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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-12-10, Page 3i 1 Cooking For A Logginj.Camp Cooking fora woods crew In an old-time Maitre logging camp called for a special kind of geni- us which h a s mostly passed. Open. -air work kept the cuss tourers from getting picky, and about the only chance for dis- turbance came from serving too frequent fish or venison. One of the earliest"fringe benefits," perhaps, was the guarantee by the boss that men signing up would not get trout more than once a week, and things like that. Yet there was .never any objection to molasses cookies, and every lumber camp served them every meal, every day. We do know, of course, that the old-time lumbering crews included one man known a5 a "meat hunter," His job was to keep deer hanging in the dingle,. and he had nothing else to do. Thishas been. illegal now for many years, and no lumber or sporting camp may serve any game on its menu. But long ago the cookee, who was the conk's chore boy, .could jig trout and salmon between meals and keep fishbox full. There was, then, a tendency, to over - emphasize fish and venison. However, while epicures might light up their eyes at this pros- pect, both items have an odd capacity for jading the appetite. quickly. Venison,besides being a lean meat and quick to digest on y o u, is something y o u wouldn't want over, and over. Trout and salmon are much the same. There is one old story about a lumbering crew that ran short of food, and the men had eaten so much trout their jaws, at last, refused to open for more. There was nath- ing they could do. They'd lift the delicately pinkish trout - beautifully fried' to a gourmet's perfection, and not one of the men could force his mouth to open. Sagely, the cook used his last scrapings of flour to make each man a biscuit, and 'instead of eating this biscuit, the fellow would use it for a decoy,. He'd hold the biscuit up to his lips, and when his mouth popped open to eat it, he'd pull it back and pop, in a chunk of -trout in- stead. They managed to oper- ate three weeks on the biscuits, and then a supply sled got through to them. When t h e spring freshets came; and the lumbering crews of, Maines all started down- stream on the log drives, this crew, 3t is said, turned in the. - other direction and went :u.p- stream to spawn. •Old yarns like that are a dime' a dozen, around Maine, where lumbering and lumber- ing stories •had their beginnings. There is one about the barrel of split peas. Snowbound, a cook had to make do until a thaw, and all he had left was a barrel of•.split peas. He'dserve pea soup one meal, fried peas the next, then baked peas. Next, pea fritters, stewed peas, and pea hash. Next pea soup again, and so on. Afterward, the crew gave the cook much the credit. Said if he hadn't varied the servings that way; the monotony would have been unbearable. But Intdasses cookies were al- ways on the .table, in quantity, and never did a woodsman com- plain.- You .can, still find these old-time,;leshber camp molasses cookies on. 'certain . tables In Maine, and I imagine the mi- grating timberjacks took them West with, .them. They are not a dainty cookie for. party man- ners; they are a rough and, tumble cookie, made for he-men with enormous appetites brought on by big deeds. They were also one of those things made in the top of a flour barrel. The Cook, always working at frantic speed to keep ahead of the lumbering ppe tit e s, mixed his liquids ie ' a bowl and then dumped things around until the liquid picked up just the right amount of flour, and he'd firing everything forth in a monumental gob and • Slap it down on the board for rolling and cutting. Saved time. It might make a mess In a mo- d er n kitchen if some school- , trained homemaker tried it without special instruction but then, who has a barrel of flour now? The right consistency was im- portant. These cookies are soft when baked, an inch and more thick, and about three inches across. There was a baking- powder can just the right size for cutting them. Theyare not snappy cookies. Thin snappies have their place, but It wasn't in a lumber camp. A r e a l woods cook recipe: probably never existed, and if there should be one, it would make a batch big enough to feed . the Seventh Army for a month - or a woods crew for two days, Actually, the recipe is basic, .and can be found in almost any cookbook: However, two of the ingredients call for comment: first, good" unsulphur- ed molasses was . standard, and .. second sour milk was the kind that had followed, the natural processes of nature without :as sistance. Otherwise, try .it some- thing like this: Two cups - of 'molasses;. 