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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-05-14, Page 3"Stuffed" Dragon Started Moving The owner of a store in Port Moresby, New Guinea, had a shock when he received a letter from a Japanese importing firth recently, asking Ilam to send them samples of natural dragon's blood. "If you are in a position to. export this article please state your best price and send a sample or two by parcel post," said the curious request, "If quality and quantity are suitable we will place an order at once." The store owner thought at first that the letter might be a hoax, but investigation showed that it was quite genuine. Regretfully he informed the Japanese firm that he had nei- ther dragons nor dragon's blood for pale. It's Possible that the firm were referring to the most dragon - like of living reptiles, the giant lizards of Komodo, an island in Indonesia. Natives often, call them dragons. They were first discovered on Komodo in 1912, when five speciments were kill. ed, Some of which were. were over nine feet long, ' Two eight -foot -long specimens were obtained for the London Zoo from Komodo before the war. In the capture of these "dragons" special traps were built, baited with. dead pigs and so arranged that a lizard, on seizing the food, was hoisted in the air by a noose attached to a sapling. In captivity these creatures may become very tame, About thirty years ago, for instance, the presence of a livingeight- foot-long "dragon" at the Zoo- logical Society's scientific meet- ing caused excitement among Fellows who, had arrived expect- ing to study a stuffed or pickled specimen. The "dragon," which Was ex- hibited be,sthe Society's curator of reptiles, was not kept in a cage but was allowed to walk about. Obey the traffic signs - they are placed there for YOUR SAFETY. DEMONSTRATION - A "White God" paper elephant towers over women Buddhists demon- strating in the streets of Taipei, Formosa, in support of Tibetan anti-Communist rebels. 'Some 10,000 persons took part in the demonstration held on the 2,503rd birthday of Buddha. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? - Two baby hooded seals seem down at the mouth after they were placed on exhibition at Coney Island. The infants, though only three weeks old, weigh 100 pounds each and are described' as "ferocious." TIIEFA1Th! FRONT John' Turkey eggs set in the first three, months of this year point to a potential production 'in- crease of 10 million pounds of turkey meat over the sante per- iod one year ago. Canada Department of Agri- culture officials say that from the first of the year to March 21, egg settings totalled 8.6 mil- lion. * * * Included in this figure are in- creases of 1.4 million - a 28 per cent rise - for mature weight turkeys, and 803,000 - or 72 per cent - for broiler weights. On the basis of a 50 per cent hatch anti,_ a mortality rate of five per cent, production would run close to 10 million pounds more than for the first quarter last year. « * * The industry entered 1959 with a. staggering 18 million pounds in storage, compared with 12.5 million pounds the previous year. Marketings for the first quar- ter amounted to 7.3 million pounds, 78 per cent higher than for the same period in 1958 when the total was 4.1 million. * * .p Sale of turkeys at Easter - heaviest in. Canadia's history - helped to ease the situation. Most of the light and medium weights birds were cleaned out of storage during the phenome- nal holiday sales. ' Butthe heavy stocks and the upswing in marketings have combined to sharply - reduce prices. Officials say they have dropped an average of 10 cents a pound since the beginning of. the year. * * Many turkey producers are viewing the production boom with alarm and are ' wondering where it is leading them. A normal population increase will take care of about 2.5 mil- lion pounds, •,and better mer- chandising practices, promotion, and year -around marketing will increase per. capita 'consumption. Also spurring sales is the 'com- paratively '. new idea- of half or quarter turkeys. ..This fills the bill for the housewife who wants turkey -.but not 20 pounds of it at one time. * * * • The agriculture department and the Pqultry Products In- stitute are co-operating to in- troduce this new merchandising approach on'a national scale, It CROSSWORD PUZZLE. ACROSS 1: Pall to keep 8. Corridormal 12. Scottcovering explorer 14. Optical part 15. Fording 17. Donee woods 19. Avalanche 20. Direction 21. Low tide 23. ,Card seque5ee* 84. Lotter 26. Color qualities 28. Salamander 81.. Draft animal 82. Tennis shot 28. Moth 84. Supper 88. Couch remedy 88.70nelIsh letter as P:mporlum 41, Porous rock 43. Asiatic country 46. Large farm 48. 'Bellowed 60. Solt 61, Flake. 52. Sunken Ponce 64. Dash 66, Sacred 1 0. Mouth 67. Lairs DOWN 1. Rules 2, Of the mouth s, Railway spur 4. Slurover f. Werk Unit 6. Note of the scale 7. Arahlae Utopia 1. Great Lake 9. Unwilling 10. Icor fear that 30. indefinite 11. Plaster amount slPport 37. Chaste 16. Trim 30. Taper 13. Burden - 40.12xtortloner 22, Minute animal 42. Languished 23. Disprove 43. Roiruish 24 Herman 44. London weight district 36. Edged tool 46. Tribe 27. And not 47. Fowl 20. Exclamation 40. Stop up 30. Pedal Pari 50. Wages 36. Altnrl: -1 isxeln mil Plan i 2 '8 4 >'•"5 6 7 8 .9 10 11 12 I1 � Y 14 15. '. i6,,r, 'I7 18. t9,,�,,:'h 20 .. ..V, 21 22 23 :. e. ,1{ "4 ti r , 24 25 ,�'. 