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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-08-13, Page 3• How to R©o Those Geranium Cuttings In midsummer with geraniums gayly blooming in window and porch box, in raised beds and pots on the terrace, and in open beds in the garden, their use as a house plant is, usually far from One's mind. Yet it is none too soon 'to make the cuttings which win become husky plants for winter flowering in a sunny •window. These have the vigor of youth and will give a much more satis- factory performance than the older plants, which by fall will have become too large and leggy to be moved indoors as they are. Moreover, if one is not inter- ested in winter flowers, small plants raised from summer cut- tings may be carried over in a semi -dormant condition in a cool but frost -proof place, for flower- ing outdoors next summer. Fortunately, geranium cuttings ' root readily if a simple proced- ure is followed. They should be taken 'from vigorous tip growth usually three to five .ins. long. Try to make the cutting as short as possible for it is difficult to keep a long cutting from de- veloping into a tall, ungainly plant, • However, the length of the cutting is not a important as the condition of the stem. Short - jointed shoots that are brittle and snap when bent at the point where the cut is to be made are ideal for. rooting. Such a con- dition is usually found three or four inches from the tip of•young, vigorous shoots. 'Cuttings taken where the stem is soft ' and succulent will rot and where old and hard will root.. with difficulty. • The "snappy test" applied to several shoots, will quickly give one the knack of determining the correct place to make the cut. Sometimes overly rich soil and excessive moisture cause quick, succulent. growth which makes it difficult to find short cuttings that pass the "snap. test" It may prove helpful in this connection to allow the cuttings to lie from a ,few hours to a day in a shady place to harden up before insert- ing them.. Use a sharp knife to make ..a clean cut just below. a node, which is the point where the leaf Joins the stem. All foliage except several leaves at the top should be carefully cut away.. Although some gradeners root KEEPS KIM WARM Suited to all environments, new Mark IV "space" suit keeps wearer warm in his icy prison. Engin- eers say insulation, permits furl/veil of an hour's immersion in Arctic waters at 60 degree below zero Fahrenheit. Ss geranium cuttings in sand and peat -moss mixture, and even the sandy soil of the garden, clean, sterile sand remains the ideal rooting medium. This should not be the fine seashore sand, but coarse builder's and free from organic matter. If the sand available is not clean, it is a simple matter to wash it in a large tub. Cover the. sand with water and stir. Af- ter the sand has settled the dirty water should be poured off and this process repeated until the sand is thoroughly clean. If several cuttings are to be made, a.shaded frame is best, It should be well drained and have at least four inches of clean sand, wet through and well firmed over some drainage material such as ashes or broken pots. If onlya few cuttings are to be• made equally good results may be had in a flower pot or bulb pan filled with hard, moist sand and placed out of direct sunlight. writes Gisela Grimm in The New York Herald Tribune. As such a.small container dries out quickly, moisture control' may be greatly simplified by sinking a., small pot filled with peatmoss in the center of the larger pot, and keeping the peat - moss saturated with Water. A small pointedstick may be used to make holes for the cut- tings which should' be sunk about half their length into the sand, which is pressed' firmly about them. The 'writer uses a brick to pack the soil hard between the row of ,cuttings in the frame. After they' are in place, not closer than an inch apart, they should be watered lightly, -and thereafter only when the sand becomes slightly dry. Geranium cuttings, being fleshy, should not• be kepttoo moist or they will rot. Evenly moist, not soaking wet, is the ideal for whichto strive. Cuttings of most plants re- quire a close glass cover of