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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1938-05-26, Page 3THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1938 THE SEAFORTH NEWS RARE COLLECTION OF CACI Eaoh and every beauty of nature' production has a milt and an enthu last of',its own. To some the rose 8he'acme of !beauty, 'bo 'others the iris the ,gladiolus +or the lily—each to hi own liking. There is not a 'flower not a 'plant that grows that is 'without its admirers—not even the thorny icactais To 'the average.person the caotu is probably nothing more than a prickly, uninteresting plant that grows only in the 'barren desert They can see no 'beauty in it; kali araurse in 'themselves no 'passion for it. But. 'for the real cactus fancier the plant contains greater beauties of adaption than the :orchid, larger than the iris and more beau- tiful colorings than the rose. (Once a person is afflioted with "^caotusitis," he ran never shake off the 'dis'ease. It is incurable—even as other hobbies are incurable—and he will go on and .collecting cacti as long as he lives, says the Stratford' Bea - eon Herald. All of which loads up to the fact that in 'Mullet township .five miles from Seaforth exists the finest and most ea'ltealble collection 'of cacti in the province. 'Owned polntly by 'Miss Matilda 'Fowler and her 'brother, Fred W. Fowler, the •ooliection con sists of more than 4100 'plant's andover 1100 'varieties. Like other 'flowers appeal to their respeotive fanciers, so the cactus has long 'held an appeal for Miss !Fowler, For years she has ,studied the many species of the plant and 'ha's collected unique specimens in 'hpr .meanderings about the world, lbtitk was only •five years ago that she began to build nip her collection in earnest, At that time she and her 'brother purchased a 'large portion of the collection then owned by William 'Cox of London, and since then they have imported rare varieties from the 'United States, Mexico, England and Belgium. To ,piok out the 'rarest of the cac- ti in 'the ,Fowtler •collection is a task too 'diffic'u•1t to .attempt—even f or Miss 'Fowler and her 'brother, but undoubtedly the one that 'first at- tracts the attention of the visitor is the Cephalorcereus senilis, more commonly 'known as the "Old Man" cactus, These strange, ,towering 'plants which in the 'desert live to a great .age and 'frequently reach a height of 215 or '30 feet, are cylindrical VIr in shape and are •covered with silky white 'hair 'from top 'to bottom. It is from their long white hair that they are so appropriately named ""Odd Men." The plant' is native only to Mexico and has become sufficiently rare that the Mexican government no longer .allows it to be taken out of the 'country, Only the seeds can be exported. PAGE THREE I gtrotsnd one could quite easily ,pink it s up in mistake for a stone, And they, s- would probably think their mind was s failing 'them if they saw the stone when it was .in Ibl,oam or in 'flower, s l One could go on indefinitely telling of .the many rare plants in ,bhe c•o19ec- tion, such as the •Euphorbia Obese, the Agave Victoria Regina, the Ech- s i'hocaetus Ingdns, the •Pilocereu•s Troiili !and [countless others, Ibtut it is not an easy thing 'to 'muster u'p the• words to 'd'escribe them. Some of therm •exquisitively Ibeautifwl, they are to be seen in all shapes, and they range in size from The great Car- negie .gigantea, which grows ,bo a height of 60 feet in the 'barren areas of ;Arizona, to tiny .plants that are no 'larger than buttons. , Cacti are native only to the :Ameri scan continent. Somewhere back in geological history, the .ancestors of the cacti were 'common, ordinary :trees and bushes, and eheir evolution to the pr..eseai't semi desert and arid desert, gigantic, %columnar, and spiny forms, or the reduced ,glo'bular, drought -re- sisting, :and water hungry, animal -re- pelling forms, has been brought about •by .decreased rainfall and 'forced adap- tion thereto. This may have been due to a'decreased rainfall in their original habitat or may have been, brought about by the seeds' invasion of their territories. Seeds of almost all cacti are of easy germination and the plants cling tenaciously to life. They 'are en- dowed by .mature with :thickened leaves and stems and provided. with water storage organs to Withstand long 'periods of 'burning drought, HENSALL Y.P.S. Meeting— The YJP.S. of the United Church held 'their regular :meeting in the base- ment of the church on Monday even- ing with Miss Gladys 'Passmore pre- siding. The meeting opened by sing- ing hymn 120 and all repeating the Lord's prayer. The Scripture' lesson was read by Miss Norma Cook, Re- ports of the YIPS. 