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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1957-09-12, Page 7Some people maintain that they can do without sparrows, Take 'em or leave 'em. Preferably the latter. Or, better still, be left by them, Be left quite alone. And quiet. To these people 'the dawn chorus of the sparrows is strictly for the birds, They don't want to hear it. They don't even want td hear about it. They've had it. One has to admit that the noise that a hedgeful of sparrows makes at break of day is not that of a chorus or choir, in either the Greek or Welsh senses, but of a football crowd - a football crowd composed entirely o° small boys. And this is not because the sparrow cannot sing. Sparrows, when they want to, can sing very well. I mean not only song spar- rows but chirping sparrows too; hedge sparrows, house sparrows, town sparrows, the lot. Clar- e -net Kipps, t he most uncom- mon London sparrow, who en- tertained in air-raid shelters dur- ing the blitz, could sing splendid-. ly and was fond of piano music as an accompaniment. If the com- mon sparrow does not sing it is because, as a rule, it is, frankly - . well ... common. To be common is not a handi- cap This is the century of the common bird. And personally I find sparrows, common or not, most sympathetic. Although not as wise as owls, for instance, sparrows are a good deal cleverer. The owl got his reputation for wisdom by continually asking questions. ("Huh?") Anyone or anything, bird included, that does this often, let alone continuously, is likely to find himself up a tree, sunk in perplexity. And you know what owls are like. Spar- rows, on the other hand, don't bother with the questions. They get along simply by knowing the answers. Every bird at the breakfast table tends, for a sparrow, to be a bigger bird. Yet this does not ¢deter the sparrow. He is right in there, pinching. He will pinch anything from under the nose or beak of anything on two legs. The sparrow knows what the bigger birds don't know. He is aware of Aesop's Law. Which is that you cannot, if you are a bird, both have your bread and eat it when the beak opens the bird -cake will fall out. It does not bother a sparrow 1f all the bread and bird -cake has been taken already by bigger and earlier birds. All the sparrow does is to find a bigger bird with MIRRORED DESTRUCTION - The fiery destruction of a Singa- pore warehouse is reflected in She quiet waters in foreground. The blaze forced 1,500 resi- dents to flee their homes and destroyed 500 tons of rubber. a sizeable slice in its beak and follow it. For the sparrow, summing the situation up , in a wink, realizes that as soon as the bigger bird opens its beak to peck the bread it will inevitably drop it on the ground. In the confusion -- for the bigger bird, when it sees the bread on the ground, is confused and does not at first get it - the sparrow steps in underneath the open beak and does get it. The odd thing is that although one often sees sparrows do this one rarely, if ever, sees the big- ger bird follow a sparrow and do the same thing back. Yet, obviously, Aesop's Law applies equally to sparrows. Sparrows have to put bread down before they can peck too. It may be that the trick only works one way because sparrows are built so very close to the ground (when not flying). But it often looks to me as if the bigger bird is too busy bothering about why life is so unfair to get busy and do something about it. A Lambeth sparrow, working in the airy riverside cafeteria, under Waterloo Bridge, by the Festival Hall, came the other day and sat on my plate and waited for me to unwrap a sandwich, I knew what it was waiting for. So I held grimly on to my sandwich even as I unwrapped it, over- coming the temptation to put it clown even for a moment on the plate. Instead I offered the sparrow some crumbs. It looked me straight in the eye (the right eye), raised its beak in the air 180 degrees and flew off. That sparrow knew I knew. It aimed to get the whole sandwich. A Lambeth sparrow is more sparrowlike than any other kind. Lambeth, of course, where the Walk, is, is a famous Cockney borough. And the sparrow is frequently described metaphori- cally as a Cockney, just as the Cockney is often likened to a sparrow. The terms have got pretty well interchangeable. The Cockney is traditionally smalland wiry - although in fact a short tour of London now will convince you that we are in for some enormous Cockneys in the future - and he,is cheeky, chirpy, and cheerful. Also he will sell you anything that will go on a barrow, including, . if you insist, London Bridge. But the most accurate and lasting quali- ties attributed to the Cockney is love of family and a lively hu- mor. And in these ways the Cockney certainly is sparrow- like, and vice versa. Sparrows fly about .,in :Paull groups. They. chase .each. othe grumble at . each other; ;complain.. to each other, peck • each other, • share each other's food, Sing 10 each other, protect each other, and together pull all the other birds' legs. I have reported before now the spring's baby sparrows•came and copied the sunbathing antics peculiar most of the time to J. B. Blackbird, actually sitting beside him and in front of him in and around his own special sunbathing place and fluffing when he fluffed. Well, the other day I ,looked out of the dining -room window and there was J. B. standing on the very edge of the lawn look- • ing up at the window in his cuss tomary manner. Beside him, in a dead straight line, "dressed" like a line of