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Clinton News Record, 1944-08-17, Page 6GE 6•' ON N' S. CORD r 4J'l,r� Jy. ,i UG. 17th 1944: Dap Legend•Says,'lsles 4, Populated by Goddess' Kin According .to the "Rojiki" and 'the Nrhong," two en leddagy histories fof Japan written in the eighth foen- Jury A. D.,the . Japanese islands •dwere created by. the •union •ef :two deities, ;`Izanagi (the eriale •who 4n- vites) and his yyounger. sister Iran - ami (the tfernale-Who-i nviited). Be: tween the• two they not,only gave birth to the islands ,but produced numerous gods an goddesses who inhabited them. Amaterasu'Omikarni, the sun -god - ';des after a series of e uarrels with s, q lher brother, decided to populate the "land of reed plains" with her. own brood. So she sent her grandson with the• command: "This seed -plain land of 15;000 autumns •ef fair rice - :eaters is the country•over•which my descendants. Shall be lords. Do thou, my august .grandchild,' proceed thither and rule over it. Go! and may prosperity attend thy dynasty, and it shall, like heaven and earth, endure forever. " ' From this divine brood came Jinn - mu Tenno (the divine -warrior heav- ,'enly-emperor) who allegedly ascend- ed the throne on February 11, 660 B. C. The dynasty thus founded is supposed to have continued for 26 centuries, through a line of 124 em- perors and empresses, down to Hiro- hito, the present'inoumbent. Price Increases General Through World Since 1939 During recent years, 'commodity ;prices in all countries have shown an upward trend although the move- ment has been somewhat erratic. A recent study published in• the League of Nations' Monthly Bulle- tin shows that the inderi of wholesale .prices—on the basis of January - June, 1939, as 100—was 135 in the 'United States in the middle of 1943, and 137 in Canada. The price index in Great Britain was higher, standing at 166, but the indexes in the other British countries showed smaller increases. The in- dex of wholesale prices in the Union of South Africa in the middle of 1943 stood at 149, that of New Zealand at 145, and that of Australia at 139. In the various Latin American na- tions, prices have shown a more pronounced rise from the prewar level than in the United States or in Great Britain. Thus, for exam- ple, the index stood at 205 in Peru and at 198 in Argentina and Chile in the middle of this year. Irritating Light Raw, irritating light is harmful to the eyes, and glare can usually be avoided through the use of deep shades with broad bases which al- low the light to spread out over a wide area. Small shades with straight sides are light hoarders, so replace them with larger, more open -type ones if you can. Raise small, squatty lamps to a•height of 18 to 20 inches by setting them on wooden blocks, then fit them with larger shades that have sufficient diameter to permit a good spread of light. Lighten shades if you .possibly can. Parchment or paper shades can be painted on the inside with a good white liquid shoe polish or with a quick -drying white paint. Sometimes it is easier to renew a darkened or discolored shade by fit- ting it with a.'new'lining ,cut from heavy white paper. To do this, use the shade as a guide, rolling it slow- ly- while you trace the pattern on the paper. Cut out the lining, trim the edges slightly and fasten it in- side the old shade: • We'b of Streams The Pripet region borders the slug- gish course of the Pripet river as it flows, eastward across the prewar boundary between eatst-central ,Po- land and the Soviet Union. It covers an area of 20: -to 30,000' square miles, roughly the size of West Virginia. An • intricate . web. of . streams; canals, lakes, pools, , swamps and swamp forests marks the. Pripet country. It repeatedly has been a strategic' area in wartime. In 1915 the Germans were halted at its west - :ern e'dge.• Later the Russians 'launched from the Pripet marshes oneof the most successful and dramatic counteroffensives of World War L Soldier's Fare In terms of meat, a soldier eats 400 pounds of hogs (live weight), or 500 pounds of broilers or fryers, or 550 pounds of beef cattle. He needs a case of eggs, or about 30 dozen; 45 gallons of milk, or• a pint a day; and 52 pounds' of butter. As to po- tatoes it, is 41 bushels of Irish'po- tatoes' or five bushels of sweet po- tatoes. Give him 260 pounds of fresh and. canned vegetables, 230 pounds oftomatoes or citrus fruits, and 100 pounds of other fruits. Grow about 31 bushels` of wheat for him be- cause it takes this amount to fur- nish him with 234 pounds of bread. Isolate Mastitis Victims After a cow has been found to have mastitis, she should be moved so as to be milked after the mastitis - free cows. Better yet would be to isolate such cows in a separate barn if available. Good results, how- ever, niay be obtained from keeping infectedcows in the same barn if they are milked last. First -calf heif- ers are most free from mastitis and good management dictates that they be milked first, followed by the nor- mal older cows and infected Cows last U. S. Welcomes Antimony Supplies From Mexico In the matter of antimony ores, the United States is virtually a have- not nation. Fifteen years ago the country looked to Chhia for most of its supply of the metal, and was thus. about as dependent on the Far East for this fraterial as„3t Was for •rubber. With,. Ole' development' et antiirlony mines in Mexico and Bo- livia a close-to=home supply is as- sured. American industry'xi-wets Mexican ore at the border like a solicitous host ushering in a guest at the front door. This country's largest '.anti- mony smelter; has been set up on the north bank of the Rio 'Grande at Laredo, Texas. Railways bring a stream of ore:, across the interna- tional boundary and soon carloads of tin -white antimony' "cakes” are rolling' north to factories. A cake is slab of cast antimony 10 inches square and 21/4 inches thick. The metal is worth abotxt 14 cents a pound. Scrap plays an important part in the antimony industry. Approxi- mately half of the metal used in the United States in recent years has been salvaged from old battery plates, cable sheaths, lead pipe, and such odds and ends as radiator cap ornaments and candle sticks. Florence Once Was Rich In Art and Commerce Florence, Italy, rose to the pin- nacle of art and culture in the 14th century, when it ranked among the great financial, industrial and com- mercial centers of the world. Many of its commercial buildings were often architectural gems. Its na- tive artists created a center that at- tracted Italy's best talent. Michelangelo, Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Bandinelli, Raphael, Correg- gio, Botticelli, Benvenuto Cellini and other artists were born or lived in Florence. Their studios produced sculpture and paintings for palaces and churches that have made the city one of the tourist magnets of Europe. Most famous of the many Floren- tine churches is the Duomo. No- where else in the world has man built a roof to enclose so vast a pillarless void, without flying but- tresses. It was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, who built the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. First Cold -Cut Nail In the year 1777 Jeremiah Wilkin- son of Cumberland, 11. I., invented a machine by means of which he made what was apparently the first cold -cut nail in history. Nine years later Ezekiel Reed of Bridgewater, Mass., contributed a similar inven- tion and in 1798 obtained a patent for cutting and heading nails at one operation. Meanwhile, Jacob Perkins of New- buryport, Mass., invented his nail cutting. machine about 1790 and pat- ented it in 1795. This machine is alleged to have turned out 200,000 nails per day, or about 100 times the best output of an experienced nailmaker working by hand. By" the turn of the . century the household manufacture of nails had been almost completely superseded by. factories. which rose throughout New England and the Middle Atlan- tic states.' ' • New Steel Designs Three years ago. the American Iron and Steel institute established a research fellowship at a big uni- versity to find out the best designs of beams and other structural mem- bers made of thin but very strong sheets of steel. The research (which still goes on) has uncovered many interesting facts that designers, architects . and " engineers hadn't dreamed of before but which you may find in that new house you're planning to build aftdr the war. • But right now, . the men who de- sign our fighting airplanes are put- ting:. to very good use some of the results of the steel industry's re- search. The bomber of today is be- ing built like the house of tomorrow. Meat Substitute Soybeans have proved to be a good meat substitute for many fam- ilies, as they are low in cost, and supply more energy, more protein, and mote fat to the pound than do most cuts of meat. Though less than 8 per cent of the soybeans produced in the country are used for human food, supplies should be adequate as the soybean crop has doubled from 1941 to 1942. Soya flour, flakes and grits are the most used forms of soybeans in human food. Soybeans may be cooked as are other beans for the table. To increase the vitamin con- tent of the beans as food they may be sprouted before cooking. South American Steel Latin American nations will have a combined capacity for producing approximately 1,400,000 tons of steel ingots and castings upon the com- pletion of certain new plants now under construction. At that time, steel capacity in all of Latin America will be somewhat less than ,the size of the steel indus- try of prewar Poland and some- what more than that in Sweden. Brazil and Mexico together will account for close to 85. per cent of the total Latin American steel in- dustry. Plants