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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1951-04-26, Page 6Carried Her. 200 Children On The Top Of Her Back There are perhaps 100,000 species •of spiders iu the vv orb!, and nor all are content to "weave webs and wait for \letirus to fly into them. The 11+lagnificus, of Australia, lassoo,s therm! Seated on a t\vig, she hang,; front a front: kg a silk thread two inches long with a pin's bead g)nhnte of gum at the end. Along comes a night -flying 100t1, perhaps mistaking her for a flutter, As the moth flutters about her the spider begins to whirl the line about her head, until the prey Is caught by the Micky globule, She "pl ty her lint like an angler un- til the moth tires of struggling., thea draws it in and gets her mea]. Captured. A Mouse Two members of the l;ritish Theridie,u fancily :Hake ingenious webs with a kind of central plat- form, like bare joists of a first storey in the frame of an uncom- pleted house. From these "joists" taut threads hang to the ground. A beetle or some other insect pedestrian ambles along, gets stuck on one of rhe bottom strands, struggles, breaks it; but, as it is stretched like elastic, it snaps back, holding the insect suspended. As it struggles more violently and savings about. it contacts other gummed threads close by which break off too, a.ncl soon the victim is hanging, captive, The spider, watching from above, goes to the joist supporting one of the threads and pulls it up with the insect. A small mouse in a house was once caught in the web of a spider no larger than a pea. Gradually, over many hours, she drew it up from the floor, then made many bites at the base of its tail, running away after each, and finally killing the mouse, states Mr. John Cromp- ton in a book of enthralling inter- est. "The Spider." • In Malaya, and elsewhere, there is an insect -catching Pitcher Plant, whose calabash -shaped flowers, with hinged top, are nearly half - full of a sweet-smelling fluid which lures the insect to its doom. In the remote past a crab spider must have been thus captured, but instead of losing its head and dropping into the fluid it wove a few threads for foothold in the upper part and in due course realized that, far from being in a nasty predicament, it was on a good thing; for insects, attracted by the plant, came along and the spider intercepted theta. This species has now so adapted itself to,,ife within the pitcher that it lives nowhere •else. To enjoy almost complete im- munity from natural • enemies by looking like something that tastes nasty, and is therefore avoidecY, ' many, sp'i rs disguise themselves' as common ants, act like, them, often live among them. An ant has two antennae, six legs, so some spiders place their front pair of legs over their fore- heads and wiggle them like anten- nae, leaving then!, apparently, also with but six legs! The spider can so imitate the gait and jerky move- ments that when in motion ant and spider dre indistinguishable. In Brazil, an explorer caught a large - headed ant to identify its species, and found to his surprise that it was a black spider bearing oyer its head and shoulders an ant's hollow skeleton! Families Mixed Up A fascinating mystery is the birth and rearing of the Lycosa Wolf Spider, When the cocoon of the mother bursts 200 youngsters tome pouring out and swarm on to ter back; there they stay for six )r seven. months. Fabre, the famous naturalist, ]rushed a complete brood off one nother, so that they fell by the legs LOW-COST SILK TRESSES NEED LITTLE *Cv� ESE BY AIWA MILES F you fear current fashion will outgrow the Tong -aired look before you can coax your short, shorn locks to grow out, Then your best solution is probably n matching hairpiece. These are available this season in a variety of :styles -- and, surprisingly --a new material.. In addition to the braids and switches of imported hair with which nxost women are familiar, there are this year pin -on tresses of silk. These flair accessories are spun into long, fine •strands which are almost indistinguishable frons real hair. Advantages include low cost and manageability. These tresses' are already caressed in permanent form when purchased, so you need not fear your unskilled hands will have difficulty coiling them into the arrangement of your choice. Another point in favor of these ]Llan -made rather than woman -grown tresses is the uniform length of (he silk. Because there are no varying lengths, the problem of combing untidy strays is eliminated, according to Makers. Disarranged strands can usually be worked back into place beneath the protective net with your fingers, they alaiin. Despite the brevity of her own locks, this young woman achieves a fashionable long-haired look with the aid of pin -on tresses of silk, M11 of another, who was already carry- ing more than her full load. The first mother be whisked away. Party No. 1 at once climbed on to the top of Mother No. 2 without protest either- front the driver or legitimate fares! In dangerous situations—where, say, two wolf mothers conte face to face and immediately fight—the youngsters lose no time in dis- mounting and making themselves scarce, to watch the scrap from a safe hiding place. Immediately one is vanquished, both broods swarm on to the vic- tor's back. Thus; a matron who is a good fighter may set out with her own brats in the morning and re- turn home carrying three lots. Is it true that if a tarantula bites you you can only save your life by dancing frantically, the dance which has come to --be called the tarantella? Pure