ,Western Canada, They have taken information seeure:l as warranting an increase in the tariff against Canadian wheat entering that country. This advertising of the re• latively low cost of production of 1 grain in Canada as compared with the great cereal -producing areas of the United States will operate beneficially ifor Canada as 1t provides data of the greatest possible value to present to our prospective eettlers. Even now there is evidence that this information will prove of great advertising value to Canada In Great Britain, Denmark and other countries, and even through- out the United States, inasmuch as al- ready arguments are being advanced across the border to show that tbo American miller needs Canadian wheat t0 maintain the grade of his flour. Our great need is markets, and I these seem to be in process of being secured. Heavy yields of fodder crops have tended to reduce production costs. For these reasons, therefore, we are Justified in looking forward with 'every expectation of success from an agricultural point of view. Rhubarb for Beauty. Very few women realize that the humble rhubarb is the greatest friend to female beauty that has ever been discovered, or that its use is of in- finitely greater value than any num- ber of so-called complexion creams or expensively concocted "washes" for the skin. Oldtime beauties understood the in- estimable properties of rhubarb. They knew nothing of the modern astrin- gent lotions or the steam -bath fad for the complexion, but, very sensibly, they tried instead a course of rhubarb for the evils of the relaxed skin. For they were acquainted with its almost miraculous action in tighten- ing open pores. And pores that have been ruined by the use o1 powder, and so have lost their elasticity, are not only unsightly in themselves, but are the sole cause of the obnoxious black- head, os speck of dirt embedded in the epidermis. Our grandmothers claimed, too, and proved, that the use of rhubarb bright- ened the eyes and banished the tired lines and "puffiness" which form such powerfully destructive agents to youth and beauty. A blotchy complexion was unknown to the devotee of rhubarb, and she Also claimed exemption from rheumatic complaints in general. These wise women not only ate thus barb to its accustomed form of suds dings and pies. They also drank it in various forms, the most delicious et which was known as rhubarb sherbet. The secret of this delicious drink was brought from the East, where one meets it in every bazaar. It is made as follows: Boil eight sticks of peeled rhubarb in a quart of water for about ten minutes, the re- stlltant liquor to be then strained In- to a jug containing the peel of one lemon cut or grated very finely, and two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, Tho decoction should be allowed to stand for six Ileum before being drunk. Not Successful of Late. Teuton—"All the former rulers of Germany learned trades and were sue- cessful at theme' Yank—"Ali our Presidents have been ,cabinet -makers --but not very successful 01 late." Laws of Leap Year. Leap year once had a definite place in the social system. A law in Beet- I land of the fourteenth century read: "It ordained that for each year known as leap year each maiden lady of high and low estate.slhall have lib- erty to bespeak the man she likes; and, if he recuses to take her to be his lawful wife, he shall be mulcted in the sum of one pound or less, as his es- tate may be; except it he can make It appear that he is betrother to an- other woman, he then shall be free," • No ship that 'was ever launched drifted iulto harbor. You have got to • Canada is getting plenl,.y et baby hued -grantee these cloys. 'rho eabi0s shown, work to get it there, I looking Scotch mothers, range in age from 11 hays to 12 months. With their fila. \ bnlesnn re For emergency messages the. Cana- dian air force depends on carrier pigeons, The trustworthy little birds always return to their hese wben re - Mimed, A Most Excellent Reason, Ina book by Sir .7. C. Percy entitled More 811110 mid Blunders, we read of a man who went ftp to a railway port- er at one of the big London stations and said, "There nre half a dozen clocks in the place, and they aro each different." "Nell, sir," replied the porter, "11 they were all alike, one would dr:' According. to Orders. Doctor•-"Itas your husband had any lucid intervals aline my Inst visit, Mrs, Jinks?" elre, 3i11111 (with ((lenity) '•lie's 1 bad nothing except what you ordered." True Virtue, Little Mary Ellen was really quite a Mee little girl. but eho had one greet fault --eta lest her temper very easily. Grandmother resolved to give tate lit- tle girl a lecture about Ibis fault, and so out day she took her aside and spolte quietly to her for a few minutes. Atter there Ellen hall listened in silence for awhile sire thought it was time to tell of some of her good quaii. ties, so she said; "Yesterday, my dolly got stepped an and broken and I didn't cry a bit or scold anyhody;" "That was 11uee' unsn Bred Grauny, with a smile. "And who elepped on your dolly?" "Why, I did," was the arondering re- sponse. The Height of Kindness. Dinah, tho cook, informed her m10 - tress that She was harried, "Will lie be good to you and sup- port nee" her mletrosa naked. "0b, yes, mum; he 011'0 10121, Last Chrietmaa ho gavo ma a Vtetrola, nu Pee most get It pail tor,"