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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1952-1-30, Page 9The f ter's Holiday By Ralph Blanchard The friends of James Keenan Often wondered wiry lie should always spend his vaca'ou in so dull -anal obscure a place as the sleepy little mountain commuuay al Boone. utile: It was cine of a hundred small mountain towns in the west- ern -part of North Carolina. Surely, they reasoned, a person who was am-, custouiedto the many attractions of a city could /Were to content with a place that consisted of one main street and a square dance every Saturday night. For a surgeon, there u as little hope of a future in such a place. It was more than merely a love for the mountains that James felt for this conunhn:ty, for had it been nthis, only lie could have tonal a thousand places more sear the city and his hospital One night he was s'ttiug in his room reading when there was a knock at the door. Be put the hook down and asked, "Who is it?" , "Doctor, let the int.' The voice seemed breathless sad frightened. "Please, I must are you." He went to the door and opened it. A girl entered the room. She was young, not more than twenty. Black hair stuck ant from under the reel 'kerchief. "1'm not scared, now that you're coming," she answered. "Here, sit down," James sug- gested. "I don't have time." She leaned back against the wall "You must conte with me." "Now wait a minute , .. " The girl looked up at Keenan and bit her lip, "Dr. Johnson is sick and can't come. You're the only doctor left in these parts." "Well, tell me what's wrong." "It's Paw. He's deathly sick. You've got to come with me." James saw for the first time that she was really frightened. He ran to his closet for the small black case that never left his side, "Let's go," he told the.girl. In a moment they were in his car speeding along the mountain roads. On a straight stretch, James turned and looked at the girl, For a moment he thought he had made a mistake. He would have sworn that this was not the sante girl that had entered his room only minutes before. She looked straight ahead, but her 'kerchief had fallen around her neck and now her soft black hair streamed down and framed her face,' untouched by the modern devices of simulated beauty, Her feakures were tense and drawn, however. "Are you all right?" James asked her. She turned and looked up at hint, a smile forming on ler lips, "I'm not scared, now that you're corning," she answered, , When they finally reached the small mountain cabin they found her father just as she had left him. There was another child, but no mother to greet the doctor and girl. The little boy was sitting in a chair watching his father when they entered. After is was over, Jaynes assured the girl that Iter father would be all right. Ile walked out onto the porch and., sat down in one of the flimsy rods ing chairs. The moonlight was bright and he could make out the mountain ridge. Behind hint he heard the door open, I'fe didn't turn, The' girl walked around the chair and leaned up against the railing. She had pushed her plaid shirt back into her dungarees, and brushed her hair, She looked out over the valley and breathed deeply. The doctor looked at her. Until now he had never looked -at a woman except as a patient. Some thing inside James seemed to melt, and he saw once again his child- hood that he had so strongly tried to forget, He saw itis mother tock - hie peacefully back, and forth on a lttic mountain porch, He smelled his father's clay pipe; and the fragrant aroma that seemed lir follow him wherever he event. He saw himself going to school in the city, and, their he saw himself not able to stay away from the utourt- ttins, coming hack year after year. Suddenly he realized the. battle ?ttt stay away didn't matter any tnnl'e, Dog Shoots Man. A remarkable hole -in -one was accomplished by a New York gol- fer recently. Driving front the third tee, his ball brought down a low- flying Piper Cub plane, and then ran into the hole, Though the ball passed through the fuselage, Ole pilot was unhurt. 'Planes meet w:th maty unex- pected hazards Earlier this year an RAJ'. Canberra jet bomber's' attempt to fly the Atlantic non- stop without refuelling had to be postponed because it met with a collision. A hole eight inches by six inches was made in the leading edge of the starboard wing --by a seagull! Quite south members of the ani- mal katQont are rapaldc of causing lite ,oust freakish accidents, 1Vhen five butidivgs were razed to the ground in Pearl River Village, New York ('ounty, a crow was to blame. Someone took a licit shot at the bird. missed. but set off' a series Of maplosions hi a Fireworks factory, Ignith•g gunpowder caused exten- sive . •uoege to four nearby build- ing;, bnt the crow flapped off un. injured. A bre was recently respor.