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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-09-24, Page 3Printing Corn ay Hind --And foot' The 'United States Department of Agriculture has found that yield per acre is increased if seed corn is planted with the points down and the sides par- ailed to the rows, This impor- tant information arrives while we are in deep national hock for warehouse `storage on sur- plus corn, and farmers have de- glressed the meat market by forcing too many animals on the surplus -surplus. That thing sticking up like Mt, McKinley Is a moral. But no doubt somebody has already gone to work on a Mechanical planter t hat will drop seed corn point down and sides out, that we may grow still more corn. Except for back- yard and kitchen gardens, no- body much has planted corn by hand in long years, and it would be impossible to set seed so meticulously that way. By ma- chinery, however, it could be done, and probably will.. Here in Maine, this kind of corn has never been much of a crop. We grow a lot of sweet corn and considerable ensilage, but we are not hard -corn coun- try. It used to be said that one year in ten was suitably hot and moist enough to give us a bumper crop, and between times we made out. Everybody, in those days, kept seed corn over for two or three years, in case there happened to come a failure. The thickest, longest and fullest ears would be traced and hung' over wires In the attic, to frustrate the mice and squirrels, and would he brought down in the spring for seed. We had corn shelters that turned by crank, but usually seed was scraped off on a bar of iron over a box. When the box held about what you'd need, you put the unshelled ears back. up in the attic as a backlog? There were various ways to treat corn so the crows would let it alone, but even so the old planting jingle went, "two for the crows," and this totalled five or six kernels to a hill. Not that you ever counted "- you felt, CENTER LINE - A forestry worker stands near a crack in the road at 'Nest Yellowknife, Mont., following the earthquake that struck the area. ISSUE 38 - 1959 and seven were too many, four too few, There was a "King of the Cornfield" planter made some - w h e r e in Vermont that was popular, and very likely the firm still holds patents on the. newer tractor -handled planters. It dropped fertilizer along with the seed. Here, the fertilizer was taken care of by liberal applications Of "dressing," and we continued to plant by h a n d. The hills would be about three feet apart, or a man's step, and at the toe of each advancing foot you Would drop the kernels. 1 find I can't remember the jingle, but it went something like this; Three to sprout, two will grew - One for good measure, two for the crows. Undoubtedly plenty of people will want to "set me right" on that. Anyway, a hill with two or three shoots in it was what we were after, and would be enough for a harvest. Thus, we walked up and down the fur- rows, dropping from a bag slung on the shoulder, and for my part I liked to operate barefooted' because there was a certain way of rearranging the seeds with the toes, and it couldn't always be done with a boot on, There was a way to set a "boss -hoe" so the seed could be covered, but it'a w s almost as easy to scuffle dirt over the seeds with a hand hoe. Then, all summer, it grew, and usu- ally it grew very well so we'd have a crib full. Enough for the poultry and pigs - and the . family. There was a meal chest in the shed, and every fall it would be filled with rye, corn, and buckwheat meal. We had stopped grinding wheat long ago. The very same cornmeal that went in the meal chest was also put in the zinc -lined bin in the barn for the animals. It was all one. We had cornbread two - three times a week. Indian Pud- ding as often, and brownbread Saturday night. It seemed, at the time, like a fine arrange- ment, and never once did any- body connected with the deal ever imagine that the yield would increase if we'd set the corn seed down with the point under and the sides bilateral. What we didn't know didn't hurt us. But the USDA, sthmbling around in more corgi then , they know what to do w 1 t h, has found one more way to increase the yield. I'm just glad I'm not a little boy again, facing a cou- ple of acres, and knowing what we know now. Standing seed corn on end with your bare Moes is not my idea of advanced agronomy. by John Gould in The Christian Science Monitor. WELL SHORN Although the luxuriant red beard of Harry Falso, California bank- robber, was a dangerous mark of identification, he stub- bornly refused to have it remov- ed. Instead, emov-ed.Instead, he hired a personal barberto live 'near him in his Fire Acres headquarters and im- ported from Chicago some $500 worth of hair oil. One day, as he slumbered in the barber's chair, two of his drunken riders pushed a razor through the red locks that were the chief's pride and joy and, giggling, left his chin and headas smooth as an egg. A few minutes later a troop of cavalry, led by two Federal marshalls, swooped through town looking for Falso. They missed him. "Not a red beard in town," they reported disgustedly. "Only a bald, funny -looking gazook • asleep in a barber shop." "Blind as a bat" is a meaning- less phrase. Contrary to pop- ular belief, most bats can see perfectly well in bright light. CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Total 4, Constellation 9. Beverage 12. That cannot he heard 114. Flowed 15. Wash lightly 16. Voracious appetite 18. Contend 39. 