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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1944-03-09, Page 6-I)AGE • JCeep Pullets on Pasture In Summer, Expert Says . Pullets about to begin laying should now be out on pasture and should be kept there all summer,. siceoading to V. E. Scott o the Una. •varsity o Nevada agricultural ex tension service. "If there is no • available range, give them as large • a run as possible and see that they • have an abundance of green feed," he says. Lawn clippings may be scattered in the run several times a day. Pullets should be well developed before they begin to lay, the exten- sion !flan said, horns weighing3 • ' Le g to 3% pounds and heavy breeds 5 pounds. A good protein mash also •is recommended to promote laying. • "Keep a hopper of high -protein mash open at •all times and feed 8 to 10 pounds of grain per 100 pullets daily," Scott suggested. "If the pul- lets have a large range, scatter the grain quite a distance from the house to induce them to range far out. If yards are small, clean them out frequently to prevent the accu- mulation of droppings. "Running water in the yard is de- sirable, but stagnant mud holes or pools should be avoided, for they en- courage disease and form hatching places for the eggs of internal para- sites." Belgium Congo Treasure House for Raw Material Founded as a free state in 1885 by King Leopold II, the Belgian Congo has an area 75 times as large as the mother country. Congo census takers could count more than 10 million noses, about a fourth above the figure for Belgium. Most significant feature of the land is the Congo river and its branches, broken with falls and rap- ids but navigable for nearly 4,000 miles. Dense, dark forests cover an area of the upper basin as big as West Virginia. • Rim of the basin tops 1,600 feet. Highland tempera- tures average 70 degrees Fahren- heit; lowland, 80 degrees. Mean rainfall is about 43 inches. Copper plated, diamond studded, the Congo is a veritable war chest of vital materials. In the Katanga district the copper -bearing belt is 250 miles long, from 2a miles to 50 miles wide. Production has run 20,000 tons a year. Chlorine Bleach Javelle water is one of the chlo- rine bleaches and is easily made. Stir one-half pound of washing soda into a quart of cold water. Add one- fourth pound of bleaching powder (commonly called chloride of lime). Strain the liquid through muslin or several thicknesses of cheesecloth and store the clear liquid in a bottle with a tightly fitting stopper ready for use. When using javelle water on mil- dew place the stained fabric over a bowl and apply the bleach to the mildewed spot with a medicine dropper. Let the bleach remain on ,the fabric for one minute—not long- er—since javelle water is not "choosey" and will attack the fibers as well as the mildew if given half a chance. To stop the action of the chlorine left in the fabric by the javelle water, dip the material im- mediately in a solution made of one tablespoon of sodium thiosulphate and one to two tablespoons of vine- gar to each gallon of water. Then rinse the fabric thoroughly in clear lukewarm water. • Franklin Foresaw Paratroops Benjamin Franklin, in 1783, was serving as ambassador to France from the young, vulnerable United States, and like the wiliest modern military attache he looked for new Methods of warfare that might at - fed the security of his country. He witnessed in Paris pn November 21, 1783, the balloon demonstration that went down in history as mankind's first authenticated ascent into the air. The same day he talked with one of the inventors of the para-. chute. Two months later he wrote that a country might in the future have to defend itself from "Ten Thousand Men Descending from the Clouds." Legendary Geek Heroes Were No Mean Inventors The prehistoric Birdmen apf the Mediterranean were the inventor - architect Daedalus and hia seeking son, Icarus, • Daedaltuf ap- pears in classic legends as the Thomas Edison and Orville Wright of Greek civilization 3,000 years ago. He invented a wooden cow and a mechanical soldier of bronze: Mirios, king of Clete, conarnissionael him to invent a new kind of palace. The result was the Labyrinth at ICnossos, whose maze of intricately winding corridors gave a word to the. Enga lish language. After a dispute the king imprisoned the inventor and his son, and as a final precaution against their escape from the island ordered every ship to be searched for stowaways. Then Daedalus gave the first dem- onstration of what is today a truism among military experts—that con- trol of the land and sea is not secure without control of the air as well. Borrowing directly from the birds, he joined feathers to make four big wings. He and Icarus attached the wings to their arms with