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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1956-12-06, Page 7et f S�! ti 91P ;It" th ret id Meirl dare s Fought • Octopus Invasion Invasion by outopusee! Hordes of them were, descending on the Japanese island of Tatoku, their u g.y, multi - armed purplish bodies clouding the seo fa` miles amend. Welt dismay in his heart, Ko- kichi Mikimetrr rushed. down to the beach_,Here was yet another threat to his oyster br 's and the cultured peat:I. industry that he hacl struggled so long to develop.. Ravenously hungry; the octopus- es were descending on his ,oys- ters. prying open the shells with their tentacles to get at the meat inside - aniV swallott,Ting thou- sands of dollars worth -f pearls! Bet IVlikitnoto was not to be beaten, "Set out traps," he told his n•orkers. But that was no • gooc'. - there were far too many octopuses: "Send out the diving girls with spears." Fearlessly, the girls battled with the octo- pusee for hours, until too ex- hausted to dive any more. But stili the invasion continued, "F-nnounce to all the villages that I will pay ten sen for each large octopus broughtin and five sen for each ,mall one," Miki- moth declared. "And also tell the people they can keep the oc- toareses•for food." a topus is a table delicacy in . Japan and this oiler brought hundreds more people into the fight, with the result that the Invasion was beaten and the oys- ter beds were saved. LY that time-1911--Mikimo- to, the ex -noodle peddler, was building up his cultured pearl Indt:stry the hard way; for it was a new industry and. there was no previous experience to guise him. "The average woman who ac- • centuates her natural beauty with a, stellate of cultured pearls nevec know the years of trio; and failure that were ne- cessary to create these beads,". says Robert .Eunson in his vivid biog:•aphy of the amazing Miki• - mot:, "The Pearl King:, Genius, industrialist, expert sale men,• and quite a, philoso: pher - that was Mikirnoto, ,who died in .194, at the age of ninety- six, As a genius who stubbornly. rsft ed to accept defeat he could be-ompared to Thomas Edison. For it took fifteen years to .pro- du:e the .perfect cultured • pearl, When he• succeedede be took it to :s wife's grave and wept. For • • if as kis hard-working, ever- , fed.sful v.'v fe, Uines:.yho, ittepired him to &trey .oat , inr•f e e. ,of: or . tin;;_al setbacks. ret all oysters produce. pearls 'hey yonly do so, usually, be - ;ase scime foreign body, such as a grain of sand, has. forced its we,- intq their shells. 'Unable to get :id o the irritation; they sur- ro nd it with layer r..fter layer of soft substance which even- tua :'.y forms ;a pearl.. - Mikimoto's icier was to ensure that all oyss tees slid produce pearls, by in- see.:ng a foci n bony into the ,"°ply 11th, 1893, i s the great dee when this bore fruit. • After five' years of failure, Mikimoto had elmot t given up hope, then ilia wife opened an oyster. . . •eT-eddenly a low moan came frsee Urne, as if she had. been st:•ne k in the pit of the. stomach. T ) a scream. 'final.. - you! Arens!' ;F scratebled to his feet and r .e to his wife. • . Squatting sand, a knife in one hand ar~ a freshly -opened oyster in tie. rather, his wife was staring t spcn-mauhed wonder at a e::ening white pearl. eere've done it Mikirnoto ted• falling to the sand be- st his wife, 'We've done ill, • They ey 'embraced, cried, ran rs'••cl in circles and fell to the ssed in laughter while Rui evesehed, half:eaten rice ball in 1.: -:i, hoping her parents had not lee: one quite ni is ." Mikite•oto never tried to Pass oft his centered pearls as natural gems wherever his products are sold they are always labelled "cultured pearls," In 1933, when he was being harassed by com- petitors selling at chaper prices, he bought up 750,000 inferior pearls worth more than $24,000 and, wearing his bowler hat and a formal black kimono, he shov- elled thein into a furnace him- self. The furnace, for all to see, was set up in the heart of Kobe. Mikimoto's diving girls or amahs were a very colourful sight around