100 sabers meters 20. Cushion 21. Vegetable 22. Cut 24, Spreads 27. ComparatiVe ending 28. Sell In small 80. Clear tItlee 31. Matte certain 88. More 35, Once around 36, Devices for slowing motion 28, Ttebrow letter 90. Slender 41. fabric .42, London suburb 4s, dolor 4r,. Anent 46. amino) 47. Natural height 60. Police wagon 62, Trouble 29. ITalr-de 65. Affirmative 60, Try 67, Turkish commander DOWN 1, Title 2. Automobile Joint a. Craze 4. Poem 6. New England (ab.) 6. Su peninsula 7, Aged 8. Tide 0. Three - 10, Corrode spent 11, Some 13. Utility 17. Spiteful woman 19. Changes 21, Binge 29, Balkan 23. Clinking Sound 26. Lowering the bottom 20. Scatter 28. Ruthenium symbol 29. Vegetable 32. Curves 39. limnan weight 37. Clothes driers 90. Pncounterod 42, Asiatic country 94. l0asy mark 40. Pale 47, Speak 48, Bond 49, Matter ( law) 50. Month 01, Philippine 54 Permit 11 2 4 5 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 16 18 21 27 31 19 22 32 98 16 23 33 20 29 17 24 34 30 25 26 36 36 37 38 39 40 49 ,'coo 44 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53' 64 55 66 67 Answer elsewhere on th s page WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE - Margarette Brown doesn't 'appear happy about pumping water from her well near Shelbyville, Tenn. The pump has almost been inundated by the formation of a big pond near her home. THEFARM FRONT JokilQelL It stands to reason that prices, without exception, are much too high. Well, now, thinking that over again, there is ONE big excep- tion. Prices for whatever we per- sonally have to sell are far too low. Anybody should know that! However, the following facts and figures might - I said might convince some of us that the, automobile insurance people aren't ' quite as big robbers as many of us think. d • • There are three major factors which affect automobile insur- ance rates. During the past num- ber of years these factors have caused rates to increase. The three mainculprits are: (a) Ris- ing damage claims, (b) Bigger, fancier cars with their higher repair bills, and (c) More acci- dents. • * P Not many years ago, auto - liability protection was consider- ed adequate if the policy' paid up to $10,000 for a claim of one individual, or a maximum of $20,000 for claims growing out of any one accident. Today with awards soaring, insurance protection is often con- sidered inadequate unless it pro- vides for payments of up to $100,000 for a single claim, or for • . a maximum payment of $300,000. * u Records -from one county in Oklahoma show the average awards in personal-injury dam- age suits rose from $2,585 in 1947 to $89,781 in 1957, an increase of over three thousand percent. Some of this increase is natu- rally due to inflation. The cost of everything involved in an automobile accident has risen considerably. In the past ten years, medical costs (hospital and doctors' bills) have in- creased by approximately 150%. * • * The increase in cost of one of the popular ldw-priced model cars has been over two hundred percent in the last ten years. Today's cars are faster and more powerful than those of a few years ago, Accidents when they do happen, tend to be more seri- ous and to cause more costly damage. This together with in- flation has had the obvious effect. In 1939 it took two hours to install a new fender. At that time the fender was a separate part, bolted to the car body. To- day's fender' is part of the body panel. Putting on a new panel may take as long as 22 hours. The amount of time required to do this fairly common task has increased 1,000%. Add to this the fact that the price of la- bour in the past six years has risen 50% and it is not difficult to understand why in the United States, member companies of the National Bureau of Casualty Underwriters lost 147 minion dollars in 1957 from their under- writing activities, Most of this loss can be laid to automobile underwriting which is sometimes called, "the problem child of the casualty -insurance business." • 4 * In 1945 there were 101,513 pas- senger cars registrations in On- tario. Twelve years later this number had risen to 1,793,499 - an increase of 900%, In the same period of time traffic accidents in Canada have increased by 194%. Reflecting both rising costs and the rising number of automobile accidents, is the increase in prop- erty damage in Canada resulting from automobile accidents 'over a ten year period. In 1947 prop- erty damage was ten and a half million dollars. By 1957 this fig- ure had passed the seventy-three million dollar mark, an increase of 900%. * • • How to Save on Your Insurance 1. The premiums on a "deduct- ible" collision policy are con- siderably lower than on one offering full protection against damage to your car. "Deductible" means that you yourself pay, for example, the first $50, $100, or 1200 of any repair cost. 2. If you own two or more cars, you might save money by insur- ing them in one policy, Savings can be as much as twenty-five percent. 3. Make certain your insurance company lists you properly as to Sob and driver .classification. You pay most if you use your car for business, least if you use it only for pleasure. Farmers and clergymen get a special break on rates. 4. If you have had no acci- dents in recent years, you might qualify for the reduced rates offered by some companies to "preferred risks." 