in Peru, Argentina, Chile . and Colombia together will represent a little morerilran 15 per cent. -Increase LOC ker.Siart gq With Proper Planning Five' hundred to 1;000 zenits :OT r T. , the family's home- hewn p,rieltable g , , . • cods can . be 'L anput hx0ul�h tj, fiotic+ri food locker i r . f •tl'ie t7tortt t in i, .,. • g schedule is properly managed, Al- though an average Pocket will !hold only about 200 pounds of food at, any one : time this 'ca acity fcan.'be an. p�, creased and everq'multiplied'"by reg- ulating the 'traffic in and out of It. The first:step is to Budget the year's' supply. In case of a family sof five„ it would be necessary to determine which of the 8,500 pounds of feod needed for the year can be pre- served 'best by freezing. Knowing the seasons an which dif- ferent foods are available makes it possible to'schednie bee for freez- ing in Mareh, fruitand vegetables, fore summer, when part of the beef has been used, and `dressed pork for October, after some of the berries and beans have been consumed. Some 2,500 pounds of that 8,500 pound family food budget can be preserved by freezing, curing and canning. Freezing the steaks, roasts and chops, curing the ham and ba- con, 'and canning the stew and ground meat makes efficient use 6f storage space and adds desirable va- riety to the dinner table. Frozen berries, peas, beans, and asparagus provide a pleasant change from canned vegetables and sauerkraut. • Acids Freed by Frosts May Endanger Animals Frosts can be dangerous to farm animals, for they cause sorghum and sudan grass to release quantities of hydrocyanic (also called prussic) acid which may prove fatal, warns the department of animal pathology and hygiene, University of Illinois college of agriculture. These plants contain substances that are ordinarily harmless, but ad- verse weather conditions, such as frosting or drouth, may bring about the release of this acid. Young plants and second growth are the most dangerous, although as the plants mature the danger decreases somewhat. Hay made from these plants is generally quite safe, but silage should be held in storage for at least six weeks, the department says. Symptoms of hydrocyanic poison- ing are rapid breathing, stupor, blue- ness of the lining of the mouth, con- vulsions, paralysis and death. Since many affected animals may often be saved if treated promptly, a veter- inarian should be called immediate- ly because a few minutes' delay might mean the difference between recovery and death. If the affected animals can swal- low, emergency treatment may be attempted by giving a drench of one or two quarts of molasses di- luted with water. First Losses China's first losses to Japan fol• lowed the short Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95, from which the major Japanese gain was a big southward step to tropical Formosa (Taiwan), an island area nearly twice as large as New Jersey. This island, in addi- tion to welcome supplies of miner- als, tea, sugar and rice, gave Japan until very recently a virtual monop- oly on camphor. Now the island supports three million people, about 5 per cent of them Japanese. The near -by Pescadores Islands were taken from China at the same time. Mako island in the Pescadores has been converted into a naval base. Along with these island acquisi- tions' Japan wrested from China a toehold on the continent : of Asia. China agreed to recognize Korea (Chosen) as an independent state and ceded the tip of the near -by penin- sula of Liaotung, site of the impor- tant leased area of Kwantung_and of the ports now known as Dairen and Ryojun. At that time Ryojun (Port Arthur) was extensively used by Russia when more northern ports were frozen over. Russia growled at the prospect of Japanese en- croachment on Asia's mainland; so Japan hastily sold back the Liaotung peninsula to China. Renovate Japanese Japan was a mere miscellany of medieval agricultural islands in 1854, when President Fillmore of the United States and Commodore Perry lifted the lid off of it. For 223 years no Japanese had been permitted to leave the islands' atmosphere of feudalism. Not until 1870, after the great Ishin or "renovation," were feudal castes abolished and common people allowed to use their own family, names instead of their masters'. Warriors were. encouraged to cut off their topknots of long hair and stop wearing swords on peaceful strolls in the streets. When the lid finally came off, Japan began to expand with explosive force. Paid With Cocoa Beans Aztec soldiers were paid in cocoa beans. Their generals beat Napo- leon to the realization that an army marches on its stomach. In the same currency civilians paid their taxes—to at least one Aztec )ting who, tradition says, was very fond of the beverage made from the bean: But, because of spoflager the Icing could not hand his wealth down to his son. It was good to buy his slaves