26 27 ��,,py 220 29 3b 31 s ;31r 32 t'us`+, 33 3435 441 ,. AV '36 37 38 39 40 ti 41 42 Y y. 43 44 4p..'S;y 45 46 41 .... 48 i9 .. so . :.. , 51 52 53'' 1 56: 56 ,,yt64 'S ' 3-11 57 Answer elseWhree on this page y has already become popular in Toronto and. Montreal. 4 * While the increase sofar this year has been startling the pic- ture is far from complete. Last year 2.1 million poults were produced during the first three months and 5.4 million in the second quarter. The balance of the .year was much lighter, ending up with a total of 9.2 mil- lion. If the trend follows last year, the big push is yet to come. An- upward trend has been shown in the sale of prepared stock and poultry feeds in Can- ada. Last year, according . to the Canada Department of Agricul- ture, shipments of concentrated feed totaled 437,546 tons and completed ,feeds totalled 2,506,- 704 tons. * * This represented a 20 per cent. increase in each category over 1957. Contributing factors include: 1. A growing awareness on the part of the producer of the value of balanced feeds. 2. Increased numbers of live- stock and poultry. 3. A strong educational pro- gram sponsored by feed dealers and others. • * * The current boom in the chicken broiler industry, for example, has added impetus to the feed sales. Broilers receive completed feeds, and last year there were about 62.6 million raised in Canada. * * * In 1957, there was a 5.5 per cent increase over the previous year. And in 1956; a 17 percent boost'' was shown over the year before. Total shipments in the years 1952 through 1955 had in- creased annually by a small amount. ' Hungry Rats Ate Flower Show Scientists are busy testing the amazing . intelligence of rats. Every day new facts about rats' uncanny cuteness ard coming to light: Rats, they. have learned, have organizing capacity at least as good as that of the ant or the bee. Rats, tests show, can even reason things out. And, in the words of one scientist, rat is often a "me- chanical genius." One of the latest discoveries is that rats have a hitherto unsus- pected "bump" of curiosity. Rats can swim, climb and tttn- ,nel. They know at once when food is slightly tainted - and won't touch it. Rats are thieves. but cleverer than many human thieves, They are too wise to quarrel when their plunder has to be divided. One day a kitchen worker in a restaurant famous for serving shell -fish filled a bucket with opened clams, set it on a shelf knee-high on the wall and went on with other work. When he next looked at the bucket it. was empty. It was decided to call a ro- dent observer. The same condi- tions were repeated. The kitchen worker worked away with a full bucket of clams behind him while the watcher waited for results. Presently a rat scout appeared, cIlmbed the. bucket and looked. 111, The rat returned to his hole and then out came a number of other rats. It was ninety feet from the hole to the bucket, but they stationed themselves in line all the,way, The first rat threw the clams out; the next caught them and with his forepaws passed them on along the line, Almost incredible happenings like that confirm rats' extraordi- nary cleverness and adaptability. Butif we record their skill, c t ors it don't let's forget that the rat is the enemy in our midst and that the damage of all kinds done by rats amounts to at least millions of dollars a day, Woodwork, piping, electric ca- bles -the rat gnaws them all. Many apparently mysterious fires are caused by rats gnawing through electric wires. Rats will eat anything. And what they don't eat they'll de- stroy. Three valuable circus ele- phants had to be put out of their pain in the United States. Rats, had gnawed into their feet. A Vienna florist complained that rats utterly demolished his bow- er show of 500 carnation plants! Strange Incidents Caused By Mice Mice have caused three strange incidents in East Anglia recently. At one Methodist church, playing the church's $2000 organ became almost impossible. When struck, several of the keys stayed down. Dampness was suspected. But al- though the organ was warmed, the ivoriesremained immovable. Then someone suggested mice. Poison was put down, and three mice were caught inside the or - FOUR FEET ABOVE FLOOD - Carol McBride, left, and Jean Hammondstilt along through spring floodwaters at Rockford. gan, Two village mechanics then dismantled the organ and found that invading mice had gnawed no fewer than twenty-two plun- gers, At St. Mary's Church, Homers - field, Norfolk, a notice placed on the main door reads: "Please make sure this door is shut whew you leave the church. If mice come in they will cause great damage and expense." Mice have already left their mark there, Recently completed organ repairs costing $120 were due mainly to mice gnawing holes in the pipes, There was no doubt about it, for several pipes bear unmistakable evidence of tiny teeth marks. A mouse, no less unwelcome but more beneficial, has visited a Leiston woman. To her horror, it got into her bed around mid- night. Because of this, she ap- pealed at the local valuation court against the assessment on her bungalow. She had tried in vain, it seemed, to make the place mouse -proof. Convinced of her arguments, the court reduced her rates by $10. Born Too Soon The deckhands on the Gen. Orlando M. Poe, in the summer of 1916, were merry lads, who could handle her wooden hatches with a degree of