legend, for the creature never was deadly. Long ago, near Taranto, where this species abounds, Bacchanalian• rites flourished; the priestesses danced in strange robes. Then the authorities decided to stamp out these orgies. The priests did not want their show closed down, so found an excuse for it in the "dead- ly bite" of the :local spider, which only this wild dance could cure! Ivfr. Crompton tells the whole life -history of spiders in a popu- lar ,unpedantic way which makes fascinating reading. Inflatable Boat • To lighten a portage on that summer camping trip in a new inflatable lightweight boat with water -filled pontoons. Boat and pontoons are made of Vinylite plastic resisting salt water, oils, abrasions and temperature changes. Four side air chambers with tire - type valves are idled to keep the boat afloat. Pontoons are filled with water and act as counter - ballast and semirigid keels. Weigh- ing about five and one half lb. when deflated, boat can be folded. to parcel 16 inches square by four inches high. KEPT HIS WORD A dashing young romantic swore by all lovers' vows that his Clarice was the fairest maid of all the world, and he would have none other. "Be mine, Clarice," he pleaded. "If you refuse me, I shall die." But she refused him, and 50 years later sure enough he did die, "Where to You Think You're Going?"—Floating traffic cops now see to it that there is no `Sunday driving" by ondoiiers on the canals of Venice Here a water taxi-driver stopped 1)31 a cop. While his two tourist passengers look on, he gets a ticket for crashing a red light. Like many other arge cities, Venice has a growing traffic problem, complicated by the fact that most of its ",streets" are canals, Of course we all know that "sourdough" was used as a "start- er" for bread and biscuits by our early ancestors; but until recently I thought that it had entirely fallen into disuse. In fact I imagine that most folks, when they hear the word mentioned, think of Robert W. Service's poems published under the title "Songs of a Sourdough." But—well, live and learn. In the Christian Science Monitor recently I ran across an article, written by "C. J." which I found so interest- ing that, by permission, I ant pass- ing it along to you. Here it is: * -* "Sourdough" is a term applied both to northern prospectors and their hot cakes or pancakes, as some call them. But how many know that sour dough hot cakes can be made right in our modern kitchens? * I used to be calleda "sour dough artist" because I had cooked for men and learned the art. You may think there is not much art required to make hot cakes for' breakfast. But it really does take a little' art and it took a lot of experimenting for me to get the recipe in a form that could be given to others. • * * '1' I learned to make sour doughs many years ago when I used to hike up to a lookout in the forest. There during the summer months an interesting old man kept the vigil for forest fires. He had what he called his "starter." , It was some very sour -smelling dough in a bowl. I say sour smell- ing but a good sourness. He kept it covered and guarded it well; that is, he never wanted it to get too warm or to have it get chilled either. We used to laugh and say he had to sleep with it at night and carry it to some cool place in the daytime, perhaps to a mountain stream in very hot weather; at least, to a shady place. m ,k ,k The nice thing about this starter is that it improves with age and the more often it is used the more active it is. In the first place, the starter is begun by dissolving a yeast cake in a small amount of flour and water and keeping it in a warm place until it grows and gets very light and spongy, * ,k The sour doughs are made by stirring a cupful of this starter into a larger bowl of flour and water to make a drop batter; by this 1; mean a rather heavy batter, This is done before you retire at night. * * ,r When you get up in the morning this mass of dough is light and active. Before you do anything more, you take out a cup of it and put it away in a covered bowl. Your electric refrigerator, if . you have one, is just the place for it and this is your starter for future use. k ,7' * Then into your bowl of dough, which for the average family should be about three cups, you drop one whole egg, one-fourth cup of sugar, a rounding teaspoon of salt, and beat all well, You beat this to thin it down so that it runs. o1' * * Then dissolve a teaspoon of soda with a teaspoon of water and cut it in, but do not beat any more. In just a few minutes your hot cakes are ready to fry. * * * These cakes are light and deli- cious. If you prefer not to grease your griddle, you can put about two tablespoons of shortening into your batter. If you do not use all of your sour dough batter for breakfast, you can make rolls out of it, or a loaf of bread for dinner in the evening, for it takes a little longer for these rolls to come up than it does regu- lar yeast rolls. All you do for the rolls is to stir in more flour and a little shortening and work the batter up thick, just as for any light bread. This sour dough bread is extra fine and has a flavour of its own. I have now been using my starter for over 12 years and have given away many to friends. If you have sour doughs as often as twice a week, your starter will keep active. Of course, the oftener it is used the better it is. So much for sourdough. Now for something dfferent—in this case some hints about how to use some of the cheaper varieties of meat—what are called, in the trade "variety cuts." Most of these cuts —brains, heart, kidneys and tripe —are relatively inexpensive. Sweet- breads and liver are high—that is, beef and calves liver. But the pork variety is a great deal lower in price—and a great 'deal higher in food value, Calves' liver, which has been selling in some, of the larger cities for as high as $1.50 a pound, is only half as rich in iron as beef —AND ONLY A FOURTH AS P 0 R K. .Worth thinking over, isn't it? • Here, now, is a recipe for veal hearts, cooked just the way they do then at the famous Chambord Res- taurant. The original recipe calls for a pint of dry wine, but that can be omitted—just use water or stock to male up the'difference. VEAL HEARTS 2 veal hearts 1 pound carrots, coarsely diced . 