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The Seaforth News, 1960-03-17, Page 3That Oki: Lombard Really Could Pull Same 'fun was generated here a while back by the claims and counterclaims about Paul Bun - yen, the woodsman and lumber- jack of note, whose birthplace on the coast of- Maine has fre- quently been denied by states 'to the west'ard, Since the gentle- man's birth certificate was late- ly discovered, attesting finally that he was a Pine Tree native, there le nothing more to be said on thus score, but somewhere al- ong the line as Paul Bunyan fig- ured in the discussions, some- body mentioned the "Lombard," and here is a tonic worth ex- ploring, In Maine, occasionally, you'll hear the word Lombard used for something huge, powerful, ir- resistible. Gargantuan. "An old Lombard of a hog!" The word usually gets a down -East tone much like "lumb'd," And, al - thought a proper researchist could soon enough dig up the facts, the word has already been obscured by foregettings. The Lombard was a steam trac- tor invented and manufactured by the Lombard 'family here in Maine, and for a generation it was the standard engine for haul- ing long trainloads of timber out of the forests to the river or to the mill. Like everything else that dealt with lumbering, the Lombard also moved west, and was important, The essential thing about a Lombard was its traction. It did not have wheels, but had so-call- ed caterpillar or cleat -track con- tact, so it could grip on ice and generate great pulling power. The modern bulldozer uses this device, and here in Maine we understand there were industrial disputes over who owned the idea. - By 1914 the old steam Lora- . bard had been brought up to date so it logically became the prototype for the British "tank." The story is that a maneuverable, armed and armored vehicle was projected by the British, and to keep it secret from the enemy it was referred to in all respects as a tank. A tank to hold water, 'or milk, or something like that, dor the word sounded harmless enough.. It worked, for when the "tank" went into battle it came as a surprise to the enemy, and it also gave us a new word. The tank, as a machine, was nothing more than a wartime version of the Lombard that had been hauling lumber out of the Maine forests for a long time. In the beginning, the Lombard was a horizontal steam boiler mounted on t w o caterpillar treads, It looked off-balance. They had trouble steering it, so almost at once they mounted two pony sleds under the front end and built on a cab where a man could sit and steer with the sleds. This gave it an even more gro- tesque look. It had the appear- ance of a mongrel railroad loco- motive made by a local black- smith from odd items, and the front cab was utterly ludicrous. They found they had to run a steam hose forward to keep the helmsman from freezing, as all Lombard work was done in the winter. But the Lombard would pull. . Stretching back into the forests for miles were carefully made log -hauls. They were graded like railroad beds following the contour of the land, and in swampy, places they felled trees to make. corduroy. These log - hauls were engineering feats in themselves. When winter came they were rolled with snow rollers, and then a special icing crew got out before dawn and sprinkled them with water. The log -haul was a glare of ice. Instead of railway cars, the rolling stock was heavy sleds which would rack up great weights of lumber and pulpwood, When a Lombard hooked on, the appearance was of a long freight train reeving majestically out of the forest, its locomotive shroud- ed in smoke and steam. An interesting bit of lore con- cerns the sleds, which were made so they could be "knocked down." After the sleds were unloaded, all but one would be disassem- bled and the pieces would be loaded on that one. Tne Lom- bard would trek back into the forest with its train all piled up on one sled. This was because a loaded train was tractable, but the empty sleds didn't follow too well. Back in the woods, the train would be made up again and loaded, Somewhere in the Maine wil- derness, long forgotten and long since covered with moss and - for^est debris, is a complete•Lom- bard train. The story goes that the $t. Croix was cutting, and had a big operation under way. The log.haul was iced, the train was loaded, and the Lombard started for the distant mill. But it was payday, and the pen- pusher brought word that funds were not forthcoming, and the eagle wouldn't scream on sched- ule, The crew thereupon quit, and the long Lombard train was left right where it stood. Winter broke up, the snows were gone, and the Lombard re- mained as was. The summer rusted the boiler, and successive seasons rotted away the sleds and heaped fungus on the loaded wood. Occasionally some cruiser or hunter would wander by, but it got so you wouldn't recognize the thing for what it was unless you know. Before long people had forgotten the Lombard any- way, and it didn't matter. A couple