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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-10-05, Page 7The Groat Sport Of Barnyard Golf The horseshoes that one pitch- es when one pitches horseshoes are not exactly horseshoes, They used to be, but The International Association: o f Amalgamated Horseshoe Pitching Clubs, or its ilk, came into the picture at some undetermined point, and standardized the equipment, The horseshoes pitched by the ac- credited are now a manufactured item of sports equipment with never a horse in mind, and they weigh so much and no more, the stakes are so far apart and no more, and there are recognized regional championships for which the play-offs are rigorous, well fought, and amazingly accu- rate. The subject comes up simply because we've revived our rink, or track, or range, or whatever it's called, and the clang of steel on steel outrages the rural quiet, and the cheer may be heard echoing down the valley at the occasional ringer. There had been a lull in local athletics aft- er the lad went to college, and I pulled up the stakes and laid everything on a beam in the barn. Horseshoe pitching obviously (you would think) is an ancient sport going back to the days when man, taming the beast, first found he must protect the hoof with an iron shoe and na- ture demanded the particular shape. This appears to be not so, if we believe the research- Isis, They tell us that quoits is ancient, whereas horseshoe pit- ching is a New England improve- ment of more recent date.. Quoits, where a ring is pitched at a peg, was played by Roman soldiers in the era of empire, and along with the bath and the wall they introduced it to England. From the 16th to the 19th cen- tury England felt it was quite a game. If the ring, when pitched, settled over the peg for a "ring- er" it counted extra, whereas otherwise "closest" was impor- tant. Quoits followed settlers to America, and in the 17th century we played it a good deal, But along about the beginning of this century the horseshoe took over, no doubt because it was preva- lent and easy to come by, and didn't have they price tag of a quoit. That the game is known also as "barnyard golf" is per- tinent. When I first began pitching horseshoes, which was reason- ably early in this century, we used horseshoes and they were always second -handed -or foot- ed. It should be noted that horse- shoes come in all sizes, and when you are using the cast-off kind it is rare that you find two alike. The road -horse or the racetrack kind will have a smaller shoe, but the big work -horse who pulls the logs will have great heavy ones. Furthermore, as horseshoes wore out on the ani- mal, they took on various differ- ences -one horse would wear a shoe down on the starboard, an- other would walk so they wore more evenly. So, in order to find four old horseshoes that offered you about the same heft and balance, you'd do considerable hunting. Then, they wouludn't all have the same spread in the opening. The first time I ever pitched with shoes that were identical was at Boomer Dunphy's, black - ISSUE 39 -1961 smith shop, where he had taken four heavy shoes out of stock, just as they came from the fee- tory, and they had been neither on the forge nor on a horse. This may .be a bit of lost lore, but blacksmiths who, in the early- times, arlytimes, took bar iron and shaped horseshoes all the way were now buying stock sizes from suppli- ers, They had to change these stock shoes to fit each animal, but the original manufacturing was now done for them, ' Thus Boomer was ahead of his time, for in 1914 "The National Horseshoe Pitchers of the 'United States" was organized in Kansas City, Kansas, and drew up the regulations which have become accepted everywhere, Indeed, this organization stages profes- sional national championships. and never lacks for contestants. But the way we used to do it in the beginning, we had a pile of old horseshoes in the dooryard, and when a game be- gan everybody would look them all over and pick the pair he felt best suited his cast. We had light shoes, too, if the girls want- ed to play. We used to call 25 points the game, and we counted a ringer as five, a leaner as three, and the closer shoe as one, Today, in regulated play, \the leaner, which is a shoe that comes to rest leaning against the stake, has