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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-04-03, Page 3Unpredictable Happenstance Somebody asked the other day what would happen if two space ships collided in mid -universe, and I was a little disappointed in the answer - that the chances are remote. It made me think of Ozzie Hanscomb and Sim But- terfield, who weren't speaking. I guess' everybody had long since forgotten why they weren't speaking. They lived on the Squirrel Road, Ozzie on the brow of Hackmataek Ridge and Sim on the brow of Wildcat Hill. They could look across right in- to each other's windows, if their eyesight had been equal to the distance, and between them was the valley where Thunderhole Brook .wound down to the river. Sim was "crowding 80" and Oz- zie was 82. And they didn't speak. So one day we had a winding old ice storm that coated the countryside about an inch deep With sheer slip. It coated the trees and ripped limbs off, and did a lot of damage. And the next morning Sim and Ozzie, inde- pendently but simultaneously, had a .yen to get out the old bobsleds and try the hill where, as boys, they had coasted. It was kind of a frolicsome rever- sal to childhood and each of • thele should have known better. Each went up on the beams of the barn and brought down his ancient handsled, and each got a piece of sandpaper and shined tip the runners. Neither sled bad been down for fifty years or More. And unbelmownst one to the other, each crawled cau- tiously over the icy ground to the road, did a bel]y-flopper on his respective sled, and whoosh- ed away. Ozzie came down the east slope of Hackmataek'Ridge like a streak, and Sim came down the west slope of Wildcat Hill like another, dragging their feet to steer, and gay with the memories of olden times. • They met on the bridge. Great was the meeting. It stove both sleds to kindling wood, and the intertwined steel runners jingled and jangled like village bells on a holiday. Then Ozzie and Sim spoke to each other. They spoke to each other off and on for an hour or so, laying their hands t0 the more direct forms of utter - awe, and neither ,taking any great pains to use more pleasing terms. . Much of what they said was heard four miles away at the Curtis place, and in the other direction as far as Smith's. Then they stopped speaking to each TELLS OF RED OFFER - At his news conference, President Eisenhower says that Russia has offered to hold any future summit meeting in the United States. The Chief Executive said it would be a good idea if the meeting •proved a long one. But he stressed the most important factor is whether the talks are adequately prepared. other; and never spoke • to each other again. And each would tell people, every time he could bring the subject up, about how 'that old fool" went bobsledding. This kind of improbable head- on collision has always occupied the attentions of man. Thomas Hardy has a poem in which the little drop of water, precipitated in the forgotten past, joins the glacier and moves inexorably toward the sea during those same years that a man is learn- ing to walk upon his heels and first designssome prehistoric peopod tofloat upon the water. Man, while the glacier is ad- vancing, finally gets to build the great Titanic, and one day there is the inevitable collision -that astonishes everybody - the pre- historic isce seems to have ap- ' proached its destiny deliberately, even though everybody said it was unlikely. Once there were two six - masted schooners afloat, and only two. What do you suppose they did? They bumped into each Other in Boston Harbor, ker- whang, and the masters com- municated about as Ozzie and Sim did on the bridge across Thunderhole Brook. Those old down -East skippers devised many ways to get added speed into the hulls they built by their doorsteps, and modifications of the true ship were a dime a dozen. Just as the ship was one mast bigger than a brig, soon they had four masted vessels, al- though they experimented with three for •a time and got such things as the bark and the bark- entine. The bark had square- rigged sail on the fore and main- mast, and schooner rig en the mizzen. The barkentine had square sail only On the fore mast. These were, of course, natural developments of the old "mor- phodite brig" which had square' sails forward and schooner sails aft. The idea was, of course, to find the best way to ,catch the wind, and to come in fast with a pay load, The fivemasted schoon- er was already fairly common, and one day they went to six masts. With all the great oceans of the world to play in, you would say it was unlikely these first two six -masted schooners would ever collide with each other. The odds were tens of thousands to one. Each of them, every day, passed dozens of ordinary ships that might have been bumped into. But no - the chances were remote. You can look the details up in the marine record books if you want to, but it is about as I give it. They collided, and the collision was a conversation piece around the world. One of the truly charming things about our p l a n e t is this unpredictable happenstance known as coincidence. Like the' two Ivory Higginses we had here. The chances of Ending two men both named Ivory Higgins is re= mote, but they met and shook hands here one morning and were both amazed. Our world is the kind of place where, when somebody says a thing is re- mote, it's likely to happen right after breakfast. If outer space is to be incorporated into our precenct, I hope this interesting custom is allowed to continue. I see no reason why the chances of two sputniks ramming into each other aren't fully es good as two Ivory Higginses, or Ozzie and Sim belting each other On the bridge. - By John Gould in "The Christian Science Monitor." WANTED PROOF Wishing to do the right thing, the motorist stopped his car and started out in search of the farmer whose rooster he had killed. "Pardon me," he said, "I just ran over your rooster and I carne to let you know I'm willing to replace him." "Okay," the farmer said. `Let's hear you crow." 6. Urge 26. Spheres 7, Exist 27, Chief work- 8. Sailor man 9. Sounds 28. Hunted for 10. Alaek' food 11. Torn 80. Clerical oollai 14. Take groat 01. {irarat delight 32. Corpulent. 