guardsmen on par- ade, were five young sparrows. They were all looking up at the dining -room window too. J. B. moved. The sparrows, as one bird, all moved. J. B. hopped. The sparrows hopped. They must have been mimicking him. I don't think he thought it was funny, but I must confess I did. It is my hope that one day they will mimic the blackbird's song. Then everything in the garden will indeed be lovely. - By John Allan May in the Christian Science Monitor. CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 60. British poet ' 1, Speed contest DOWN • 6. Part of an 1. Rose .genus apron 8. Chills 2. Hebrew 12. Scent month 13. Poem 3. Traversed 14. Dickens 4. Before character 6. Fastener 15, Except 6. Pagan god 16. Parcel of land 17. Indigo plant 18. Exist 19. Book of maps 21,T,arge tub 22. Tear 24. One -spot tri, Prevents 22. A tmosplierte disturbances 32. Comprehen- eive 32. Paraonbird 211 Cease . 36. Article 37 Supply provisions 89. As far as 40. Stili 42, Sprang un 43. Stake 44 Harvest goddess 46. Nogative 48. That which follows 61, Cumulative wager 64. Border 56, Self i6'l.Open wide 163, 'Sand 60. Small round ittA:'.0 7. Gr. letter 8. Cretan mt. 9. Transform 10. Silkworm 11. Condiment i 9. Likely 20. Held a, session 23. Anger 25. Lettuce 2fi.Off 27. Climbing plant 28. Box 29. Perceives 31, Speck of dust 31. Blemish 34. Amer. Indlax 27. Instance 39, Calif. rockfish 4 t. Round hat 43. Regulation 45. Golf stroke 47. Southern constellation 48. Juice of plant 45. C. Amer. tree 50. Guided 61. Cooking vessel 69. Monkey 53. Desire (slant...) 56. Proceed j 2 3 9 •: s 6 7 1 •'r :; 8 9 10 11 12 r713 ' 14 ;L 113 x•19 20"l•z21 26 27 28 `c, 29 30 31 32�, 33 yiv` 63 ett;37 Lti •:kms . s .1 •. *'"w. .,,' ..30. • :. 45 49 49 ��;'co , 94 c Answer elsewhere on this page. • i. MARINES CONQUERED -The crines have landed -but Mitzi Gaynor has the situation wellllin hand. The situation is the Hawaiian island of Kauai, whef "South Pacific" is being film- ed with Mitzi as Ensign Nellie l.rbush, l'he Marines are some of 4,000 who hit the Kauai :`Ac ;les from Navy transports in an invasion maneuver. Is it ; possible to produce 70 -bushel or more yield of falx wheat per acre on land which averages only 35 bushels or les -- as -,it does in Ontario? According to I Darrel D. Dodson of the farm advisory service of C -I -L's agricultural chemical division, this is Plot only pos sible but many Ontario farmer are doing it. And liere'.s his for mule. for 70 -bushel •Wheat: O * *- Choose suitable La must be •well drainett'as' `sta ing water in either fall', destroys plants atrt4 yields. Tile drainageo adequately drained areas '3 good practice for nearly a, crops. For wheat, benefit can b obtained also from plowing open furrows through low areas imp` mediately after. sowing. A� * 6 Prepare a good seed bed. This should be carried out in such a way as to consesve moisture, destroy weeds and. prepare the soil for planting. A good seed, bed for fall wheat is one that is well aerated, has plenty of moisture and is firm below a depth of 11 to 2 inches so that. soil will be well packed around the seed. • * Choose seed wisely. Because of the apperance of dawrf bunt in Ontario, only registered: grades should be purchased for seed. If home grown seed is I free of this disease, it is quite satisfactory. It should be clean- ed and treated with mercurial seed disinfectant for control of common bunt. { * 'A Sow enough seed on time. Seeding rate recommended is seven to eight pecks per acre ;, although this may vary with the district. Date of seeding should be adjusted to avoid the insect injury period but permit de- velopment of a strong root sys- tem and top to withstand winter cold. Too early seeding may lead to winter kill or attack by the Hessian fly. For correct rates and dates of seeding, the farmer should consult his local agricul- tural representative. to Fertilize well. Fertility re- quirements of fall wheat are not complex. The mineral plant foods - phosphate and potash - should be applied usually at the time of seeding together with some nitrogen. This stimu- lates moderate top growth and development of a strong and _ large root system. So that correct amounts and analysis of fertilizer may be used on a particular field, the soil should be tested. If for any reason it is impossible to have a soil test, the following gen- eral fertilization rates will meet requirements in most cases: 6 u Light soil: 500 pounds of 2-12- 16 per acre seeded down 400 pounds not seeded. Medium soil: 400 pounds of 3-18-15 per acre seeded down, 350 pounds not seeded. Heavy soil•, 500 pounds of 3-18-9 per acre seeded down, 400 ponds.not seeded. * * , If the field is manured or if wheat is following a plowed down clover crop, a no .nitrogen analysis such as 0-12-20, 0-20-20 or 0-20-10 may be used, depend- ing on type of soil. Peaceful Valleys These are delightful days in our valleys. Of new -green meadows where the hay was cut, and the clustered red of elderberry and fireweed blazing in the clearings. ost-any road will do - up the k�kah, the Hoquiam .or Jrohn. 