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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-10-29, Page 2Trying To, Recall Those Old thymes. The recent confession here that I couldn't just remember the counting -out rhyme for the number of kernels in a hill of corn brought a complaint from a niece. She wanted to know why I could remember inty- Minty, and not remember "two for the Crows . ,' X can, indeed, remember inty, minty, but it is not my own voice that I hear when I say it. Instead, I hear the eager, high squeal of a certain bug-eyed young lady who was said to have this haunting complexion about the eyes because she jumped rope all the time. She did—up and clown, up and clown. her long black braids flopping around, and the excessive exer- cise was supposed to keep her lean and pop -eyed. She was pretty, and inty-minty was her counting -out rhyme, probably coming down to her from gener- ations before. There is, in certain of the va- rious Mother Gooses, a counting - out rhyme that starts, "Intery mintery, cutery corn. , . " The one this young lady would recite to commence our playtime per- haps had a phonetic relationship, and it went about like this: Inty-minty, dibbety fig, Delia. nom -a -nom a -nig, Eye-cha, kigh-cha, Dow-a-nigh-cha HUM PUNG TUSK Galliga-balliga-boo Out goes Y, 0,11,.. My niece knew I could repeat it, for I taught it to her once. But in all my misguided youth I never actually counted out with it, I merely heard. many times, this rope -skipping nymph of the startled eyes say it. I heard it enough so I have it for all time. I give it, thus to the antiquar- ians who may want to jot it down. This girl had many rhymes, and as I run through some of her rope -skipping jingles, it sudden- ly occurs to me that times have changed. Antidiscrimination and reciprocal toleration have come into our focus, and some of those childhood rhymes won't pass to- day's requirements! Although they were innocent, and full of tun, I can't. nevertheless. set !hem down here! Isn't that in- teresting! One of her best skip - rope rhymes ended with: Salt, Vinegar, Mustard, Cay -ANN PEPPER! Then the two rope -holders really started to whirl, and tried to make the rope go so fast the young lady couldn't out -skip it, They would count—one. two, three. . . And the girl would still be going at one -hundred - and -twenty-two, one -hundred - and -twenty-three ... It took a lot of pepper to out -twirl that one! The counting -out rhymes, we'd better tell our moderns, were to determine sides, or who would go first—or last—and there was a juvenile faith that whoever did the counting -out would play the game fair. You could if you took advantage, waggle the fin- ger once too few, or once too often, and shift the beat. But nobody did that, much. And with 18 or 20 youngsters gathered by the pasture gap in the luscious twilight of bygone times, using the drawn-out enjoyment intend- ed. Sometimes it could be quite late before we did anything. One of our best games was called "Hoist The Green. Sail," which we all thought was "Oys- ter Green Sale," whatever that might mean. We would count out and divide up, and one side would run off into the surround- ings and hide. When that side was well hid- den their captain would come back to the 'goof" and with a stick in the loose sand would draw an elaborate map purport- ing to show just where his col- leagues were hiding. The rules about this were definite. He was supposed to be honest, and give us a fair picture of the route taken to the hideaway. Signifi- cant landmarks had to be shown, Deceit came, mostly, on the dis- tances, kle could make a mile look like 20 feet, or like 10 miles, He might indicate a "tree," but it could be two feet high or an ancient oak. When we were satisfied we knew the devious route to pursue to find the hidden team, we'd all start out. Sometimes, if the search didn't go 'well, we'd have to come back ad. look at the map again. Eventually, we'd find them, and then there'd be a a fight over the mapmaker's race for the "goal," and usually basic honesty and upright na- ture, Not a real fight—we didn't fight much. Once, to show how it some- times went, one team decided to hide in Mr, Ramsay's oat bin. Mr. Ramsay kept trotters, and had a big bin lined with zine. It smelled lovely in there, but Mr, Ramsay frowned upon our en- joying it. You got in by drop- ping through a lid, and you couldn't get