no special value but merely counts as close, The ring- er has dropped to three.. The 50 - point game of the "official" reg- ulations is usually cut to 21 points in this vicinity, and in a family play-off is high enough• for after -supper sport. Official shoes, now, are seven and a half inches long, seven inches wide, and weigh not more than 40 ounces. They were never intended to adorn a horse, and are purchased in hardware stores and sporting goods shops. The stakes are 40 feet apart, And, the game is now rated as "highly popular" throughout the coun- try. It is a good game. It calls for rhythm of delivery, great co- ordination of eye and muscle, and a delicate release of the shoe from the hand. A quoit, natural- ly, has to fall down over the pin to make a ringer, whereas a horseshoe is always open be- tween the sides, and ringers can be scored easily if you master • the trick of making the shoe light flat -down and pointed open- end first. There are plenty of expert players who score ringer after ringer in a monotony of precision. Then there are duf- fers who slob on an occasional unearned lucky one, but who find horseshoe pitching in the backyard a great deal of fun.- By un.By John Gould in the Christian Science Monitor. "What is a taxpayer?" asks a foreign reader. One who doesn't have to pass an exam to work for the government. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking MOHO 0©0© EMU MOB ®00© ®110 Ea®o®- `®00©0© E&r4= 0 © 000©fA MOOR La0-00u0M12o 000 WE70M©© ummagnAmone 001' MDEIw .,. tr 2tfl0 IT DOESN'T MEAN HORSEPOWER - Its name is the HP 115, but the designation has nothing to do with horsepower. Billed as the slimmest of jet planes, this British Handley Page delta Wing job is considered a trail blazer for later 1,400 m.p.h. super passenger planes, GRAND OLD CHAMP -- Zato Heir .P47 Is one of the greatest Herefords ever seen in the show ring. Fifteen now and re- tired to pastures of Mt. San Antonio College, he rests on his laurels of having brought $50,090 when sold by his owners. in his prime, the bull won every competition he ever entered. Judy Brewster Is posing with the champ. TIIEFAIIM FRONT ►, Jokuuszeti. In ten years Canada's annual consumption of edible oils -ex- cluding butter -has risen by more than 100 million pounds to 470 million pounds in each of the last two crop years. Experts predict Canada will be able to use another 100 mil - ion pounds a year by 1965 and the demand will continue to grow. * * * Per capita consumption of edible oil in this country is about 26 pounds. Not only will the increase in population ex- pand the domestic market, but economists of the Canada De- partment of Agriculture expect that 'exports will also rise. These forecasts will be of great interest to oilseed and grain growers. Recent studies show that returns from oilseed crops are competitive with those from cerealgrains in areas where both are grown. • « * By 1965 it is estimated that at least a further 50 million pounds of edible oils will be required mainly for new Ca- nadians, born and immigrant. The present pattern is that veg- etable oilseeds comprise 60 per cent of all edible oils and fats used, the remainder being ani- mal and marine oils. If this pattern continues the extra needs calculated for 1965 would represent about 130,000 more oilseed acres. The product from the 1.9 million acres in rapeseed, soybean, mustard and sunflower last crop year was equivalent to 268 million pounds of oil. e « « Economists feel that exports might well be boosted by a similar amount -the equivalent of 50 million pounds -in the 1960-65 period, requiring plant- ing of about 215,000 more acres to oilseed crops, mainly rape- seed. Canadian imports of edible vegetable oils are now equiva- lent to approximately one mil- lion acres of crops. Soybean oil from the United States forms the bulk of these imports and is the basis of the Canadian ex- port trade in this product to United Kingdom -a trade which may undergo revision if Britain joins the Common Market, Other imports are coconut, palm, palm kernel, cottonseed, olive and peanut oils. « * * If, and . this is a large if, all Canada's calculated extra needs of oils for domestic and export use by 1970 were produced in this country, the acreage in oilseeds would have to be ex- panded by two million. * « « The non -edible vegetable