of weeks ago the Great Northern, biggest of our independent paper companies, announced that all of its Aroos- took County wood, from now on, would be hauled from the woods on trucks. No more log trains, no more river drives. The 'Lom- bard steam tractor, mighty and magnificent, has lent its mech- anical prowess to the new diesel caterpillar, and the bulldozer now builds roads into the for- ests so Lombards are no longer needed. Indeed, the tracked gasoline tractors had long since taken over the hauling job anyway - great-grandchildren of the Lom- bard, but riding on the same kind of pick -up -and -put-down, It's interesting to think on all the uses man snakes today of a traction device invented to haul logs in Maine. -by John Gould in The Christian Science Monitor In The Days Of Real Politeness The good old days - extracts from The Golden Rules of Eti- quette, 1900. Do not be slighted if your fair companion does not invite you to enter her home on returning from a Ball. If she does invite you, decline. One hundred men or over con- stitute a Ball. At parties, gentlemen should take elderly ladies in to refresh- ments. On the street, when a lady is desirous of ending a conversa- tion, she should bow slightly, and the gentleman must instant- ly take his leave. At dinner, do not use the table cloth to wipe your mouth. Never cry out when you per- ceive something dainty. At a baptism, praise the baby under all circumstances. ' When travelling by rail, ladies will thank gentlemen who raise or lower windows, coldly but politely. A man remaining seated while a woman stands is abso- lutely hoggish. CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 2. I{eel-billed 1. Boys . cuckoo 0. Freehold state 3. Destroyed a 0. Pat lightly tenth part of 12. Afresh 4. Piece of low 19. Ornament marshy 15. Size of type ground •m 16. Subdued by 5. Stir fear 17. Noy well 19. Sweet potatoes 20. Comport oneself 23, Pr. statesman 27. Palm leaf 39, Ship channel 30. Chain of • mountain's '31. Dlstinguish- 1ngfeature 39. Shrill bark 35. Tree snake 36. Music drama 38, Humor 40. Espouse' 41. Fortiflcationp 9, Young turkeys 45, .Auction 41. Three minus two 48, Estrange 52, imago 55. Large colored handkerchief 68, Giant monster 57. Beard of grain 40. Xieavnely body 61. Require DOWN 9, Ripple against 6. Tax 7. Sea 8, Kind of window 9. Blank bird 10, Consumed 11. River bottom 14. Scamp 18. Barrel etnve 20. Olver 21. Run orf to marry 51. Negative vote 29. Awl renege 25. Heron 29. 'Peruser 29. Marble 32. Rubbed out 24. Apple need 37. Pineapple 65. Besides 42. Bevel 44, Junction 40. Volcano I8. Camel's hal' cloth 40, Statute 50. 'cavern 51. Attention 08, Seaweed 11.fiulded 1 2 3 4 No05 CI 6 1 9 ti .9. 0 II 11 ©©ft7©©IIIil '1'4 3 fEI©C• _.' 1 ©lilDI©W� ©©la 14 ofZId Ifo© ofl 01011 1 cI000la ©©©fin -Rau dad ; I719 o®©I1DEJ ®®CI G O : 1ERRI =®©©CI I CSO-=OC®©1I0010 30 1.1 k.F 15 26 Ir 1'1 :} 16 ti ly 41 o" 41 40 50 51 j+.+'+752 01 64 05'v Si .. . Answer elsewhere on this page STAND TALL - This tractor on stilts was built by the Russians in Kharkov for cultivation of tall corn. The body of the tractor is five feet higher than the wheels. It can also be used for whisk cutting and plant pollination, the Russians say. T FARM FRONT 6KSI sell _ Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt. With this In mind, farmers are warned that the contents of old pesticide bags are potentially dangerous. Says J. Marshall of the Can- ada Department of Agriculture Research Station: "You can't tell from the color of .pesticide, or from its smell, whether it is a gentle thing or a bad actor". • • • He explains that some with a vile stench, like malathion, are not very dangerous; some, like parathion, are, in their way, more dangerous than dynamite, Lead arsenate, one of the most insidiously poisonous things that ever went into an orchard,- is white and practically odorless, while Sevin, one of the safest insecticides, is also white and practically odorless. Mr. Marshall notes that a busy farmer is likely to turn at once to another job after finishing spraying, leaving the sprayer parked with empty insecticide bags lying around. * * • "A single bag may still con- tain enough insecticide to liqui- date a whole family," he stresses, The packages should be burn- ed and anyone nearby at the time should keep to the wind- ward. Some of the dangerous pesticides are vaporized by heat and the smoke from the burn- ing bags may be harmful if inhaled. * , • Some acutely poisonous com- pounds such as TEPP may be as likely to prove fatal from a single dose as from repeated but limited exposures (a single. drop of TEPP in the eye may be lethal). Compounds such as lead arsenate, although capable of killing humans in a single dose, are more likely to kill by repeated small doses, The or- ganic phosphate Guthion, if taken by mouth, is almost as dangerous as parathion, but it is a safer insecticide than para- thion because there is less danger of absorbing it through the air. , a • Mr. Marshall's final