with. And the rest of it he drank, for he would not take any other beverage. As late as 1880 cocoa beans were still common cur- rency in isolated, communities of Central America. • uggeets Method for Reducing Work in Ironing The women who rind time for iiy activities are usually those 'acre have discovered thatthere. is. an easier way to do most any Ionise- hold o ise-hold task. For instance, this job of ironing' a shirt, says Mrs. Harriet ff. Haynes, home management spe- cialistfrom the lefassachusetts State. college in Amherst, usually takes 15 to' 20, minutes and the six -pound iron is lifted 30 to 35 times during the process. Here is a method suggest- ed by Mrs. Haynes which should cut The effort and time in half, though it depends a little, she says, upon the,efficiency of the individual work- er and upon her ironing board. For instance, to iron a shirt ef- ficiently 'a homemaker should have a hoard which is at least 20 inches wide. . Then she can Won the entire body of: the shirt without shifting it around many times, though the same general method may be fol- lowed on a narrower board. The first time saver is to place the rolled shirt on the board so that when it is unrolled it will be in the right position to begin ironing with- out any rearranging. In other words, begin with the collar toward you. First iron the right sleeve and the collar before turning the shirt., Then do the other sleeve. Next place the shirt so as to iron the back from the inside, then bring the front sections into place and iron them. Diseased Leaves Menace Vines With Black Rot Commercial growers of grapes as well as many home gardeners who have a few grapevines at one side of the garden plot, sometimes lose a considerable part of their crop through damage by the black rot and mildew diseases. Grapevines on slopes with good air drainage have less trouble with these fungous diseases than those sheltered from air circulation. In many gardens, however, the dis- eased grapes and leaves of the pre- vious year lie on the ground to pro- vide infection in the following grow- ing season. A good cleaning of the ground about the vines in a garden, to- gether with thorough pruning, and three sprays in the next growing season, will probably assure con- trol of these two diseases. As grapevines may be damaged by cold weather, it is wisest to leave the pruning till late winter or early spring, 'before the sap be- gins to flow. Then the vines can be trimmed back to about 30 to 60 buds each, on one -year-old wood, Green Spot Big enough to make almost two New Jerseys, Formosa is a bright spot of green at the northern en- trance to the South China sea, It lies 100 miles east 'of China's coast, 230 miles north from the tip of Lu- zon, top island of the Philippines, says the National Geographic soci- ety. Formosa is an island of contradic- tions. Nature made a picture -book land of it, raised a backbone of mountains more than two miles high, clothed their western sides with thick forests, dropped their eastern face sharply to the sea, laid a carpet of fertile plains westward from the bases of the snow-capped peaks, and contrived a warm, moist climate, The beauty thus created inspired land -hungry Portuguese sailors be- hoIding it in 1590 to coin the name "Ilha Formosa" (beautiful isle). Rayon Blend A new type of material to be found for clothing, both for men and women, is the rayon blend. It is made of spun rayon yarns, and both re- generated and acetate yarns are used in combination with wool, are - lac and cotton. This• provides a fab- ric possessing special effects which could not otherwise be possible. There are both woolen and worsted blends to be had. These are not a substitute for the woolen and worst- ed materials we have always known, but instead are a new type of fabric with characteristics all their own. When these blends are well con- structed and finished, they will give excellent wear if they receive proper care. Plow in Fall Fall -plowed ground warms up earlier and can be planted sooner than spring -plowed ground, but when plowing or spading is done in the fall, it should not be disked, har- rowed or rafted. It should be left in the rough furrow. Fall -plowed ground takes up and holds more of the winter snows and rains than hard ground does and the soil works better and easier. On farms it is possible to plow under coarser manure straws and other or- ganic materials in the fall than in the spring, while in larger cities heavy applications of actuated sludge can be used. Land of Morning Cahn Korea, earliest Asia mainland ac- quisition of the condemned Japanese empire, is the part of Asia near- est to Japan's main islands. Its name, ;meaning Land of Morning Calm, was changed to Chosen by, Japan upon annexing it in 1910• The poetic name is characteris- tic of Korea's natives, who cherish their mountainous land, have given romantic names to every peak, wa• terfall` and -beauty spot, and sur- rounded each with its cluster of stories and traditions. Home Conditions Chiefly Blamed for Delinquency Family discord is thelnrajor cause of delinquency, according to probate court; judges, prosecuting attorneys, superintendents of schools, `sheriffs and other local'officials in Michigan. This information was obtained from replies to letters sent 2,000 local of- ficials;of Michigan by the' governor recently. Questions asked included the following:." 