out unless somebody handed you up, or reached down and pulled you. On this day about a dozen Oyster Green Sailors dropped through the hole, and joined a tramp who had gone in there to take a nap. Nobody knew he was in there, It wase,t,, hard for the ,opposition team to locate the hiding place, for the to-do was considerable, Mr. Ramsay had arrived, too, and as the tramp emerged Mr, Ramsay chased him across the field with a buggy whip, and we all. stood in the barn doors and' called "Oyster Green Sale!" None of this, I suppose, was very much fun, for it didn't survive. I suppose it didn't, any- way. Haven't heard that they've .launched any space ships with inty?mninty, have you?—By John Gould in The Christian Science Monitor. Crooke Betrayed By Best Pal Warning of a great fire at a two -acre waste rubber dump in Tottenham, London, was given recently by a former police dog who jumped on a wall and start- ed barking. The watchman, 78 - year -old Fred Pullen, raced to his wooden office in the centre of the dump and just managed to telephone the fire brigade be- fore the flames reached him. Many folk have cause to be. thankful that they keep a dog. when the house blazes or bur- glars pay a visit. But over in Milan, Italy, one man is not so pleased with his too -friendly pooch. Police arrived the other day to charge him in connection with an alleged fraud of $18,000. They found only his wife at home and she assured them that her hus- band was away, The police seemed • satisfied and were on the point of leav- ing, but then his dog appeared. Hearing his master's name spoken, the faithful little hound barked excitedly and wagged his tail. Then he went to a cup- board and barked again. Open- ing the cupboard door, the police found their man crouching inside. SALLY'S SALLIES "Aly darling aimpiy hates nit do-it-yourself stuff." FREAK STORM — Men and machines work to clean tree limbs From a street after a freak, nine -inch snow fell on Denver, Colo. FAIRY TALE -COME -TRUE — His -name's really Jack, and the monster plant was grown from a bean. Jack Skinner Jr., 8, can't beg•iri to reach •the top of this giant castor bean. plant. Like Jack's bean stalk in the fairy t'a'le, someone threw a bean away, 'and theplant just grew. TA LE TALKS edam Ambews. Remember the apple butter- of. your childhood'? Cooking' gently on the kitchen stove, it smelled' spicy and cidery and appetizing, Then. when it was done, the first taste of it served on home-made bread was -a special autumn, memory. Here is a reeipe for . 'this butter which. you may want to use right now, 'APPLE BITTER 5 cups prepared fruit (4 pounds ripe apples) 71/s cups (3x/ pounds) sugar ?�z teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 bottle liquid fruit pectin. . First, prepare the fruit. Re- move blossoms and stem ends from about 4 pounds of ripe ap- ples. Cut into small ,pieces (do not peel or core). Add 61 cups water. Bring to boil. Cover -and' • simmer 10 minutes. Crush com- pletely. ' Cover and •simmer 5 minutes longer. Place in a large sieve lined with a double thick- ness of cheesecloth. - Drain off 5 cups jiaice -to use in making apple jelly (recipe follows). Set juice aside. `tJse fruit pulp for making appl( butter. To make.' the butter, press pulp through sieve. Measure 5 cups into a Very large saucepan. Add sugar: and 'spices. Bring to a full rolling boil and• boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and at once stir in liquid pectin. Skim off foam with metal spoon. Ladle quickly into glasses. Cover at once with YR inch of hot paraf- fin. Makes 6 pounds of Putter, or enough for 12 medium glasses. APPLE JELLY 5 cups juice (see recipe above) 714 cups (314 pounds) sugar. ?ie bottle of liquid fruit pectin Mix juice and sugar in a very large saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring con- :ata•utly. At once stir in liquid pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly, Remove from heat and skim off foam with ;metal spoon. Pour quickly into glasses. Cover at once with 1/8 inch of hot paraffin. Maks .6 pounds of jelly, or enough for 12 medium glasses. 