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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1954-6-16, Page 5TI1rrA1M FRONT JokAvA=11. "Front Bags to Rhubarb" is. the intriguing title ofan article by Pearl P. Puckett in a recent issue of "The American Farm Youth", . It tells the story of Verner Bass of Chaldron, Neb- raska and -- well — I'll let Miss Puckett take on ,from here Back in 1929, Bass was fire- man and locomotive engineer for the C.&,N,W. Railroad, then the depression laid him off. At that time Bass bad a family of fOur small children and a wife, and just couldn't afford' to be Out of work, At the very last resort, he turned to truck farm- ing on a small rented place. In spite Of his frugal management, the going was plenty tough, 'for the severe drought, grasshoppers and hail took most of his garden stuff year after year. * * , At the_ end of two years, his entire savings of $200.00 was used to buy the one -acre tract, and Bass labored early and late to erect a make -shift basement - type house for his family. Then, he hit upon the scheme of add- ing a little nursery stock, peren- nials and house plants, more or less as a sideline to supplement, his lagging income. • * Bass didn't even know at the time he unwrapped the gera- nium plants, which he had re- ceived from an Omaha green- house, that the old newspaper wrapping would figure in his riches. The reason he noticed it all was because it had been pub- lished in LOusville, Kentucky, then because he loved rhubarb pie, he went on to read an t1r- tide inthe paper about an all - red variety; -of rhubarb which had been imported from Canada through a leading nurseryman, who had already secured a per- mit to import through the De- partment of Agriculture a t Washington, D.C. line rhubarb was seedless, everbearing in na- ture, and sweeter than any vari- ety ever produced. By the time be had finished the article, his mouth was fairly watering for rhubarb pie, and he sat down and wrote to the paper, inquir- ing where he might purchase such a plant. In a• few days, he received one small root and a For'A Giant—This king=size ring probably fitted the legendary Paul Bunyan well, but it looks like more of .a millstone around the neck of Millie McKirdy. The ring is part of the, Bunyan 'exht- bit at the University of Minne- sota:, "swell" letter from the news- paper, • a +. Bass took the small root and cut it into seven divisions, After months of pampering the small rhubarb cuts, five of them lived to start the mother bed which has figured in his riches. The rhubarb was propogated as rap- idly as possible, for Bass could see the vast possibilities. Con- sidoring the fact that it was seedless and that it would al- ways have to be increased from root divisions which would take a lot of time to increase it in sufficient large portions to sup- ply the demand, he used to look at the mother plants and study them for a long lon'erne be- fore making a cut so as to be sure to get all the divisions pos- sible from the plant. * * Even with a -fairly large stock of young rhubarb and an expen- sive new green house, 1934 was a rugged year. Bass had two mortgages on his acreage and equipment and a bumper crop which looked promising until August 15 — then it began to look like Bass' were finished;• for a hail storm not only laid his garden low, but entirely demol- ished his glass greenhouse, * * * Instead of quitting, Bass pull- ed his belt in a couple of notches and took his trouble to the F.S.A. After a fewhours wait- ing he , was granted an inter- view; but when he told them hewas building up a stock of new rhubarb which''lvould make him rich, and That be really had no assests, other °than his pre- cious rhubarb plants, the fellow be - hind the desk : pumped his shoulders up anddown and stared wildly: "Mr. Bass," he °said, and it sounded painfully contrived to a guy with his dreams geared on 80 acres of all red rhubarb, "You remind me of the fellow who went into the frog business to get rich quick — and he had his frogs all coun- ted before they hatched, too. Al- most everyone likes the stuff, has a few . stalks of rhubarb growing in his own yard. I'm afraid we can't do much for you." • * .n Bass had weathered six years of pretty tough times a n d wouldn't take "no" for an an- swer, so the guy behind the desk promised to investigate the possibilities of making a fortune in rhubarb, and finally, after