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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1952-6-18, Page 4Retiring Too Early Employers are going to have to stop being "old-fashioned about hiring older people," a speaker be. fore the U.S. Industrial Medical Aasociation warned the .other day, He pointed out that before very long 10% of the population of the United States will soon be over 65 and that the normal age of retirement may have. to be raised to 70 or even 75. The Canadian population due to immigration and other reasons, is slightly younger than that of . the United States, But here, too, the, proportion of people over 65. is growing steadily. 'I'o put all these citizens out to pasture, to compel them to retire just because they had reached a certain birthday, would be absurd. It would be cruet and inhuman be- cause many of them would prefer to go on working,at least part- time,' and they • would be happier and live longer if they were •al-, lowed to do so. Moreover, no na- tion, not even ane as rich as Ca- nada could afford either financially or physically to have such e large proporti0ti of its mature popula- • tion doing nothing. There would. not be enough younger people left .,to produce the goods, services, and food the nation would need. Modern civilization has added years of health and strength to the ends of our lives. Modern in- dustry is going to have to recog- nize' that fact. Froin The..Finan- cial Post. TV Flame—Adept in the art of postponing bedtime, fwo-and-a- half-year-old Julie Ann O'Brien takes a moment to kiss her fa- vorite television performer. Julie Ann puts on an unpractised show nightly, much to the amusement of her eavesdrop- ping parents, William and Betty O'Brien. Window Hints If you are dissatisfied with the appearance of your windows be- cause they arc too high, too nar- row, or of unequal size on the same wall, don't throw up your hands in despair because you can do something about- titenr without a lot of expense. Luckily, windows can be easily changed to suit your own ideas and tastes, and a new curtain treatment is often enough to glares orize a whole room. A curtain or drapery can be a column, a wall, or a frame, whatever your room needs most, The way you dress your window should depend en the size of the room and of the win- dow. Maybe you have two or three windows fairly close together along one wall. Then try treating than as one window instead of •the two or three. Join your curtains to- gether so they look like just one very wide pair, They will still be full enough to draw across at - night. For a very large window and no view, very full curtains with a val- ance across the tap, and brackets holding green growing plants against the panes will make a plebs - ant graden view of its own. There's no trick to remedying unequal sized windows on one wall, • Just extesnd the curtain rod on the narrow window so that the cur- tains make both windows look alike. If there is a window in your house pushed almost next to the side wall that needs all the light it can get, the solution to this problem is to use sheer tie -sack curtains there, with no `side cur- tains. )Taper the well that contains the window with a chintz type of paper or any other decorative design, A long wall with just, one narrow window in it Can be turned . into an asset by making a 'valance board that extends out beyond the window on both sides. _i'hep the draperies give the illusion of a wider window. Or instead, get some ply- wonci an flank the window with bookshelves. TABLE TALKS dam Andrews. It won't be long now before the red and white currants are ripe, --although, for that matter, it seems you don't seemany bushes, of the white variety these days. And here are some recipes which make good use of those same dee llcious--even though a bit bother- some --currants. o .t. CURRANT PIE Malee up 2 -cup pastry recipe;' Roll out 9 -inch pie shell, reserving,; some of pastry for lattice top. Wash and steno 3 cups currants,. crush slightly in large bowl, Mix' well lee tblsp, quick -cooking tapi-, oca, ee tsp. salt, Stir into currants until all berries) are coated. Pour into pie shell. Top with a lattice of pastry. Bake in hot oven (425°) 10 min- utes; reduce heat to 350° and bake. 30 minutes longer, or until set in't centre. Serve with whipped cream top- ping, Serves six. b Q b PINK CURRANT SPONGE Soften 2 envelopes gelatin in 'TA c, cold water; dissolve in 1 c. boil- ing water; add Y4 c. sugar;. stir until sugar is dissolved; add %'c. lemon juice, S