16. Rounded roof 33. Outlets 19. Swindles 34. Good -bre 20. Snatch (colloq.) 21. What Mand 36. Son of Ere Muller 111,1 10. Copper coin 21 Cathed 38. Legal Action 24. Broad- 10. Cliquy brimmed hat 41. Myself CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Alocrasln 4. Shine 9. Road -building material 112. Timber tree 13 Nonsense 15. Turning up the earth 17. French anlhoi• 38. Wear away 19. Strip 20. Weight units 21. Early alpha- betical char lpltnbeticalrliar ncters 23. Pleasure ex cursi on 33. Part of a anal 24. Thus 26. Corroded 1 27. Fraud 20..ln behalf of 29. Past 90. Wanders 31. Implement for dressing hair 22, Propelled a. boat 30, Parts of an eeclt 34. Marked 80. Evergreen 37. Onpc.slte Ole 1111107 a shin's aide 38. Wails to fol- low suit 40. Will 22, Before 43. Liquor 98.nlrns' homes. 45, 2,1ed. DOWN 1, Dance step 2. Roughness 3. Form efword Puzzle 4. Gratings 6. Cover 1 he to side 11®11%1 111©111®1116111111 ®11■offv11■11111111®®111111 1111®1111®111011®M.11 1111®®•. s' ®®®11111= ®1111®i`Pti®�■®®t:��®® ®®® -. UR®.2®®S ®®:!:•s: 30 111111111111116 1111®® 1116111111111M111111111111111iiiiili 1111®e111 11®■®■11 ■®®®®®®1: i®11 20 Answer elsewhere o. thio paga,: TOMATO SURPRISE -'-Actress Anita Ekberg stares coldly after being hit on the left hip with a tomato by night club stripper Evelyn West during Miss Ekberg's appearance with Bob Hope (left) at the Gables theatre, Coral Gables, Fla. Miss West, who Was taken to the police station and 'charged with disorderly conduct and creating a disturbance, said the actress snubbed her during her night club act the night before. At the invitation of the Hoh. Douglas S. Harkness, Minister of Agriculture, representatives of the sheep industry from across Canada met recently in Ottawa. The conference was called to plan a program to stimulate sheep production and improve the position of the industry. In welcoming the delegates, Mr. Harkness pointed out that sheep production is one branch of agriculture that can be ex- panded at this time without fear of excellent the needs of the domestic market for either wool or lamb. * * * The conference, agreed on a number of suggestions presented by the delegates to increase in- terest in sheep production, and recommended the appointment of a continuing committee to give the subject further study and develop the groundwork for a broad national sheep policy. Federal and provincial depart- ments of agriculture were urged to increase their extension work in training young men who lack- ed experience with sheep in the details of sheep management. Instances were reported where this had been successful with 4-H Sheep Clubs organized under the supervision of experienced men. * * * The place of crossbreeding programs in improving produc- tion efficiency was explored. It was suggested that more effec- tive use could be made of sur- plus cross -bred western females for farm flocks. It was reported that some 30,000 head ofwes- tern range ewe stock had been exported last fall to the United States. Organized crossbreeding programs using existing local breeds were reported to have shown considerable promise. rt * * Several delegates urged the need of a better system of farm credit to provide capital for the establishment of new flocks in areas suited to sheep raising and to assist present flock owners to enlarge their operations. The conference endorsed earli- er requests to the Federal De- partment of Agriculture to give greater .stability to the sheep industry by providing deficiency payments on wool, through the Agricultural Stabilization Act. It was established that there was a considerable potential marketfor freshly killed Cana- dian lamb and that a major pro- blem facing the industry was to develop production to meet this demand. To encourage the consumption of Canadian lamb in competition with other meats and insure its indentification from chilled or frozen lamb, the conference re- quested that the grading and branding of dressed lambs be ex- tended through the cooperation of provincial and federal govern- ment marketing services. * * * During recent years the prac- tice of employing frozen semen in artificial insemination in herds on the Experimental Farms has become general. The herd of approximately fifty Ayrshires at the Canada Depart- ment of Agriculture Experimen- tal Farm, Morden, Man., is one of these and no sires are retain- ed as all animals bred are ser- viced by use of frozen semen. * * * The advantages of using fro- zen semen are mainly twofold. Frozen semen may be held for long periods of time, and its use permits a wider selection of sires. An important purpose of the work with frozen semen is to learn the best methods of handling it. * * * Semen is collected at several of the Farms and then sent to the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, where it is processed, frozen, and stored at minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit. It is essen- tial that the' processed semen always' be kept at this very low temperature until used. Process- ed semen is placed in small..glass ampoules and packed in dry ice inside thermos bottles. Just prior to servicing