wax. By a combination, of gliding and flap- ping, they soared from the guarded shoresf Ct The island of their take -off, by another coincidence, was captured by the Germans in 1941 in the world's first mass demonstra- tion of glider attack. Weevil and Mite Two • Unwelcome House Guests The strawberry root weevil and the clover mite are recent additions to the list of objectionable house- hold pests. Seeking only winter shelter, these pests harm no one but do present a problem due to their extremely small size and large numbers. While the strawberry root weevil can seriously injure newly set plants, the housewife is chiefly con- cerned with the invasion of her home by the beetle seeking winter shel- ter. This is a small, dark brown, wingless beetle -about one-fifth inch in length and streamlined. Invasion occurs during the , late summer months and into September when huge numbers are likely to move in. Clover mites are tiny and spider - like, reddish brown in color, with long front legs. They constitute one of the principal enemies of fruit trees, attacking especially dur- ing dry seasons. The eggs hatch early in spring and breeding con- tinues through several generations during the growing season. Infest- ed foliage assumes a blanched, yel- lowish, sickly appearance. In autumn they 'seek hibernation quar- ters and that is when the housekeep- er sees them swarming up the sides of her home and entering in ways unsuspected and unprotectable. Tung Trees Tung trees grow to 30 feet or more and live 35 years or more. Due to its attractive appearance, tung is often planted for ornamental pur- poses. Snowwhite or pinkish flowers blossom in the spring and are fol- lowed by broad, dark green leaves. The trees usually begin to bear the fruit from which the oil is derived in the third year, and should be bearing fully by the sixth or seventh year. The fruit, two or three inches in diameter, ,resembles a small to - mato in shape. Each fruit consists of a single outer husk, with usually five seeds or nuts. Fisher Near Extinction Nearing extinction in California, and also in other parts of the United States, is the fisher, a marten -like mammal of the weasel family. The fisher is valued by fur trappers, the skin being worth from $25 to $50. The catch in California has declined from 102 in 1920 to an average of three per year in the last five years. A second reason for preserving the fisher is that it preys on the porcupine. The quills of this animal seem to be ineffective against the fisher. The fisher is further in need of protection, since it produces only ,-/rie litter per year consisting of one to four kits. Child's Eyes Supple In a child the focusing mechanism of the eyes is supple and flexible, but with advancing age the focus- ing tissues stiffen until at 40 years of age the eyes of the average per- son normally have a focusing range only one-quarter of that possessed at the age of 10 years, according to the Heiler Vision institute. At 10 years of age the eyes of the average person have a range of accommodation for neer and far vision of about 14 diopters, says the institute. (A lens with a focal length of over' three feet has a re- fractive •power of one diopter.) At 20 years of age the range of accom- modation of the average eye is re- duced to about 10 diopters, and at 30 years, seven diopters. By 40 years normal eyes have lost most of their "rubber" and have a flexibility that permits a range of focusing of only about 41/2 diopters. By 50 years the range drops to 21/2, and at 60 years it normally is only one diopter. Precedence Over Flag According to the United States Flag association, the United States flag takes precedence over every other flag, including the Christian flag. The reason the country's flag is given the place of honor when flown beside the Christian flag is that the United States has no state church. There is but one exception, says the association. In the navy, the church pennant, which is not the flag of the church, but a signal flag to indicate that the crew is at church, is displayed during the di- vine service on shipboard, being, according to navy custom, flown above the national flag. This pen- nant represents no particular church but it signifies the acknowledg- ment of the existence of the Creator and is flown to indicate that divine service is beipg conducted. There is no such custom in the army. CLINTON'T�E N)EWS•RECORD Sulphur Dust Prevents •Attack From Chiggers One very annoying pest that seems to thrive in warm summer weather is the chiggee. In one sections tale' tigrais a'nd woods`, are infested practically the entire sea- son. While, it is difficult toPretect completely aroln their attaelta therel should be no delay in dealing With them. Prompt action is, necessary to prevent severe itching, scratching