HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1923-12-20, Page 2R
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THE CASCARA BASK
JNDUSTRY OF CANADA
$RIT ISI -L • COLUMBIA SOLE
SOURCE OF SUPPLY,
:Attention Directed to the Im-
portance of This Product as
a Means of Revenue,
Among, the many promising indus-
trial opportunities 'existing in Canada
to -day, based upon , resources indi-
genous to the country, one which
holds out peculiar advantages of estab-
lishment and one for which there is
urgent and pressing need is that for
the manufacture oi' cascara products
on the Pacific coast of British Colum-
bia. Happily there is a certain amount
of attention being centred on this pos-
sibility at the present time, and Bri-
tish Columbia's camera resources are
attracting a greater share of attention
than has been their lot in the past,
For some time the bark, in its raw
state, has been exported from the Pa-
cific coast to the United States, Eur-
ope and Japan, and it is now the ef-
fort of the provincial government and
the Vancouver Board of Trade to have
the product manufactured in Canada
end receive the additional benefits and
profitsaccruing.
This should not prove difficult, for
there is every inducement for such lo-
cation. With the practical exhaustion
of supplies of carcara in Washington
and Oregon, British Columbia, is the
sole remaining source of supply on the
American continent. . This province,
too, is the only portion of the British
Empire to which the tartars tree is a
native. The world is coming to use
more and more cascara every day, and
the supply has been steadily diminish-
ing until to -day British Columbia has
the world's only great reserve. The
location of a manufacturing plant in
the province means the development
of an industry -which must inevitably
increase in importance with the pass -
beg of the years and the complete ex-
baustion of raw supplies elsewhere.
Grow Largely on Coast Area.
The caccara tree is generally found
growing with red alder, giant cedar
and Douglas fir, in practically all of
that portion of British Columbia west
of the coast range and designated on
the botanical survey map as the "coast
area," where the tree is found at its
best and in greatest abundance, par-
ticularly in the. Fraser Valley from the
Fraser Canyon to the Pacific Ocean
and on the greater part of Vancouver
Island, as well as on many other it
land's` and the mainland. The supplies
of the province are extensive, but it
has never been possible• to niake anany-
;thing like an accurate survey.:'
The industry in British Columbia.
has unfortunately been seriously eng
'feted. No attention has been paid to
the methods of collection or proper
systems of, conservation, and all
phages would benefit by being taken
over by some large organization which
would stabilize the industry, educate
settlers to the value of the industry,
and point out the wisdom of adopting
measures of conservation, as well as
manufacture the product -in Canada.
It is stated that trees on the Pacific
coast of the United States yield an
average of ten pounds of dried bark
per tree and that in British Columbia
the average is much higher. As much
as 200 pounds is reported to have been
collected from a single tree. CoIlect-
ors, according to the same report, can
make $4.00 to $7.00 per day in season,
and the price of the product has varied
from three to thirteen cents per pound,
fluctuating unduly owing to the unor-
ganized marketing.
Legislative •Protection Necessary.
When it was announced that the
Prince of Wales had bought a farm in
Canada, lots of plain . toll asked;
"Will it be a real farm, or a show
place?" The prince answered: "I am
going to make this a practical ranch
that will be of value to the surround-
Ing country," And he's doing it, I
personally visited the ranch .to find
out.
' Farming and ranching are not new
occupations far the British royal
he wired Dr. Carlyle, and the l3eding-
field ranch was purchased. It is lo-
cated in township 17, range 3, west of
tie 5th meridian, about twenty-ilve
miles southwest of the town of High
River, The place comprises 1,600
acres of deeded band and about 2,400
acres of pasturage leased ,from the Do-
minion Government, It is a good grass
country, on limy, sandstone formation,
being on the first uplist of the Rocky
Mountains, at an altitude of about,
family. For upward of a century they 3,700 feet.
have operated farms and exhibited
It has been a good rant ing district
the results of their skill at the come 1 for the last forty years. The general
try fairs and exhibitions all over the i character of the stock raised has been
United Kingdom, net royal farms at good, but not distinguished, with the
Windsor, and in other: parts of Brie ' exception of the products of the Bar
tain have been a Mecca for agrieue 11 Ranch, which directly adjoles the.
turista and stockmen from all parts of prince's place. Here Ge1orge'Lane has
the world. They used to be model in the last thirty-five Sears built . up
farms --show places. one of the largest heree of purebred.