animals an am- poule of the frozen semen is thawed slowly by immersion in cold water and used immediate- ly after thawing. * * Since the project began in 1955, frozen semen has been re- ceived at Morden from ten dif- ferent sires. In 1955 eleven ani- mals were serviced during the latter part of the year. Five of these conceived sfrom one ser- vice. * * * In 1956, using semen from six different sires, 37 cows were serviced and 32 of them freshen- ed from these artificial insemin- ations. nseminations. - During 1957, to the end of November, 37 females were ser- viced, some of which have not yet passed the regular periods. * * *' The percentages of conceptions and freshenings with frozen semen from October 1955 to No- vember 30, 1957, averaged 80 per cent for healthy animals. A large measure of success also has been achieved with animals that failed to conceive on second inseminations, by having them examined and given treatments by the local veterinarian. Over sixty-five per cent of those treated conceived. A Whole Continent Is The Stake Over the years, eight nations have staked out claims to pie - shaped edges of Antarctica - the frigid white continent which makes up one-tenth of the earth's land mass. Half of these overlap, Despite their bustling activities in the vast wasteland around the South Pole, the US. and Russia have made no terri- torial claims, and recognize none. In 1948, however, Russia main- tained: "The U.S.S.R. has never renounced its Antarctic rights, or agreed to disposal of Antarc- tic lands discovered by Russian navigators." This month, in a re- port submitted by six members of the House Committee on In- ter state and Foreign Commerce, who toured Antarctica in Decem- ber, this country affirmed a simi- lar position: "The United States has informed other nations that (it) reserves all rights based upon activities of (its) citizens in the Antarctic." These bland diplomatic pro- nouncements have recently been backed up by a flurry of ex- ploration by both Soviet and American forces. The most re- cent move was a race to chart the icebound coastline of Marie Byrd Land, the only wedge still unclaimed in Antarctica. The winner: The U.S. icebreaker Westwind. Despite this small victory the U.S. is concerned about the ex- pected arrival of the Soviet at- omic icebreaker Lenin in Antarc- tic waters and about Russia's taking over the three bases the U.S. will vacate after the Inter- uattonal Geophysical Year ends In Dec. The U,S,, however, will maintain its other four bases (at South Pole Byrd, Hallett, and McMurdo Sound) beyond IGY. The final disposition of Antarc- tica, many think, may lie in the current British plan for inter- nationalizing t h e continent. Prime Minister Macmillan has suggested that the icebound area become a free zone of scientific collaboration, devoid of mllitarp bases. -From NEWSWEEK. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking NDMSC11001 L SON By Rev. IL B. Warren, B.A., B.D, The Church Observes tha Sacraments, Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22. Memory Selection: As often as ye eat this bread, and drink tide cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. 1 Corinthians 11:26. Jesus commanded the church to observe the sacraments of Baptism and The Lord's Supper. His last command before His ascension began with the words "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them-" (Mat- thew 28:19). Of the taking of the bread and the fruit of the vine He said after the Last Supper, "This do in rememberance of Me." (Luke 22:19.) Baptism is a symbol of clean- sing and spiritual regeneration. It speaks of the death to sin and the receiving of new life in Jesus Christ. Baptism, in itself, does not change the heart. But it is a symbol of the cleansing which God can perform in the heart. The Supper of the Lord, often called Holy Communion, is not merely a sign of the love that Christians ought to have for one another, but rather is a sacra- ment of our redemption by Christ's death. The body of Christ is given, taken and eaten in the Supper, after a heavenly and spiritual manner. The means whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith. There is no magic in the sacra- ment but there is a great bless- ing to those partakers who take , it worthily, discerning the Lord's body. One man who believed on Jesus' Christ as his Lord and Saviour hesitated to take the sacrament because he felt un- worthy. But the more saintly we are the more we count our- selves unworthy of Christ's death for us. But also, the more we sense our unworthiness, the more eager we should be to show our gratitude to Him in partaking of these emblems of His blessed body and blood. This man was confusing unworthy with unworthily. We are all un- worthy. It's because we are un- worthy that we should frequent- ly in the sacrament, remember His death for us. 7.1 we persist in our malice and gluttony and do not purpose to forsake all our sins and accept of the salvation provided for us by Jesus Christ we are partak- ing unworthily. Paul warns o4 judgment against such. • WHAT D'YA•CALL ITS -British actor Hugh Dempster, appearing in Chicago in "My Fair Lady", says Americans don't know how to talk talk about cars. Some pf the confusing differences in car terminology between the two countries are illustrated on the cards. BETWEEN YOU, ME AND THE LAMPPOST -The saga of six Belgians who fought for freedom when their country was ruled by Spain in the 1 7th century is perpetuated in iron outside an old inn in Brussels. Hidden at the inn, which dates from 1677, the leaders of the rebellion were discovered by a Spanish patrol. They ran for their lives but were captured and hanged al a nearby town.