and sometimes infection During the worst of the chigger season entomologists suggest the daily dusting of bodies of children with fine sulphur. Sulphur dusted on the clothes and legs of adults, when it is necessary for them to spend some time in the brush or weed -covered areas, will give some protection. . But when children have been ex- posed to chiggers, give them a hot bath as soon as possible afterwards, Lather their bodies all over with a good mild soap, rubbing it onto the flesh with a coarse wash cloth, and then rinse well to dislodge any chig- gers that may be on them. To stop bites from itching, try dilute ammonia water, strong salt water or bicarbonate of soda mixed with water. Touching each bite with colodian (new -skin) also relieves itching. If these bites become in- fected, physicians recommend the application of a mild antiseptic such as mercurochrome or a solution of iodine. Cotton and Alcohol Form Cold -Resistant Plastic A new plastic made from cotton is playing a vital part in -production of American bombers and fighting planes, Robert J. Metzler, technical engineer, announced. • Ethyl cellulose, made by chemists from cotton and alcohol, can with- stand the lowest freezing tempera- ture of any know plastic, or it can be formulated to bear up under temperature as high as 175 degrees Fahrenheit, he stated. In subzero stratosphere cold, ethyl cellulose plastic is used to insulate wires of airplane engines, because the cotton plastic wiring won't snap under the frigid conditions. Ethyl cellulose is also used to make aluminum parts for airplanes. A hot -melt solution poured into molds makes the forms on which the various aluminum parts are stamped. Metzler revealed that one of the nation's largest producers of purified cotton linters from which cellulose plastics are made has expanded its ethyl cellulose output for war needs. The new, soft ethyl cellulose plastics used to resist freezing cold, were developed last year as a re- placement for rubber in some uses. Electrified Rails • Long before the European conflict loomed, Italyhad begun the 1 trification of its railways in order to make up for the fuel shortage. In 1922; some 500 miles of railway were operated by electricity. With plenty of water power available in its mountain districts, the country had raised that figure to more than 3,200 miles by 1939. An additional 200 miles were completed in 1939-40. Coal, however, remains a problem for most of the Italian railways. Also, in wartime, electrified lines may present an even greater handi- cap in case of bombing. For when power installations are put out of commission, the effects arh '4015 not simply in the bombed area,but all along the line. a‘ Aged Tree A fallen redwood tree which was about 15 feet high more than 1,200 years ago, tells a story which is recounted by Emanuel Fritz, asso- ciate professor of forestry on the Berkeley campus of the University of California. The tree was four feet in diameter at the time of the Norman conquest of England, nearly six feet in diameter When the Magna Charta was Signed in 1215 and near- ly nine feet when Columbus discov- ered America. This great tree was probably 1,229 years of age and had a height of between 310 and 320 feet. It would have made 95,000 board feet of lum- ber and would have weighed about 500 tons. It fell March 13. 1933. Its rings, one added each year, show that it underwent fires in 1595, 1789, 1806 and 1820. A completely healed fire scar, caused in 1147, left a weakness which later caused a radial crack, Its root system, too, tells a story of its survival of seven great floods which deposited silt that raised the ground level more than 11 feet. One heavy flood, a thousand or more years ago, left a deposit of silt 21/2 feet deep and which caused a new root system to develop to fit the higher ground level. 'Infrared'Paints Give ` Camouflage Perfect Color "Infrared" paints used in camou- flage not only have the same color to the human Oye as do the natural surroundinga, but they photogFaph the same as the natural environ- inent. The result ia that a dark green infrared reflecting paint will photograph juat aS light as dark "green foliage or grass and so nullify • the enemy photographer's efforts to specify a target for bombs • "Industrial Finishing" comments that the military value of infrared photographs is based upon the fact that common objects reflect visible - light and.,, infrared rays in a quite different xnanner. Most green vege- tation, for example, reflects infrared light. The military targets blended into the landscape by the artful use of orthodox green paints would not escape detection by the infrared aerial camera, because the painted surfaces would stand out in marked contrast to the foliage -- black against white in the photograph. Modern