But time brings many changes. The Percherons in the"warld, Apart from
royal farms in England to -day are the Bar U, show . places are the
x-
ception, but with the :advent of the
practical farms—profit-making estab prince, followed shortly by the Earl
lishments devoted to the testing and of Minto, who purchased the Two Dot
practice of the most advanced scien- Ranch at Nanton, it sees not unlike -
tee theories, especially as applied to ly that -this part of the great Province
local problems. They are account- of Alberta will become ;the home of a
book farms where .the humblest chick -
number of model farrik and stock -
en in the run has to make eggs or raising establishments
make stew.
You remember that the Prince of the E. P. ranch, as the prince's ranch
Wales passed through Canada and the has been named, was -boil). and reared
United States on his world tour in on a stock farm• in eS;tern Ontario,
1919. It was on this visit, as a guest • graduated from Ontario Agricultural
on a ranch in the foothills of the College in the early nineties, after
Rocky Mountains, sixty miles south- wards putting in fifteen; years on the,
west of Calgary, that- the idea occur- staffs of 'agricultural colleges in the
red to him to get a place of his own, United States.'; Then he spent a year
where he might occasionally quit be- in Europe; visiting the':principal horse -
Ing the prince of the great British Em- breeding establishment and military
pire and become a regular rancher and i remount depots of sevefia Continental
study at first-hand the problems of the . governments. Returning from Europe,
overseas Britisher engaged in the; he became dean of agriculture and di -
somewhat speculative outdoor sport of rector of the experimefital station at
stock -raising. the University of Idaho,' and left that
The month was September. The progressive Western state to assume
prince had taken a day off from the management of the Bar U Percheron
wearisome task of being feted. Like Horse and Cattle Ranch. . Then the
his father, and especially his name Prince of Wales came upon the scene,
sake grandfather, the jovial Edward and Dr. Carlyle thus came to oversee
VII., he is a good deal more fond of
outdoor life and hunting than receiv
in.g the applause of the multitude, so
he expressed a wish to take a few
shots at the prairie chicken. He elect-
ed to tramp, to the astonishment of
his host, a dyed-in-the-wool stockman,
who had heard of the practice of walk-
ing' but had never tried it himself. So
it fell to Dr. W. L. Carlyle, at that
time superintendent of the Bar U
Ranch, to be the royal guide. Topping
a little rise, the prince pointed, and
said: "I 'would like to own a ranch
here." .
Two weeks later, on his return trip,
Dr. W. L. Carlyle, whit: superintends
the destinies of a royal „family of
Shropshire sheep, Dartmoor ponies,
Shorthorn cattle, and blooded racing
stock, which he hand-picked in various
parts of the British Islands..
From every angle .;.it would seem
that the Prince of Wales made a for-
tunate choice in Dr. Carlyle. .-Agricul-
ture in Alberta is still in many re-
spects in the pioneer' stage. Had a
mellowed agriculturalistfrom the staff
of the royal farms in Britain been sent
to do this work,. he'.would• have . been
at the "learning" stage for a long time,
for Alberta, like every) new country,
had problems peculiar.lto itself. Dry
,jsieetInaeltNy.see vN•e
H.R.H. The Prince of Wales
The Imported • phorthorna number and good-tempered, They might bei
described by Punch's celebrated ad a,
vertisement of bull pupa: 'will eat any'
thing, very fond of children.' We in l
traduced thein to Canada as an experil
Ment, and have satisfied ourcelveei
that they will thrive here, either runn1
ning Wild or under subjection. I ex.'s
hibited-,these ponies last year at the
Calgary fair just as a try -out, without
any dressing up. Thestallion tools
the championship, and the :mares, the
flrst, second, and third prizes."
The fourth experiment. in stock -raise
will not likely be exhibited„ as the ing being tried out is in blooded stock
prince prefers to show only native Three mares ,,with. track 'reputations
stook, but hereafter the royal Shoat- were shipped to Alberta, and are be.
horns will doubtless command atter- ing bred to a local imported stallion;
tion at the western Canada fairs.
twenty-seven (twenty-five cows and
two bulls), .all from the prince's farms
} in Great Britain. The bulls were es-
pecially classy. Both are two -year-
olds. Clinrsland Broadhooka is Corn-
ish bred of Scottish ancestry, and
needs no card of introduction to Bri-
tish breeders. The other, Golden
Demonstrator, was bred in the north
of Sootland. All the herd are In tip-
top cpuditiion. Alberta suits them.