1 stalk celery with leaves, chopped 1 slice Bermuda onion 6 or eight large sprigs parsley teaspoon salt Pinch thyme 1/4 cup crushed salted almonds Method: (1) Trim hearts and wash thoroughly -id warm water. Bake in a shallow roasting pan in a slow oven (325 degrees F.) ten minutes. (2) Add vegetables and bake five minutes. (3) Transfer hearts, vegetables and juices in pan to a large deep casserole. Add remaining ingredi- ents. (4) Lower temperature to 300 degrees F„ cover and cook about one hour or till hearts are tender. Serve- on platter with plenty of juice. Reserve any leftover juice for soup stock. Yield: four servings, * ,k Like to try a Beef and Kidney Pie, as served in a Keen's New York Chop House, which special- izes in English dishes? Here's the way they do it, and after you've tasted it you'll know why it is one of the most frequently called -for dishes Keen's serves, ENGLISH BEEF AND KIDNE3j PIE 2 pounds chuck beef 1 pound beef kidney Beef suet (piece the size of a large egg) 1.. large onion, coarsely chopped 1 cup rich beef ;stock (canned will do) 1 teaspoon salt Pepper Cayenne' 1% teaspoons Worcestershire sauce Flour Pastry made from one and a half cups flour or pastry mix Method: (1) Cut chuck and kid- ney into one and one -half-inch cubes. (2) Try out suet, remove suet cracklings, add onion and saute till yellow. .(3) Add beef and kidney and cook, stirring almost constantly till thoroughly browned. (4) Add beef stock, silt, pepper and cayenne to taste aneWorces tershire sauce. Stir well, Aver and.' simmer till meat is tenlef, about one hour and forty-five minutes. (5) If necessary, add enough water almost to cover meat. Thick- en broth with flour which has been blended with cold water, allowing one and one-half tablespoons flour for each cup of broth. Transfer to a casserole and cool. (6) Roll pastry to one-eighth inch and place on neat. Cut gashes for escape of steam. If desired, pas- try may be cut in strips and ar- ranged lattice fashion over meat, (7) Bake in a very hot, oven (450 degrees F.) about ten min- utes, Lcwer heat to moderate (3r0 degrees F,) and bake about fifteen minutes or till' crust is delicately browned. Yield: six or more serv- ings. Florida's Gov. Fuller Warren stopped by a Lebanon, 'I'enn., bar- ber shop and asked for Sam Cop - lin, Told that he was no longer they e, Governor Warren handed another barber $2.10 and asked hien to give it _to Coplin when he saw h:m again. Warren explained that when he was graduated front Cum- berland University Law School in 1929 lie owed barber Coplin a bili of $2.10. Strange Origins Of Common Words Even yoga don't fiin - word puzifzles in your sparell Cross time, you may still be surprised at the origin 'of some of the following everyday words and phrases. , . . . The word "calendar" owes its origin to the Kalends (Lal, Kglen- dm), the name given by the Romans to the first day of each month, July and August were named .af- ter Julius and Augustus Cesar, and the retraining months after Roman gods. The use of the word `°noon" for mid -clay is derived from the Latin Word "norms," ninth. In the time of the Early English Church, the -services held at the ninth hour of the day, then 3 p,nt„ as the day according to the Roman reckoning began at 6 'a.m., were called the "Norms," just as the first services were called "Primes," and those in the evening "Vespers," 'When the hour for the Nones was changed to mid-day, the word. "noon" was used, to denote that hour. Milton, in .his poem, II Penser- oso, speaks of "the wandering moon, riding near her highest noon," and Ben Jonson uses tine expression "the noon of night," to signify midnight. The letters, "a.m," and "p,m.", indicating time, are abbreviations of Latin words ante and post meri- diem; before and after mid-day. The abbreviations—"i.e," (Lat. id est, that is) and "e.g." (exempli gratia, for the sake of example) are commonly used. "One may see". The letters a s. d. are abbrevia- tions of the Latin words, Libra—a pound, solidus—the smallest gold coin, and denarius—the name of an ancient Roman silver coin, used in early books of law for the English penny. Hence, •too, the use of lb. for a pound by weight, dwt. for penny- weight, and cwt. for hundredweight. So, too, the use of "viz," for "namely," which is the abbreviated form of the Latin "videre Beet," meaning "one may see." For Two Pins — Hollywood actress Jeanne Lochriclge paints her own.fancy leg art to resemble those eye-catching designs embroidered on expen- sive stockings. The daisy pat- tern was 'done with eyebrow pencil, cake make-up, spirit gum and sequins—right on Jean ne's leg, not on stocking. One For The Road—Only man able to ride in his automobile and watch TV at the same time is William h McDonald, Jr., house -trailer manufacturer, who had it custom l til into the hack of his 1951 Cadillac, Frances Sactrowski Watches a program. Control panel is on arm rest of rear seat.