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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1953-3-4, Page 3Will Penicillin Homesick Duck Make Pretty Shower Curtains at Home Solve Food .11o.'taoe? It began in ,Paddingtun wlietl Sir Alexander Fleming noticed that the green mould called peni- cillium stopped bacterial growth in bacterial cultures, It went on to Oxford, where another great British scientist,' Morey, entree., ted what we 'now knew as pent- ciilin from the varicu8 substances produced when the green mould grows. And front there, because there was 4. wet' on, it passed to the United, Stetes, who had the technical capacity to develop large-scale methods for product- ing the new miracle drug, pent- . ciilin, Other . moulds- were studied, Could they, too, produce differ- ent anti - bacterial chemicals? Ifundrede and h u n d r e d s ot, moulds were put to' test, . A new chapter in medicine unfolded. There came streptomycin, bac!- tracin, Chloromycetin, terramy- cin.. . But antibiotics, as these mould - derived drugs are known, have More to offer mankind than their ability to combat infection. Waste products from penicillin manufacure were tried out as animal foods. The growth of the animals was noticeably greater. Tests were made with penicillin and other antibiotics; mere traces were added, to food dor jpige and poultry. Again the rate of growth of the animals was ab- normal. To -day, in the United States it Is the widespread practice for farmers to give these supple- ments to the diet of pigs and poultry -though in Britain the idea is stili the subject of official research. Now there is a very new story about antibiotics, and it may be the most important of all. It is this -antibiotics can make plants grow faster and bigger! This far-reaching discovery was announced in the United States at the recent annual meeting of the Institute of Biological Sci- ences. Four years of research have resulted in this highly im- portant claim. Nature's Hidden Secret Seeds ,of ordinary corn were grown tinder glassin two identical beds. The only differ- ence was that one crop was treat- ed with water containing five parts per, million -no more ` than that! -of terramycin. The other bed received the same amount of ordinary water. The plants after four weeks were twenty-five per BY EDNA MILE$ Dip you ever think about making your own shower curtains?' ll can be done in ,less than an flour's tine, with very little effort and no spe- cial knowledge. The only materials you'll need ate about four yards of vinyl plas- tic film whish is available in most department stores at about 39 cents a yard, your electric iron, a light press cloth and two now plastic tapes. ' The first tape is one and one- half inches wide. ft has a coating of adhesive vinyl that makes pos- sible a tight bond with a Light apparition of beat. It Is used as a heading for the shower curtain and comes complete with inset metal eyelets. The heading is fairly •heavy gauge but transparent so that it will reinforce the curtain top with- out obscuring the color and pat- tern of the material. 'rhe' second tape, also transpar- ent, is three fourths or an inch wide and isused for seaming the plastic film, This tape has the Made at home in less than an hour, the shower same adhesive quality and will curtain is hone. Reading, complete with eyelets. bond with the nlm easily under was ironed to the plastic and, two widths of the your iron which should be turned film were scaled together with tape. to "rayon" or "cool" setting. A perfect bond between heading and vinyl film is made by pressing the two together with an electric Iron at "low," or "rayon.' setting, using a thin press cloth. cent. taller and 100 per cent. heavier as a result of the terra- mycin treatment. Also, forty per cent. of the treated seeds germin- ated while only twenty-five per cent. of the other seeds did so. Bigger and taller plants were also grown when sorrel and pan- sies were treated with traces of this antibiotic. But for radishes penicillin was used -traces were rnixed into the soil before the seeds were sown. When gathered the radish plants were more than twice the size of plants grown from identical seed in ordinary soil! • It is too early to realize the full importance of this discovery. There must be much more re- search before antibiotic treatment for crops can be safely advised. How to grow enough food for future generations is the world's gravest and biggest problem. And here is yet another way of get- ting greater crops, of making an acre of land produce more food. Science has not perhaps invent- ed' something new, but has un- earthed yet another of Nature's hidden secrets. ' TiIFAi&IFRONT A serious pest of sweet corn in southern Ontario and southern Quebec, the corn borer larva is a flesh -colored worm about one inch long when fully grown and marked with rows of small brown spots. Borer damage in the is first indicated by broken or bent tassels. Stalks May be so heavily infested, they break at various points and collapse. Holes in the stalks and fine, sawdust - like castings on leaf surface ,,,are other superficial clues, 0 a For successful control of the in- sect, some knowledge of its life history is required. Knowing something pf its ;eggglaying hab- its is partitit'arly important singe insecticide application is .timed with the;perlod egga hatch. Win- ter is spent in the borer stage in corn stalks, stubble or field weeds. In late May or early 5'une the borer changes into the pupal stage from which a moth emerges several weeks later. In the Mari- times the Cycle occurs three to four weeks later. 