oil picture is a little different, Ca- nadian consumption has varied between 90 million and 100 mil- lion pounds in the last 10 years and the trend has been down- ward. The lessening use of these oils in soap and related products has not been offset by their increasing use in the plastics industry. Soybean oil is also used for non -edible purposes but is a deficit crop in Canada. * * 4' Acreage in flaxseed, the main industrial vegetable oil plant produced in Canada, has varied from 2 to 3l/a million acres and production from an oil equiva- lent of 365 million to that of 675 million pounds, The excess is exported, mainly as flaxseed, The United Kingdom is the main market, with Japan also being very important, It is estimated that the over- all demand for Canadian flax- seed and linseed oil will remain stable for some years, with per- haps increased requirements from Japan. * « * In the opinion of producers it appears that production costs for rapeseed are no higher than for cereal grains -based on pro- duction as a first crop after fal- low, hay, pasture or grass seed. Rapeseed production has the lowest operating costs per acre, followed by sunflower, wheat and flax; while oats and barley costs are substantially higher, Most oilseed crops are com- parative newcomers to Canada, except flaxseed. Linseed meal has been a favorite ingredient in livestock feeds for years and new uses are being sought for linseed oil.* * Rape was recently re-class- ified as a grain to encourage production by giving it the advantage of the freight rates applicable to the main cereals and flax. It is hoped that as a result of further research, varieties free of erucic acid and yielding oil similar to peanut oil, will be widely available in a few years, further boosting the popularity of this versatile and easily -grown crop. Soybean production is cap- able of considerable expansion in Ontario and Quebec. * « « Research has done much to increase rust resistance in sun- flowers and this plant would appear to be one of the most promising crops in the southern prairies. The Department's research branch is also pressing its stud- ies on safflower, crambe and camelina oilseed plants to ap- praise their possible role in the vegetable oils picture. Chief byproducts of vegetable oils production are meals and these are for the most part in- terchangeable in livestock feeds. Farm Controls In The United States Under the 1962 wheat support plan, which 80 per cent of the growers voting approved, a man- datory cut of 10 per cent in the national 55 -million acre allotment will be made. Farmers may vol- untarily take up to 30 per cent more of their wheat land out of cultivation, receiving incentive payments from the government for so doing. Officials expect growers may take a total of 10 million acres out of wheat production, which would be nearly 20 per cent of the present allotment, They ex - pact a reduction in production next year of about 200 million bushels, or about 15 per cent, from this year's harvest. This discrepancy in production cut in relation to acreage reduc- tion demonstrates a big difficul- ty in bringing surpluses under control. Land is taken out of cul- tivation by the millions of acres but still the yield increases. The Wall Street Journal re- ports that corn growers this year have increased their Indicated yield per acre to 57.5 bushels, three bushels above last year's figure and 13 above the average for the 1950-59 period, This year's wheat harvest was 200 million bushels below last year's, but drought was largely responsible for this• If there is good weather next year, there may be no reduction at all from this year's wheat harvest, The hundreds of millions of dollars the f e der a 1 government will spend in a new, high support price averaging $2 a bushel and In incentive payments may have little effect, It is obvious that production controls basedon acreage are im- practical, They should be based on bushels, -Portland Oregonian Moving Water Is Like a Cushion Everybody celebrates holidays in his own way, In Santa Mon- ica, Calif., the other day, Raul Garcia, a 33 - year - old Mexican with a potbelly and a hard head, dived 109 feet 7 inches from a tower into the Sea Circus pool at Pacific Ocean Park, thereby setting an unofficial world rec- ord for a still -water dive. "It was in honor of