Tatoku Island as his pearl industry developed. These giris have been diving for oysters and other sea creatures since ancient times and are as much at home in the water as they are in their tiny, paper houses. with with grass -mat floors and sliding doors, says •Eunson, The trade is .passed on from mother to daughter ,and the wom- en swim until they are • "far be- yond the bloom • of -life." •Mrs. Oroku Kitamura is still an active diver today and she is now past sixty. Asked how she liked her job, she replied: "We divers are willing to work any tinie and love doing it," Apart from octopuses, another great threat to :the oyster beds was the Red Tide, an invasion of minute marine creatures that killed off practically all .shell fish: In 1892, Mikimoto was nearly ruined by the Red Tide, which destroyed 5,000 oysters, In 1900 it" struck again, but this time he was more prepared. Having received a telegram of the danger, he hurried back to • his oyster beds and sent out an SOS for his diving girls who in a short time were assembling along the shore. "Now. bring out the extra baskets," he command- ed. A thousand bamboo baskets, each capable of holding fifty to sixty oysters, were distributed to the 300 excited diving girls. ' . They .ran out a short distance • into the water and then dived . into the shallow oyster beds. They filled their baskets and then passed them up to their • menfolk who had rowed their boats into position. As soon as one boat was loaded it was rowed out into the bay where the oysters were deposited sixty • feet deep, where Mikimoto thought they would be safe. "In two days," says Eunson, "the diving girls, working be- neath the ocean, until their bodies - ached from weariness and their lungs felt as if they would col- lafrom Boldines dears breatc{a ' so long, `iiad salvagedalliin'Sr all of the oysters." Employers of diving girls ars. great believers in marriage. They maintain that unmarried girls are apt to be flighty and unable to keep their minds on their work. So to encourage romance oh Tatoku, Mikimoto issued these • orders to his right-hand man: "Be •sure there are plenty of 1 boats for the workers to use at night. Perhaps if they go row- ing in the moonlight with some of our pretty diving girls, there won't be so many bachelors left among the populatio:ti of Tatoku." Sometimes hubby handle's the boat from which his wife dives. "But, often as not," says Stinson, 'while Mama and the girls go off to work, Papa stays home tending the younger children and trading gossip over the back fence With the husbands and fathers of other amahs, of Shima who go down to the sea in slips." After Pearl Harbour, Mikimoto declared himself a' pacifist and refused to help in the war ef- fort. "I'm a business man; not a soldier,' he said after an en- raged army officer 'sent him a sword with the suggestion that he commit. hara-kirin When the war ended he was eighty-seven but he went to work again and completely re-established the in- dustry that had been all but smashed. CROSSWORD PUZZL . Live: ; .,. S,; r;9Y• Cali J'9 i , 9. WO t,?!.' ','sort r'tiH'1 Iry P.rni` wy I3. Abh•., H. is l,et le s Srna+ '1c11 Dev , I nd t Tru ' r Co/1:w' e !'t1 :"• irony S�. 11:+tob si• tn.l i :S i5':iy 9 t.es': cern nursq. 11.AISe . rinntu't:,t 22. Nota eXpe 14^,v46 .A4. Burned' q1E, .Beare o A8, Cat nv ;et•l,y 159. Ant.iivz.i 61 :its ad 1:FUC 6, Windmill sa91 1i 1a, OthCiv, 1st; yea. Pnt+ ager•. 29. 5'1.r. crtre4 � 1 lb, ue roh a uS J giver necl0"l '+.• sell". .Stat S ai° 114 1.1, T,umberman's hoot Insevt I& --of t.l.e 1i, Inei>lt+ee 21, Dwells 23. I'e*reeivtd sound 811(1(4)111;e 33. Frolic 96. \loresturdy 39. 1.e.as<•t1 40. Penh -nital sensee 43. Plower 43.1,atge •:•+„r� 47. Tilt. Orient �'r. ilnr 49. 1•a:,tan•c"1.• 'C-er1rein 50. Have d+•t,ts 1.'rk,11 z11'1 24. Z•nia I 1 dr n ms n" -.'Witness 4'. Y eke oil+•arg) 24. bt:,cic'41 Si tidy 53, Puppy's -7. i -v 37.+:arc•lnrdiritle mother 9.. 1./ ,.re Moist 1,, 54. hitter v.•toh k 4. %de:,ger 34. Tilt :,7..1.3ehold I' . 3 _ •t 5.' 13 ' y h) 11 la 13 y:1f 1 s �4k,+C l7 ' 43 1$114! 19 R :20 r., ..;.7<'''il1 k ... 