-ills lac blac!itg out half a -town in .1'enu x l mt'a, U.S.A. The bee stung a motorist's nose the motorist crashed into a pole ant) broke all the power 1'nes. Fislt were indirectly to blame for another Mack -out, whet the automatic control system of an American railway was short-circuit- ed. An angler near Wellington cast his line into -a creek beneath a railway br'dge. Itcaught in some wiring and the result was that fourteen freight trains and three passenger expresses were held up • two hours. A ting shot a man in Texas last year. Ile sniffed at his mas- ter's rifle, raised 0 paw and touched off the trigger, In Cambridgeshire th's year a cricketer went up in smoke and fled for the pavilion with fire licking at his trousers. A ball had bit a box of matches in his pocket -which immediately burst into flames. A somewhat similar occurrence is reported from California, A far- mer had been working with a weed- killer made from sodium -chlorate. When he put his hands in his pockets, his trousers exploded, the chemicals used being highly in- flanmable. An even less likely accident oc- curred in Indiana this May. A steeplejack, James Swottan, was treated in hospital for considerable injuries. He had fallen—from a stool! Yet an ex -paratrooper, Richard Beckham, of Fairbanks, Alaska, fell from a kitchen shelf, then bit a tap and turned on the water. . Soggy cake clogged up the sink ' waste -pipe, the water overflowed, short-circuited the electric wiring and set the house alight. In Appleton, Wisconsin, a man sneezed so hard that he fell out of bed and broke his toe. A severe sneezing attack caused another to crack his Adam's apple, and yet a third sneezer, a Sussex woman, dis- located Iter spine and had to spend several weeks in plaster. A dislocated jaw was the lot of a Kidderminster girl whose d- anc6 kissed her with too much verve. Kissing apparently needs a lot of care, for in America as actor embraced his leading lady so thoroughly that he broke his nose, He has since been given compensation for injuries received in the course of dutyl You never know what may cause an accident! Parlay. In Detroit, after Duane Hunter, 11, told how he had run a $30 stake up to $2,805 at the horse races, the judges ordered him to sink all his winnings in U.S. defense bonds, Perchiitjl Pooch—This dog, "Mr. Nick,' has different ideas on What to do with a fire hydrant, He likes to sit on this particular hydrant and watch the world go by. He won't let other doge hear his perch and When some paint- ers turned up to paint it, They had considerable trouble until Mr. Nick's owners called him off, A Few Odd Facts • About Cook Books Cook -books are written just for bachelors, for two people, for hun- dreds, for third graders, for goer= mets, for amateurs, for living alone whether you like it or not, and for then only. Special- cooking equjts merit .and specific seasons inspire more Jtoolis, while sometimes a book is dedicated exclusively ea a single food. One; for example, is about nothing but ncushrogncs. There is an "indispensable little cook -book on Eskimo Cooking," coop books by opera singers, funny paper characters, mythical person- alities created by food companies, and by church groups, Sonne sl ups are carrying as many us 125' titles in rooleng alone. Fannie ;1lerrlt Farmer started tate deluge in 1896 when her famous Boston Cooking School Cook honk's wits published. Otte of her theories nearly knocked the cozy off great-grandmother's tea- pot, It was the decree that cooking measurements' tnrst be level and universally s t ti it d a r d. "Sligl. sly rounded dessert spoonfuls" were out. With Miss Ftu•mer, cooking 'ceased to be toi individual, crea- tiveart and becamean exact sci- enci. Today there are two classes of - coolrbort-,—straight and specialty. M'ss Farmer's comes under straight, as do other general vol - tunes which carry all-inclusive se- lections of recipes, tnente and diet suggestions, marketing, serving and lila inforn•atitm. Specialty books deal with one type of food or cook- ing --such as the Sizzling Platter, Cook'ng Under 1 ressure, Casserole Cooking, Chafing 'Yell Cookery, Siamese Royal Wedding --After their wedding in the Siamese em- bassy in Paris, Prince Birabongse of Siam and his bride, Celina Howard, kneel on intricately fashioned pillows waiting for the guests to file past and spill a little "holy water" into their hands. Internationally famous as an auto racer, the Prince uses the name, P. Biro, in sporting events. scores of others. A unique exam- ple of slanting is a cook -book for .hunters, It includes deerburgers, armadillo sausage, muskrat meat loaf, beaver . fricassF and wood- ci tick pie, This is truly the Golden Age of cook -books. In fact, people are al- tering the attested conversation wedge of "have yott read any good books lately?' to "Have you read any good cool. -looks lately7" It will soon be seed -treating nine and many farmers through- out Canada will be preparing their seed grains against attack by. many seed and soil -borne diseases. - 1 am reminded of this important fact by Canadian Industries Limited who also sent along the interesting pictures appearing herewith. These are from magnified photographs of two wheat kernels. The top one shows a healthy seedling that has been ' treated with a modern seed disinfectant. The untreated seedling below is heavily infected with root -rot and will either be killed outright or will develop into a retarded, weak plant. Nuff said? teedyour tattle on sawdust and have them thrive, is the latest from the scientists. Sounds almost too good to be true—but that's what the mart said, During World War I sawdust was converted by German chemists -Into cattle fodder by means of sul- furic, acid, The acid broke down the 