Mexican Independ- ence Day," explained patriot Garcia. How does a man leap from the equivalent of an eleven - story building and survive? Simple. "You just hit first with your hands and make a little pool for your head to go into," Gar- cia said. Some day Garcia, who once dived 155 feet into moving wa- ter ("moving water is like a cushion; still water is like con - Crete"), would like to use the Golden Gate Bridge as a 225 - foot -high springboard, So far, San Francisco officials have re- fused permission. "They replied that they knew I could do it," Garcia said, "but it would en- courage more people to suicide. It's a good reason." Q. How can I create a glossy effect on freshly -washed wood- work? A. Add two tablespoons of furniture polish to each quart of rinsing water used. After -rins- ing with the solution, wipe the surface with a dry cloth. By NDAYSC1IOOt MOON ev. R, Barclay Warren B.A., HD. Luke 2: - 39-52 Memory Selection: The chid grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2"40 The fourteen lessons of this final quarter of the year deal with various phases of Christian growth. We do not grow into grace, for conversion occurs when we repent and believe on Jesus Christ at some definite time. A child is born at a cer- tain time though there is much development prior to birth. So God deals with people over vary- ing periods of time before they come into His Kingdom by the New Birth, Having entered the kingdom, a vista opens before us which invites progress as the years pass, The riches of Christ are unsearchable. There is no limit to learning more about Him and becoming more like Him. We are exhorted to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." It is easy to understand Jesus growing to manhood as other boys did.• But how could he grow in wisdom? Did He not know all things? I like what Arnold's Commentary says on this point, "As a boy Jesus, was no mons, trosity, carrying around in His head a knowledge of the whole universe. Even when full grown Christ did not do this; but, through His unique union with the Father, He had the omnisci- ence of the Father at His dispos- al, to be used as the Father willed." We must remember that Jesus was never marred by sin as we were. Therefore, 'He had a deep intuitive perception of spiritual truths. He had a oneness with 'God the Father. He never erred. He evidenced this intuitive per- ception of spiritual things at the age of twelve. There is no reason to doubt that this intuitive per- ception developed with the de- velopment of Christ's mental powers. Jesus was the Son of God. Through faith in Him who died for us and rose again, we can enter into a spiritual life where we love God with • all our nature and we love our neighbour as ourselves. There' isn't much to see In a small town but what you hear makes up. CROSSWORD PUZZLE 7. Fish sauce 86. One of the 8. Thighbone Apostles 9. Quiver 88. Companions 10. Wings 11. Young salmon 40. superiorsFather 16. Intertwines 4s. Grasp 18. Malayansuddenly 60. Lamp Lorcanoe 45. Item at 50. Capital of heatingMoroccoplaywright property _. 1. Lambe 25. e.�ar.23. Mohammedan 48. arpmllitary 47. sinful {8. Rxtlrpatc 61. Negative 55, Highprefix in the sc 64. Utter 57. Sodium symbol ACROSS I. Rind of rubber 6, Author of "Ferdinand the Bull" 9. Soft food 12. With (Fr.) 15, Ashy 14. Gums 16. Artflclal waterway 17. Freemason 19.'Sandarac tree 21. One who blasphemes 22 Spiral 25. Brown kiwi 26. Part of verb "to be" 27. Account entry on left-hand side 29. Monad 32. Umbrella -part 34. Gr. island 30. Period of time 37. Catch 39. Etruscan god 41. Business getter 42. Fuel 44. Mixture cooked In a mold 46. Bowler 45. Male swans 50. Subterfuge 62. Pries in - 55. Swineively 66, Developed compound animal. 69, Adjeue ctive suffix 2. The keys 3. Of the kidneys H4. Restrict 28. Bracing 4. A tick medicine 5. Type of re- 30. Of the mouth cording (ab.) 31. Fabricated 6. Consume 38 Luggage Emma maim unC, Lim ,•..,•,mmum ®■■■■■. ®®'t3i1■.11®?: .1411 ®®Ne t:'n®I■®®v::::©Is ®®U ®:?.$'s®®..4'.itm$ umanimmumiti nommiwommuld miummummum MEMEMIIMMEMMIN Answer elsewhere on this page. TALL, LEAN AND HANDSOME - Although this tall man looks as though his boots were nailed down, the picture is not for real. Actually, the car is atilt and the Texan is vertical, The "lean look" comes by standing on a banked curve.