33 C•. : , .4.4.3: 4:»..... A. 35 36 § r �,:: jr 39 4!) ti;:. 41 43 f.... cs.; .�. 45. �y L :::,1 46 •9 rr 4 f=:• yg .. rr ':::::i:5 ? yj,. .:;$$$:C fiS�. Sr�cj : sr 93 �+ 4:., . ,. s• :3s ei, , is .. ••. y1 Ats;iwrr elsewhere on th Page. 5. i�`'£.t::u�e: •ss..•at d,.�t,<., 6�':?3ii)';r MILKMAID IN MANHATTAN -Manhattan, Kan., that is. Connie Morgan, freshman of Kansas State College, has been chosen queen of • the college's Agricultural Barnwarmer festivities. Connie won the title by beating out four other finalists with her cow -milking ability. • An engine which breathes dirt will wear out much faster than it normalle should. Dirt acts- as an abrasive causing moving parts to wear rapidly. There are case histories of engines which have worn out after a week of work as a result of dirt getting into the air used by the tractor. * * * There are three ways for the dirt to get into the engine - with the fuel, the lubricating oil and with the air. Ordinary' care will keep dust out of the fuel and oil, but to keep the air that the engine breathes dust free, re- quires more attention. * * Engines may be equipped with an oil wetter or an oil bath -type cleaner. Either of these cleaners is designed to take 99 per cent of the particles of dirt out of the air when operated at highest efficiency: Efficiency can drop as low as 50 per cent with poor maintenance, An air cleaner is thus of little value unless it is properly cared for. 4 * Service the air cleaner fre- quently. The service interval can be determined by the dust • conditions under which the en- gine operates. If conditions are extretrrely.. dusty, the interval should not be greater than 10 hours. Never, under any circum- , stances, allow the cleaner to be unserviced beyond an oil change. .Check 'all cleaner and carburetor Connections. .These must be tight to keep the dirt out of the cleaned air. Supplying elle en- gine with clean air pays off in reduced maintenance mils. * * Iceland is the oldest continu- ously settled land in the West- ern Hemisphere. but the young- est country. Irish monks were there as early as 750 A.D. aticl remained until the Norsemen came about 870 A.D. Trees do not grow in Iceland nor are there any mineral depos- its. The wealth of the country depends on fshing and agricul- ture. The former .industry pro- vides the exports, the latter pro- duces. enough meat and livestock products to feed the population of 170,000 people. Water power is abundant, and light industry is making progress. * a 4 ' . Accor;dint to J. 11. Campbell, Canadian Department Of At ri- culture, gr:1s4 is the most import- ant crop. In fact it can be cen- sidmed the only field crop, b`` - cause cereals seldom mature, Tho principal grasses are creeping red 'fescue', desehnmpsia, north- ern blue grasses, and species of bent grass. Sedges are common, as are heaths and mosses, •;, * * If the entire country was ar- able it would have tremendous agr.iciilturel resource's. However, less than'15 per cent of the 40,000 square miles area van be devel- oped, while only another 15 per cent produces vegetation of any kind. The balance is a cold des- ert, covered with immense gla- ciers, stark barren mountains, black shifting sand and extinct and active volcanoes. Of the approximately 6,000 square miles or arable land, less 'than 400 square miles or 250,000 acres are currently improved to produce cultivated grasses. Fertilization is essential In Ice- land to produce high yielding grass crops. Despite the 50 per cent or more organic matter con- tent of the soil nitrogen fertiliz- ers are required because soil temperatures • seldom'• reach a level to promote rapid nitrifica- tion. Oddly, organic matter con- tent increases even when under heavy cropping. Legumes are of iittle value. Soil temperatures are too low to stimulate nitrify- ing organisms into feverish ac- tivity. Phosphorus •is required ton all soils while potash and minor elements are valuable in certain areas. Sulphur and iron are abundant. Applications of up to 400 pounds of ammonium nitrate per acre are economical * v, Hay making is the big agricul- tural chore. Modern machinery