'convention held in the Brucefield 'United Church on Sat- urday were given by the following in order of ,service: Morning session, by Kathryn Drysdale; afternoon session, by 'Elva MdQueen; .evening session, by Goldie Cross. Miss 'Gladys Luker favored with a piano solo. The'Devo- tional reading was given by Miss Es- ther Martinee, A 'business 'period fol- lowed. Misses Elva McQueen and Goldie Cross gave a piano duet. The meeting closed by singing hymn 1156 and the Mizpah Benediction, The May meeting of the 'L'adies' Aid of 'Carmel (Presbyterian Church was held in the 'basement of the church on Tuesday evening. The meeting opened by singing Psalm 518 (allowed by the Lord's prayer in uni- on. The minutes of the previous meeting were read by the secretary and adopted as read. A business peri- od was then held. Mrs. Logan's Group will entertain at the June meet- ing. The following program was pre- sented by Mrs. John McE•wen's Group: Violin 'solo, by Miss Margar- et D'otagall, .accompanied by Mrs. An- drew Dougall •on the piano; Mrs. Roy Bell gave a very interesting and des- criptive talk on Casa Loma and showed views of the same; solo, by Miss 'Helen Salmers, "Have you seen my 'daffodils", [(Miss Salmrers won one Another of the strange plants in ehe Fowler 'collection is the :Lop'ho- phora Williamsi, sometimes called the [Peyote cactus because it is worship_ pcI by 'the (Peyote Indians in Mexico. The juice from the Pophophora is a strong ,narcotic and the Indian's fre- quently drink it to 'become intoxi- cated„ The Ariocarpus, more commonly known as the "living rock," is another rare specimen and very •appropriately reamed. Grey in color, the tiny plant is much like a stone and to .feel it, it is almost as 'hard. Seeing it on the of the prizes at the Exeter Musical. Festival), At the conclusion of the program games and contests were en- joyed and a lunch served, Senior' Institute Meeting — A meeting of the IW:oiten's Senior Institute was 'held at the home of Miss ,Mabel Workman, Mrs. M. G. Drysdale occupied the their. The ,fin - andel statement, 'given 'by Mrs. R. 'J. Moore, showed a good balance on Brand..Repo>;ts were (given as follows: Hone economics, Miss Gladys Luk— er;- education, [Miss Minnie Sangster; community activities and eelie!, Mrs. Young; legislation, Miss Mabel Work- man; agriculture, Mrs. M. G. Drys- dale; Canadian industries, Mrs. Ij'ames Paterson; publicity, Miss Irene Doug- las; peace and international relation- ships, Mrs, R. J. Moore. The follow- ing• officers' were elected for the coin- ing year: President, Miss Beryl Pfaff; dlst vice president, Mrs, W. A. Young; 2nct vice president, Mrs. Drysdale; sec,-treas„ Mrs. R. J. Moore; press reporter, bliss 'Gladys Laker; district director, Miss Maude McLean; branch directors, Miss Mabel Work- man, bliss Irene Douglas, Mrs. 'Crass; pianist, Miss Gladys Luker; 'auditors, Mrs, 'Gannet Case, Mrs. E. Drum- mond; .district representative's, 'Miss Olga Bell, Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Pater- son, Mrs, 'James Paterson favored with 0 solo, M'rs. Rundle and Miss Keddy were interesting vi's'itors from Exeter. At the close of the meeting a lunch was served and a very pleasant social half hour spent, The 'Wohela Class of ,the United Church met in the sohool room of the church on 'Frid'ay evening with Mr. Edison Forrest a•oting as chairman. A very pleasant and 'helpful evening was spent. The meeting opened by singing hymn No, 352 and all 'repeat- ing the Lord's prayer. Miss 'Gladys Passmore read the Scripture lesson. Mr. Clarence Smillie gave a very in- teresting talk on his recent trip to England and Scotland. He also show- ed a number of interesting views that he brought home from .the places he visited. Miss Goldie Cross and Miss Elva .McQueen favored with a piano duet, After singing 'hymn 2211 the meeting closed with the ,'benediction,. A social hour was then spent 'playing games which were in •oharge of Miss Hazel Smillie and Edison .Forrest and e lunch was served. Miss .K:athryn Sells and friend of London visited over Sunday with Miss 'Greta