some; sort to create a humid condition, This is not necessary for gera- ,niums unless they are made un- der :very .drying conditions in the home. Even in this case, the glass jar, • or whatever the cover may be, should be removed frequently to permitthe moisture which has condensed 'on the leaves to dry off. As soon as a nice cluster of roots has formed, usually in two or three weeks. the plants should, be carefully lifted •out: with the sand• .clinging to them, and pot- ted. in small containers-of'•sandy soil. A two and -a -half-inch pot is ample, and as the little plants grow they may be easily shifted into larger pots. It is important that the soil: in which the rooted cuttings are -planted ' should not be -too rich, asslow, stocky growth is desired.•. Sink the pots in a sunny place, far enough apart to permit the air to circulate freely about them. If they should tend to' grow tall and lanky, pinch out the tip to encourage branching. Not only the zonal geraniums, which are the beautiful flower- ing ones, commonly called the garden geraniums, but also the rose and mint geraniums and other' of the delightfully scented ones may be propogated from cuttings taken during the sum- mer. Age -Old Custom -Looting Losers The trinkets in Hong Kong's shops last month were fit for: a king, or a Dalai Lama, to ,wear. On display were old, gilded, Buddhas,' heavy, 6 -foot -long yak - skin belts studded with silver o r n•a m e n t s, and headdresses made of semiprecious' stones. Careful scrutiny revealed the articles were genuine relics from Tibetan temples. They were the first shipments of . Communist Chinese loot brought out of the conquered Himalayanland and sold in Hong, Kong to earn for- eign exchange for Peking. CROSSWORD PUZZLE 11. Make leather 31. Study of 16. Ultimate. lot bodies at rent 18. Charges 83. Plane 20. Secret agents 84. Roasting 21. Hard grained stake kind of wheat 38. Vigilant 22. After a time 37. More rattonul 23 Zeal 30. Trick r. wain. oxldo 24. Straight 40. Summit • 0, Numeral batted ball 41. Color 26. Pomp .42. In what 7. Ourselves 21. Baked clay •Late (fon 8, Gr. i pieces 43. Late (comb. 9. Gr. 30. cutting with 44,Itec ive 10. And not the grain - 47. That mad ACROSS 1. Backward tendency 4, Runs. 9. Insect 12. MACAW 13 11ax.product 14, nacelle 10. Scent 17. Decorate .19. Make bread 20, +load 2t. Used for roofing 23 sulker the fanny' 66, retia ' 27' Attempts 28, Tho thing 29. Summer 110r.) 80. Norseman 31, 17, Indian sheep 22 troothall pnsltion ab.) 22, Fodder Ws 84, Let It stand 87, Fur hunter patrt 88, Deprivation 85. Linger 40. Gr, letter 42. In ti tnatitlg 46, Of us 46 17ntire 48. llna'llsh letter 49, Favorite 60, Drain 7.Ter DOWNI L Lick np 2, lThdnt 8. Kitchen 4, Flounder 11111111Mill®6 ®r� fill ®® 111111 9®®®®®MA®® ®®®®.®®:5a®®®11® 11111111111111141111111111111111 ®®®11111 J®®®111111 .5®® ®111®:!:!:®11®®®:!:°®r1111 ®®�L ®■MILLI .I1®®®� ®11111■1111111M1.®®111 ®®®IIIIII �: ®®®®■®® J®■L0:°it®®l11111 ®111® 1.111116 ®®EIIIIIimIIIIII■ Answer elsewhere on this page DIG THAT CRAZY SHOVEL! This frantic shovel, wasn't set 'to digging by the sorcere's apprentice. But it did spring into action untouched by human hand. Wandlike oblect; below, is' a tubeless, transistorless sub- miniature radio.. Protruding from the top is an antenna, from the bottom, a handle. The tiny (less than an inch in any direc- tion), experimental transmitter was used. to' send a signal to the shovel which electronically broke ground for a new GE plant. The radio can operate for hundreds of hours on a crystal- controlled frequency using a battery no larger than a small coin, TIILFAIN FRONT Jok*i2u1L._ Canadian farmers like their independent way of life, but dis- like the uncertainty of f income that goes with it. These are part of the findings of a survey carried out under Dr. Helen! C. Abell, rural sociologist with the Canada Department .of Agriculture.. About 300 people were 'interviewed in Ontario and Alberta on what they considered to be the best and worst in rural living. e * il Explains Dr. Abell: "When these • value' are expressed and carefully' considered, it becomes possible to. formulate plans to perpetuate and improve the best things and to overcome or, if