0.. IN ¢ 'Eggs are laid in clusters of up to 25 at about the end of June. They are the size of a pin head, pearly -white in color and disc- like in shape. Laid on the under- sidef corn a co n leaf,theyresem- ble a mass of minute te fish scales. When eggs hatch, the small borers feed on the leaf for a few days before boring into the stalk. They must be destroyed during this period. t 0 0 Timing of the first application , is important. The eggs hatch over a period of three to four weeks, so more than one application is neceitary. Four applications at five-day intervals are recom- mended, e . b. e DDT, rotenone or ryania, in dust or spray form, will eon - a. Imperfect 39, 11150 garde CROSSWORD paper 00. Portable P,�9 F� 6,d R. T. Dutch coin- shelter mane H. Tear on a PUZZLE - „Parrot seam': 0. „Parrot morale 10. Ancient social 04. Voloaao unit of Ireland 91, Send Tack ACROSS PS. Tr1g1.. 11. Clut - 39, Ward AAlt 1, Defective. 60. Appends 17. French cathe- 10. D'amaun 4, Pulled apart 0r, Egyptian god dral 01130 ' O. Locution 19. Diantountcd 42. Abiding 8. Low tuftal} of the earth 2L. Copies Mace 44. Luzon natives 40. Tidings 40.. Chinese 00. Besftuted 01. Lawless erose: Plant DOWN 13. Biblical high 1. Implore' priest 1. Wing 18. was Indebted 3.Scatter 4. tabor 14. Orion court 0 Proprietor 15. Aerlform fluid 10, hinder 18. More pallid 20, Speed 21, Son of Adam 53. Stitch again os. Danger 27, Slender flnlal 23. Poing Mammal 21. Chiron fost1Vnl 13. flee by 30.Fentale salnf cab,) a0. Title of a knight 38. fining wall of a well 30. Tree with quivering leaven 41, Cosy home 40, Cut le thin ellcee 40. Athlete or. nanism 40,,'050* efa•n 42.,Pare 02. Afresh poor 14. Rivett (Spanish) IZ IS 2 3 21 22 19, { 22. Throb 24. Mineral . spring 00. Diminish 23. Raisers of animals 4 13 IG 5 3 24 t7 B 14 0 10 11 25 31 3S 2(1 32 27 33 ekka 34 29 zo 34 37 38 ?sfa �'4a+�.;:v. 47 51. 4f'. 41 45 53 • 1' 5s 9 s 07 Ai saet' rlsewhe'0 Cu This rage 50 Tin �Jb^ -Cassidy, right riboi e, shows his modal, let engine, built of stovepipe and tin cans, to science leacher William B. Sanford, The T8 -year-old boy built the machine in the school's physics lab in after-school hours. He used the cut -away diagram of a Westinghouse J-34 jet, on blackboard, to guide him. trol the corn borer successful- lyly if used according to recom- mendations and precautions on the manufacturers' labels, 0 r. r A specialized group of scien- tists has one of the most impor- tant tasks in Canada today - that of looking after the health of our soil. By diagnosing soil ailments and prescribing treat- ment, these soil chemists have a big hand in the maintenance of national health by helping keep the productivity of the land at a maximum, 0 0 0 It took many centuries for Man to realize thatgr s owin ex- tracted tracted plant foods from the soil; that when crops were harvested or eaten by livestock, these nu- trients were lost to the soil; that in order to harvest a vigorous crop from the same soil, plant foods such as nitrogen, phosphor- us, potassium, calcium and mag- nesium had to be placed back. a a 0 To determine the identity ands, amount of plant foods in which soil is deficient, a soil test at least every three years has become almost an essential part of 'mo- dern farm practice. Both federal and provincial departments of agriculture and various big in- dustrial firms have soil testing laboratories, the services of which are available to farmers without charge. 0 0 4, Agricuturists whose crops are not thrifty under average weather conditions no longer. need to grope in the dark for reasons and cures for such un- thriftness. They should avail themselves of the free soil test- ing services at their disposal as quickly as possible. After all, when a person is sick he or she goes to a medical doctor, When fr soil is sick it too should be ex - :untried - by a soil "doctor," 4t 5 5' While people do not usually talk about them, bed bugs are still a common 'household pest in both rural and urban homes. Although their activities quiet down somewhat during winter months, they are not entirely dormant - as many owners of well -heated houses will testify. Early control of bed bugs In- cluded the use of kerosene, sul- phur ;fumes and, at the turn of the century, cyanide gas, But it was not until the discovery of DDT that a Convenient Way of killing these pests was devel- oped. According to J. A. Oakley, en- tomologist, the most economic and effective way of bed bug control today is the use of a five per cent DDT oil spray or a 10 per cent DDT dust.