c. cold water; chill until thick and syrupy; beat until stiff 6 egg whites. ;;, Gradually add gelatin mixture `to egg whites, beating constantly, Mixture stiffens as you beat. Put through sieve, colander or food mill 1 c. washed stemmed cur- rants. ,t Fold into gelatin -egg-white mix- ture until thoroughly blended, Pour into 2 -quart mold which has been rinsed with celd water. Chill until firm (about 4 hours). Serve with Currant- Sauce (see recipe). Serves six. * SWEDISH PANCAKES ' Sift together in large bowl 1 c. dour, 1 tblsp. sugar, )4 tsp. salt. Beat just enough to blend yolks and whites 3 eggs; stir into eggs 3 c. milk; add. ,liquid ingredients gradually to dry ingredients, stir- ring to mix well. La stand two hours. This lets batter thicken so that the cakes will hold their shape on the griddle. Heat pancake griddle until drop' of water will dance on the surface; 'brush with butter, Beat the batter again; spoon- 2 tablespoons for each cake onto griddle, Brown on both sides„ Spread with Currant Sauce; roll up and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 24 dessert -sized pancAes, o 4, o CURRANT SAUCE Bring to boil j, -e. water; add ate. e. sugar; simmer 5 tuintetes to make syrup; add 2 c washed, stemmed currants; simmer until berries (teat through. Make a paste of 2 tblsp, corn- starch and 54 c. cold water. Add small amounts of hot cur- rant mixture to cornstarch paste. Then stir into mixture in pan. Cook, stirring, until thick and clear, about ten minutes. e • b FROZEN CURRANT JAM Put through mill enough cur- rants to make 334 e. puree (use some slightly under -ripe currants). Measure into bowl 6 c. sugar; put in saucepan 1 box powdered pectin, ] c. cold water. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil hard one minute. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar and puree, Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture be- gins .to thicken, about 5 minutes. (Near end of stirring period the mixture begins to form small .curds as it thickens.) Taste jam to be sure ail sugar erystals have disap- peared -if not, keep stirring! Pour into frozen t containers, Cover, let stand in 'cool place until jellied --shout 24 hours. Seal -air' tight and freeze. Makes 3f, pints. ° ` ° FRBRZINQ CURRANTS Whole fruit; •Rinse ripe currants in cold water; pick off leaves and imperfect berries. Shake off the water, then pick the berries directly into the freezer containers, Seal airtight. Freeiee- at once, These work up best into desserts that t: use mashed currants, or the juice, rather,dhen the whole fruit. Currant Juice;' Wash' ripe cur- rants well' Shake off water and pick ' from steins enough currants to make 3 quarts. Add 1 cup water; bring to boll and simpler, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, Strain through cheese cloth; chill; dip juice into freezer containers; seal air -tight; freeze. Use in jelly or for -- 0 • o CURRANT PUNCH Combine 1 c, sugar, 1 qt. currant juicet'3 c: apple juice, 1 qt. ginger fig• s - ,Sti until sugar dissolves; chill. Serve over ice. Makes 24 servings. o b • CURRANT COOLER Heat to make Syrup: 2 c, water, 1 c. sugar; stir in 2 c, currant juice, %4 c. lemon juice, 6 tblsp, frozen orange concentrate, 1 tsp, almond extract. Chill and just before serving add 2 c. ginger ale, Serve over ice. :Makes 12 glasses. e ♦ b CURRANT ICE • Combine 1 c. sugar, 2 c. water, c. light corn syrup, 'ie tsp, salt, Boil together to form a syrup, about 5 minutes. Cool. Add 1 c. currant juice. Pour into refrigerator tray. Turn cold control to highest point, Freeze partially; spoon into chilled bowl and beat well (but not until melted, or sherbert will be splintery). Return to refrigerator; freeze firm. Serves 6. e • o CURRANT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE Melt in 9 -inch square baking pan % c. butter: add 1 c. sugar. Mix and spread over bottom of pan. Put in Ite c. currants. Beat until thick 'and lemon colored 3 egg . yolks. Add gradually 1 c. sugar; stir in 54 c. currant juice or tester. Sift together 1 c. sifted cake flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, ee tsp. salt. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Beat stiff 3 egg whites. Fold into batter. Pour over cur- rants. Bake in moderate oven (350°) 55 minutes. Serves 3 to 10. SALLY'S SALUES "It's our new door mat, It saves you the trouble of wiping your shoes," "High" School Work—Student volunteers begin the task of taking down some 500 classroom chairs that were found atop this high school. School authorities attributed the act to pranksters who must hove worked all night to have accomplished so much. ,b, Pollee Siren - For the benefit of the New York Poj! e - women's Endowment Association the big d city's lage clot- # es recently y T staged their third annual entertainment and dance. Police -woman „ .Mary Zaharko vividly demonstrates the transition from blue uni- form to frills. At left, she's seen as phe dresses when on regular 'duty. At right, she is seen in her fetching stage costume. i Plants' Work Dvertllne In this, age • of food shortages scientists are finding ways to make plants increase their yield; for many can be made to bear fru't twice a year if the seasons are just right. In the Arctic Circle where it is the sun shines almost continuously, daylight nearly all summer and wheat grows much faster... Hot -houses make plants bear fruit which they would not do under normal cond:tions; so does soil that is .heated electrically. Now Dutch scientists are advising the authorities at Kew on "artificial daylight' by which they are pro- ducing strawberries, potatoes and other crops all the year round, Tomatoes and cucumbers are made to yield months before their normal time. Our scientists have long known that plants can be forced by such methods, but so far have made little practical use of them. The Dutch have developed such meth - cods and hope in the near future to grow much of their food in ware- houses! Sea Language Often Misused First, let us take the windward - leeward, weather -lee combinations. These are misused by the uninitiat- • ed, oftener, perhaps, than any other seafaring terms. We speak of a vessel beating "to windward" or running "too loo'ard," and that is correct. But we do not speak of a "windward (or leeward) -side" of anything. "Weatltfr side" and "lee side" are the correct terns. The distinction is that "windward" and "leeward" refer to directions (al- most always preceded by the pre- position "to") while "weather" and "lee" refer to tangible objects. Thus, we walk over "to windward" (direction) to reach the "weather rail" (tangible object), etc. The forward -aft, fore -after com- binations may be similarly describ- ed, "Forward" and "aft" refer to directions (though the preposition "to" is never used with them) while "fore" and "after" refer to tangible objects. You walk forward or aft (directions) to reach the fore peak, after peak foremast, after rigging, after deck, etc. (all of them tangible objects). There is no such thing as an "aft deck" (so frequently seen in print these days), as any real sailor can testify.. "Aft" and "after" run true to form in all instances; but when we go forward we encounter a few difficulties, This is because "fore" is indistinguishable, phonetically, from "four" Suppose the captain on a small passenger liner orders the "fore" lifeboats lowered and finds the mate lowering all four 1 To avoid such confusion, "fore" usually gives way to "forward" in the plural (e.g., fore hatch, but forward hatches) . . There arc instances when it docs so in the singular, also (e,g., forward locker instead of fore locker) and we can only *add that just what these in stances are is a matter that ex- perience alone can teach. It must be understood that the nautical tongue is largely idiomatic, and that only a few expressions are subject to rules of usage such as we have attempted above. Eventually we learn to use seafaring terms cor- rectly simply because they sound right; and we can offer no better solution to the problem. There is no textbook to follow but, as an aid to beginner and veteran alike, we do highly reemmnend "Two Years Before the Meat" as a trea- sure )rouse of nautical terms proper- ly expressed, . Closely allied to "forward" and "aft," are "ahead" and "astern,,, The latter terms are used when re- ferring to directions beyond the confines of a vessel. A sailor goes forward; but his ship goes ahead. Or he looks aft (for some article on deep, say) but he looks astern when his gaze goes beyond the confines of his =ship, '"Haut" and "heave" (often mis- used) are easily explained. You haul on a line by hand; you heave on it by machinery. Thus, when you lead .the "hauling part" of a tackle (or any line, for that matter) to a winch, capstan, or windlass, you heave on it thereafter; and that is true whether the machinery in question he power or hand oper- ated, "Hoist" refers to something com- paratively heavy that is lifted by a tackle, as a sail, small boat, slingload of cargo, ete. An anchor, however, is never hoisted, even by hand. It is "hove up" (by machin- ery) or "picked up" or "weighed" (by any means) — From "Deep Water Diction." by Jerry Graham, in "On and Off Soundings," edited by William H. Taylor. 