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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-02-19, Page 2Growing pearls Is Big Business Right now millions of Jap- anese oysters are agitating them" selves into the production of as many cultured pearls. ley the end of this year Japan expects well over 91,000 pounds of the spherical beauties will have reached foreign markets. American women are finding the pearls to their liking. Hide - hike Kato, New York represen- tative of the Japan Pearl Ex- p or t e r s Association, believes that by theend of 1959 the United States will have bought $11,000,000 worth, This not only puts this mun- e try well in the lead of pearl pur- chases' but the amount will be about 19 per cent more than last year, And the beginning of the Japanese cultured pearl starts in America, for It is the irritat- ing corners of tiny bits of Mis- sissippi oyster shell that do the trick. The bits are inserted into oysters by the Japanese, The oysters don't like the irritation and build up their very attrac- tive resistance in the form of attractive pearls, It seems the Mississippi bits are the most wonderfully irritating in the world, Of course, oysters have been getting irritated since the begin- ning of oceans over bits of sand or shell or something, and their pearls have been cherished as jewels since prehistoric times. But the oyster hasn't always been cooperative about produc- ing the "perfect" or round pearl. Also the oyster, on its own, has not been consistent about the color of its jewel. The new epoch of pearl cul- ture and finding the ways and habits of the oyster got under way about a half century ago through the experiments of pearl king Kokichi Mikimoto and his son-in-law, Dr. Tokichi Nishi- kawa. They not only found the way to coax the oyster into produc- ing round pearls, but they in- vestigated the effects of the ocean and changing tides upon the color of the pearl, Their "inventions" and/or dis- coveries have been patented in many countries around the world. Among other things they found out is that, regardless of how far science may advance, man probably can never create pearls equal to the quality of mother nature. But with ingen- uity and care beautiful jewels can be produced, controlled, and marketed for the pleasure of the world. Today the cultured pearl is as Japanese as the cherry blossom or Fujiyama. Japan produces over 90 per cent of the world's natural and cultured pearls. Others have tried the Japanese techniques in Burma, Australia, Hong Kong. and Okinawa, but so far the best results have been some only semiround shells. The Japanese cultured pearls are produced mostly in the southern area of the Shima. peninsula on the main island of Honshu. The very active produc- e. ing areas are near Toba, al- though considerable production 1s going on in. southern Shikoku, Japanese girls die much of the pearl -producing work. They dive. for the oysters, which are then taken to the laboratories for treatment. They handle the delicate operation of inserting the pearl nucleus, and they pre- pare them for the return to the "beds." The more exciting time comes after the period of cultivation when the oysters are taken out for extracting the pearl. There are always the questions: How beautiful is the jewel? Is it per- fectly round? Does it have the luster? Is its color attractive? Is it the right size? The Japanese are particular about this, for they are trying to make sure that the pearl in- dustry is properly controlled and that only high-quality jew- ISSUE 7 — 1959 els reach the public. They are so intense about this that re- cently the white 'motorship Ta- chibane Ivlaru sailed out of Tokyo Bay 40 miles into the .Pacific with 2,500 pounds of pearls ceremoniously packed in white boxes. .`hese were dump- ed into the blue waters. This dumping operation is not an easy emotional task, for many a sigh goes up from the men and women aboard the ship as the glistening beauties disappear. For it requires three to five years of patient, careful cultiva- tion to produce a cultured jewel, And there are dangers, too. The "red tide" is constantly a threat to the oysters. This is a violent attack by minute marine creatures which destroy shell- fish. Then often a tide will bring in waters too cold or with too much salt content, and a whole moyster plantation" has to be oved out of the area, But Japan is fortunate, too, for scientists have not yet found out why pearl oysters prefer Jap- anese waters to all the others, It just 'seems thatthe oysters are