21 teaspoons of soda; a cup of shortening; maybe four teaspoons of d r y ginger; two teaspoons 'of salt; and two -cups of sour milk..' Put the soda in the molasses and whip it good. Then every- thing else, and afterward add what flour it needs to make a soft but workable mass. Have it so it will drop off a knife, but not much more than that. Roll, cut and bake - oven ought to be about 350 degrees. Acres upon endless acres of • these swamped roads, .felled logs, and drove the' rivers, of Maine. Every 'lumber -camp; conk could make them, not only in the great two-sided ranges, but also over open fires on the. drives, using a kind of sheet metal portable oven called • a baker. And while venison and trout cloyed and were objected, to, molasses cookies went,on and on, and squawks came' where, there t'eren't any. - By' John Gould in The Christian: Science Monitor, Queen Elizabeth • • Likes The Movies When guests of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stay at Balmoral a cinema show is cus- tomary entertainment after din-.. ner. Until recently a . temporary fireproof structure had to be erected in the middle of the ball- room before films could be shown, but now a cinema projec- tion-room rojec-tionroom has been built on to the end of the ballroom. This means that no cumber. • some projection box has to be removed before dancing can take place. It also makes it pos7 Bible to seat ,more ofthe Queen's guests for a cinema show. ' The Queen hasalways had an interest in films. Only recently she and Prince Charles surprised the cast' of technicians of the Rank film "Sink the •.Bismarck" - by paying .a sudden visit to watch - them -at work at Pinewood Studios. The . first film everseen by Queen Victoria was shown: in the autumn of 1897. "The Queen likes humour and was -';delighted- with a snowballing scene and 'even _ with a bicycle spill," said oneof her Court. "But- when some` pictures of the Gordon High- landers were put on .the screen her Majesty's , gratification • was, something to remember." CROSSWORD PUZZLE. 1. Bo) 9. Roman garment 6. Smaller 9. Everlasting 10. )Measure or yarn ACROSS 59, Finest 11. Creativeness DOWN 19•Curls 21. Vindicator 1. Equipped with 23. 'fake edging 6. Viper ..weapons 25. Our country 8. Tissue 2.Abandon (ab,) 12. Gather the 5. Boy 26. Ever (poet,) erop attendants 28. Conducted 13, I.1eavY swell 4, Steeplee 30, Possessive 14. Brain passage 5. Judean king adjective 15. Wise men from the East 10. Entirely 17. Adroit 18. Turn Inside out 20: Aptitude 22 Wasteland 21 Thoroughfare 27. Pur bearing mammal 23, Rub out 30. A devil's 23. unyielding 3r f9lhhon 36Civil injuries 38 Studies hard (Collo(,) 40, Germs 42, Metric mea. sure of surface 49, 01d fogYlsh 48, Root '49, 01d oath 51. Rind Of slate 23. Rhodes 64, Resounded 50, Be Indebted 50. War god 67, Fencing sword 58, Thickness 1. European mountain system 31. Swab 32. Irreverent 34. Free 37. Walk laboriously. 39. Beetlslike talisman 41. To sharpen a razor 43. Revere 44. Pleasure Jaunts 46.13epresent 47. dolly boat 96. Prior in tins 50. ))Lour talo pass 18, rt. -11"d arnbly (Spot.) 111111111111111116111111111 1/1111111111E" .111■®EN 1111111111111.0111111111111 11111®®111 giiiii111111/111ndill111 ®®11®®1i■ � s®®®® � •`i 11111111113111 URNS 1111111111r 131111111 ii11111111iii; _MUM 11111®l:?? Answer elsewhere on this page PASSED -OVER PICKINGS -' Wet fall" weather .gives farmers an opportunity to sea how well they are picking corn. Ralph Roling examines sprouted corn in the Misso.irl River bottom. This field, washarvested early with ,a picker•sheller and the stalks shredded. Yet the field' is green with young stalks that have sproutedfrom corn missed by' the picker IIEFARM IRON! Joku The .following is a transcript. of a broadcast' by the Editor of The 'Christian 'Science Monitory, I 'don't believe it •washeard lent Canada, but even if it . was "i ' is well, worth reading+ and pon- dering- over. A suggested title might be'"Are We. Letting Onr- aelves 'Be Over Governed." * * * Behind the cranberry contro versy there is a situation which may• well be • blasted, into the open by the protests 'of• the hitherto uninformed butnow awakening public as well as by the' interested parties. The new •chemicals and the so-called "wonder drugs," the additives and the 'special feeds for poultry and' . livestock,• the sprays and poisons,: are taking us into_ a sit - 'nation -of unknown and unwil- ling, .medication :- or,' if that word is ;trio strong, ofunknown' 'and 'unwilling chemical expo-'` 'sure. .0• * .