1. Is there a delinquency problem in the community or the county?' i 2. What are the ages' of the chil- dren,involved? 3. Is the problem war related? 4. ° What local facilities are avail -i able to meet the situation and what! local leadership is available? 5. What is being done in the home community to meet this problem? • 6. .In your opinion, what are the actual causes of delinquency? The T7. What ini ht the cure be? g hquestion with ' uni- lih the ' form reply dealt with the causes of: !delinquency,the answers placing! ',most of the blame on the condi tions within the family. Family dis- cord and breakdown were named the ;prime factors in problems of chil- dren. hiidren.Among other causes listed in the analysis were employment of mothers outside the home, leaving children .unsupervised; lack of re- ligious training in the home; in- creased earning power tempting par- ents to seek personal pleasures away from home; frequent indulgence in' alcohol and gambling; general low-' eying of standards of conduct; and separation of fathers from the fam- ily group for military service or em- ployment in distant war plants with ensuing emotional strain and • in- creased financial responsibility on the mother. Urges Care to Avoid Contracting Rabbit Fever Families who may be using wild rabbits for meat are warned to be on their guard against tularemia or "rabbit fever" by Dr. W. V. Halver- sen, bacteriologist with the Univer- sity of Idaho agricultural experiment station. For handling wild rabbits he offers the following suggestions: L Leave the too -easily secured rabbits alone. If a rabbit is an easy shot, the chances are it is infected with tularemia. 2. Do not clean the rabbit if you have any open sores, cuts or other lesions on your hands. It is always advisable to wear rubber gloves when cleaning the rabbit. Infection is usually acquired through contact with the animal's blood or internal organs. 3. Be careful in cleaning the rab- bit not to cut yourself with the knife, puncture a finger on a broken rib, or in some other way cause a break in your skin. 4. Cook the rabbit meat thorough- ly. The infection can be acquired by eating insufficiently cooked infected rabbit meat. English Bedrooms In many houses and flats built in England before the war began, the bathtub is placed in a separate little room of its own. Thus if one bath- er likes to splash for 20 minutes, he doesn't tie up traffic for the rest of the family. Another interesting touch in some of the newer English houses and flats which seems to appeal to Amer- ican soldiers is the placing of the lavatory or washbowl in the bed- room. In many of the newer houses, there is a lavatory with hot and cold running water in every bedroom. While the idea of a lavatory in every bedroom has been used to some extent in American homes, it has never found wide applica- tion. Equipped with a wide ledge serving as a convenient shelf for cosmetics, the lavatory in a bedroom in postwar homes will be used as a dressing table. Dried Fruits Spoilage in dried and dehydrated fruits is not a matter of life and death as in the canned products. Darkening in storage of apricots, peaches, pears and apples is unde- sirable because it indicates a loss of vitamins and change in flavor, but the dark fruit is not poisonous, says Dr. E. M. Mrak, assistant pro- fessor of fruit technology on the Berkeley campus of the University of California. Darkening can be prevented by sulfuring the fruits before dehydrat- ing, by drying as rapidly as feasible, and by storing in closed containers in a cool place. Prunes and figs should not be sulfured. They will ferment unless dried to the proper degree. To test the dryness, take a handful and squeeze tightly; if the fruit retains the shape of the hand and does not fall apart, it is too wet. Pastry Scraps There are many variations of tasty tidbits that can be made from scraps of pastry. Cheese sticks can be made by sprinkling grated cheese over the pastry and then cutting it into strips. Poppy seed or paprika can be used in the same way to give variety. These sticks are par- ticularly nice as appetizers, or soup, or salad accompaniments. For aft- ernoon tea, sugar and cinnamon pas- try sticks are very attractive. Another dainty use for pastry is to bake two rounds together, the top one having a hole in' the, center, fashioned with a small cutter. When the pastry is baked there