Laramie. HURON NEWS Transients Sleeps In Church— On Monday •last a transient visited Lakelet, causing much concent am- ong the residents there. Unmindful of invitations to move on he decided to sleep in the church but his slumb- ers were interrupted shortly before midnight and he was taken into cus- tody by Constables George Westlake and Oliver 'Gallaway end escorted to Goderich jail. — Wingham Advance - Times. Foot Crushed— David McKenzie, Ashfield town- ship young .man, was taken .to Alex- andra hospital on Saturday with a painfully injured foot, crushed by a heavy piece of metal while the was unloading a truck. An X-ray showed no 'bones were 'broken and McKenzie was released from the hospital the first of the week,-'Goderic'h S'i.gn•al- Star. Golden Wedding 'Celebration— tOn Monday, May 116th, at their home in 'Hullett Township, Mr, and Mrs. 'George 'Garrett celebrated their 510th wedding anniversary with their Fatrtily: Newman of Tuckersmibh, Norman of Blyth and Mrs, ,D. Car- ter, Londesboro, and also 'their six grandchildren present. Mr. Garrett, who was (born on the farm where he now resides, has enjoyed almost per- fect health and is •skill engaged in farming. Mrs. 'Garrett, who 'before her marriage was 'Eliz'abeth Parks, was (born in East Wawanosh, Mr, and Mrs: Garrett were married at Westfield in 11::: ]by Rev. 'David Rogers who is still diving, Their at- tendants were Mrs. (Jas. Woods, Au- burn, the Ibride's sister, and Mr. g. ,Garrett, 'Londasboro, who were both present at the anniversary. The sup- per *Was upper;'Was served ,at 6:30. Those attend- ing;frons a distance were Mr, and MTS.. Fred . Meadows and Mrs. Charles 'Fraser, 'Windsor; Miss Alma Carter, London; Nlrs, James Woods and Nfr. WJJ. Parks, Auburn,—Clin- ton News -Record. Engagement Announced— Mr, and 'Nies. William Ross of Clinton, announce the engagement of their second 'laughter, Margaret Wil- helmine, to Mr. Lorne J. Brown, of Clinton, son of Mrs.. A. S. lnkley, of Toronto, and the late Mi. M. Brown, the marriage to take ;place early in June. St. Columban Wins- St. Columban 'too'k a fall out of their okl rivals, Winthrop, in the opening game of the Huron Football League !Friday .niglit. The home team defeated Winthrop 2,0, in a clean, 'hard-fought, game. John ,Hol- land and G. !O'Connor scored the goalsfor the 'home team, one in each half. St. Columiban will play their next home ,game on Thursday night, with Seaforth as opposition, Dan O'Connor was winner of the gate prize, The .line-ups: St. Columban: Goal, 'O'Connor; f. 'backs, E. Malone, J. McQuaid; halves, J. McKeever, Flannery, N. McQuade; centre, J. Holland; wings, L. ?vlcKeever, Gr O'Connor, E. Moylan, L. O'Reilly; subs., F. Williams, 'J. 'O'Connor, Win- throp: Goal, D'orrance; full 'backs, Thompson, Shannon; halves, W. Dolmage, Betties, R. Dolmage; cen- tre, A. Kerr, 'wings, Russ Dolmage, Watson, L. 'Dolmage, E. Scott; sub„ H. 'Dolmage. Referee—Art Nicholson, An old man at the cinema had dropped something, and the lady next to him asked what he'd loot. "I've lost a caramel," said the old man, much 'to the lady's surprise. "You mean to say you're looking for a 'single caramel?" "Ay" 'was the reply, "You see my teeth's in it" "I expect your father was much upset over your sister's elopement?" "Rather, we thought it Was never going to come off," our er c • We Fire Selling Quality Books Books are Well Made, Carbon is Clean and Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf and Black Back. Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere.• Get our Quotation on Your 'Next Order. • The Seaforth News SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, ACTIVE CAMPAIGN TO .ERADICATE 'W'EEDS Members of. municipal 'c'ouncils, road authorities, weed inspectors and others interested in the :welfare of the county and ,province gathered in the 'board room of the Agricultural Office, Clinton, on Wednesday, ' May 118th at 10 a.m. for the purpose of discussing the Weed Control Act and its administration, ;pro'blems of weed inspectors, weed identification and eradication, also 'to hear suggestions for improvements and to plan a pro- vincial wide campaign for 111958. I•n .the morning 42 were present and sixty in the afternoon, Mr. Tan Mac- Leod, Agricultural Representative, Clinton, was chairman, Speakers in- cluded 'John D, MacLeod, Dept. of Agriculture, Toronto, Wm. Wallace, Woodslee, T. Roy