* None but a supremely well - ,informed . chemist or drug spe- cialist• can have any accurate. idea of juat' what has gone into' or onto " the public's. food and ,drink these days. Someofthe new chemicalsare to 'stimulate. . rapid growth - sometimes, sen- ' sationally rapid' growth, a :little like Jack's. fabulous' beanstock.` Some of the new•,chemicals are _•. weed killers, insecticides, and. -so on. There ., is fluoridation, which among all the many, sprays, " additives, and foods of the period, has actually received a, lot of publicity. * * * Now suddenly, Secretary Flemming in warning house- wives, grocery stores, and grow- ers against some possibly con- taminated cranberries, has per- haps unintentionally drawn open a curtain on a broad, uncharted area. There is bitter controversy over the. wisdom and method of this action: The cranberry indus- try appears to be hard hit, al- though every political candidate now out on the stump feels im- pelled to eat or drink a large amount of cranberries, just to show that he is against the bureaucrats. * * This odd political reaction em- phasizes the human response to Secretary Flemming's blanket warning. It raises the question 'When does vigilance become excessive?" But the question the public really needs to have ex- plored is the total problem of sprays, additives, and feeds. Are we quite sure what the total effects of this age of drugs and chemicals will be? The problem ranges all the way from the effect of DDT and other In- secticides on the bugs that nour- ish our songbirds or pollinate our blossoms to the strontium - 90 that may pollute our general atmosphere and 'alter the gen-' etic future of the human race, 4' i' * In short, what are we doing to ourselves? Are we upsetting the balance of nature? Are we sure we are not? There are some deeply religious people in the world - many millions of them, in Asia, as a matter of fact who have moral scruples against taking life even at the lower and humbler levels. What rights do they have in trying to preserve their moral princi- ples? Do others elsewhere in the world have the right to im- pose a contrary view on those with such scruples? Are. moral principles decided 'by majorities? ;Does the indi- vidual have a right to know what he is eating 'and drinking, and of deciding for himself whether he wishes to dose him- self with chemicals? Are those charged with the job of policing the• public's welfare in the Unit- ed States - the Food and Drug Administration - actually able to cope with the huge task which confronts them, and are the rules `and objectives by which they should act perfectly clear and understood by us - the guinea pigs, of the drug age? There ' is no questioning the motives and marvels of. many who are 'impelling us into this new way of life. * * * Clearly there have been many gains for sanitation, for hygiene, and for well-being. But where do we draw the line against compulsory drugging of the in= dividual and his food?` Is there any question about the wonder feeds, by which a chicken, a pig, or a steer may be made to grow twice or three times as fast as in the slow old days, and with much less fodder? The poultry industry is' one of the marvels of the decade, and chicken is one of the meats; whichdart be ISSUE 49 - 1959 grown as cheaply or more cheap• ly than a quarter of a Century ago, * * * Such poultry raising is spread- ing rapidly in Western 'Europe, This is obviously advantageous. But is there a point at which the new feeds become more mon• atrous than marvelous? Are we sure somebody will find out, and tell us? British Squirrels, And Their Habits Eccentric squirrels have been found living in rabbit holes, in hooses and out -buildings, end even in hayricks; but the con• ventional home for a squirrel is a tree, Where they can, squir- rels will make dens inside the tree; if the tree has no hollows then they make a nest of cut twigs - where a branch forks out from the trunk, or in the smelled branches in the crown. The tree is not only of vital importance as a home; it also provides the staple foods. Pines, larch, and spruce supply the red squirrel; oaks, beeches, hazels and chestnuts are very' necessary to the grey, and also help to stock the red's larder. Again, trees are the squirrels' highway; definite routes are used from the home centres to feeding sites, and a squirrel in a hurry will show signs of confusion when confronted with a gap where a tree en route has been felled or blown down. Trees give shelter in times of severe cold or high winds; this is perhaps especially importantto the red squirrel. Grey squirrels flourish in places where oaks are plentiful, and if hazels are present as well the habitat is very favourable for them. They 'do very well in beechwoods, too; but they are not restricted to these types of en- , vironment. Mixed woodlands often support large