- The spray should be applied lightly but thoroughly around bedsteads, mattresses,springs and other furniture suspected of being in- fested. Cracks, mouldings, mop boards, windows, door sills and other possible hiding places should also receive the treat- ment. The residual spray should last at least six months. 0 e p Ornamental trees can be our friends for a lifetime if given proper ,nourishment and constant medical" care, 0 * Litre other plants, trees extract nutrients from the soil and will not furnish if these plant foods are not placed back in the soil In the sandy soil at Ottawa, for instance, young deciduous trees respond very well to a quick-. acting fertilizer containing 10 per cent nitrogen, six per cent phosphorus and four per cent potash - applied in the spring. For older deciduous trees a diet of 9-5-7 fertilizer has proven -to be most satisfactory. This ap- plied in spring at the rate of two pounds to each inch of trunk diameter at four feet above the ground. Where a 9-5-7 mixture is not available, 10-6-4 or 9-9-7 should be satisfactory at the salve rate. C p M For the evergreens in the same region, organic fertilizers at two to three pounds per inch of trunk • diameter are more suitable. In- organic high nitrogen fertilizer can be applied successfully if used in conjunction with leaf mould or other decomposing or- ganic matter. 0 o e As the object is to feed trees rather than tate grass, fertilizer should be put down where feed- ing roots can get at it, writes B. Warren Oliver, of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, in the February issue of Oval. The usual method, he says, is to turn back flaps of sod with a sharp spade and made holes in the soil 12 to 15 inches deep with a crowbar. The correct amount of fertilizer is placed in the holes and covered with earth before the sod is turned back. Holes are made in a concentric circle 18 to 24 inches apartin the outer area covered by the spread of the braches. 0 0 * To control a variety of insects attacking ornamental trees, mo- dern chemical insecticides such as nicotine,. DDT and lead ar- senate should be used accord- ing to directions shown on con- tainer labels. Did You Know? A large -headed tack or small screw hook, partly driven into the wooden shoulder of your paint brush will let you hang the brush on the side of the can instead of resting it on its bristles. If you've ever left a paint brush, will let you hang over night, you know how bent and awkward 11 will be next morning. a 0 0 •An old nylon stocking makes a perfect strainer for paint and varnish. The evenly -meshed ma- terial is neither too fine nor too coarse for straining out lumps and impurities. An other advan- tage is that the nylon has no lint toet into g the paint. a 0 0 An old doll carriage can be remodelled at small cost to de- light a little girl. Strip the old fabric from the carriage frame. Then use it as a pattern to cut a new cover from the colourful plastic coated fabric sold by the yard in department and hand'. craft supply stores. .Any fabric will do to line the doll buggy but a light plastic lining would be washable. 4 a e A lampshade, just the right colour, will complement your spring decorating scheme. Coat the inside of any heavy paper or cardboard shade with aluminum paint. Then paint the outside any colour you like. The aluminum paint will reflect the light in- side the shade and will prevent light shining through the brush marks on the outside. 0 0 e Plants, like animals, must have food if they are to grow and flourish. If the soilhas been properly prepared, the food sup- ply will last a long time, but a little fertilizer once a month will keep the plants in good con- dition. For a six-inch pot, use one-third of a teaspoonful of a complete plant food. Sprinkle it on the earth around the side of the pot, well away from the plant. Use fertilizer sparingly, strictly according to directions on the package. Mrs, Charlton Chapman, rf Gunton, Suffolk, who sold one of her ducks to a farmer three miles away, was astonished 10 see the poor creature, tired and muddy, waddling slowly up her garden path, It had felt homesick , . and made its way back! Some time ago, a Mr; John Burroughs bought a duck from a farmer, put it in a bag with other ducks, and took it home. Four days later when it was al- lowed to wander as it pleased, it headed back to the farm, Ducks may seem foolish crea- tures but they have feelings and ean form affections. And one or two, like Cricket, the amazing "psychic" duck which astonished the United