scientific developments enable the use of green paints that not only visibly match surrounding natural green, but also equal their infrared reflectance powers and ac- cordingly match in the infrared pho- tograph as well. Other colors (olive and field drab, loam black, earth red, brown and yellow) are also possible in the range of paints that are more than they appear to be to the human eye, says the commen- Gas Pesky Ant Colonies Romans Used Convoys to ear Ira es o With Carbon Bisulphiderm • p t F se • Judging from inquiries and from genetal. observation, ants are nu- merous this season, particularly in learns, say entomologists at the New York state experiment station at Geneva. The cheapest and most et fective remedy is gadsing the Colo- nies with carbon bisulphide, say the specialists. One treatment generally suffices, the material is cheap and easy to apply, and it does not injure the lawn. Carbon bisulphide is highly inflammable and care must be exer- cised that it does not come in close contact with a lighted match, cigar, cigarette or pipe. Ants show themselves in various ways in lawns and gardens, explain the station specialists. Sorrie,Tapecies build conspicuous nests. or "hills," while others cover the wide areas in the lawn with the openings to their underground quarters. In ei- ther case, the treatment is the same —gassing with carbon bisulphide— according to a statement from the station. "The best way to get the fumes of carbon bisulfide into an ant col- ony," continues the statement, "is to make small holes about 8 to 12 inches deep and six to eight inches apart around and through the in- fested area. In each of these open- ngs place one tablespoonful of the carbon bisulfide and cover it imme- diately with soil." e Convoying ships goes back to ear ly Roman times, says the Natiopa Geographic society. pirates were the enemies that first made convoy tator. Vatican City Is State Complete infacilities Vatican City is the world's small- est state, an administrative island ,completely surrounded by Italy. It is a sovereign, independerit, and separate City State recognized as having the usual political, civil, and diplomatic appurtenances of em- pires and kingdoms. It has its own army, coins money, prints postage stamps. • The City crowns an eminence from which a soothsaying king of legendary Rome gave to the people his vaticinia, supposed messages from the gods. The ridge which con- stitutes the site was outside Rome's ancient limits. Total area is about 109 acres, about one-eighth the acreage of New York city's Central park. Despite its small size, Vatican City includes the world's largest church,. St. Peter's; it has a Pon- tifical Palace of 1,000 rooms, a well- equipped observatory, a mint, pow- er plant, and printing presses for its newspaper and bulletins. It has gar- dens and courts, a school, post of- fic, grocery store, garage, a jail, and air-raid shelters. Among the modern facilities is a powerful broadcasting station in- stalled by 'the wireless -telegraphy pioneer Marconi. Before 1929 com- munication with the outside world was limited to a few telephones. Telephone service now links the Papal offices with all countries. Feed Hogs Cull Spuds Cull Irish potatoes should be fed to hogs ;because four pounds of po- tatoes are equal to a pound of corn and they can be used to good ad- vantage to help offset the existing feed shortage, says Ellis V. Vestal, extension swine specialist at State college. He advises that 'the potatoes should be cooked before they are fed to the hogs and that they should compose about half the ration, with the other half of the ration being the usual grain, protein supplement, and mineral mixture. Not only should potatoes be fed but also all other waste farm residues like pea- nuts and soybeans left in the field. Vestal warned that decaying or musty soybeans and peanuts can cause digestive troubles and that hogs should be removed from the fields in the late fall when the win- ter rains set in. Keep Crabs Alive Like other shellfish, crabs must be alive up to the moment they are prepared, but the cleaning is a very easy job. Office of the co-ordinator of fisheries. says the simplest way to kill thein is to stick a small, sharp knife into the body between the eyes. Next step is to cut off the mouth, eyes and gills, the white spongy fibers under the pointed ends of the soft shell. In so doing the "sand- bag," or fluid bag, is also loosened. Then turn the crab on its back and remove the "apron" or ventril plaque, which is a small loose shell running to a point about the mid- dle of the undershell. Insert your fingers and lift out the loosened fluid bag. All this can be done in about a minute, and the crab should then be washed thoroughly and dried. Musicians Fought The musicians attached to