is used on the level stretches, , but the primitive scythe and rake are commonly employed wher- ever tractors and mowers cannot operate. Strings of ponies pack • the hay to the farm yard under these conditions. These crops are not uncommon during the short growing season. The first may be put up as hay, the second e.n- si.led and the third pastured. Hay drying equipment is not com- mon, but its ,use is spreading. Many farms have silos, and all will have substantial hay sheds. * 4 4 The 600,000 or so sheep are •wintered indoors and turned out on range after lambing. There they remain until the fall round up, when the lambs are cut out and slaughtered and their car- casses frozen. The practice of ' range makes .free ranging man- agement very difficult because the range belongs to the' district not to individuals.: No charges are collected for range improve- ment. * *_ , Erosion is common in Iceland. Extensive• tracts 'of sand have been eroded down to under -ly- ing lava, a matter of maybe 30 or more feet. It must be realiz- ed that this was originally grass- land, not soil disturbed by culti- i ation. * 4 4 There ie an active conservation program which is bringing dev- astated tracts of land under con- trol. Nearly 200,000 acres have been under conservation menage - went, Likewise new grasses and new similes of old grasses are being introduced by the Univer- sity Reseer ch Institute, not only :•o reseal eroded areas but to in- crease the yield frons grassland farms. Thn tour experimental taunt aro studying grass produc- tion and management methods, and an Esn rasion Service is dem- ontrating the value of good hus- bandry and proper fertilization. Progressive farmers are using all available information to improve their farms and give leadership to their districts. However, there es. a hard core of freedom -loving Norsemen who follow the hus- bandry practices imported from Europe 1,000 years ago. HIS EXCUSE At a party one night a woman was admonishing her husband. "Henry, that's the fourth time you've gone back. for more food. Doesn't it embarrass you?" "No," replied the husband. "I tell them I'm getting it for you " Drive With Care tiled Alive Then Vanished Inhabitants of Sulmona, Italy, are giving one part of their town a wide berth because a man Who was buried alive there, three months ago, at his own request, has vanished from the grave. Raoul Vinay, a fifty -year-old Hungarian who had learned Yogi in India, visited Sulmona with a concert party and agreed to de- monstrate his unusual powers by being buried alive before wit- nesses. After Hinay's hands were firm- ly tied, he was placed in the cof- fin -sealed up and lowered into an eighteen -foot grave which was then filled in with earth. He was to remain buried for eight hours. Among the witnesses were a doctor, a magistrate and the local police, chief to see that there was no fraud. Eight hours later, gravedig- gers brought up the coffin, ex- • ainined the seals and declared them to be intact. The coffin lid was removed. The ropes with which Raoul had been tied were in the coffin but he was gone. There was an immediate search for the missing man; the grave was examined by police officers but there was no tunnel and no way out of it other than by the top which had been watched all the time by the witnesses. Yet the Hungarian was gone. Up to now he has not been found, despite help from the nternationa] Police Commis- sion, Nowadays, when Sulmona par- ents *ant to scare their bam- binos into obedience they say: "The Yogi man will get you!" Fifty-six years ago a similar mysterious occurrence took place in Los Angeles when an Indian fakir allowed himself to be bur- ied alive for ten hours, sealed up in a coffin, in a hole fifteen feet deep. When the coffn was raised and opened the fakir was gone. He has not been seen to this day. Desert Life Several times I came upon Be- douin women with their veils thrown back, but the only time I saw these women with no veils on at all was when riding in an Aramco exploration car toward the Rub al -Khali in southern Arabia. Without warning our car breasted a dune