4he Cloquallum and . the reach of the Hump -tulips. tierywhere canyons crease the ills and folds of alder and sec- ond growth lie to the sun or darken in the shadow of cloud. These are rare, homey valleys, of intimate patches of fields ' and houses beside old orchards, of .cattle by the streams and a gar- den .behind the house. • The everlasting flowers are blooniing. The goldfinches are at work and the thistledown is ,flying. There is a peace in our 'valleys, a sense of security and •weltsbeing, and the quiet charm that On come only to seclusion. „The valleys are sweet with forest smells, and hay and the wisp of • Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking wood smoke, and roses and honeysuckle and all the things dear, to home, The streams are enough to stir the soul -- the tidal reaches, and the clear givings of the mount- ains and the hills, rippling, spare ling, noisy and quiet according to the mood, of riffle and deep eddy. The blue of sky is in the pools, and kingfisher clacking, and the plaintive call Of the woodthrush. Shadows reach down from the hillcrests and old maples lean over the fence corners. Bracken runs the roadsides. There is hard- ly any noise in a valley, only sounds. Sometimes the air is still, and again the wind brushes the trees and rustles the corn and sweeps the meadow grass like a breeze on water. . . . There are stumps in old pas- tures, and new trees on the hills. The cascara leaves are autumned where kids have peeled the bark, and the vine maples are thinking of turning. The transparent apple trees are laden and there are t lndfalls on the ground. . There is peace in our valleys, and industry and contentment, people with their own patch of land, their own doorsteps and fences, their own way of life. There is snugness and haven, and perhaps a little bit of heaven, too. For beauty is heavenly. - Aberdeen (Wash.) Daily World. Lon d nr y.•: uses Slicked Quickly The big double-decker buses of London Transport, Eng., ramb- ling red landmarks so familiar to Canadian visitors, are being treated to regular four -minute beauty treatments. The push button treatment leaves the vehicles thoroughly vacuum cleaned, refuelled and lubricated. Each night, while London sleeps, a small army of 10,000 maintenance workers swings into action, examining, washing and repairing the, fleet for the following day. One gadget used is an immense frame on which 56 brushes whirl at 500 revolutions a minute. Cold water jets drench the exterior of the bus and the brushes clean and polish it in less than two minutes. Every nine weeks the coaches are given a "shampoo" when gal- lons of liquid soap are sprayed through the mechanism. "The gobbler," a powerful vacuum cleaner, can clean one deck of a bus in about one minute. Money may --riot buy happi- ness, liut it'sn-a pretty good down payment. --Charles Ruffing. IINDAYIIOOLL�0NN About Sparrowsrik By Rev. R, Barclay Warren B.A., a,D. Ezekiel, Pastor of His People Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:1-5; 34:11-1S Memory Selection: Ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are net„ and 1 am your God, saitb .tom Lord God. Ezekiel 34:31. A bishop said, "Of the com- plaints I have heard 'concerning ministers, more of them concern- ed the lack of a shepherd heart than the lack of preaching ability." Ezekiel developed the 'shepherd heart. It was a difficult task taro which he was called. He, a cap- tive, was to speak to his own people who were also in cap- tivity. They had rebelled against . God. They were impudent child- ren and stiff -hearted. Little wonder that Ezekiel went to them in bitterness and in heat of spirit. Apparently he scorned the people to whom he was to minister. He came to the captives at Telabib by the river Chebar. He entered into the experience of the people. He wrote of it later, "I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days." No one eau really help people in their spirit- ual needs until he learns to know not only the faces behind the faces but also what hasmade the faces what they are. "I sat where they sat," is a prerequisite for serving others. Then Ezekiel received a charge whichgave him a sense of re- sponsibility. He was to be a watchman of the house of Israel. If he failed to deliver the warn- ing from the Lord, 'the blood of the wicked would be required at his hand. If his warning went unheeded he would at least save his own soul. But he must speak reproof only as God directed. Ezekiel was to be a co-worker with God in shepherding Israel. ,Though they were in. captivity because ° of their rebellion yet they were not forsaken. Ezekiel brought a message of hope. They would be gathered again to their own land. Messiah would come and be a shepherd over them even as David had been. A railroader friend had part of his leg cut off by the train„ When he came to consciousness in the hospital he looked ante the face of his pastor. The pastor had brought the man's family those. 200 miles in a hurry. The man will never forget that pastor With the Shepherd heart. ON THE SARK -They're off in the first poodle race ever held in Berlin, Germany, or probably anywhere, for that matter. The race climaxed a poodle show at the city's fairgrounds. The dogs' owners were posted at the finish Zine, otherwise the canines might not have budged an inch. THREE ACRES ON THE MOVE -The largest tow ever transported on the Tennessee River is pictured on Pickwick lake, about 215 miles from its starting point, Paducah, Ky. The tow of 24 barges loaded with grain, scrap iron and steel is en route from Paducah toKnoxville, Tenn. The 24 barges, in a formation 100 feet wide, cover an area of approximately y 126,000 square feet or almost three acres. The tow is being pushed by a diesel tow boat, the Robin. (In river parlance, a tow is a formation of bar ges pushed, not pulled, by a tow boat.) Thg 3,200 horsepower Robin is the most powerful boat on the Tennessee River. A big tow such as this is not unusual for the Mississippi River, but for the Tennessee. it is an all-time record.