much urging and high-pressure sales talks, made Bass a small loan that carried him through until he could market some of the root crop. * n That fall, Bass sold all the roots he could spare to a National Mail Order House that paid him 64 each for the roots, The next year the National Mail Order House could not use all his available root crop so he maiked a few roots to a large Philadel- phia seed • house offering them at 00 each, however, the Phila- delphia house wired back ask- ing him how many roots he could furnish at 350 each, then in order to get a portion of his root crop, the National Mail Or- der House started paying him 350 each for roots. * n n By 1946, Bass had 45 acres of the finest rhubarb ever grown. Ile sold pretty close to 200,000 CROSSWORD 'PUZZLE ACROSS - DOWN 1. weaken - 1, .Pouch 4. Stop 3, Bustle unintentionally 3. Mast Indian 0.' Wire perfume !, Detdatn measurement 6. Melody 1. Mountain in 0. Metric land 'Alaska Measures li. This kilted anal t0 Icithrles 17. Ciphers 10, Central part 19: Dom stic fowl 20. Deadly white 22. vie 2s,;Composttlona for two 17, Mass of floatin�g ire 23: Negative 39, I'rdenword P1Male bird 30, romni' .1•re s2.in Small 33. Domn1 ab , 114. Carry 90, Secluded S rynil nrhitllt6ntal 65110 AL aT,hreo•toed sloe t19, , ort thhern • Moropean oyaleO 43, tOoM royale() 43, IIcn* dot Ilan: 49,Make &monde 49, Kind ofcloth 40.8pot Ma�aSsrd0U. wnOoo at.ntepoa 7. Long island 12, Vries (ab,) 24. water nymph 0, Cough drop26, Stainers 8, oo,mrcunttki ter 27. chi drop 10. Sailahen '10. Antrua peroon tat amen' 34, Vegetable 11 Mob 1n 30. American France 14, Dispatched 16.'Driv s et an anal 19. Crefwd 20, Deeply 21, Divi Ion of anpt nt 19, Sf pbylonia inventor 37..Lose life fluid 39. Magnitude 40. Knock 41. Slender finial 42, Swab 47. Leave 43. Fifty -tour 4'!. Steep 40. Discover 1 -2 rlor.� 7 3 un a tl©nil mumu 0 3', a 7 9 r{,:+•4 ro n la ;tom 15 76 4q R re4j .4 :7 ,'{: EQ, el^ ,§n WI 27 22 0;., 13 24 16 SZ 33 35• 36 :37 'SJ „gown) Y 3a Cv. 1 \` A Tr OM 47 Aflswe elsewhere on this page M 1 avis g Wen: era Tine Wish You Vlore Hair It seems that hgirdes Aught nowadays to be more than merely decorative, They .ought to have mundane significance and be functional and what not. To give you an Idea of what we moan, we present these examples, graciously posed by Mrs. James Umbehr, a student nurse at Grace Hospital. BANGKOK INSPIRES this off -the - ear creation. Can be worn closer if girl doesn't have time to wash ears before a date. Not for areas where mountain goat hunting is permitted, OVER -THE -TOP coiffure is latest thing for girl who loses left ear- ring of her favorite pair. Can be reversed for lost right earring. Also nice for girl with one cauls - flowered ear. HYDROGEN AGE hairdo, featur- es awe-inspiring mushroom cloud, ideal for women who ore inclined to blow their tops. Style harmonizes with a prayerful qt- titude, PONY TAILS fore and aft are appropriate for gals who go to horse races or watch 'em on TV. Also suits personality of miss who, can't figure out whether she is coming or going. - roots at 35 f each, and still could not supply the demand. In ad- dition to the roots sold, he re- tained 250,000 choice roots to set out the balance of his 80 acres, and was heralded as the Rhubarb King of the World. e * e Here is Mr. Bass' secret for rhubarb success: "The plants are set either in the fall or early spring. We plant it in check rows thirty-five inches each way, this takes about 5,000 plants per acre. The plants are cultivated with tractor until the foliage gets so large that We have tos'use horses, as they do not break up the rhubarb as much as the tractor, We usually cultivate from 11 to 14 times during the season, and hand hoe the plants around each hill of rhubarb about three times per season. Rhubarb is a plant that is not troubled by insects, ex- cepting grasshoppers, and no diseases of the foliage or roots have so far made their appear- ance, so spraying is not neces- sary which is a big help in growing the crop. The plants set out in early spring are har- vested the next fall. This gives us young roots which are full of energy and vitality and some- thing extra that older growth roots do not have. So far, we have not sold any of the stalks for table use because removing the stalks •would also weaken ' the vitality, especially if pulled the first season, and as a mat- ter of fact,' pulling the stalks