1 gain `(stick stuff in woddy cells)-'so`that'the wood or cellulose could --be digested in the rumen of a cow. cosy has four stomachs, of which time rumen is the 'first, Cows can At cotton, which contains no lignin; . ' C 4 4 In the laboratories of the General Electric Company Dr. M. Dexter Bellamy has' long been trying to • make sawdust digestible without the aid ofselftirie acid, He does this . by turning electrons ' ou sawdust. Tile electrons'do something to the lignin so that bacterial action of rumen can convert the cgllttlose histo acetic acid, propionic acrd and butyric acid. All these volatile acids can be absorbed by a cow's fates - tines. - The electrons that Dr. Bellamy turns on the sawdust come from n modified X-ray tube. An X-ray tube glows in action. This visible glow consists of a stream of elec- trons, When tate stream 'strikes a tungsten target invisible X-rays shoot forth. - - 4 P. Dr. Bellamy wants the electrons and not the X-rays, Accordingly, he applies a discovery made years ago by Phii`p Lenard. In other words, he substitutes a thin alutuin urn whitlow for the target, The electrons pass through the alutnitt- um into the open air mud make a line miniature aurora, Dr. Bellamy could hardly turn the electrons directly on a cow without doing damage and probably killing the animal. Rabbits' cars are easily punctured by electrons. So an artificial rumen or stomach in the forst of a test tube was used, In this test tribe cultures of bac- teria from a cow's rtunen were placed, for one or two days and kept at 100 degrees 1?.. which is the temperature of a cow. s 4' After tate period of digestion ended steam was bubbled through the specimen. The t'olatik acids came off as vapors, which were then condensed. To tine liquid thus ob- tained eaustic soda of known strength was added. The degree to which volatile acids were neu- tralized by the soda was a measure of their amount. When the stuff in tine glass teas exposed to electrons for only one minute there was no , reat effect. But with an exposure of twelve minus s the bacteria digested the sawdust as readily its they did hay. As the period of exposure' was in- creased digestibility was again re- duced, apparently because the cellu- lose was destroyed. Sawdust over - water, but ordinary cellulose is in - exposed to electrons is soluble in soluble. 4 4 All these experiments may he of commercial importance. Because human beings cannot live on cellu- lose, it does not mean that cattle cannot. And if cattle can be fed a nourishing sawdust which Inas been made digestilie by simpler means than treating it with sulfuric acid, beef may be much cheaper some day than it is. And for millions of beef -lovers, that clay cannot conte a minute too soots. Wreckers Made Own "Power Cuts" As well as being famous for its cream and rugged coastline, Corn- wall is renowned for its "wreckers" —unscrupulous characters who used to lure ships to destruction by hang- ing out false lights, or dousing ex- isting beacons, anti seizing any cargo washed ashore. There's the story of one Cornish parson who, although he always included in his service a prayer for those'nl peril on the sea, invariably added a rider to the effect that if the Almighty saw - fit to wreck a particular vessel . . . could He please arrange to do so locally? Yet , .. "we are bound to con- clude that most tales of actual wrecking 01 ships are legendary or to be found only in romantic novels," says William McFee in his informative book ou one of the most fascinating of all subjects, "Tire Law of the Sea". The only instance With historical harking did not occur in Cornwall at all but on the Scilly Islatttls, writes the author, when in 1080 the first lighthouse was erected there. "Unfortunately, the keepers ap- pointed appear to have been Scill- onians who used their lights to as- sist rattier than hinder their rela- tives engaged in the family occupa- tion of wrecking. For over a cen- tury .the St. Agnes light was tt public scandal. Sonietintes it shone brightly; sometimes so dimly that ft could pot be seen front St. Mary's (a neighbouring island). Sometimes it was put out altogether!" Turning to New England, Mr. MrFee states that although the story, again of a parson. who spot- ted to wreck on the rocks through his church window and ordered the congregation to "wail for him," is probably founded on fact, there is little historical evidence to sup- port deliberate "wrecking" of ves- sels on Cape Cod. IF YOUR IRON STICKS If starch sticks to your iron and scorches, making it hard to work and using up extra current and effort, let the iron cool, then run it over a waxed paper (paraffin dis- lodges starch); lastly, wipe clean with a soft cloth, If some starch still remains, soften it with beeswax, then scrub with soapsuds or very mild scour- ing powder, using only u very little water. I)ott't scratch iron! "Bark -feeding" Trees in The VVillter Bece hban discored that treeauss arenft'tas realley as dorvenmut as they -seem int winter itionths--in fact, can absorb fertilizer solutions through their bark—it may be pos- sible to help trees to avoid or re- cover more quickly from winter injury by "bark feeding." This is indicated by research work at the Michigan State College horticultur- al department, headed by Dr. H. 13. Tukey. Radioactive