necessary, accept the worst." STEP UP - Blonde, Mary High- ,tower delimits this year's tow- ering corn at the Missouri Farm- ers Assn, The best in rural living: -Closeness to nature, with plenty of fresh air and privacy. -Friendliness and neighbor- liness of the rural community. • -Increasing availability of running water, electricity and labor-saving machinery. -Economic advantages - the opportunity of owning a home and farm business, a lower cost. of living and fresher food prod- ucts. -Special educational services, such as home economics and other .agricultural extension courses, music festivals and an increasing number of consoli- dated schools. * * * The worst? More than half of those inter- viewed mentioned economic fac- tors - including irregular, un- certain or limited inepme, uncer- tainty regarding crops, wether or farm labor, Iong working hours and hard physical labor. * * e One-half to one-fifth added: -Scarcity of poor quality of community facilities (sometimes both), including some schools and roads, a scarcity of medical doctors and registered nurses, lit- tle fire protection, and a lack of cultural facilities. -A lack of conveniences on the farm, particularly an in- equality in living standards and the work involved in keeping up an old home, -Certain personal or person- ality,'charcteristics of some rural people such as self pity, intoler- ance and a lack et interest and participation in community affairs. -Unsanitary and objection- able environment conditions roadside litter and garbage, -flies and mosquitoes, sanitation in somerural schools and homes. * * * Concedes . Dr. Abell: "Today more and more rural families are consciously, or unconsciously weighing the best and the worst in rural living to decide whether to join the flow to the cities or remain on the land as part of the small but essential farm popula- tion of Canada," * * * Co-operatives in Canada did a record -smashing' busilttess last year, with the total volusne amounting to $1,244,557,000 - an increase of $92 million over the previous year. * 4 $ This was revealed in a report by the Economies Division of the Canada Department of Agri- culutro, whose officials tabulated" figures submitted by 2,882 co- operatives across the nation. Co-operatives marketed about 33 per cent of all agricultural products entering commercial trade in Canada last year the highest proportion since. 1953. An overall increase in the sales vol- ume of co-operative merchan- dise, farm supplies and commo- dities was reported in 1958. * * * A significant development is the fact that marketing co-op- eratives did a $895 million busi- ness, the highest on record and $77.7 million more than in 1967. All provinces shared in this in- crease. The previous high was in 1953, when a carry-over from the 1952 wheat crop was market- ed. • * * Reporting to the Economics Division were marketing, pur- chasing, fishermen's and . ser- vice co-operatives. Estimated total membership is 1,592,000. Service co-operatives include: housing, rural electrification, medical insurance, transporta- tion, recreation facilities, tele- phone, custom grinding, seed cleaning, restaurants, . boarding houses and miscellaneous. There are fishermen's co- operatives in all' provinces ex- cept Alberta and Manitoba. Saskatchewan, which boasts of -its wheat growing, has an ac- tive fishermen's co-op whose members carry on a thriving business in the Reindeer Lake district. * * * The ten co-operative whole- sales operating in Canada last year reported a gain of $31 mil- lion to reach a total of $250 mil- lion in sales of supplies and farm products. Of this amount, sup- plies accounted for $138 million. Flour, feed and fertilizer made up 37 per cent of the sales, with gas, oil and automobile • supplies in second place in importance. Marketing of farm products u reported by wholesale co=ops reached $112 million - an in- crease of. $18 million over the 1957 'figure. The largest items handled were livestock and live- stock products (54 per cent) and dairy products (30 per cent). About Those Rattlesnakes There have been two venom- ous snakes found In Southern Ontario. The Timber Rattler, found in the Niagara Gorge, is nearly extinct and the Massas- sauga, found