will be a small depression in the center that can be filled with jam, jelly or any filling ,one may desire, Squeeze Knitwear to Electricity Everywhere; Keep Yarns in Place Like all other clothes, wool sweat- ers give longer wear when they are treated right; and right treatment includes washing whenever ' n eces sary, ' If colors are fast, and if sail is not so heavy that scrubbing Is needed, most , sweaters can be washed by the home laundress. Careful, blocking, done to original measurements, takes care of bring- ing these garments back to shape. Sweaters should be washed ` in lukewarm sudsy water by being doused up and down gently.' Use, only two or three inches of suds. More would be a waste of:°soap. When the water is dirty, squeeze the sweater out of the first suds, and repeat the dousing in a second luke- warm suds. Always squeeze water from knitwear—don't wring ortwist as this pulls the yarns, out of - place,. Rinse in enough clear lukewarm wa- ters to remove all soap, and then after the last squeeze;' roll briefly in a soft towel to extract as much water as possible. Restore to shape and dry by pin- ning the sweater to the prepared out- line, being sure to use rust -proof pins. To give it a trim, finished look, block the sweater after it has dried. To block, lay it flat on a well- padded ellpadded board. Cover with a damp- ened pressing cloth, and go over it lightly with a moderately hot iron. Place on a clothes hanger to help keep the shape. Warns People to Learn to Cough, Sneeze Properly There would be fewer colds and much less tuberculosis, influenza, pneumonia, diphtheria, whooping cough and other diseases spread by saliva if people only would learn to cough and sneeze properly, Lieut. Samuel F. Herby, USNR, points out. "Whenever you feel a cough or sneeze coming on," he advises, "turn your head away from other people, and cough down at the floor. The thousands of small droplets of saliva which escape inevitably from your mouth as you cough are thus thrown down at the floor, where they have little chance of getting on your associates, and especially into their mouths to cause respiratory infec- tion. "Even if you were able to cover your mouth completely with your hand, so that no droplets or spray could get by it, you would still fail to protect your associates from your germs, because your hand becomes soiled when you cough on it, and almost immediately afterward you touch other people, or the things which they will touch. Thus, in- directly, germs are transferred from your mouth to someone else's mouth —or what happens more frequently —to someone else's hand, food, eat- ing utensil, or other object which will eventually reach his mouth." Gives Room Character The singling out of one feature of a room, whether it be a bookcase, a fireplace, or french doors, for a distinctive decorative theme will add real character to'a•room. In one home, a white fireplace became a beautiful focal point of the room by surrounding the white brick with a paneled symmetrical design. An- other home owner framed a popu- lar, built-in bookcase with blue pan- els on which she tacked up pictures of authors and short story synopsis. Another homemaker made french doors the decorative spot in the room by framing the entire door case with lahtm ' 1,,=r G1azM1 panels. Tamale Pie Corn meal is an excellent basis for a number of dishes where a small portion of meat or cheese must be extended. Tamale pie is a good example and is much easier to make than regular tamales. Line a baking dish or casserole with corn meal mush, then' add a generous layer of chopped cooked meat mixed with canned tomatoes and seasoned tastily. Top with more corn meal mush, sprinkle lightly with grated cheese and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) until thoroughly heated and the top is nicely browned—about one-half hour.. Tourist Scenes Adjoining mighty pagan empires of strange civilizations of long cen- turies ago, the newly completed 475 - mile highway from Mexico City to Tequila is a tourist "magic carpet" for postwar adventure. The high- way, which links Nogales, Ariz., to Guaymas by graveled road, is now paved from Mexico City to Tequila, 37 miles beyond Guadalajara. The west coast route traverses six states in its total length. of 1,500 miles. Among the important branches is the 30 - mile highway connecting Guadalajara with Lake Chapala. Butter Gods' In Choni, a tiny village in the southwestern part of China's Kansu province, butter, mixed with pow- dered colors and molded by the skill- ful hands of the monks, is turned into gods that rule' for one night ev- ery year. Hundreds of pounds of butter, made from the milk of the yak, are used in making these weird and colorful Butter Gods. The price of butter, even in Choni, skyrockets during this "art" show: Visitors to the annual Butter festival "sniff" moth balls to offset the rancid, smell that pollutes the air: Difficult to Define "What is electricity?'1 is often. asked of the scientists in General. Electric's research' laboratory, pop-, ularly known as the "House of Mag— ic." L. A, Hawkins, executive engh• neer of the laboratory, has an an- swer, although he says whether an: answer is possible depends on the, kind of definition` desired. For instance, the question 'What: is water?' may be answered in three. different ways," explains Mr. Haw kins, whose company for the past:. 