Already there are sixteen calves., and
others coming along. The parent herd
Carlyle is a pioneer—one of the build-
ers of agriculture in the -West, who
has seen thousands of square miles of
what was considered worthless coun-
try produce in a manner to make the
Old, World marvel. •
Dr. Carlyle went to Great Britain,
believing that he could bring. back re-
presentatives of the choicest breeds
therein, and acclimate them to the
highlands of Alberta without loss of
type or quality.
Sixty-five Shropshire sheep were im-
ported, selected largely from the Duke
of Westminster's flocks at Eaton Hall,
Cheshire. They have thriven amaz-
ingly. They are a big, strong type
with heavy fleece. Several rams have
been sold to Alberta fiockmasters, the
results of which will be seen in the
next few seasons. These imported
Shropshires were exhibited at most of
the western Canada fairs this year,
and have pretty.. well swept the boards.
The Prince of Wales operates four
farms In England, In the counties of
Cornwall and Devon, in the finmediat'e
vicinity of. Dartmoor, that mist -en-
veloped table laud that -has formed a
setting for so many English novels,
From early childhood the prince has
had an affectionate interest in the di-
minutive wild ponies that roam the
moorland, andsuggested that it would
be interestingto see what effect the
Alberta environment would have on
the species, so the doctor brought over In so far as cultivation is concern
a band of eleven with him. The only ed, 80 acres were sown last season,'
loss in all of the imported livestock
was with these little fellows. Two
died, both by accident. One • was
struck by lightning, and the other died
in foaling. If the champagne atmos-
phere of Alberta has any deleterious
effect on these shaggy boys of the fog,
it certainly is not apparent to the eye.
They are as fat as butter and as wool-
ly as toy lambs, their coats having be-
come markedly heavier as a result of
the cold climate. The imported ponies
average about twelve hands high, are
stockily built.on short legs, and weigh
about 750 pounds. The second genera-
tion promises to be larger inframe, but
a season or two must pass . before
physical changes can be definitely
gauged.
I asked Dr. Carlyle what use these
ponies will be put to.
"We have no definite plan," he said,
"they areexcellent for children's sad-
dle or harness ponies—strong, .hardy,
in this ease the change of climate did
not seem to work so well: They failed.
quite a bit at first, but are coming
back, This experiment with racing
stock is being watched closely by the -
sporting fraternity, for ane of the
markedfeatures of both horses and
cattle bred in these foothills is theun'
usually large lung development as a
result of the intensely dry climate:
This was commented upon freely by
the livestock journals of Britain I' and
France during the war,'' on the occas
sion of a test made on the relative
value of the horse or 'mechanical
power for artillery work, A herd o1
Percherons ,fired on the Bar U Ranch
figured in tine teat', and -called forth
exclamations of astonishment; fronto'
the _British and French draft•horsei
breeders at theirsurprisingly long
Wind. So it is passible that the E. P:
Ranch may produce a type of fast)
horse equal in other respects, but of •
greater lung capacity.
sufficient to„raise, feed for the stock
oats, sunflowers;, turnips, and some
tame hay. The acreage is being ex;
tended this. season, for when it. was,
found that a strip ref about 100 acres,'
may be easily irrigated from the High
wood River, it was decided to extends
the experiments to Irrigation prob-
lems.
Sunflowers have the centre of the(
stage in Southern Alberta a.t this time,
largely on account of the pioneer wor
done on the Canadian Pacific Railway!
Company's experimental farms. Dr.1
Carlyle is a firm believer in this neve
feed here, and had just completed the
construction and filling of: a silo at the
time of my visit. The E. P. Ranch;
marks about the limit of latitude and
altitude, up to the.present,.where the
sunffower has been grown commercial'
ly. Despite the recent rapid growth
of the silo in,Alberta, they arestill;
few and far between.
TI1en Pandemoniwm Reigned.
"Wire one of the early days" of the
fall term: Through open Windows
blaze the yellow and crimson glories
of the maples of the campus; the air
is sparkling with vitality. 'My father
is sitting at the side of his desk, with
a class book in his left hand and a
lead pencil: in his right.” Thus Mr.
Carroll Perry in A Professor of Life
draws the picture of the famous
economist Arthur Latham Perry. Be-
fore him sat his ,class.
"Gentlemen, this is the root of the
matter; here is the whole thing in a
nutshell Buying and selling is ex-
change of values." The professor rose
from his chair and walked to the front
of the platform, warming to his work.