and fled down the slope into the very center of a Bedouin camp. The long low outlines of black tents were spaced about the hollow, while in elle center was the dark mound of a water' well, •dug down through the sand to the rock below, its rim darkened by the hoofs and ropes of many years. All unaware we had come upon this camp and saw women in dresses of bright orange and red, devoid of their black robes, staring at us from their sections of the tents. ' Other women of the tribe, like so many walking shadows in their black outer robes, wound their graceful barefoot way to and from the water well, balan- cing copper kettles and other utensils on their heads. Children in knee-length white shifts stared at us open-mouthed but for some reason we saw no men. Perhaps they slept in the family se tions of theire1t tents, or, more likely, they were in the majlis of their sheikh. But the sheikh's tent. wherever it might be in this hollow, we did not see. Some of the men, of course, were out with the flocks. but not many; for the true Bedouin scorns the work of herding, and spends his idle day instead in the shadow of his tent *'r before the • coffee hearth of his elders, drawing lines in the sand with his stick and saying "aye aye" and "nay nay" with his fellowe. Thirty seconds, I suppose, I save" that camp scene before it disk). peered behind a dune, yet I re -- call it still as a scene of warmth, color, and human charm, in u desert otherwise so 'barren. It falls to the lonely herds- man, out in the burning sun all day, to guard the tribal flock's from whatever dangers there may be and then to lead then back at night to the friendly shelter of the camp. Here the camels are couched about each tent, to ruminate and grumble through the darkened hours, while the sheep are bedded. down inside the ring of camels, with the youngest lambs tether- ed to the ropes of the tent. Over the ages the Bedouin has developed certain narrow,. though highly specialized, skills. He is able to read the least sign,: in the desert around him that may lead him to water in hire arid land, From boyhood that skeletons of camels he has pass- ed on the long summer treks, and the blown sand mounds o2 human graves, have warned him that he must learn his des- ert well. The hoofprint of at camel in the sand is the kind o2 book he reads, and he knows at a glance, because his safety may depend upon it, the age, sex„ and type of beast that made the mark, the speed with which its owner was riding and the probable purpose of hi - journey, whether peaceful otherwise. - From "Heritage )2 the Desert: The Arabs and '"be Middle East," by Harry B. Ttltr. o? By Anne Ashley Q. How can I make 'an ink for writing on glass, ivory, or other smooth surfaces? A. Use 3 parts nitrate of sil- ver, 20 parts gum arabic, 30 parts distilled water. Dissolve the gum arabic in two thirds of the water, the nitrate of sil- ver in the other third. Then mix and add the desired color. Q. How can I make paint ad- here to tinware? A. Rub the surface thorough- ly with a piece of rough pumice stone, or coarse sandpaper. Then apply a thin coat of shellac varnish before the surface iv painted. Q. What can I do to cream that will not whip properly?' A. If the cream will not whip, add the white of an egg to it, Have the egg and the cream thoroughly chilled. Q. How can I avoid shell"ser: peas? A. Wash the pods and place them in the boiling water to cook. The pods, will open and the peas settle to the bottom of the vessel. Merely skim off the pods. • Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking S 1V e4r31 31":3.5 3 Itii1SH a O N CI38V3S 3 aV StlHi'; Q315 9; a ^tvZ' 13 O d 1 NV V d O a 1 3 3 a 1 S 3 Prt 0 - leg v 1 D 14 IV HE'S A STRING -SAVER --in less than two years, frank Stoebaa• has collected the huge ball of binding twine seen above. it its seven feet, five inches in diameter and weighs 4,035 pounds He uses his tractor to wind the ball. Friends and neighbors save twine for him and he thinks nothing of driving 25 a iil' to gat a trunkful of broken twine. Pictured with him one his two grandsons, Richard and Arnie Collins.