HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1951-12-5, Page 6Lost City Revealed
By Rings On Trees
For authentic facts. concerning
the history of the world during the
past 3.000 years science is now
turning to trees and their growth -
rings.
Every year a tree grows one of
these rings on the outer circum-
ference of hs trunk, underneath the
bark. If a tree is live hundred years
old there will be rive hundred
growth -rivets.
The scientists who interpret tree
rings ars known as dcndrochronol-
ogists. They neva not cut the tree
down so that they can examine its
cross-section. They have a special
tool which cuts out a piece over-
lapping the centre.
Such a wedge from a 3,500 -year-
old tree enables the expert to study
preltist.rric population movements,
to estimate when tracts of barren
land became denuded of vegetation,
and even to work out the age of
ruins.
The past history of the mysteri-
ous Chaco Canyon in New Mexico
has been solved in thie way, There
are no towns or villages in this
canyon, no trees and no plants.
Yet the ruins of substantially built
houses and temples indicate that
at one time at least 100,000 people
lived there.
Timbers preserved in the ruins
have been examined and their tree -
rings have revealed that the Chaco
was the centre of a thriving com-
munity when William the Con-
queror invaded England in 1066,
and was probably inhabited until
the middle of the 12th. century.
At that time, the tree -rings show,
the buildings and temples were
abandoned. This was because of a
crime against Nature which is only
too prevalent even in modern times.
Forests originally grew right to
the edge of the Chaco. Ceiling poles
and rafters used by the inhabitants
were of pine, and this pine must
have been very close at hand when
the temples were built, for the
people had no beasts of burden.
Today the nearest pine forests
are 60 miles away. They were gra-
dually destroyed by a nation greedy
for timber and unmindful of con-
serving the forests to keep pace
with the destruction. As the tree
border receded moisture could not
be held in the ground any longer.
Plants withered, crops would not
grow, the land became barren and
a man-made desert intruded where
fields had been.
So Man, through his. own folly,
had to depart from the Chaco and
today his temples and his houses
are in ruins.
Tipsy Animals
Chased By Kangaroo
Lucky To Escape
Kangaroos have long been looked
upon as a national menace in Aus-
tralia. Roaming at will through the
bush, they have destroyed badly -
needed grassland. But now Austra-
lian farmers have found a ready
market for kangaroo -skins in on -
erica, where they are being made
into car upholstery, shoes and other
goods calling for fine leather.'
In the more densely populated
parts of Australia, in the south and
east, Kangaroos have been threaten-
ed with extermination, but to this
day there are areas where they re-
main practically unmolested, and
almost unafraid of Man.
Between the two World Wars a
New South Wales Minister of
Lands undertook the exploration of
the huge and almost unknown Mac-
quarie Marshes to find out the pos-
sibilities of developing the area as
farmland.
He was amazed to find it a sanc-
tuary of abundant wild life—emus,
pelicans, and flocks of astonishingly
tame swans. Most remarkable of all
were the kangaroos, which he be-
lieved had not seen Man before.
They came round hint so quietly
he could take, the young out of
the mothers' pouches.
But the kangaroo can prove a
fierce and powerful opponent. The
larger species can cover a distance
of about ten yards at every bound,
and they can keep this up for
almost twenty miles without stop-
ping.
If brought to bay the kangaroo
strikes at its enemies with forward
sweeps of its hind feet and endea-
vours to rip up their bodies with
its large toes.
The forearms are to a lesser ex-
tent also' employed for offensive
purposes, and many instances have
been recorded of dogs being seized
within their grasp and then held
under water until drowned,
A year or two back only his
knife saved a man from serious in-
jury and possible death when he
was attacked by a seven -foot kan-
garoo on a sheep station in New
South Wales.
Sprinting for a wire fence, the
farmer tried to obtain a grip on
the beast's tail, but the kangaroo
swung around and seized the man
with its forepaws. It was about to
rend him with the sharp nails of
its hind feet when he whipped out
his sheath -knife and cut the kan-
garoo's throat.
It is amazing that a beast of this
size should develop front a creature
little more than an inch long. For
this is the size of a newly born
kangaroo.