perfectly content to live off the isles of Japan. They become disturbed only when manirri- tates them with a goad, and they just surround that with a jewel, Gave The King A Dog's Eyebrows Layers of dirt nearly an inch thick are being removed from some parts of Westminster Ab- bey, London, in a great cleaning operation which will not end until early in 1965, when the Abbey's 900th anniversary cele- brations are due to take place, As a result of the "spring clean" — the biggest ever known at Westminster — this will be the first time for 600 years that the magnificent Abbey will be seen as its builders intended. In some places the cleaners have laid bare hitherto Unknown repairs carried out by Sir Chris- topher Wren 300 years ago. All England has been combed for oak trees big enough to supply the 37 foot beams needed to support the roof, following the destruction of much of the original timber by death-watch beetles. For more than three centuries kings, queens, poets, priests and statesmen have been buried at the Abbey. Displayed there to- day are a number of life - size wax effigies of three queens, two kings, three duchesses, a mar- quess, an earl and the great Lord Nelson, Britain's sea hero. Nelson's was the last effigy to be made for the Abbey. The story goes that when Lady Ham- ilton went to inspect it she re- marked: "The likeness would be perfect if this lock of hair were disposed in the way his lordship always wore it" And reaching out her fingers; she put it -prop- erly into place. How did these effigies ever come into being? It used to be the custom to show the embalm- ed bodies of kings and queens at their funerals. Later wax effigies were shown instead, dressed in the dead monarch's clothes. The custom spread to the funerals of other great per- sons. It was decided a few years ago to restore the effigies which had became battered and darkened by the dirt of centuries. The ex- perts doing the work discovered that the heads of the effigies of Edward III and Henry VII are genuine death -masks. That of Edward is consequent- ly the oldest European death - mask in existence. The cleaning revealed the original facial color of the ef- figies, sometimes fairly brightly. It was also found that all the remnants c1 hair on them were human, except the eyebrows of Edward III, which were from a dog. Dr, H. S, Holden who, at the time of this restoration was di- rector of Scotland Yard's for- ensic laboratory, was called in to help in analysing the effigies' hair. TOTEM IN THE CAPITOL — Alaska's Sen. E, L. "Bob" Bartlett dusts a primeexample of5the totem maker's art as he sets up housekeeping in the Capitol offices in Washington. DENIES RIFT WITH CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN — President Eisen- hower purses his lips during his news conference,in Washington where he branded ,as irresponsible a report of a rift with Chief Justice Earl Warren. 447A8LE T4LKS gna r Ad>tews. Perhaps the smell and the taste of an apple strudel will, be the things your family or. friends will remember about your cooking. Here is one for you to try. APPLE STRUDEL 11/4 cups sifted flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg white 3 tablespoons salad oil '/a cup lukewarm water 2 teaspoons vinegar 3/4 cup melted butter filling 1 cup ground walnuts 8 apples, peeled and sliced 3/4 cup seedless raisins. Ye cup chopped candled fruit, Sift flour and salt onto, a bread board. Make a well in center. Place in this well the egg white, 1 tablespoon of salad oil, the water and vinegar. Work in the flour, kneading until a dough is formed. Knead until dough is elastic. Brush with remaining oil. Cover with a warm bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. Cover table with a cloth and dust it with flour. Roll out dough as thin as possible. Brush with melted shortening; sprinkle with. nuts. Spread apple filling over dough and roll carefully by gently lifting one side of the cloth; roll like a jelly roll. Bake 40 minutes at 425 degrees F., or until strudel is crisp -and brown, * * If you have no sour cream when you want to make a raisin sour cream pie, substitute sour milk and , a few tablespoons of butter for a delicious dessert. RAISIN SOUR MILK PIE 1 cup seedless raisins (light or dark) 2 eggs 3/4 cup brown sugar s/4 cup sour milk 3/4 teaspoon salt Ye teaspoon cinnamon 5 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla Pastry for 2 -crust 8 -inch pie Rinse raisins; cover with 14 cup water and bring to boil 'and let simmer 5 minutes, 'stir- ring occasionally. Beat eggs, add sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add melted butter to milk and mix with raisins and vanilla. Com- bine mixtpres, ' Pour into pastry lined pie pan and cover with top crust. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 20-25 min- utes longer, or until center is barely set. * ,s * This is a favorite cake with many, especially those of Central European ancestry. It keeps veru well, and there is enough of it for even a large family.. MORAVIAN SUGAR CAKE 1 cup hot mashed potatoes 2 yeast cakes (dissolved in. 1 cup lukewarm water) 1 cup sugar' 2 eggs 1 tablespoon Salt I cite butter 1 pound brown sugar Cinnamon Flour Nuts, if you like Mix top six ingredients. Add enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to pull from spoon. Cover bowl with damp cloth and place in warm spot and. let stand .overnight. Next morning, scrape dough from bowl and pull over a flat pan—a cooky sheet is fine Along the edges press thumb prints and fill with next two in- gredients. Add nuts, if you like Allow to rise about 20 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F, for 25 minutes. * * * APPLE NUT BREAD r/z cup • shortening. % cup sugar 2 eggs, well beaten 2 cups finely chopped apples 2 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon each, baking powder, and soda 3 cup' broken nut meats 14 teaspoon lemon extract Cream shortening and sugar;• add beaten eggsand chopped apples and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to applemixture; add nut meats and lemon extract. Pour, into greased loaf pan ' and bake at 950 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes or until done. Engineer of the animal world, the beaver was doing a good job of water control long before the .first bureau was set up for that purpose in Ottawa or Washing- ton. The beaver is the'largest of all American rodents. Its fur was one of the incentives for pioneer- ing the West. At one time its hide was standard currency; later, rough coins stamped with the beaver's likeness were in common use. This large, aqua- tic rodent is softly furred with e rioh, brown coat. Woman's Yawn Causes Crisis The woman hospital patient stood at the open window and yawned. And when she did so the pa- tient dropped, both sets of her false teeth into a wilderness of weeds in the no-man's-land, which was guarded by Israeli and Arab sentries, The woman needed solid food to help recover from a stomach operation, so the ward sister reported the matter to the hos- pital governor, he to the border police, they to the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization, which then sent its representative to inform the heads of, the Israeli and Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission of, the happening. An international crisis had de- veloped. The two officers then arrang- ed a jointtneeting, together with shorthand writers, and the form - elides went on for days. A hospital maid could have sneaked out in the dark and searched the undergrowth for the dentures, but she might have been shot as a suspected infil- trator. So the ,patient was put back to bed on milk while the mighty U.N. machine started to go, laboriously into action, Finally, several .officers front each side, dressed for an official occasion, 'proceeded to the spot beneath the window,a nurse above relayed directions to the party from the patient, arid soon the dentures were found. But they had to be the sub- ject of more minutes and resolu- tions before they could be offi- cially handed over and signed for, so it was still some time before the patient could resume normal eating! .This farcical sit- uation is one of many that Cql. W. Byford -Jones records in "Forbidden Frontiers", a graphic account of his travels on both sides of the Jew -Arab borders. Mount Scopus, north of ' the Mount of Olives, was a United Nations "island" within Jordan containing both Arab village and Jewish institutions. One road only linked it with Israel, and over this—periodi- cally and under strict supervi- sion went an Israeli convoy carrying supplies and change of personnel. - One day, at a U.N.. frontier post, a sharp-eyed guard drop- ped a test rod into a barrel of oil bound for the Mt. Scopus Israelis and struck an obstacle `about halfway down. , , At once the Arabs suspected something sinister. The U.N. guard's officer order- ed the barrel to be taken from the truck, and within a few hours serious tension had mount- ed between Arabs and Jews. War loomed; scores of cables went to London and Washing- ton. It later