5. Consider the age and value of your car in deciding whether to carry "Comprehensive" insur- ance - fire, theft, etc. 6. Vigorously support traffic safety campaigns. Insurance rates have dropped sharply in some cities having effective safe driving programs. What many motorists don't realize is that the premium they pay is based on the accident experience in the territory in which they live. Losses for any particular acci- dent on an an insurance com- pany's records are charged back to the place where the car owner lives, not tothe area where the accident occurred. Thus if a motorist from Toronto, for e1r- ample, drives to Hamilton and causes an accident there, the cost of paying the claims will be charged against the claims rec- ord for Toronto, not against the Hamilton area, How To Root Those Geranium Cuttings If you have some geraniums in the garden you particularly like, or if you have a stand-in with a friend who has some un- usual variety of one, now and into September 15 the time to start cuttings from these plants for next spring and summer flowering. (May and June is the time to slip them for winter - flowering plants.) Take your cuttings (or beg some from your friend) from the tip of a plant, a firm but not woody section, They should be three to five inches long. Make a clean straight cut with, a sharp knife or razor blade just below one of the small joints (nodes) along the stens, Each cutting should contain two or three of these joints, and if possible should have some branching along its length. Next, takeroff the lower leaves, but leave two or perhaps three. Also take off any flowering buds, of course, and snip off the little winglike things at the nodes. You may be able to root one or two cuttings in water in a light but not sunny window. A surer way though, especially for several, is to root them in sand. Stick the stem deeply enough to hold the little thing firm in the pot. Several cuttings can be rooted at once if planted in one of those wide, not - so - deep, so - called. "azalea" pots in a mixture of sand and peatmoss, with a small clay flower pot set down into the center. Plug the hole in the flower pot and water the cut- tings by filling the center pot with water. It will seep through. Some cuttings may take quite a while to root - several weeks in fact - so don't give up if they won't go right about it. Give them more time. Keep all the cuttings shaded at first with a newspaper, or something simi- lar, and at about 60 degrees, At the end of two or three weeks carefully dig up one cutting and see if you have some roots. If the roots are about three-fourths of an inch long, transplant your cuttings into separate pots (21 - inch pots will do). The soil from now on should be good garden loam but not enriched in any special way. Geraniums will run to foliage if fed too much. By January these little pots ought to be a mass of roots. This is the time to transplant again, this time into pots an inch wider in diameter, and later into four - inch. If the cutting grows leggy, pinch out the top to encourage side growth. By May or June these young geraniums ought to be ready to set out in the garden borders for next summer's flowering. Anyone with one or two good plants this autumn can raise a whole bevy of plants for next year in this way. A snowshoe rabbit is not a rabbit but a hare, often called the varying hare because his coat changes from brown in summer to white in winter. He depends on his white fur and his huge, spreading hind feet -from which he gets his "snowshoe" name -to escape from most of the animals that pursue him. MYSCIiAQI JJiSSON Rev. R. Barclay Warren, B,A,, B.O. God's Call to Faithfulness Malachi 2:11 to 3;4, 16.18, Memory Selection: Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. Psalm 101;6. The Old Testament closes with the prophecy of Malachi. He calls for greater faithfulness to God. He reproves the people for giving the poorest of their flocks for sacrifice. The law call- ed for animals without blemish. Today we have seen people quite proud of themselves for handing M their old clothes to send to the missionaries for distribution to the poor heathen. They, in. turn, went out; and bought ex- pensive new outfits for them- selves. Now, it is good to give used clothing to the heathen. They who have so little will be grateful. Because the garment is now out of style won't matter to them. Moreover, if the cloth- ing were new, the customs charge on it in many countries would be so high that it would not be practical to send it. But when we hand in our left overs we must not confuse it with sacrificial giving. Malachi, urged the people to bring in the tithes. The curse would be removed a.nd the Lord would pour great blessing upon them. In a new suburban area the low giving of the people was excused with the oft -used ex- pression, "They are just young couples and they are paying for their new homes." I thought of the word of the Lord given by Haggai when he was exhorting the people to rebuild the temple: "Is it time for you, 0 ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now there- fore thus saith the LORD of hosts: 'Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not fllled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes,'" Haggai 1:4-6. Let us put God first. The tithe is the Lord's. The one who recognizes this will find that nine -tenths pf his !n - come with aod's blessing will gS further than ten -tenths without God's blessing. Many are proving it so. Malachi expresses God's dis- like of divorce. He says, "There- fore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth." There are precious promises for those who fear the Lord. When He makes up His special treasures He will spare them. And there is prediction of the coming of Messiah, too. A curious froglike fish of Africa, the goby, climbs trees to feed on wood ants. Often some gobies climb while others stay below to nab dislodged victims. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking 0©0©N©©©- 1 0i3©©0®R®0 ®I0 011©®®': ®000®® 1 i . ©® 1300 121f180 Elf' '®®©0©O'-00� ©©I J 0®0E21©k'J`; 0© ®l7®® ®iflii111/ '0©s 000 130 ©o©: ®0©0k1 E 1L •-r©fatiifla©riwitl 01E11!5 111011111C1 ONE LIVED, ONE DIED - Loaded with tons of cases' of beer, a trailer truck careened off on overpass in Los Angeles, Calif, The truck driver was killed, but Toshiyoshi Oni, 37, trawled unhurt from tf43 wreckage after the truck dropped on his car, barely visible beneath the trailer body.