They Live In Trees
There are several types of kan-
garoos, which occupy different parts
of the continent, some being wood-
landers like deer, others living in
the open like antelopes, or on the
mountains like goats.
Tree kangaroos are found in the
north' of Australia and in New
Guinea, while at least one species
frequents low-lying land subject
to, floods, hopping through shallow
water and crossing rivers of con-
siderable width and depth.
Kangaroos can be used for food
and in times of scarcity a slice of
its steak or a basin of the thick
brown soup made from its tail is
quite palatable.
In the past a dog's crimes were
mainly confined to chasing chickens
or stealing a few bones from the
butcher's. But recently dogs and
other pets have been imitating hu-
man offences.
Take Bessie, a black and brown
Airedale who was reeling around a
Southend store the other day. At
first, customers thought she was
dazed as a result of having been
run over. They called the police,
who, in their turn, consulted a vet.
No bones were broken, and the
vet was puzzled until he noticed
confetti clinging to her coat.
He smelt Bessie's breath; it was
reeking with whisky, and the diag-
nosis was "drunk and incapable."
Bessie had obviously sl been to a
ill
Y
wedding reception and had done
herself too web!
Some horses on a Bordeaux
farm because tipsy after a farm-
hand filled their buckets with wine•
He had a grudge against the owner.
The town of Natchez, Mississippi,
has taken steps to prdvide against
this sort of thing, It has passed a
law making it an offence to offer
an elephant a drink of beer.
No one was to blame, however,
for a mass outbreak of drunken-
ness among the cows and horses
on an American estate three years
ago.
The gales had blown down large
quantities of green apples, which
were gobbled up by the farm stock.
Theefruit fermented in the animals'
stomachs, and the effect was just
as if they had drunk neat alcohol.
Even birds sometimes take to
crime. A gang of swans and cyg-
nets, who had been snaking raids
on the peas in a Shoeburyness al-
lotment, had had to be escorted to
the River Crouch.
And one of the most daring of
salmon poachers on the River Se-
vern is Percy, the pelican, who
escaped from Whipsnade Zoo in
1948. Experts asked to recapture
him say the task is next to impos-.
Bible.
'rhe worst saboteurs are often to
be found annong the smallest ani-
mals. After chewing the line, one
mouse set off a Leicester burglar
alarm; another in Lincoln ate a
bole through a gas pipe.
This started a leak winch caused
an explosion when a cafe customer,
struck a match.
Bift perhaps the best exannple of
sheer nerve was shown by a small
black dog who held up two trains
on the ,Southern e d 11line,
Tail wagging, sometimes
turned back to watch the motor-
man, it walked in front of the 7.44
a.m. Shepperton to Waterloo.
'Shen it dashed over to the down
line, in the nick of time, to slow
up the 7.54 Waterloo to Windsor.
Wheat King — Holding a sheaf of his prize-winning Marquis
Wheat, world's champion wheat king, 21 year-old Howard Rop-
pel of Rockyford, Alta., wears his crown of victory over last year'sa
winner, 13 -year-old Rickey Sharpe, Howard will have his name
engraved on the Canadian National Railways' giant wheat trophy
which he won in competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter
Fair. At presentation ceremonies he received an engraved silver
tray and a cheque for $100.
Honors Canada — This stamp,
just issued by the Republic of
Korea, honors Canada as one of
the 19 nations that have sent
forces to her aid in the Korean
war. Canada has assigned a
special brigade of about 10,000
men to Korea in addition tc air
„ Transport and naval forces.
—The Greeks had a wordfor it.
The word was "athlete" and its
original meaning was "one who
competes for a prize.' And in the
early days that prize consisted of
a whole lot of applause and a small
but tasty wreath of laurel,
* *
At the start those Grecian run-
ners, jumpers, wrestlers and so
forth felt themselves web rewarded
with such prizes. But after a while
one of the boys—we suspect he
was a wrestler, but neither his
name or trade have come down to
us—began to talk to himself, and
his fellow -athletes, something like
as follows: * * *
"We gotta admit that allthis
applause is Blighty pleasant to the
ears and those wreaths look very
distinguished. Still, when you conte
right down to it, three rousing
cheers aren't nearly as thirst -
quenching as a couple scuttles of
the brew, and chew then( how you
will those laurel leaves will never
take the place of a platter of
haul -and -eggs as a steady diet."