the first season usually proves fatal to the plant. Digging is dgne with a plow and tractor, plowing et least a foot deep. We have tried many kinds of dig- gers but find the walking plow the best. After plowing but the roots and removing the soil from them, they are placed in storage pits Where they can be stored over the winter if neces- sary, or they can be removed to our cutting room for cutting up into marketable size No. 1 divisions any time we wish, They are packed in Bruce boxes 100 divisions to the box and ready tlr.start their jemmy to a nursery, seed house or to a large grower. We use lots of fertilizer, also the commercial types of Sulphate of Ammonia and Sodium Nitrate have been found to be especially good, as rhubarb is a heavy nitrogen feeder. Of course, it takes good cultivation, ' too. Rhubarb will not do good if left to grow un- cultivated, or in grass land un- less the soil is very fertile, and there is lots of rainfall. My rhu- barb has been shipped to many of America's leading seed houses and nurserymen and some has already been shipped to Europe and South America, but it be- gins to look like the biggest out- let will be right here in the U.S.A. — to the growers who raise hrubarb for canneries or for the quick freezing industries, as the beautiful deep red of this rhubarb when processed gives it a top sale appeal." * k * Yes, indeed, Verner Bass has gone a long, long ways up the ladder of success — from rags to rhubarb king .with a neat pay-off of close to $200,000 an- nually. That's clever parlaying a 'lot' of debts, one small rhu- barab plant, a ton of courage, brains and brawn. Bats Fly By Sound It is an eerie experience to sit outside a cave, in the dusk of early, evening, and watch the bats come out, flying swiftly and silently, like moving shadows. They'„have a marvelous way bf missing obstacles; and unless they are badly frieghtened, they nev- er collide with each other, Though we hear not even a whis- per of sound, the bats are actu- ally making a series of sharp squeaks, so high-pitched that the human ear can not detect them, However, extremely- sensitive machines have recorded th e squeaks. Scientists call such high-pitched sounds "ultrasonic." "Ultra" means beyond, gad "son- ic" refers to sound, The science that studies this type of sound. is called "ultrasonics," The ultrasonic squeaks of the bat help it to avoid obstacles be- cause the sounds are . reflected back to the animal as echoes from anything solid with which it might collide, Bats have been masked so that they could tot see at all, then turned loose in a room where piano wires were strung a foot apart. The bats flew without any difficulty But when their ears were plugged or their mouths were gagged, they could be made to fly only if they were thrown into the air; and then they collided with the wires and oven with the walls of the room, For a long time people thought filet bats were guided by special senses in their wings, but when the wings were covered with nail polish the bats flew as well as usual, We know now that their system for avoiding bump- ing into things dsponds on their Ability to hear these ultrasonic echoes, a sort of natural radar. s His woe eymoons "Polsonmoons" Two patrol policemen saw a ear race pest them "down the hill, crash into a tree and over- turn, The wheels were still spinning as they dashed up. Slumped at the wheel, her head deeply gashed, the woman in the driver's seat was already dead. Accident or suicide? Detec- tives noted that although Adele Grammer was badly cut„ there was no broken glass. The accelerator pedal had appar- ently been wedged down with a pebble. But the bloodstains in the car ran in the wrong direc- tion in relation to the over- turned position. It was a clear ease of murder. Presently a bloodstained blunt instrument was found, and soft- spoken Edward Grammer ap- peared in court — charged with what the Baltimore State Attor- ney described as "the almost perfect crime," He was found guilty and sentenced to death. A similar attempt at perfec- tion on the part of a maniac wife came to light when the dis- membered remains of John Jump were found on a railway track near Fort Valley, Georgia, one day in 1943, To witnesses first on the scene it seemed that the victim, prob- ably in a drunken stupor, had fallen in front of an onrushing train. Before slaying her husband at home, the ingenious Mrs. Jump had spent