the famed Fifth marines who turned back the German advance at Bel- leau. Wood in 1918 laid aside their instruments to get into the thick of that action. They served as stretch- er-bearers, medical aides and mes- sengers in the battle. Many of them were decorated for heroism under fire, and some of them never came back for their instruments. Musi- cians of the Fifth regiment today wear the French fourragere, a green and red braided cord decoration which the French government awarded to the outfit in recognition of its thrice•cited conspicuous ac- tion. Expert Says Daisies Carry Potato Disease Daisies carry the virus that causes the potato yellow -dwarf dis- ease, according to studies conducted by S. G. Younkin of the Cornell uni- versity agricultural experiment sta- tion at Ithaca. Formerly clovers were considered the source of this virus, one of the most serious in the state affecting potatoes. Daisies and a few other weeds actually carry the disease, and the virus is spread to potato plants by the clover leafhopper When the insects move to green potato fields from adjoining abandoned fields or meadows. Movement is usually in dry weather or after hay has been cut. About 45 per cent of the daisy plants in the test fields carried the virus, while only 3 per cent or less of any other weed was found infect- ed with yellow dwarf. Only one clo- ver plant in the test plots was found infected. The disease causes severe crop losses if tubers from infected potato plants are used for seed the following year. Diseased daisy plants are dwarfed and in spring or fall show rosettes of curled, twisted leaves. During most of the summer they appear normal, except for their smaller size. Ho -Ho -Ba The jojoba bush (pronounced ho - ho -ba) may provide a new source of wealth for Mexico's semi -arid re- gions in the northern states and in lower California. Reports in the Mexican press say the jojoba bush has been found to produce an excellent liquid wax. The jojoba nuts which yield the wax, according to the reports, have been commanding as high as $200 a ton for export to the United States. Experimentation in the cultivation of the nuts under irrigation has been started near Florence, Ariz. The jojoba bush is considered adapted for growing in Arizona and New Mexico as well as south of the Rio Grande. Studded With Villas Situated on Italy's north coast near the western tip of the island, Palermo looks across the Tyr- rhenian sea toward Italy. From the road up Mt. Pellegrino, bold head- land to the north, the city is seen spread on the seaward side of the broad, fertile plain of Conca d'Oro (Golden Shell) facing a spacious bay. Papal Territory The surrounding countryside • is Before the unification of Italy in 1870 the Papal territory stretched across mid -Italy from sea to sea, included more than 3,000,000 people. From 1870 to 1928, the Vatican was the property of the Italian govern- ment, and use rested on government grant. What had become known as "the Roman question" was peacefully settled in le929. Italy recognized the Holy See's absolute power and sov- ereign jurisdiction within Vatican City. The See recognized the king- dom of Italy under the rule of the House of Savoy with Rome as the capital of the Italian state. A cash indemnity of more than $39,000,000, plus Italian government bonds to the amount of about $52,500,000 was paid to the See for the loss of its tem- poral possessions. Parachuting Was Sport • The Russians took up parachuting as a sport after a Russian army of- flcer suggested it as a means of at- tracting Soviet youth to flying. He got his idea from watching an American county fair crowd en- thralled by the jump of a parachute stunter. In 1935. the Russian army in its war games demonstrated before for- eign attaches a mock capture of an airport by a brigade of 3,500 para- chutists, who received their equip- ment also from the skies, including light tanks' and artillery. The Ger- man attache's report of this inci- dent is presumed to have inspired the training of Nazi parachute troops. studded with villas, the city with parks and gardens green with palms and bright with flowers, Balmy Mediterranean climate at its best— mild and sunny—won Palermo prof- itable patronage as a winter resort. Apple Honey Freshens "Apple honey," a new phase of cigarette manufacture since the war, is now being produced from Nova Scotia apples. The apple honey, a form of syrup, made out of a former waste product, is used to protect the freshness of the tobacco in cigarettes and takes the place of glycerine, now in great demand for war purposes. Research work is being carried on to see if the syrup can be used in bakery prod- ucts, cosmetics, and as a syrup base for drugs and laxatives. Research orkers have used it as a spread on bread and pandakes and find