(You willeunderstand, we hope, th'.s
is a free—very free—translation.)
* * *
Anyway, five centuries before the
very first Christmas, those Greelc
athletes' were taking it in -cash,
Amateurism was dead, and sports
competition was almost entirely
among professionals. And more
and more it begins to loolc as
though practically all sports conn -
petition, especially in the United
States, is among professionals as
web. Some of then( take it openly;
some under the table. But about
the only real amateurs left are
those who aren't good enough to
demand pay, or who conpete in
sports where there isn't any gate,
* * *
Here in Canada, our college ath-
letics have kept free—or fairly free
—front the smears that are blacken-
ing the face of college sport south
of the border. Not, perhaps, as free
as the outsider night think; but
still, not so. had, And it is to be
"Mane" Thing Is To .,lie Neat—Tropical Park Race Track's barber
shop for horses, in Miami, is getting plenty of customers these
days, Here, owner and trainer John Leyland's son, Jackie, holds
"River Scotch;" as Prancis Flynn gives the animal the shop's five
buck haircut,
be changed for a "return to amateur
sports" It acknowledged that there
had been falsification of basketball
players' scholastic records, and in-
vestigations are under way
* * *
The Streit findings coincided with
a meeting in Washington of a com-
mittee of ten university presidents
set up by the American Council
on Education to study college ath-
letic problems in the light of the
recent scandals, On Tuesday the
committee agreed that es a first
step "all • responsibility" for the
conduct of college sports should
be assumed by college presidents
—as opposed, mainly, to alumni,
* * *
Altogether, it is a sorry situation
and we in Canada would do well to
sec that our own house is in order.
When a university coach is more
widely known and better paid than
a professor or president, there's
danger in the offing.
hoped that the heads of our univer-
sities and colleges—the heads, we
said, not the coaches—are fully
aware of what is going on in the
Sides, where the whole structure
of college sport is shaking to its
very foundation. •
* *
Down 0t "the greatest nation on
the face of the earth" college ath-
letics is a multi -Million dollar busi-
ness with much fake -professional-
ism. For decades it has been com-
mon knowledge that many college
athletes are compensated for play-
ing -in tuition, board, "expense
money;' and so on, The condition
has been brought about, it is gene-
rally believed, by these influences:
the demands of alumni, who want
alma mater to win; the profits front
"big -tine" college sports, which -
help pay for minor sports and bal-
ance college budgets; college ad-
ministrators' belief that winning
teams attract students.
* *
Twice this year the United States
has been shocked by disclosures of
dishonesty in connection with sports
on the college level. First carte the
revelation that basketball players
for several New York City and
Midwestern colleges took bribes to
"fix" games for professional gamb-
lers. Then cane the revelation that
most of the West Point football
team had conspired to cheat on
examinations to avoid flunking out.
* * *
Got A Skeleton
In Your Bathroom?
Possibly there may be two or"
even three skeletons. They may not
rattle, but they may be there. Be-
cause the bathroom sponge is a
skeleton.
Once it was part of an animal
that lived and breathed and had
skin, flesh, and it even had a liquid
that passes for blood.
Twenty thousand different types
of sponge exist in the world, but
only sixteen have skeletons that
can be used in the bathroom. They
live in sea water and often attach
themselves to rocks on the sea bed.
When gathered they are offensive-
smelling masses of substance re-
sembling rubber, and they vary
in color from a greyish yellow to
dark brown or black.
Sponge -fishing is carried out in
many parts of the world, but the
most valuable sponges come from
Cyprus and islands of the eastern
Mediterranean.
The season lasts from June to
September.
Operating in tiny calques from
the port of Kyrenia, the chief cen-
tre of Cyprus's rich sponge -fishing
industry, the divers don crude div-
ing masks and slip over the side
with a weight in their hands. This
quickly drags theta down to the
sea bed.