65 years has been -applying elec— tricity to everything from a minis-- ture light bulb slightly larger than. a pinhead to a mammoth 208,000— kilowatt turbine in a power station., "First, we may define water by, its composition; second, by its: source or occurrence, and third, by its properties, its boiling and freez- ing points, its density, its action as: a solvent, its part in maintaining• life, etc. • "But when we come to electricity,. we find only..one kind of definition is possible, because electricity is the most fundamental thing in the universe and isthe thing of which. everything else is made. Electricity• cannot be defined by its composi- tion, for it is composed only of it- self. Neither can it be defined by• its source or occurrence, for it is everywhere, wherever there is mat- ter or radiant energy. "Therefore, electricity can be de- fined only in the third way, by its properties—and to describe these properties adequately requires a. book or several books." List Five Pointers for Care of Water Heaters. - Here are a few pointers on care of gas water heaters: 1. Brush burners at least twice a year. Clean burners give a clean flame and eliminate backfiring. 2. Open the drain faucet at the• bottom of the heater once a month or every two months to drain off sediment. Sediment, if not drained off, impairs the efficiency of the heater because it has an insulating effect. It is not necessary to drain off much water, just a quart or two until the water runs clear. 3. Water heaters as well as hot• water piping should be insulated to conserve heat. 4. The thermostat of the water heater should be adjusted so that the temperature will not exceed 140 degrees. Excessive temperatures not only waste fuel but may be injurious to the heater and the piping. 5. Conserve fuel by having leak-. ing faucets repaired and by not washing dishes in running hot wa— ter. Calving Cows Bringing the dairy cow through the calving period in best possible shape is one way of adding to total milk production without using more feed. On the other hand, trouble • during this critical time can reduce the cow's production for the entire lactation period. Some recommend. reducing the grain ration a week be- fore calving. During the last few days give a light, laxative feed of bran, oats and a little oil meal, to- gether with water from which chill has been removed. The cow should: have a clean, well -bedded box stall. It is a good idea to wash the udder with soap and water to protect the - calf. After calving, the cow should. be offered lukewarm water and left with the calf in the box stall for a few days. Continue the laxative grain mixture, but do not overfeed. If the calf can be induced to suck all quarters, no hand milking is needed. After the cow is returned to her stall and milking resumed, increase the grain gradually. It will take three to six weeks before the cow can take full feed, depending on production, Air Express For flying shipments within the United States, air express began in. September, 1927. Only 26 cities were served. A coast-to-coast ship- ment then spent 36 hours in the air, and made 16 refueling stops, To- day's transcontinental trip is an • overnight flight of 16 hours. Last. year 1,405,000 air express shipments • were made, nearly 100 times as many as in the first complete year of the service. This year express cargo has hurtled through the skies at the rate of more than 40 tons each day, over 18 commercial airlines whose routes aggregate 45,000 miles. These air -borne tonnages include lightweight merchandise such as flowers and latest -style Easter bon- nets, but shipments are headed by machinery, electrical parts and hardware. These items amount to. 27 per of the total weight. Strawberry Mulch Strawberries need a mulch of straw or hay for the winter, both to protect the roots from the alternate freezing and thawing which breaks them and heaves up the then root- less plants, and also to protect the fruit•,buds from extreme cold. The mulch usually should go on the strawberry bed in late November, before the ground freezes thorough- ly. Several inches of straw or hay make the best mulch. Leaves mat down easily and kill some of the crowns of the plants, but may be used if nothing else is handy. Corn,. stalks are too coarse to give the strawberries much protection with- out making the covering too heavy and thick. Marsh grass ie an ex.' UC1