chemicals, plus fer- tilizer solutions, were the tools Tukey and his fellow researchers used in their tests. When they ap- plied a radioactive chemical to the branches of a dormant tree, for in- stance, they found that it traveled. A Geiger -counter -test on the trees a few days later showed that the radioactive material had moved. The sante thing happened when radioactive chemicals were sprayed or painted on the trunk of the tree —tire Geiger counter clicked at a different spot on the tree a fete days after. And these tests, mind you, were made during ,winter weather at temperatures as low as five de- grees below zero. The next step in the tests was a series of experiments with fer- tilizer solutions containing phos- phorus, potash and nitrogen. The research men selected peach and apple trees in several commercial orchards in Michigan that had been hard hit by winter freezing. Still during the winter, they sprayed the fertilizers on the branches and trunks of the test trees. The pay-off came later. Trees that had been trunk -and -branch - sprayed could easily be told from nearby trees Which received no such treatment, For one thing, they showed more short growth and bet- ter leaf color. Also, close examina- tion, including cross sections taken of branches, revealed at least partial recovery front the winter injury. Yet the untreated trees in the or- chafds gave every indication of greater permanent damage. Tukey believes that the fertilizer solution absorbed by the branches gave the trees additional nutrients to speed recovery—also acted as a substitute fur the food that was blocked from normal channels by injured tissue. This "shot in the' arm" apparently gives the tree a chance to grow new wood and set up new channels for flow of food from the roots. "Actually," says Tukey, "we don't yet know how much practical value there is in this winter bark -feeding process. But at least we know that so-called 'dormant' trees will absorb liquid chemicals through the baric," From "Tire Country Gentleman." BATTLE FOR HUMAN HEART For a great many years now, a strange tug-of-war has been going on between the French and Austrian governments over—a heart. It be- longs to the former King of Rome and Duke of ReichStadt, son of Napoleon, who died in Vienna early last century at the age of twenty' otte. At present the heart is in Vienna, together with the re- mains of the Duke of Rome's mother and Napoleon's second wife. Marie Louise. The French would like it to be huried with Napoleon's remains in Paris, but the Austrian Government remains adamant. NE and USEFUL Too New Children's Clothes Washable Denim overalls with roomy pockets, come in blue, greet and brown. Available in sizes eee, manufacturer paints child's name oat the garment for small extra charge" * 4 -* Ironing Simplified New Ironing pad with almninuae fail centro is said to cut ironing time in half, Pad fits' any board, irons underside of garment while: you iron topside, Perforations keep pad dry. Can be used with steam - or electric iron. - p e, 4 Flower Pot jackets Colorful Vinyl plastic covers fit over red clay flower pots to give thein a new "face:' Made to fit 3, 334, and 5 inch pots. 4 4 4 Plastic Mop Plastic sponge -like atop fits all mop handles. Absorbent plastic strands are easily wrung free of dirt, Offered in red, blue and yel- low, 4 e .4 Painting Device Paint -can attacment fits over quart or gallon cans to , eliminate dripping and running of paint. Des- cribed as "a plastic lip with a wire ]candle," the device allows excess paint to drain back into container. Also useful as a brush -rest. * 4 * Cleaning Glove Simple wet over -sized terry -cloth mitten to wash kitchen surface and venetian blinds: it has built-in soap. pouch, -' a: ' * .."k -• Perfume Atomizer Light -weight aluminum perfume atomizsr marketed in , satin -like finish of pink and and gold fits two - and four -ounce size perfumes. One - hand operation is featured. a * 4 Car Snack Tray Shack -type plastic tray held in position by chromed steel clamps for car eating. Swings out of sight under instrument panel when not in use. 4 * 1: Plastic Table Cover Reversible Vinylite plastic table cover has two contrasting designs for formal and informal occasions. Marketed in 54 inch squares, it comes in red, green and blue. Manufacturer states the cover is easy to clean, completely colorfast, and will not mildew or crack. x * * Car Visor Low-cost plastic car visor cuts down sun and head -light glare. Fits all models, easily installed. Manu- facturer states visor won't steam over. r * t Road Marker Gravity -fed device inarlcs safety and parking lines within inch of curbing. Works at walking speed with single operator. 4 Rust Remover Non -inflammable, non-toxic rust disintegrating fluid penetrates cor- rosion and frees rusted parts. 4 a: Weatherstripping Plastic weatherstripping combin- ed with extruded rubber inset elim- inates drafts from doors and win- dows. Sold in seven -foot strips, BY • HAROLD ARNETT TOi PREVENT SMALL CHILDREN FROM POKING THEIR FINGERS rOR PLAYTHINGS INTO ELECTRICAL OUTLETS, SEAL UP ALL UNUSED ,OUTLETS WIN OLD PLUGS FILLED WITH SEALING WAX. ROUND PLUGS ARE HARDER To REMOVE. HERB. VottlaR r _ AuoWCD 'ft, SLEEP ON 1 -!(AT GEr DOWN 014'I'He' CLooR WHmRo you beLONG t By, Arthur Pointer