1f you'd like to have your own applesauce this winter, make it this way: * * APPLESAUCE Wash and drain' fresh, sound apples. Remove stem and blos- som ends, Slice apples. Cook TAM FOR MAC — Prime Minis- ter Harold Macmillan fries on a tam during his visit to Stewarton, Scotland, election- eering for the Conservative party. until soft. (May need a little water to prevent sticking.) Press apples through sieve or food mill to remove skin and seeds, Sweeten sauce to taste, Reheat _to boiling. Pour boiling hot, into hot glass jars. Stir to re- move air bubbles. Process -20 minutes in boiling -water bath, Note: Duchess and other apples which "sauce" without straining should be pared and cored before cooking. * * * If you like a combination of fruits in your conserve. try putting :blueberries with your apples. APPLE -BLUEBERRY CONSERVE 4 cups chopped apples 4 cups blueberries 6 cups sugar 36 cup raisins 4 tablespoons lemon juice Wash fruit, Core, pare, chop and measure apples. Mix all in- gredients. Boil until thick. Pour, boiling hot, into hot .glass jars: seal at once. * * * APPLE -CHERRY - PINEAPPLE CONSERVE 3 cups chopped apples 8 cups pitted cherries 2 cups chopped pineapple 11 cups sugar iii teaspoon salt 1 cup shelled nuts Wash fruit. Core, pare and chop apples. Pit Cherries. Pare and chop fresh pineapple (can- ned pineapple may be used). Measure fruit and mix with sugar. Let stand 4-5 hours. Boil until thick. Add salt and nuts about 5 minutes before remov- ing from heat. Pour, boiling hot into hot glass jars and seal at once. The Story Of A Lovely Tree Fragments of birch bark, 'o11 - ed for ease of storage, provide one of the 'very oldest examples of the use of trees by mankind in Britain, They were intended,- it is believed, for malting con- ' 'tainers, and they had lain buried in the peat for some 7,000 years before they were unearthed, about 1950, at Starr Carr near Scarborough. The pollen grains preserved with them show that at that early date birchwoods already overspread , much of .northern England; they had in: vaded the slowly -warming tun- dras' after the ice had retreat- ed. , . etreat-ed... So began the story of a lovely tree that has ever since remain- ed a leading element in the woodland scene, Birch is above all a pioneer, one of those tx'ees that ban read- ily invade fresh territory. As trees grow, it is short-lived, sel- dom standing for as long as 100 years.... Its fragile grace con- ceals an innate toughness of character that enables it to colo- nize bare ground, even on the fringe of polar regions' where the soil is frozen for most of the year, and never thaws for more than a few feet below the sur- face. The British forester knows birch best as an invader of felled woodlands that are left to lie unplanted. . , Birch makes an airborne invasion, spreading solely by means of tiny winged seeds, released each autumn from its long lambs -tail catkins as those break up. Half a mil- lionof these seeds are needed to make up one pound, and they are produced in pi'odigsbu quantities, year after year, to be, swept everywhere by the winds; in autumn ydu can see the birch - woods sprinkled with them, like confetti. , , . Birch is above all a light - demanding tree. It can only thrive in the unobstructed light of the sun, and dwindles and dies if set below the shade of other trees, The forester today regards the birch with mixed feelings, Although he . hardly ever plants it, is is likely to its - filtrate into every plantation he makes, every wood he tends. He Is loth, to accept it as a main crop, since it can only yield a low volume of timber which will, bring but a poor price as turn - eV wood or small sawmill tim- belt • . • Despite its beauty, birch is not very satisfactory as a street tree, since it is short-lived, does not take kindly to pruning, and lacks vigour ,when its roots are set amid hard pavements. Nor does it feature well along the hedge- rows, where again its short life- span is a disadvantage. But in a garden, where it can be al- lowed' to expand, unpruned, its graceful crown of foliage, a weeping birch makes a lovely sight; the shade it casts is so light that flowering bulbs can be grown beneath it, to produce in spring a delectable combina- tion of their blossom with the white bark and emerald green unfolding leaves of the silver birch. — from "The Living For- est," by H, L. Edlin. Fall Is Time To Tuck In The Garden . Those of us who live in colder climates are beginning to do "last things" before heavy frost closes the blooming season. October is a fine time to do many garden tasks. It is 'a plant- ing time, a olean-up time, and a storing time. Planting spring - Cowering bulbs is spaced along, from the tuckingin of daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops and other little bulbs, to the stowing un- derground of tulips. Evergreens and spring -flower- ing trees and shrubs are usually planted in autumn. This gives them a,chance to become estab- lished. Be sure, however, to keep them watered up to freez- ing weather, and to mulch them well the first winter. The perennial border wel- comea a going over at this sea- son. Phlox should be dug up and divided every three or four years. It is not too late to se- parate and replant iris clumps. Oriental poppies and other per- ennials that have finished.bloom- ing also can be moved, Plant food that works slowly, like bone meal, should be in- corporated into the soil, and a mulch should protect the roots. Later the whole perennial bed will need winter protection, but this should wait until after freezing. Gladiolus corms and other summer -flowering bulbs are lilt- ed, dried, and stored for re- planting next year. Moth flakes or DDT dust in paper bags with the gladiolus corns control thrip.-Begonia tubers and dahlia roots will winter in a cool part of, the cellar if .covered with •dry .peat moss or sand. Remove any ;infected portions before 'storing,; and inspect them at intervals during the winter, lest they get too dry. While you are working in the flower borders, you "light 1ik to pot up healthy specimens of zinnias, marigolds, ealendulas and similar annuals before frost and bring them into the house for flowering plants, Mix int° the soil, before potting them, a generous portion of plant foot$ —about a teaspoonful to a quart of soil, writes the Garden Edi- tor of The Christian Science Monitor. You probably know the trick of watering outdoor plants on cold. nights to keep them from being frostbitten. Dahlias will often come through this way, and marigolds and zinnias in bloom. Hardy chrysanthemums can be covered for the night with large sheets of polythene, burlap, or building paper when heavy frost threatens, but take it off again first thing in the morning, Many Skeletons In These Cupboards Skeletons ranging from that of an Irish giant 8 ft, 4 in. tall to those of pygmies barely half his size are housed in one of the world's little-known museums at the Royal College of -Surgeons, Iineoin's Inn Fields, London. Founded by a man who ha* been called the father of modern surgery, John Hunter, the mu- seum contains countless skulls and skeletons — a queer collec- tion of old bones from all over the world. It was .once claimed that all the races of the earth were represented in this "skul- lery," as some medical• students call -it, Bombs damaged and charred some of the specimens during the war but the Irish giant's skeleton was unscathed. How it originally got into the museum makes a, bizarre story. The Irishman's name was Charles O'Brian (sometimes spelt Byrne) and while he was alive his great height and bulk made him an object of curiosity wherever he went. He probably suffered a good Ileal from peo- ple's stares and had a suspicion that when he died his body might not be sale in an ordinary grave. So before his death at twenty- two, in June, 1783, through ex- cessive drinking, he bequeath- ed to two fishermen 2100 each on condition that they would take his body out to sea and drop it overboard. He had an inkling that Hunter was anxi- ous to g e t possession of h i s skeleton and felt sure that his burial -at -sea plan would defeat the surgeon's object. He was wrong. Hunter told the .fishermen that he did not wish to prevent them earning their £200 by disposing of the giant's body at sea, but he sug- gested that if they would first tie a rope to it, he could after- wards haul it up again and then pay them another £20$. They agreed, 'Hunter got the body, and the Irish giant's bones finished up in the museum. In Stockton, . Calif., Teodoro Lopez Herrera held up a bank, was asked by the cashier to 'sign his name for the money he took, dutifully obeyed, was soon track- ed down and arrested, ISSUE 43 —'1959 DORS MORE THAN BUZZ— Louis Richards, graduate design student at Illinois Tech., has harnessed the gnat'', buzz of a 1,32 h.p, model aircraft engine to ,ground f.,-nsporta•tion. His "Skeeter," an 18-inth-long o{umth'um platform on wheels, carries its passnger in two-foo•te c rtfort at about 12 miles an hour, three times the sn..,a normally made by a pedestrian. Highly maneuverable, me 12-pounal device folds into a canvas carrying case