States some years ago, can really think for themselves. Cricket always sat down to meals with the rest of the family, but before he did so he took a bath. He turned on the tap with his bill and, when finished, pulled out the plug. When his mistress played the piano, he sat at her side and quacked in time. He even went "on the air," quacking to "Oh, for the wings of a dove!" -for which, of course, he receiv- ed the usual broadcasting -fee. He used to go shopping with his owner. And when he felt tired would hop into his special little pram. At night his mistress used to kiss him on the top of his head, at which he turned over and went to sleep at qnce. His bed stood under a 100 -watt lamp, and when he wanted to sleep it automatically died down to a 5 -watt glow -a peculiarity the electric light experts could never explain. Some Methusaleh's Of The Mountains According to mountain guides, Dr. Gino Abate celebrated his eightieth birthday by scaling 15,- 084-ft. 5;084-ft, Mount Rosa, which stands between France and Italy; then he drank some brandy and des- cended. Mountain climbing is not an adventure only for sturdy young men without nerves. Until she was forty-fieve Mrs. Annie Smith Peck had never climbed even a steep hill, except by road., Then she took it into her head to climb the Matterhorn, which she followed by a series of assaults on some of the highest and mast rugged peaks of the Andes, and on September .9th, at the age df fifty-eight, she scrambled to the top of Huascaren, 22,188 feet high. An even more remarkable feat was that of C hrstian Abner, the famous Alpine guide, Who in 1906, at the age of ninety,: climb- ed the 12,166 -ft. Matterhorn with his ninety -two-year-old wife to celebrate their golden wedding. But even this was surpassed by Toichiro Itoh, who at the age of 109 achieved his life's ambi- tion. In 1937e h led a group of climbers to the summit of 12,990 - ft, Fujiyarna, highest mountain in Japan, to open the climbing season. Thinking of opening a depart- ment store soon? Be thankful for candy, ice cream and rich pastries because it's the corset depart- ment (by 2 to 1) that will make more money for you than any other department. '74 uNuAYScHuoc IEssav By Rev. R. Barclay 41 ?fermi!. 13 Ft., O. U. Jesus Urges Alertness Matthew 25:1-I3 JVlemory Selection: Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit pole. like men, be strong. 1 Corin thians 10:13, 111 oto lesson we have a pie•- tore of a wedding in Oriental setting, Ten pure maidens ex- pepted to join the procession alt the Bridegroom drew near. These, virgins differed in that five of them carried no extra oil in their lamps. Since the hour of this bridegroom's arrival was not known they all became drowsy and went to sleep. Suddenly at midnight the call was heard, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." The cru- cial hour had come. The live foolish virgins found their lamp: to be going out and they had 00 extra oil.. The wise virgins had not enough to share with them. They must go to the regular source and buy. And when they were gone to buy the bride- groom came and they were shut out from the marriage feast. It is an awful warning. Spirit- ual possessions are not trans- ferable, Many of us have sought' to help others in the hour Of their testing, but we have found. we could not light the lamp of endurance or faith or hope for them, We have stood at the graveside with the bereaved and have tried to pass on the oil' of inner peace, which we ourselves had won through the faith and sorrow of many years, but could not do 80. We cannot in a mom- ent hand over our faith, our courage, our peace, our inner re- sources. All men must go for themselves to the unlimited Source. If we cannot stand the tests of life we certainly are not pre- pared for the great hour of our Lord's return. The lamp of pro- fession will not be enough for that fateful hour. We must have the Holy Spirit abiding in our hearts, cleansing and purifying our nature and empowering ua to live the victorious life in a sinful world. Many shallow pro- fessing Christians will find the door closed and hear the words ds from Jesus Christ, "I know you not." "'Watch therefore, for ye ,know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking ©®®r r ' ©© 1:71750taOEN hairI ©- © MONIS ©OR YPEg©©I4 49901194:11,0 gmaida©CNIElFgi®©O Li®Qalma .15111M WELIIE WEIN' IB :MUD Mechanical Nursemaids -Mrs. Silas Pinkhant looks forward to mealtime, as she can get a few minutes' rest while her seven- month -old quadruplets nurse from the mechanical bottle holders, above, There's just one thing wrong with them. They won't "burp" the babies. JITTER TELL OFF A BRIDGE AND LAND50 ON A RACING SAILBOAT, NS'S A SAILOR NOW WNETNER NE 10055 IT OR,Nor, NOW AR5vvr po*NGF t ser MY eterm TNAr Wr o WIN TNIS RAcs. -r"we WILL, 4141550 SoM0- • -NING 6063 WRDN0 Yoa'Re* DONS y044E .urree Tsar i. Clem 00AT US NSW, ,