transpired, however, that the obstruction was oonly a. large floating metal cap! Smuggling, Col. Byford -Jones says, still continues over this frontier; the .tension and danger only serve to intensify the enrugglers' cunning, One night a convoy was caught with a earav-- en of twelve donkeys carrying six sacks of drugs, six huge bales of costly cigarette lighters, and thousands of silk stockings, among other, things. An old smuggling family boasted that it smuggled every- thing for which there was a market, and once had smuggled two 'sows which had been sold by one small -holder to another. These cows led to the smuggle• ers' undoing. Preferring the green pastures of their original master, a Jew, they strayed too the frontier in search of himand the Whole affair was. revealed. This, was the first time Israel and Jordan co-operated to try an infiltrator in a joint court set up in the ruins of no-man's-land, The Arab mayor of Barta'a had a wife each side of the frontier line running through his village: Fatima, an Israeli Arab, who lived with him, and Farida, a Jordanian Arab, living on the other side. Some nights each week he sneaked across the border into Jordan to fulfil his connubial duties to the latter, and return- ing one morning in the early hours, fell in with a real infil- trator. An argument started which developed into a fight. Jordan guards, hearing the noise, sailed in, arrested both, and flung them into the local lock-up. Only combined operations initiated by the mayor's two wives eveetual- ly' freed him. He was very peeved at being treated like that just for doing his duty as a loving husband. Nowadays, he still goes to see Farida but takes care to steer clear of stray infiltrators! _ "Johnson says he wears the trousers in his house." "Perhaps so, but every night after supper he wears an apron, over them," • FENCED IN—Meshed veiling at- tached to a crown of cuffed white Bali straw fences in the "mystery woman" look in this spring hat design. Super Bed Can Do Almost Everything By Tom A. Cullen NEA Staff Correspondent London — A $7,500 Super Bed which dogs everything from making tea to taking ,dictation, hasbeen unveiled in London, This Cadillac of the bedroom is :made by Slumberland Ltd. of Birmingham, and it is designed not so much to induce sleep as to revolutionize the living habits of those who can afford it, 'The notion that.a bed is mare• ly furniture ' for sleeping is hopelessly out,dated,'according to Jim Seccombe, director of Slumberland, "Most people spend: one-third of their lives in bed," Seccombe declares. "So 'why not be warm, comfortable and relaxed?" Seccombe objects strenuously to the word "bedroom." "Why not call it the sanctuary room'?" he asks. As its contribution to finer liv- ing, the Super Bed offers: Twin three - foot mattresses 'which can be raised and adjusted 10 any position by the touch of a button. They are also heated, with thermostat controls. Coverlets of 'champagne" mink — there are enough 'skins to make a full-length fur coat. Separate radios and •book shelves for the "His" and "Her" Bides. A telephone, electric shaver end a tape recorder for his .busi- ness dictation on the "His" side. A velvet -lined jewel box, vibro massager, automatic tea - maker and silver tea set on the Television a toe's length away at the foot of the bed, A push button control panel that will ,open or close bedroom curtains, switch off the bedroom lights, communicate with every room in the holo via intercom. As the leading exponent of the Keno life, Seccombe is fend of pain tinn modern 'men its the hol1ow- c,vrd victim n1 els ulcers, men ,•.s hill., '..'.r Ip,.nquil• ixors, put lcring around the house when he could be relaxing: in bed. "Why not go to bed aster dro- ner with everything you need— television, books, knitting, tele- phone -- at your finger tips?" the Slumberland director asks. "After all, Sir Winston Church- ill has done some of his best work lying on his back," Seccombe, who recently visit- ed Chicago to inspect American beds, said Slumberland , is con- sidering a cheaper version of the , Super Bed, priced at $3,000. But lee is convinced there is a mar- ket Inc the Super Bad amnng American millionaires and the oil sheiks of the Persian Gulf, To one reporter, the Super Bed, when unveiled to the press conjured up the nightmare of a man being shaved involuntarily, scalded with hot tea and folded Up in the mattress while his sm'eatns were recorded on tape. But Slumberland engineers assured him "!t is ,quite impos- sibie For this bed to go mad,"'