skill and who were very pleased, when the bo's'n called it quits for the day, to put away their chipping ham- mers and retire to their luxurious quarters up in the forward end, close to the anchor chain. If memory serves, there was room for five individuals and the windjammer, though it must be admitted that the word "room" is rather loosely used. Of course, when the weather was such that the windjammer could be placed in the porthole, where it shoved in fresh air, the living g area was enlarged about one square foot. But everyone was reasonably satisfied;, there was a place to sleep and, after all, deckhands were not first mates. The chow was pretty good - and you even got paid! Not much, but some! Which, in very roundabout fa- shion, brings us to the new 689 - foot ore carrier, the Herbert C. Jackson, which has just been launched in Detroit, and to one paragraph in Marine Editor Homer Hendrickson's story of the event, to wit: "Her 34 -man crew will have some of the best living quarters on the lakes, with no more than one man to a room for officers and two men to a room for the crew, Each stateroom will have a bath...." Ah, but will they hear the anchor chain growling when the weather gets rough? Will they enjoy the wholesome odor of turpentine wafting its way from the paint locker? We dearesay they can forego these pleasures. Actually, we're just jealous. We were born too soon! - Cleveland Plain Dealer A sculptor was putting the finishing touches to the statue of a military hero for the local historical society when a friend visited him. "Why have you given the gen- eral such a peculiar pose?"l ask- ed the friend, staring at the statue. "Well," said the sculptor, "it started as an equestrian statue, but the council decided they couldn't afford a horse as well." MacGregor and MacPherson decided to become teetotalers, but MacGregor thought it would be best if they kept oeie bottle of whiskey in the cupboard In case of illness. After three days MacPherson could bear it no longer and said: "MacGregor, ah'm not verra weel." "Too late, MacPherson. Ah was verra sick masel' all day yesterday." UNARY SCII001 LESSON gy ttev (t„ t$afclay Molest R.A., 11,D. Nathan and David 3 Samuel 12;1"i, 9-10, 13-14 Memory Selection: Be that hath my word,' let him speak lay word falthfully, Jeremiah 23:28. Nathan the prophet seems to have been chaplain at Pharaoh's court. When David expressed his desire to build a house for the Lord, Nathan approved. But that night God gave Nathan a mes- sage for David. It assured David that his kingdom would con- tinue but since he had been a man of war, the honour of build- ing a house for the Lord would be reserved for his son. Then comes an ugly blot on David's life. He committed adul- tery with Bathsheba while her husband, Uriah the Hittite, was at war. Then to cover his sin he planned the death of Uriah. There is no excusing David, Though eastern despotic kings, being a law unto themselves, might do such things, David knew he was violating God's law. There is this to be said for David, When charged with his sin by Nathan, he did not try to defend himself. lie said. "3 have sinned." In the fifty-first Psam the genuineness of his re- pentance is seer.. In no otl•er place in the Bible has anyone in such detail exposed his sor- row for his sin. And he was a king. His repentance is as fam- ous as his sin. God forgave David. Nevertheless, his exam- ple of sinning had an adverse effect on his chidren. Amnon committeed fornication with his half-sister, Tamar, and Absalom, full sister of Tamar slew Amnon in revenge. We reap what we sow. The findings of surveys in U.S.A., are frightening, To think of one of every four wives and half the husbands being untrue to their mates is most alarming. Some High Schools have non - virgin clubs where, in order to be a member, virginity has to be violated.' Some business firms maintain what is called "high class prostitution" for the sake of alluring. men who will place an order with their firm. And peo- ple seem so calloused that they are no longer appalled at what is happening. We like to think that Canada is not nearly so bad. But how much better are we? Who knows? Many are falling a prey to their own lusts. If repentance is as. real as that of David, God will freely forgive and life can still be worthwhile. The two greatest sins today are those which spring from the love of money and the violation of the sanctity of sex. "What's the - difference be- tween the death -rate at the time of Christopher Columbus and that of to -day?" a professor ask- ed a student. "It's just the same, sir," was • the reply. "One per person." Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking Ei nuc mvm UMW MOM O©O C RWE ©000©I DUMDUM ©NMIND MO©©Li O®©® mann nue X00©® 02E3 DM LION ®D 0®© ©©©D® MOST UMW DO©M ©DOOM` ©END 0©©= OMUOO UMW ®OE I vi lO , 5 1 V H )1 '1 3 3501 ISSUE 19 1959 SECURE FUTURE FOR KISSING BUG - The "kiss ing bug" (Rhodnius prolixus), a small blood- sucking South American insect, right, has little to fear from atomic radiation. Two Atomle Energy of Canada scientists, Dr W. F. Baldwin, left, and T. N. Salthouse, report that the E*itl can withstand 200 to 300 times the amount of r adiation sufficient to kill a man. "Bugs like these would be good candidates to inherit the earth after an atomic war/' DR Baldwin says. Tilt biologists are experimenting with the Insects at Chalk River, Ontario.