populations. I have found them nesting in holly trees, in larches of 60 ft, and in, hawthorn bushes of only 12 ft., and in coppiced hazel. Spanish chestnuts are popular trees for nesting and the nuts are highly prized as food. At Bramshill in Surrey grey squir- rels live: and breed in large stands of pure pine; they 'turn up sometimes in plantations of Douglas fir, ' and in others of Japanese 'and European larch. Sometimes they are found living on the fringes of woodland bor- dering agricultural' land, where their diet includes grain, roots and green vegetable crops. • ., In America the main food - bearing trees for the grey squir- rel are oak, walnut, hickory, beech, chestnut, maple and elm: roughly in that order, Water is said to add to the -attractions of the habitat. It' is usually agreed that the ancestral home of the red "squir- rels was dense secluded conifer- ous'woodland, When the red be- came very abundant at the be- ginning of this century it could be found in most of the types of habitat now used by the grey; in fact, either species can live in a variety of conditions. The red squirrel seems to seek more sheltered nesting places than does the grey: those greys I found which were not in the favoured conifers were placed so that climbing ivy, evergreen bushes or some conformation of the nest -tree itself provided shel- ter from prevailing winds. I. have also found them in tall hedge- rows, hawthorn, hornbeam, holly, beach, hazel and in :a .holein a sycamore tree. Being more timid than the .American species, our • squirrel seems to thrive best in places that are secluded as well as sheltered. - From "Squirrels," by Monica Shorten. The R C.M.P.'s famous track- ing dogs average about nine years on the force and in that time each dog is trained, cared for, exercised, led and taken out on assignments by only one man on the force. UNDAYSCIIOOI LESSON ttev It• It Isaias Warren, 8.A, 13.1) No Partiality With God Acts 11: 1-18 Memory Selection; Of a truth I perceive that God is no re- spceter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accept- ed with him, Acts 10: 34-35. It took a special vision to pre- pare Peter to take God's Word to the Gentiles. While preaching in the home of Cornelius, a Ro- man centurion, the Holy Spirit came upon all that heard. There was no laying on of hands. The people were ready and so God was willing. Peter was cons vinced that the Gospel with all its attendant blessings was for the Gentiles just as much as for the Jews. He explained this to the apostles and brethren at Jerusalem and later before the council of apostles and elders. He said, "God which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." Peter by his understand- ing and persuasion did much to prevent a cleavage between the Jews and Gentiles who believed on Jesus Christ. There is only one body of Christ. We, of what- ever colour, race or religious de- nomination, who are really dis ciples of Jesus Christ, "are mem- bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones," Ephesians 5;30. This intimate relation with the one Saviour makes us "mem- bers one of another." Ephesians 4:25. How many o1 us are without partiality in some form. James warns against it, saying, "Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus• Christ, the Lord ,of 'glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, ,in goodly ap- parel; and there comes in also.a poor man in vile raiment;, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand ;thou there, or sit under my footstool: 'are ye not thenpartial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?" (2:2-4). Often the learned despise the illiterate and those.of social rank despise those beneath them. It is . easy to talk of the prejudices in the southern United States and in South. Af- rica. What about our own heart? Do we recognize that every in- dividual is entitled to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ? Bow much are we doing to see that it is given to them? May we truthfully say, "The love of Christ constraineth us," 2 Cor- inthians 5:14. The total of personal savings made by Canadians in 1958 was $2,096 million, more than twice the $1,005 million saved ten years earlier. Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Thompson died at Windsor Castle -while on a.visit to Queen Victoria, in 1894. Upsidedown to Prevont Peeking ©©©E I PAM €I€ ME1 ©©M ©UC] mCJk 1 tom UUP MiraQ 051000 MEM ©E kEU J ammo EOM MOUE € OUDOUWMOMD, ma= �iJ JE1 ©k J11 ii0©©0M/0 OEM QUO mom race M011 Elmo SNOW BELOW ZERO - Main Street in Helena, Mont., is covered with snow as the teinperatur. dropped below zero In all parts of ''the state. The lowest reading was at Buttes minus 37.