Patterson, county engineer, 'Goderich, Ben Elder, sec., Ontario .brotherhood ' of threshernven, Henna In discussing the !'Need.'Control Act, and its administration Mr. John D. MacLeod pointed out that the main purpose of the Act was to form a basis whereby everyone ,might co- operate in controlling weeds. Rate- payers, with well c ared for farms, lawns and gardens must be protect- ed, stated ,the speaker. The duty of weed inspector was to nee that they receive this protection. The main clause or 'body ,of the Act reads as follows: 'Every municipal- ity in the province must appoint at least one weed inspector whose duty it is to go' over Isis municipality thor- oughly often enough, to know hat weeds are not being neglected. Provision is made in the Act whereby the weed inslpector may en- ter of property and 'have weeds de- stroyed after having served notice of his intention so 'to do, if the owner or occupant fails to co-operate, the costs of which may be charged against the property and collected in the same manner es taxes. 'Penal- ties are also provided in the Act for those who fail to observe its provi- sions. For weeds listed as 'being nox- ious sere the Weed. Control lAct, Weed inspectors were instructed to make a thorough job of cleaning up to endeavour in every possible way to arouse interest in the work and to secure the co-operation of everyone, to else good judgment when discharg- ing their duties and to be 'firm .when it was found necessary to enforce the Act. Municipal councils are appointed by ratepayers to safeguard their int- erests, `Profitable •crops cannot 'be grown when weeds are present. Weedy farms mean lower yields, less revenue for ,the grower and •event- ually unpaid taxes. Municipal coun- cils cannot evade their responsibility with regard to the control of weeds. It will pay then[ in dollars and cents to adopt a weed control .policy and to enforce it vigorously, stated the speaker, Good Weed Inspectors moist be appointed. They must be well paid and supported in their work. The part which the :Road Superintendent plays in the 'control of weeds was also em- pahsized. Roads are public property, •owned by the municipality. The Mu- nicipal Council is administrating the Act and should first clean up its own :property thereby setting a good ex- ample to •the ratepayer, and thus making the work of their' Weed In- spector much easier. The destruction of weeds on roadsides is road main- tenance and the road authority is re- sponsible for seeing that the work is done before seeds mature. He must have the support of his council in this work. The Weed Control Act itself will not control a single weed it was stated. Any work clone must be the result of definite hatman action. The co-cpera4ion of every ratepayer is ne- cessary, }'rteeere brought to bear on the Municipal Council by the rate- payer :will strengthen their hand. Knowing that they have the support of the pttblic in tins important work cf weed control, the Council, Road Superintendent, and Weed Inspectors will -i be match more pleasant. Weeds withinthe corporate limits of cities, towns and villages are a dis- grace to the muoicipality. The importance of the touri:.i in- dustry in IOn'tario was emphasized, Approximately 6120,000,000 was •spent in Ontario by tourists in 19317. A clean, attractive municipality will be an inducement for tourists to ,prolong their'visit and to return. In this con- nection a clean 'province reasonably. free from weeds is •of equal import- ance. Municipal Councils who are lagging. in their work will the visited by Dis- trict Inspectors an•d pressure will he 'brought to bear if 'necess'ary in order to bring then[ 'up to the standard set by others The 'Crops, Seeds & Weeds Branch through its 'D'istrict Inspectors will act in a supervisory capacity and will be prepared to give information on any phase of GMT work and 'also to as- sist Weed Inspectors .with any diffi- cult problems which they may ' have, In discussing weeds and weed con- trol Mr. Wm, Wallace discussed the losses Inc lip , weeds by way of"de- creased yields; robbing soil of plant food and moisture; increasing the. cost of every farm operation; .lower- ing the 'market value of crops and value of farms, etc. This annual loss amounts to millions 'of dollars'' each year in Ontario, stated th e speaker. He also, emphasized the importance of sowing 'clean seed, soil fertility, thorough •cultivation, a short rotation of crops, •early mattering varieties,, clovers, smother craps, the use of chemical, :roguing, pasturing, hoed crops, summer fallowing, after har- vest •cultivation and •else ,disposal of weed •seeds, all of which are import- ant 'factors in weed 'cogttrol. The cleaning of the threshing machine and all ,equipment before moving as provided for in the Weed Control Act will assist, greatly in controlling the spread of weed seeds on Ito roadsides and .on to neighbor- ing famnts. It was pointed out that threshers should 'be vitally interested M weed control, Their 'business and revenue is governed by the condition of the crop which is (being threshed, These in some cases may 'be low- ered 71 per 'cent due to the 'presence of weeds, The co-operation of every thresher is solicited in .a provincial wide weed control, crop improve- ment programme. The megisbration of threshing machines was also thor- oughly discussed and it was explain- ed that :(111) every threshing machine in the province most be registered, (2) Every threshing machine will -'be issued a certi'ficate, ,(.31) In the case Of every machine which 'operates for. hire th e fee of dill must accompany the application, All threshers must be treated alike and if we hope to retain their :goodwill and to secure 'their co- operation this work must .be 'thor- oughly done, stated the speaker. Weed inspectors were urged to see that this legislation- was adhered to within their respective districts. Crop; Condition Summary Reports are now available from a large number of regular correspond- ents giving an outline of ,farm condi- tions at the beginning of May. The weather during April was favourable for spring •cultivation and seeding. As a result, at the end of April 'almost 50 per cent of the intended acreage of spring grains had ;been seeded in the province. 10 the more southerly coun- ties, of course, the work •was much more advanced than in 'Eastern ,and Northern ;Ontario 'where operations only got under way the first of May. In southern 'Ontario comprising the two rows of 'counties 'bordering Lake Erie, 65% of the spring grain seeding was reported finished 'by April 30th. At this same date about 60% of the seeding was completed in Western Ontario, approximately :40% in Cen- tral Ontario, but only 18% in Eastern 'Ontario and 2% in 'Northern Ontario. Work ,this season is from two to three weeks earlier than in the two previous years. 3n :15157 at the 'end of April for the entire province, only about 4% of the spring grain seeding was complet- ed, and in 11936 about 6%. Moisture and soil conditions have been good to excellent in all sections of the province and spring grains have germinated well, 'with many fields in Western Ontario showing green and growing rapidly. Crop prospects ,gen- erally may he considered extremely favourable. Winter killing of fall wheat was comparatively slight and averaged only 9% for the entire prov- ince. The acreage of fall wheat re- maining for harvesting' this years is estimated at 116,700r acres which 'com- pared with 7119,$00 acres in 019317, and 509.300 acres in 1936, ;Old alfalfa stands suffered rather extensive fain- ter 'killing, :particularly in 'Eastern and Central Ontario, 'bot other dray and elm ere came through the winter in ccod shape. All over -winter crops are responding to the .almost ideal mois- ture situation and making satisfactory gwth, The acreage sown to spring grains twillrohe gust slbghtly to this year than in 1±33(7. The intended acreage of spring wheat is estimated at 59,.600 acres as compared with 94,200 acres last year, a decline .of 4400 acres oats 3,115131,004 acres compared with 2263•,- 0i2i acres; barley '526,000' acres, com- pared with 51515;900 acres last year. Mixed grains is placed at '86.3,900 acres, ,down 6,1200 acres. In 'case of potatoes the low price is expected to discourage plantiaug :and farmers esti- mate the acreage will show a .decline of 5431%. In 19„32 the acreage of pota- toes was 11150;609 and the 'indi•cated acreage this spring is 142;1600. Stotneybroke was not feeling in the jolliest of moods, "Just look at that •; notice," he said, indicating the words !Post No Bills," on a blank wall. "What is the use of sticking that ,uip, there? Why .don't they put these things in the right place?" "Where would you put: it?" asked his friend. "Ower every .letter box in the country"