So that they can signal to the
crew above, each diver has a life-
line, which he tugs if anything goes
aurong.
heaving reached the sea bed,
about 40 fathoms down, the diver
crawls over it, every now and then
grabbing a sponge and placing it
in a net which billows out behind
hitt.
The raw sponges are spread out
on the deck anti beaten with sticks.
Then they are trampled on, the
crew using their bare feet. Gradu-
ally the tissues and the skin come
away front the skeleton and after
repeated washings in the sea the
skeletons are strung up on strings
about six feet long and trailed in
the water over the vessel's side,
\Vhen every particle of tissue
and skin is removed the sponges
are tied to the rails and masts of
the boat to dry and bleach in the
'suss, and are then ready for export.
Sponges have no eyes and no
brains as we understand the word.
They absorb. foot) from sea water
in the form of tiny living marine
organisms,
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A couple of weeks ago the situa-
tion was dgcuntented further. In
r i sen-
tenced York
u Streit New J edge Saul St
a gambler (Salvatore Sol-
lazzo) and live former baslcetball
players to jail for bribery and gave
nine other players .suspended. sen-
tences. Before passing sentence,
Judge Streit said that his investiga-
tions had produced these case his-
tories on some of the players:
* * *
Player No. 1 graduated 638th in
high school class of 816, with aver-
age of 70,43. Was scouted by New
York University, then by City Col-
lege of New York. Records at City
College now show high school
average of 75.5. "'.Chis discrepancy
has never been explained," Judge
Streit said.
* * *
Player No. 2 was recruited by C.
C.N.Y. High school marks were
"too low" and he was "ineligible
for admission". Was admitted, how-
ever, and C.C.N.Y. fides now show
"10 -point discrepaticy" from high
school records and "signs of altera-
tion," * * *
Player No. 3 was scouted for
Long Island University, offered
"tuition", a room, books, four meal
books a weelc, valued at $5 each,
and a job," Was not required to
work at job,'got $5 or $10 a week
extra for "good athletic perform-
ance." * * *
Judge Streit said it was up to the
colleges to rid themselves of the
"evil of commercialism and over-
emphasis." There were quick re-
buttals from some campuses, Clair
Bee, basketball coach at L.I.U., said
"I- would do it the same way again
The subsidization of players,—
that's traditional."
* Other officials acknowledged that
the college should do something.
C.C,N,'it', acted protnptiyi it is a
municipal, tuitionless college where
enrollment is limited and competi-
tive, and where scholastic standards
are unusually high. The college an-
nounced that athletic policy would
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81E1)1CAL
GOD'S INTEREST IN MAN
Man is no stranger to God. But
men and
stranger to titan
a
God Is a Y
women, Why? Perhaps it's because
God seems disinterested, far off
and indifferent to what becomes of
us. How often do we hear—"Why
doesn't God stop wars?" Or again,
"\Vhy doesn't God make people
good?" These questions trouble
the minds of those.who know nei-
ther God nor man,
Man 30 no stranger to God. God
pursues man, Ile has been called
—"The Hound of Heaven." And
God's interest and concern for the
family of ratan is revealed in what
He has done for man,
Foolishly, elan in Adan broke
off friendship with God, But God
taking the long view, with an eye
to unborn generations, selected the
Jews as an .officer's training corps.
Through His appointed teachers,
the Prophets, the Jews carne to
know much about God. Proper
conduct was explained to them.
And they were led to cultivate
God's friendship through milli -
worship,
In the fullness of time the last
of the Prophets was born—John
the Baptist. He announces a new
era that began with the birth of
Christ. The Jews had been pre-
pared for this moment, From now
on God through Christ, would
include the world in His special
interest. To the ends of the earth
and to the end of time God would
pursue man, For His officers, the
Apostles, were to train others as
He had trained them. Tiley were
to teach His will and convey His
help to all the world' till its end.
This is Christ's Church, No, God
has not forgotten man. And the
Catholic Church has much more
to say about—"The Found of
Heaven,"
This is one of a series of
messages by Father V. McGivney,
Parish Priest, St. Francis Parish,
Pickering, Ont,
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