shot: "It is not safe to trust to luck when you tangle with a chemi- cal bug killer; eventually the odds will catch up." Visitors flocked to the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa in unprecedented numbers in 1950. The farm, only one in Canada completely surrounded by a city, played host to 207 organ- ized groups that consisted of 10,613 persons. In addition, the annual Chry- santhemum show at the green- houses in November attracted over 12,000 in one week. When the tulips were at their "bloom- ing best", upwards of 3,000 peo- ple toured the farm on week- ends. , , * Another major attraction, re- ports L. J. Beilefleur of the farm's public relations staff, comes in April when the new lambs arrive. This is a popular event with childrenand grown- ups alike. In 1958 there were 234 organ. ized groups, but they made up only 9,508 persons. During the preceding year there were 120 groups consisting of 7,402 peo- ple. • * • Majority of the groups were merle up of school children. There were many 4-H Club groups and farmer delegations from as far as western Canada, United States and ' even the United Kingdom. May and June were the busi- est months of the year, with June breaking all records with 4,762 Visitors in 72 groups. • s • Scientists from 21 different countries visited the experimen- tal farm during 1959. One not- able visitor was the Crown Prince of Ethopia. Another at- tractive guest was the Dairy Queen of England. Mr. Belefleur stressed that the officially recorded visitors do not include the hordes that turn the farm's slopes in to a winter- time playground with their skiis and toboggans; He urged all groups interested in touring the farm to make pri- or arrangements to facilitate planning. What Corn Meant To Civili'Zation From remote antiquity the In- dians of all parts of Mexico have had a common heritage; that is, wherever maize will grow - and it will grow everywhere save in the out-and-out deserts and in the water-logged places I have described - their staff of life is the tortilla, that flat, leathery, not pleasant thin cake which is the Mexican bread, as well as the simple instrument for con- veying to his mouth such drip- ping and delectable messes as bean soup, fried beans, and gua- camole. The dry maize is prepared by soaking it overnight in a solu- tion of lime or wood ashes, which removes the tough skin. It is then ground into a wet meal (masa) with a stone rolling pin (mann) on that curious three- legged washboard contraption known as a metate.... Its prin- cipal use is in the making of tortillas, which are baked on an eathernware griddle (comal). From one end of Mexico to the other the grinding of the masa and the patting of tortillas is the morning song of life. It has been going on for such countless gen- erations, and it is so thorougly a part of immutable customs, that I suspect that the vendors of labor-saving gadgets and those kindly people who would emancipate the Indian woman from her ancient drudgery will not soon disturb the rhythm of the tortilla makers. It will be objected that not all Mexicans are Indians, but to most country people except the fairly well to do the Indian tor- tilla is bread. In the cities, to be sure, and wherever electri- city is not too expensive, the motor -driven molino de nixta- mal supplies masa for those who can afford it, but this factory - made substitute has to • contend with a popular usperstition that masa does not taste quite right unless it is ground with mano and metate. Thisall-pervading heritage goes back to that distant day when the wandering seed gath- erers of the highlands of Cen- tral American (or perhaps Peru) fotind a luscious grass, with edible seeds growing in a single small ear, No one has any idea how long ago it was, nor do we. know how long the gatherers were content to collect the wild seeds, until one day the awl - dental sprouting of a lost ker- nel or two gave some forgotten scientist the Idea of planting them. From that moment dates the civilization of the Western Hemisphere. The Inca, the Maya, the Toltec, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Tarascan, the Aztec, all the numerous cultures of pre - white Middle rewhite'Middle America, in short, owed their existence to the dis- covery of corn. That discovery was one of the most important achievements of man kind any - Where, From "Many Mexicos'+ by Lesley Byrd Simpson. How The Tipping Habit Started If you wanted "to insure promptness" of service in Lon- don's eighteenth -century coffee houses, you put extra money in boxes marked with those three words, This was the origin of the word "tip," and the custom has become so universal that an estimated two billion dollars changes hands in tipping every year.. It is a fallacy that' millionaires tip the heaviest. Some are quite the reverse, Nathan Rothschild once refused to pay ten dollars to have an aching tooth re- moved, but agreed to give the dentist three dollars to loosen it a little, Some people have gained reputations