the taste agreeable. Great Lakes High Study of data from the 'United States Lake Survey office indicates that water levels on the Great Lakes are higher than they have been at any time aor 14 years. Lake Superior is less than six inches be- low the modern all-time high of 603.65 feet above sea level estab- lished in 1916. Lake Ontario at 248.74 is higher now than at any time since 1870 when it reached 250 feet above sea level. Lake Erie at 574.05 feet and Lakes Huron and Michigan at 581 feet are all crowding high levels set in 1929. necessary, Rome's early pirate destroyere copied the light swift galleys of the Liburnians, a maritime people whc lived on Adriatic shores. The Ro• mans increased the speed of sat with rows of oars. After Pompey cleared the Mediterranean of pi. rates, communications still had tc be guarded to frontiers, beyond. Piracy later became more mem acing, often encouraged by nations to block trade rivals. Protection from pirates was one of the reasone for the Hanseatic league of German port cities. As soon 'as merchant vessels became virtually warships, they could protect themselves when sailing together in a fleet. At first voluntary, such co-operation was later regulated by law. England built 34 men-of-war to op. pose Spain's "Invincible /armada," but most of the British fleet in the engagement of 1588 was made up of merchant vessels manned by their regular crews. Merchant seamen constituted a naval reserve, and when captured were treated as pris. oners of war. Now X -Ray Machine Okays Airplane Castings A new mass production X-ray ma- chine capable of inspecting as many as 17,000 airplane castings in a 24- hour day has been developed. This revolutionary machine, which for the first time brings the advantages of assembly line speed to X-ray work, makes it possible to X-ray metal castings for defects at a rate of one every five seconds. As a re - suit, America's growing air forces will get better airplanes faster. Key to this new unit's speed is a moving conveyor 40 feet long and three feet wide that transports the castings through the X-ray inspec- tion and provides the fastest meth- od yet devised to spot flaws in large quantities of metal parts. This unit produces an exposed film of six castings every 30 seconds—or the equivalent of one casting every five seconds—to provide an almost continuous flow of exposed film ready for .developing. When devel- oped, each film shows an inside view of the six castings. The faulty castings with "blow" holes, cracks and other defects then can be "weeded" out, so that no man-hours or machine -hours will be wasted on imperfect castings. Fool Eye Trees, telephone poles and other tall objects appear to the eye taller than they actually are. A 30 -foot pole standing erect appears to the human eye much longer than a sim- ilar pole of exactly the same length lying on the ground. The tendency of the eye to ex- aggerate the height of vertical ob- jects gives rise to many'optical il- lusions, says the Better Vision in- stitute. This overestimation of ver- tical lines is explained by the fact that the eyes are accustomed to moving in a horizontal plane at eye level. This can be demonstrated easily by counting off with the eyes 10 feet vertically on a wall, and then 10 feet horizontally. It's much easier to move the eyes across the wall. Palermo Busy Port Most of the trade of western Sicily passed through Palermo. The city's 410,000 people were sellers and ship- pers of the products of Sicily's fields, vineyards and orchards—lem- ons, oranges, wine, sumac (for tan- ning' and dyeing), almonds, and spaghetti and similar flour paste products. Phoenicians founded the original town; Greeks named it Panormus (all harbor) from the big bay at the settlement's front door. After the Phoenicians had their day, Palermo felt the heavy hand of Romans, Bar- barians, Byzantines, Arabs, Nor- mans, Swabians, Spaniards, and Bourbons. Rust Wartime Enemy Not only are the tanks, guns, bull- dozers and other major metal equip. ment of the armed forces protected from grueling attacks of climate by the protective coatings manufac. tured by the paint, varnish and lac. quer industry, but also a vast vol. ume of repair parts down to very small pieces also must be similar- ly protected. Even food cans are given protective coatings both inside and outside to prevent them from being attacked and eaten through to their perishable contents, during the voyages to their destinations, which may be in the Arctic or in equato- rial seas. Has Claim to Job There are all kinds of jobs in the navy, but Jack 17. Steyskal, seaman first class, believes he has a 100. year-old claim to his. Jack is king of the tailor shop at the Detroit Naval armory—it's his job to keep the boys in stitches He has quite a reputation to live up