"And what constitutes the basis of
value. Nothing is the basis of value,
nothing ever was the basis of value,
nothing ever can be the basis of value,
save human effort—that is, labor. It
is labor that gives life to buying and
selling; it is labor that creates profit-
able exchange. And what is involved
M exchange? Let me tell you, In all
exchange whatsoever we observe two
desires, two efforts, two satisfactions.
That is the meaning of buying and
selling; and a market for products
means products in market. That le
the one and only road to prosperity.
I ask, is there any other way of obtain-
ing wealth?"
"Yee, sir!" shouted a pupil from the
Middle of, the hall.
"Rise and state your case, Mr.
Blank."
Blank rose and declared, "I might
marry a very rich wife!"
Father sat dawn, threw back his
head, slapped his right knee and ex-
ploded with laughter. The class howl-
ed with. delight, Bach man nudged
his neighbor and said, "Bully for
Blank! He's got on on Peri!"
The professor rose from his 'chair
again, and with a twinkle in his blue
eyes ho declared, "Even in that case,
my dear Blank, the principle remains
unchanged, for you would be bought,
and she would be sold!"
Then pandemonium reigned.
For fifteen years the collection of
the cascara bark in British Columbia
has been almost exclusively confined,
to the Indians and Japanese, whose
methods of exploitation are some-
times open to criticism from the stand-
point of the future of the industry.
The greater part of the product has in
the past been shipped to Japan and
the United States, andthe portion
manufactured in Canada, if any, has
been infleitesimal. In the last year
for which figures are available, the
Port of Vancouver shipped 62,888
pounds of cascara bark valued at
$6,288.
The cascara trees of British Colum-
bia hold the possibility of an industry
which might mean millions of dollars
annually to the people of British Co-
lumbia and great profit to those who
will engage intelligently in exploita-
tion and the establishment of nianu-
teeturing. It is strapge that such ig-
noranoe should have persisted en the
potential values of this tree, that the
practice has actually been permitted
in the past, and still is, of allowing
Japanese and other settlers to des-
troy the entire tree _ aeorder to obtain
a, single Drop of the precious bark, but
Ita;ppily, the cascara resources of Bri-
tish Columbia are attracting greater
attention, which should .result in ef-
fective protection by legislation to
e revert, such wastage in the futixre.
Defined.
in one school the instructor in phys.
los Was trying to make clear to a eer-
teen pupil a lesson perfectly plain to
must of the other pupils.
"NOW, then," he said,when the
demonstration had been ' completed,
"What et a vaeutiu•B"
"I haeb it in .my head," said the
I+tpil, "inti 1 t:an't express it,"
IIx.",
• Tho=A'rer�ie�e
A daring man—he must lee daring in
order to succeedeemuy'some day end
the treasury of Dupleix—gold, silver.
and precious stones: Packed in the
hull of the Primrose, it lies close to
a -reef in the Bay of Islands on time
west coast of Newfoundland:
In the middle years of the eighteenth
century Dupleix, whowas then the
French governor of Pondicherry, in In-
dia, piled up a vastfortune, by fitting
out privateers to prey upon British
merchantmen. So great was his plun-
der that he feared to send ithome to
France lest Louis XV.. should lay
hands upon it; for the royal ears had
heard that ' when English ships were
scarce Dupieix' was quite willing to
accept treasure from those of other
nations, even of his own. The govern-
or therefore conceived the idea of
sending his booty to Canada,; where he
had a brother in. the royal service who
would hold it in trust for him,.
He shipped his treasure to Quebec,.
hidden in a cargo of general merchan-
dise in the Primrose, a captured Bri-
tish . vessel. She made the mouth of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the fall of
1759, and there her commander :learn-
ed to his consternation that Quebec
had fallen into the hand of the Eng-
lish only a month before and ,that he
was likely to meet a British warship
at any moment. Being sort of water
and provisions, he dare not put to
sea; so he took a Feen h fisherman
aboard as pilot and stood way for the
Bay of Islands, where :}here was a
French settlement, Be I had barely
reached the spot when a heavy gale
came on and in the dark of night drove
his ship high upon a reef., She found-
ered almost immediate)-, and only
three of the company reached shore.
There the Primrose 1'es to -day in
comparatively shallow :Sot dings, Who
will find her and, braving the ley
water, take the treasure; from between
her ancient ribs'?
Difficult to Compre11end.
Father was trying to explain "Stand-
ard Time" to little Harry, 'but Harry
was not sure that he understood.