90% Of The People Live Growing Bulbs. They're on show again—the tu- lips, bluebells, lilies -of -the -valley, irises, scillas; and before long the dahlias, begonias, and many more of the most attractive flowers of the garden. All of these grow from bulbs or bulb -like structures which enable them to be "rested" and conveni- ently stored for varying periods, thus ensuring that there is at least one bulb flower every month of the year. This accounts for their over- growing popularity with gardeners, and for the prosperity of the bulb industry, which now has an an- nual turnover of millions of dollars, Around Spalding and other parts of East Anglia, in the Scilly Isles and the West Country, more than 3,000 acres are devoted to produc- ing 400,000,000 blooms and about 15,000,000 bulbs for sale. There are sixty kinds of lily to be had, but none of them is native • to Britain. The white arum lily is probably the oldest of all and is mentioned a great deal in the Bible. The first English garden lilies' were grown at the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign in 1596. In the Russian steppes, where the lily grows in great quantities in the early spring, its bulb is eaten by the Cossacks, This is not as surprising as you might think for a prominent mem- ber of the bulb family is the ordin- ary Onion, Tulip bulbs were first planted in England in 1577, and daring the past thirty years they have been intensely cultivated in Lin- colnshire. They came from Persia origin- ally and were called "tttlipans," from tulpan, a turban, which they were supposed to resemble, The Dutch have always been the mas- ter -growers of tulips. Ninety per rent of the inhabi- tants of the Scilly Isles live on or by bulb -growing. Careful breed- ing has extended the season of bloom from November to June, and the 2,500 islanders are depend- ent on the $2,000,000 it brings in yearly. The industry owes its existence to Augustus Smith, Ile did not plant the first. bulbs in the dis- trict, for they have grown wild there Inc as long as can be remem- bered, 1t was Smith, however, who conceived the idea of culti- vating bulb plants for profit. in 1881 he despatched the first box of flowers to Covent Garden Market, and for his pains he re- ceived one sovereign from a dealer in London. That was "big gooney" in those days, but it did bot im- press the farmers of the Scilly Isles for some time. Then they were hit by an acute agricultural depression caused by the failure of the potato trade. They decided to try cultivating bulb flowers as Smith had suggest- ed, and prepared portions of their land for this. After the first yeae'' , the result was never in doubt, • Making Porcelain Ceramics have always been rightly divided into two distinct classes --pottery and porcelain. The• term "porcelain" includes those articles produced by mineral ele- ment's known by their Chinese names of kaolin and pet antes (known as hard paste), and arti- ficial porcelain (known as 5005 paste), Porcelain is translucent and breaks with a ,,smooth fracture, either shelf-tike"ot granular ac- carditig to its composition, hard or soft paste. Pottery is opaque and breaks with a rough fracture, that is, will show rough edges where' broken, Specimens, of Chinese porcelain had found their way to England as early as 1506, when a present of some "Oriental china bowls" was made to Sir Thomas Tren- chard, then High Sheriff, by Philip of Austria, when he visited Wey- mouth, being driven there by stress of weather during his voyage from • time Low Countries ..to Spain, Amonget the New Year's gifts to Queen:Elizabeth; 1587-83, were "a porringer -de white poreelyn and a cup o0 grdee porselyn," presented by Lord flurgliley and Robert Cecil, The secrete( of manufacture were web kept by; ;fife Celestials, and inquisitive travellers were regaled with many a hoax, which, in de- fault of 'better information, was retailed and believed in Europe. Thus Lord Bacon, certainly one of the best -informed men of his time, in an argument at the bar during the impeachment of Haste, speaks of the "mines" of porcelain, "which porcelain is a kind of plaster buried in the earth, and by length of time congealed and glazed into that fine substance." Another fable was that the mysterious porcelain cups were of such a nature as to betray poi- son by a sudden change of