in the Georgian Bay area and the Bruce Penin- sula region. The Massassauga is a thick -bodied snake 21 to 3 feet Iong with dart blotches down its back and like all snakes of this species hasa rattle on the: end of its tail. In Ontario'the odds are a mil-. lion to one against getting a ,snake bite, yet It is wise to, take precautions. The first of these is' to learn to recognize the Masses- sauga' Rattler and to leave it alone. When in rattlesanke coun• - try, watch where 'you walk and If the terrain is reedy, bushy or rocky, so that a snake might be concealed, wear protective cloth- ing, heavy leather shoes, socks, And long pants or jeans. Do not kneel or sit on the ground. E. B. S. Logier, Herpetologist, in his book "Snakes of Ontario" gives the following first-aid pro- cedure for snake bite: I. Immediately use a tourniquet to prevent the spreading of poison. 2. Make an incision at the snake bite and suck out the poison. 3. By all means, do ' not give the patient alcohol. 4. See a ' doctor as soon as pos- sible, Britons bought nearly 261 million pounds of tobacco pro- ducts in 1958, a sign of good times, with ' "money to burn." In '57, some 256 million pounds of tobacco went up in smoke, were chewed or taken as snuff. HMV SCHOOL. LESSON By Rev K. ta:treiay Warien (LA., ft.D. God's Steadfast Love Lamentations 3:22-26, 31.49 Memory Selection; It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his eompas- slons fail not, Lamentations 3:22, The city of Jerusalem fell to the invader, Nebuchadnezzar, head of the Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah, the prophet, had fore- seen this evil day and had given warning, The King of Judah burned his writings. Jeremiah wrote again. He was cast into a dungeon because he brought a message of doom to these sinful people. The Book of Lamentations is a lament over the fallen city. But there are shafts of light in this book, too. The memory selection is followed by the words, "They are new every morning: great is thy faithful- ness," From these words Thomas Chisholm caught in- spiration for his well known hymn, "Great is Thy Faithful- ness." The Book of Lamentations has its counterpart in the world today. Listen to the refugees; some because of their illness have not been accepted in a new land; others, fairly con- tented, have the memory of oppression, suffering and the slaughter of their loved ones. This week I have been visit- ing in hospitals, an Ontario Hospital and a penitentiary. Here, too, we hear lamenta- tions. Some are suffering be- cause they deliberately ig- nored God's holy command- ments. They are learning too late the significance of the warning, "Be not decieved; God is not mocked; for what- soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Here is one who cracked under the tension of an unhappy home. "Oh, no, it wasn't all her fault." He ad- mits that. God was left out of their lives and their children set against the church. The men in the penitentiary do their best to appear light hearted before. the others. They smile and crack jokes. But when talking alone with the coun- sellor thelament comes forth. "The wasted years! I'm deter- mined to leave the _drink alone when I step into freedom in three months. It was my down- fall." And, one doesn't need to go to thesinstitutions to heat laments. They can be heard in the homes of the poor and the rich. The world still has its lamen- tations. The reading of this book will help us to understand them better. We can point them to God's steadfast love. When painting new wood which is freckled with knots be sure to fill any holes with plastic wood. Then apply a sealer to prevent the sap in the knot from "bleeding" through the finish coat. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking ©©i1 ©M''01 0©II©©O© DEERS r..•1113©''©©�0 itOaOQ ` l]OOIIMiI ®©©©.A1111IJU' .f 0®©, - 0U© ' ©©© 1211110E111C113 town 13180©DOEJ vooa©ODiIQ ::111©017 . OD1210i9 a'•.EIM11211ilIft lt7rAI1i 1 J. N ISSUE 32 - 1959 POULTRY AUTOMATION - Stanley Yankus, left, the Michigan poultry farmer who brought his family to Australia to escape government controls, discusses chicken farming with Bob Ing- ham, who operates an ultra -modern plant near Sydney.