"After all, it is no great platter,"
Said father.
"You are now only in the fourth
grade; When you have gone to ,school.
longer, you will learn: all about it."
"Maybe so," said Harry, with a reas-
suring smile. "The teacher says that
even lots of eighth grade boys and
girls don't understand-- longitude and
gratitude."
Our heart•longiings, our soul aspira-
tions, are something mord than more
yapo in s of the imagination ori idle
dreams, They are prophesies, predic-
tions, couriers, forevermore of things
which can become realities.' ':Choy are
indicators of our possibilities. They
Measure the height of our alio, the
range Of our efficiency.
Grace—""f'li.at hair looke suss el us,"
Her Benne-"Ws not, That girl
haslet a suspicious hair on her head."
A TUG OF WAR WITH
A CROCODILE
I
Crocodiles are extraordinary rep-
tiles; nien who have had dealings with
them tell almost incredible stories
about them. As an example we quote
from the Wide World Magazine this
extract from an article by Lieut. -Col.
Casserly:
One olternoon -the column halted by
the river as usual and prepared to
camp. When the nien had cleared the
ground and set the pickets they fell
out to get their food and rest. A cap-
tain, unslinging his empty water bot-
tle, went to the river to fill it, -
At that spot the bank was perhaps
four feet high and rose straight up. It
curved in a sharp bend, and the water
close in shore was shallow. There
was no current near the bank, but only
a few yards out the deep and mighty
stream swept along like a mill race.
The officer knelt on the bank and,
lowering the bottle by its long strap,
turners his head to speak• •to` -a sub -
lacier' (native company co"mmander)
near him. Half a dozen sepoys, some
holding their rifles, were standing
close by. -
Suddenly out of the still water un-
der the bank came a monstrous head,
and like a trout rising to a fly a huge
crocodile snapped at the 'white man's
-outstretched : hand. The great jaws
closed on it, and in a twinkling the'
officer was' down in the river!
As he fell the astounded soldiers
gasped in horror. Then without -hesi-
tation two or three leaped in after him.
Standing walst.deep, they' clutched the
captain's body and strove to pull him
away from the giant reptile, which
was backing out into deeper water.
The Englishman, with his hand in
the crocodile's mouth, was too dazed
to struggle and submitted passively to
be pulled this way and that in the
grim tug of war.. The native officer
snatched a rifle from a man beside
him and, jumping into the water, fired
'at the monster at a yard's range. • A
sepoy followed his example, but neith,
er man thought of aiming at the eyes,
and so their shots' had no effect! ; an
old crocodile's hide is impenetrable to
—AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME
bullets except in: the throat the lieliy,;r
and behind the shoulders-
The' weight and strength of •the,
brute was too much for the united`ef+
forte of the men: In vain they dug
their heels into the yielding sand ands
pulled' with all their might and mains'
Slowly, remorselessly, the officer was
`drawn farther out; the sepoys clinging
to him were dragged with him.
The Englishman :seemed doomed:
The crocodile was swimming now tail
foremost out into the swift -racing •
flood.
Then a miracle happened! When it
seemed that nothing could save the
man the strong current caught the
monster with full fern and swept it
away, and by a marvellous stroke of
luck the officer's hand: was torn from
its mouth:
The irregular teeth of 'a crocodile
fortunately do not fit ,close together.;
So little injured was the captain that
after the doctor had bound up his hand
he was able to • attend to his duties
immediately. When his comrades
caked what his feelings had been dur,
ing the terrible ordeal he said:
"I felt nothing It was as if my band
had been tied to a railway engine that
was slowly dragging me through the
water painlessly but irresistibly. The
'power drawing me was so -great that
there was no question of •atruggiiug
against it: I simply went with it,
that's all: No, I felt no fear or sue
fering,"
A Slam at Dad.
The daughter of a certain strice.
principled`eed deacon had attended a
dance the previous night, much
against . her father's wishes.: When
she appeared for breakfast the next
nrorniug hegreeted her with the
words;
"Good .morning, daughter of Satan."
To which the maiden respectfully re-
plied:
"Good morning, father:"
rf
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6
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Would Probables Walk F3ack
"Going to take a walk in tlionsoure
try on Sunday, Mary?"
"Guess I Will—Jack's going to taker
"It's right that the old should die, blit
that a- little harmless 'child
Shoital miss the jugs of llfe and. love,
that can't ,be recotcli'ed,"
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