weeks learning how a body should be placed on the rails to duplicate accident. Un- fortunately, of three sets of track, she happened to choose one over which no train had run for eight months, Then there was the bizarre case of Alfred Cline, who specialized in marrying and murdering widows for their money until the police caught up with him. Having married his victim, Cline always persuaded her to change her will in his favour. Then he took her to a large hotel in a distant city and always gave her a nightcap glass of milk laced with a sleep -producing drug. When the house doctor was called and told that "Mrs. Cline had had another heart attack," he found her sleeping peacefully and was not suspicious. Later, after a fatal overdose, he issued a death certificate naming heart failure. With diabolical cunning, Cline destroyed the evidence by hav- ing his wives cremated. Eight brides breathed their last on his fiendish honeymoons, yielding a profit of nearly $100,000. Cline could not be 'charged with murder, but the police were his match in the end. They indicted him on nine counts of forgery, his prison sentences totalled 128 years and he; died behind bars. On the other hand, the police failed dismally in the case of the utterly evil Dr, B. C. Hyde, who married into the family of Colonel Thomas Swipe, a Kansas City millionaire bachelor, In the Swope mansion lived the Colonel's widowed sister -in- law and her six childreni Hyde married the eldest daughter and learned that . Swope was about to change his will and leave most of his Money: to charity. To prevent it, Hyde poisoned the, old man and his lawyer so swiftly that they "died of heart failure." Then Hyde realized that only the young heirs of the household stood between him and the fortune. As a medical man he had access to swabs .laden) nfith typhoid germs. One of the heirs died and four others were on the danger list before fold play was suspected. The evidence against Hyde proved to be overwhelming. He was found guilty, yet escaped eenviction. At his appeal the verdict was reversed on technicalities, a second trial was declared e mis- trial and at the third a jul'yman was found to have been Unduly influenced, thus upsetting the trial. Since a man could not be tried more than three times, the uidictment was dismissed. Hyde never spent a day in prison for his crimes, but Nemesis registered the ; final reckoning, Three years •later he died of typhoid! LADY DRIVERS Brown had been trying for many weeks and with great patience to teach his wife to drive. She was driving the car along a quiet country lane one day, when she suddenly scream - with fright, "Take the wheel quickly, Tome here conies a big tree!" Then there was the woman Out drivingthe inCeulltr'y, when she observed severe) line- men climbing telegraph poles. "Silly asses!" she murmured to herself, "They must think I've never driven before!". 0 Smoking Marathons Twenty-nine leen and oi,lr women took part in p' novel: smoking contest at Burghausen, Bavaria, the Other day, Standby; in line, they each 111 up a four-. and -a -half-inch cigar, The idea? TO smoke it as lOng as possible. At the end of two hours seven minutes --when the Old German cigar smoking record had been beaten—three men and two wens - en were still puffing away gently., Then one woman's cigar went out. One by One the men Bina ers dropped out, Yes, the winner was a woman, Frau Niederbuch- ner. She had achieved a new record of two hour twenty-six minutes, Judged by our standards, her achievement is not impressive. The winner of a pipe -smoking "marathon" some years ago in Britain started with an eighth of an ounce of tobacco in a briar and kept his pipe alight for two hours fifty-one minutes. One of the oddest smoking contests held in this country took place in Derbyshire. A veteran smoker undertook to smoke a pound of tobacco at one sitting. A china teapot was the "pipe" and he smoked through the spout He did it and won $150, Best Fur Coats Come From Bachelors Any ' day now a coastguard cutter will leave a western har- bour to keep the world's strang- est appointment. At a certain spot an old bull seal will appear close to the ship. Soon the waters all around will become alive with seals, all heading northward for the Bering Sea. Every year the animals keep their appointment without fail. Escorting their furry convoy, the coastguardmen keep a.watch- ful eye out for seal