to because his family founded the first tailor shop in Michigan, 100 years ago, on the site where the Book -Cadillac hotel now stands. To top it all off, his grandfather was personal tailor to Gen. George Armstrong Custer. Now the grandson is personal tailor to quite a handful of prospeclive ad- mirals. Indians to. Aid in Greater- (' Production Campaign miHneosn aT.nd AR. 00n7easr; h aMa i an ni sntaeur n aoctt that a campaign, 'designed. to further increase Tredlietion on Indian 'reser-, ves, has been organized by the Indian Affairs Branch. The actual reserVe acreage under cultivation during the. last crop year was the greatest it has ever been, although large numbers of Indians have experienced little ficulty in securing gainful 'employ- ment iii war industries and in cord wood and pulpwood operations. In the campaign of this year, specie/ emphasis will be placed upon the. cultivation of subsistence gardens on reserves. Instructional charts em- phasizing' the food value of vegetab- les have been distributed and seed will be supplied' to all Indians who. are unable to make such purchases. Thirteen thousand dollars' worth of garden seeds have already been pur- chasecl for distribution in British. Columbia. In addition to the em- phasis on subsistence gardens, Indians M the lake areas will be en- couraged to extend their fishing, operations. Twenty thousand dollars' worth of fishing nets have been pur- chased for distribution to the Indians of northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan,. and Alberta. Officials of the Branch point out that the Indians of Canada are col. lectively the largest single land- owners in the Dominion. The total area of reserve lands amounts to. 5,423,734 acres. Of this area approxi. mately 2,916,863, acres are wooded. Them are 2,159,652 acres cleared but not cultivated and, 210,921 acres; actually under cultivation, and yet despite these large land holdings, the Indians as a group have never been wholly self-supporting from a pro, duction standpoint. Last year one million dollars' worth of foodstuffs,. including bacon, beef, lard, flout', rolled oats, and rice, was purchased from* parliamentary appropriations and from Indian trust funds, for db.-. tribution to needy Indians. Indianwill also he encouraged to • make a substantial contribution to the nation's meat supply. This year pure-bred bulls to the valua of $20... 000 have been purchased for distri- bution to Indians in the Prairie; Provinces, and two departmental goat, herds have been established at Span. ish and Golden Lake, Ontario. It' is intention of the Department to dis. tribute from these farms a number of small goat herds to northern agena cies in the province. The establish, - meat of these herds represents an. attempt to provide the Indian with an adequate milk supply enabling him to enjoy a balanced diet. These. goats are the -dairy type (Saimaa). and a mature goat will, under favour. able conditions, produce approximata ely one gallon of milk per day. Young. male goats that are not required for breeding purposes are killed for meat and the Indians find the skins of these useful for the production of windbreakers, gloves and moccasins. Officials express the opinion that Indians are becoming inereasitigly. interested in the production of limit, ry. Requests have recently been ma ceived from a number of reserves in Eastern Ontario far 11 brooder hous. es and 6,000 baby chicks. Requests. have also reached the Department from Ontario bands for apple and plum trees, raspberry canes and, strawberry plants—for planting on reserves. V Expect Smelt areWiped Out: in Great Lakes A mysterious disaster which de- stroyed millions of Great Lakes smelt a ,'ear ago is believed to be so complete that probably none will be taken this spring when the fish, I normally swarm into the tributary streams. Commercial fishermen usually take a catch of about 5 million pounds of smelt, a small silvery fish related to the salmon family, and amateur, fishermen usually catch two or three times that many, so plentiful are they at the ihne of the ,spring spawning runs, When the epidemic struck last. winter, a large number of smelt were, examined for traces Of disease, bat no clue to the cause of death has been found. The epidemic was first noticed in southern Lake Michigan and spread northward to the other Great Lakes. V "I didn't get much food at first. I lost 43 pounds in the first six months,. but gained twenty of them back when the Canadian Red Cross parcels be. gan to arrive for the prisoners. Prisoners vaere given a bowl of Mac- aroni (mostly all water) each day, while about all the meat they saw were 2 or 3 pieces the size of soda biacuits 'for the week's ration. If we were lucky it was horse meat, brat we were always afraid it might .be. dog. •