for their fabulous tipping, the late Aga Khan was one of them; he once gave. a chauffeur a ticking -off for being five minutes late and the next day gave the man $250 for good service, Van -Lear Black, the "Flying Millionaire," once tip- ped a band -leader $750 for play- ing a request tune, He left $500 to be shared among the staff of a Glasgow hotel where he stay- ed for one night. An Indian prince tipped a nightclub hostess $25Q for the pleasure of a dance. Another In- dian maharajah left a bag of sparkling jewels to be shared among the staff of a French hotel A waitress in Illinois profited from a tipping duel between two rvial businessmen, After finishing a snack one of the men boasted that he would double anything the other left for the waitress. When they de- parted there was a total of $360 under their plates. Miners who "struck it" rich in the Klondyke gold rush were generous tippers. One gave a shoeshine boy a bar of gold worth $5,000, Another left a bar- maid a bag of gold dust worth $7,500. After helping an old lady into a train and receiving threepence for his efforts, a railway porter rushed to the aid of a heavily - laden American tourist, He car- ried the man's luggage about fifty yards and saw him into a compartment. The reward he re- ceived for this five minutes work was a wallet containing $6,660 in English bank notes! Not all tips are in cash. An ocean liner steward was once given an entire fruit store by a bad-tempered Australian busi- nessman. It was in recognition of the steward's tolerance. A New York taxi driver was tipped a three-year supply of free cigarettes by a tobacco mag- nate. When a fire broke out on a Norfolk farm one of the labour- ers bravely led all the cattle to safety. The farmer rewarded him with twenty acres of land, a house, several cows and a horse. Yet another farmer tipped in kine rather than cash. He was so pleased by the way a police- man kept a busy Yorkshire thoroughfare clear for his cattle to pass through that he pre- sented the constable with two fine milking cows. "And what is a synonym, Wil- lie?" asked the teacher. "A synonym," replied Willie, "is a word that you use when you can't spell the other one." ISSUE 11 - 1960 T JIMMY S{C110 LSSON By Rev, It, B, 'aural, B.A., B4O, Before Governors and Kings Acts 20; 1, 19-32. 1►Iemory Selection: God bath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1;17. Governor Felix and his Jewish wife, Drusilla, heard Paul's wit- ness for Jesus Christ on many occasions over a two year per- iod. Felix trembled as Paul rea- soned of righteousness, temper- ance, . and judgment to come, Like multitudes of people in every age he postponed making a definite decision to follow Jesus Christ, saying, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will Call for thee." Then came Festus as governor. He rejected the plea of the Jerusalem Jews to have Paul brought to Jerusalem for trial without a preliminary hearing at Caesarea, When Paul was ask- ed if he would go up to Jeru- salem for trial he made his ap- peal to Caesar. He could expect protection and a greater measure of justice in pagan Rome than in religious Jersuaiem, When people' reject Jesus Christ, a blindness comes over them. Re- ligious fanatical zeal can be very malicious. Festus must send with Paul some declaration stating the charges against him. But what were they? .Nothing had been proven, When King Agrippa and Bernice were visiting him he brought Paul before them. Paul excelled on this occasion. He re- lated the story of his personal surrender to Jesus Christ. His commission to the Gentiles was, in the words of Jesus, "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and frons the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgive- ness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." Agrippa was moved, exclaiming, "Almost ' thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Some think that Agrippa was speaking in oon- tempt, meaning, 'With but lithe persuation thou wouldst fain make me a Christian," But whe- ther his reply is to be under- stood as an evasive cynical sneer, or whether he spoke in sincer- ity, it is clear that he had been forced by Paul's logic into a po- sition osition where he could offer no counter argument to Paul's con- clusions concerning Christianity. Paul's answer shows that he ac- cepted Agrippa's words as sin- cere, and who could be abetter judge than Paul who saw and heard. Agrippa's conclusion con- cerning Paul was, "This man might have been set at liberty. if he had not appealed to Caesar. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeeing L7©©®®TI®®© CI fE1. M©CI i21111f`�1t7 a RI ®rOII3 ©©ft7©©IIIil i - ©©®©DC fEI©C• _.' 1 ©lilDI©W� ©©la ofZId Ifo© ofl 01011 1 cI000la ©©©fin -Rau o®©I1DEJ ®®CI G O : 1ERRI =®©©CI I CSO-=OC®©1I0010 AFGHAN BOOTEES r Christina Simpson takes good care of her pet's tender tooteree with this pair of warm knitted bootees. The Afghan hound, Achmted of Chetmill, was competing in thn London clog show.