trans- parency. It must, of course, be borne in mind that, before the Cape of Good Hope had been doubled by the Portuguese traders, every specimen brought home had been carried across the desert on the backs of camels, and that, owing to the monopoly of Eastern trade, enjoy- ed first by the Portuguese and subsequently by the Dutch, the English East India Company was shut out from importing Oriental porcelain for some time after its formation. The first true hard porcelain pro- duced in Europe was made in Sax- ony in the year 1709, and fostered by the keen personal interest of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, this manufac- tory became in a few years famous for its productions. In England potters had not been idle in attempting to produce, like their Continental rivals, a material that would compare favourably with the real porcelain of China. The Chelsea factory commenced prior to 1745. We know that Hey- lyn and Frye, the proprietors of the Bow factory, applied for a pa- tent in 1744.—From "Pottery and Porcelain," by Frederick Litchfield. Carving a Railroad The day arrived for the ground breaking, It was January 8, 1863, and the nearby American River had overflowed its banks, Leland Stan- ford, governor of the state by that date as well as president of the Central Pacific Railroad Company, turned the soil with a spade of silver. The silver was borrowed, but silver it had to be; a good show was needed. Bales of hay had been thrown on the mud to give him footing, There were cheers and speeches. Huntington was not there, He Mad told his associates: "If you want to jubilee in laying the first spike there, go ahead and do 1t, 0 don't, These mountains look too ugly and I bee too !Mala work ahead, We may fail, and l want to have as few people know lit as we can." He might have added: "p'o're tackling earth and granite-• ioun- taina of it—with nothing put ricks and shovels, and one-horse parts. We're tackling remote forests' 4th nothing but axes. We're taking on an untried job, one for'winch. there's no precedent. And lhave to meet the payroll," Construction had startdcl a the western end, the end farther ifront the source of supplies. 'il'be moun- tains provided earth, timber,' and stone, All else• -rails, rolllhg stock, black powder, . picks and sitpvels, carts and wheel4,arrows-hats to come . from the opposite sealfoard. Most of it had to be shipped around the Horn. The country between Celifofnla's valley and the Rockies was known for its hardships to emigrant eyagon and overland mail coach: Itt.was still an almost untouched wilder- ness, The Sierra Nevada, the terand obstacle which was in . sight of ;Sacramento on clear days, was an abrupt escarpment gashed by 'gran - ire gorges, and so.s.teep in its1pass- that wagons sometimes had! been lowered down certain of the tump- offs by ropes and chains, , , For many years niter the road was finished, overland trains halted and passengers got out and gaped at "Cape Horn," an awesome spot where the railroad bed was built out from a cliff two thousand, five hundred feet above the American River, "How will we ever carve a rail- road down there, even the begin- nings cf one?" wondered Crocker. "Leave it to me, I'll lower some Chinks down in baskets," said Sam Montague. And that is what was done. The good-natured Chinese pick -and - shovel men were swung down to where they could peck at the rock and establish a trace for the crow- bar and black -powder men who fol- lowed. By blasting and shoveling, the line was thrown into the hill at all except two points, respective- ly one hundred and two hundred feet in length, where heavy retain- ing walls were given the Atlaslike job of supporting the rails, — Re- printed by permission from "South- ern Pacific," by Neill C. Wilson and Frank J. Taylor. High To Eye—Finding the wheat on his father's farm is as high as a little boy's eye, five-year- old Dale Stewart offers tangible evidence to back the govern- ment's predictions that western wheat prospects are "excellent" this year. Religious Crowns Stolen -From behind the ornate bronze doors in right photo, two religious crowns, studded with jewels from by parishioners and worth about $100,000, were stolen from the Regina Pacis Votive Shrine in Brooklyn. Arrow shows where they sawed hole in protective door. At left, Msgr. Angel- Cigtflr pastor of thewnhritte, affixes the crowns to a painting of the ItfrOfh Mary and Infant Jesus a week'ttfore the robbery. The Crowns, minus some of the jewels, were later returned anonymously.