poachers, until the herds safely reach the mist -shrouded Prlbiloff islands in the Arctic Circle. For this desolate region is the seals' home and breeding ground, Every spring they leave the warm southern ' waters in which they have spent the winter to trek back t0 their birthplace where thousands of baby seals will be born. But first each bull seal endea- vours t0 collect the biggest harem, and savage fights break out when the younger males try to steal a "wife" for themselves. It is the unsuccessful bachelors with unscarred pelts who are destined to become fur coats for women. Soon after the new pups have been born, the mothers leave them in creches, called "pods," while they waddle into the sea to forage for food. When they return each mother unerringly picks Out her own Offspring from the mass of mewing, whimpering babies. But if one of the baby seals is orphaned it is callously neglected and eventually starves to death. When the pups are about six weeks old they are taken to the water by their parents and taught to swim. As soon as they are proficient they 'are left to look after themselves. The seals remain in the Pribi- loffs until early autumn. Then, guided by their old leader, they plunge into' the sea and head 'south. One lady to another: "I must 'hurry. It's ten to three and I have got an appointment with my psychiatrist. You see, if I'm late he starts without me." All SON ltev, it, Barclay Warren, MA., B,iD, Amos Denounces lntemperaue Amos 2:11-12; 4;1.2; .6:1-'l Memory Selection: Let no Iva iF ilonestlY, as in the day; not rioti;rg and drunkenness, Boman* -13:13, In the last lesson we noted the charges of the prophet Am010 against the social injustices cur, rent in Israel, In today's lesson Amos denounces Israel for its drinking. Even the Nazaritee. men who had vowed not t0 par; take of the fruit of the vine, were being served wine. At the same time it was being said to the prophets, "Prophecy not:" Perhaps there is more of a con- nection than we at first realize, As a nation turns more and more 10 the drinking of liquor there is less desire to hear the word of God, A Sunday finds more people nursing the aftermath .Of the drinking parties than in the house of God singing His praises. Apparently the women of Is- rael, called "kine of Basham",, joined in urging their husbands to bring on the drinks. What would Amos say if he entered a ladies' beverage r oom' or a modern cocktail lounge today? He would find women of every social strata with glassy eye and flushed cheek, reeking with alco- hol. Their loud talk indicates that the drugged brain has relaxed the inhibitions. They are not themselves. This "drinking wine in bolds'' was one of the major evils which led Amos to predict the down- fall 'of the nation. "Therefore now shall they go captive With the first that go captive, and; the banquet Of them that stretched themselves shall be removed." Was Israel worse than Can- ada? We doubt it. Canada is spending far more on liquor than on religion and education corn; biped. And the end is not yet. The railways are petitioning for the right to sell liquor in the dining cars. A campaign is on to have grocers sell wine and beer. Just where is the satura- tion point? If God punished Israel will Canada escape? There is only one sure remedy: a turning to God. People who have surrendered to Jesus Christ don't need and don't want the temporary stimulus of intoxicat- ing beverages, OVERDONE TREATMENT An old man heard about a treatment that would restore his youth. The medicine was a cer- tain extract ,made up in pills. He bought a box. But instead of taking one every day he swallowed the boxful one night. Next morning the family had great difficulty in waking the old man. At last he rolled over - and rubbed his eyes. "All right all right," he grumbled. "I'u get up, but I won't go to school." (Upside down to prevent peeping) mno,„ u©®Wt'I rlor.� 7 J1I[!I `o©n©o©[Cl[7 un a tl©nil mumu „ma i0. i1 ©0L4©p,, .©! v E © i MEE g]®®4' Ban ©ing5 c7 lafl! • n©© e,0 IR imptiorm 'IW©©LA MEW MON i&]J® 'wi©©©gid ©©aoonei©© MOD MEM VW BB . IL Sea Of Matrimony -- It'll toles more than floods to stop this couple as they ride in an ox -drawn cart after a wedding core. mony in Sires, France. A swollen river inundated the community, but hip -booted guests forgot about the flood to toast Gabrielle Hourquet and Edouard Lalane at a party on the second floor, where all was safe.