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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1952-04-17, Page 3They Grnw Bananas ht Iceland! People now grow bananas in Iceland, as a result of the ingeni- ous harnessing of the hot -springs which are plentiful there. Gardeners need -not worry about getting enough fuel to keep their greenhouses warin, because the water used for heating is already hot when it reaches them. Using its heat they are able to grow roses, asters, hydrangeas and tomatoes, even though the climate is sub -arctic. Schools, office buildings, flats and private houses are now heated by this natural hot water supply, which is inexhaustible. Experiments were first made in 1930 with a plant about two miles from Reykjavik, the capital. A hot spring was tapped and fifteen quarts of water per second were pumped into the town to provide heat for the State Hos- pital, a large public school, a swim- ming pool, and..about forty private houses. This plant is still in use, but is being overshadowed by the great modern one which began operations in 1943. The city bought from a private family the rights to all the ther- mal springs . within ten miles of Reykjavik, and set up plants capable of pumping 81 gallons per second into a double pipeline which runs up and clowti: 'the 'hils and across fields and und'er streets to the storage tanks at Reykjavik. All pipes are specially insulated to prevent loss of heat, and the hot water, having reached the tanks; descends by gravity into the city. It only loses five degrees Centi- grade of its heat from the time it is pumped out of the earth to the time it comes from the bath- room tap—when it is 75 to 80 degrees C. or 20 below boiling point. It would take 100,000 kilowatts of electricity --to heat an equal amount of water to the same tem- perature. Today 3,500 houses are heated by hot water and it is hoped that the entire city will be so served ultimately. It it expected that the small 49 ashions of the Twenties..Stage a for her role hi "The Whining Team," actress Doris Day wears a tailored street dress of the Twenties. ,Middy Blouses, Box -Pleated Skirts and roppe aist Return ;•ECE EDNA i'VEILE THE fashions of tbi Tv. venties are o way back. This k probably is bad news •to the wo.111 who wore middy blouses and skimpy, pleated skirts vva; , back then. But' to a younger generation, these new fashio' s will be fun. Actually, there's a great differenceb, tween the 1952 _sil- houette and the boxy, graceless look of he Twenties. True, there's a dropped waistline this year ut it's a waistline that's molded to the figure. Ostrich boas are back, floating as 4efuiiy as they did in the drawing -rooms of silent movies. ; ;The cloche, never really out, is back in many versions: sh tto-w, deep, narrow - brimmed„ wide -brimmed. This doesn't mean that the only silho:ette for the year is found in the flapper look of 1925. There;are also high waist- lines, rounded hiplines, half -belts placed very high. And there are normal waistlines with no hint of the Twenties. If, however, you've hoarded a wardrobe since 1927, think- ing that fashion might complete a cycle, you're out of luck. Fashion, even in revival, changes and ;improves so much that it would be impossible to wear 1925's evening gown to anything but a fancy-dress party in 1952. omback Doris wears a revival or ths. "Twenties Look." It's a Pongee &Liddy blouse With a box - pleated skirt. charges made for the water will more than pay off the cost of the plant within ten years. Iceland's hot water is so wonder- fully pure that it needs no chemi- cal treatment of any kind. It pours into the bath -tub just as it rose from the suberranean depths, ab- solutely clear and soft. EASY CURE A writer who lives above Radio Star Morey Amsterdam's apart- ment called up late one night to register a complaint,. "You people are making such a racket," he. said, "I can't even hear myself type- write.". "That's easy to remedy," answered Amsterdam cheerfully. "Typewrite louder." 1:11E FARM FRON There's never a dull moment in agricultural developments these days, and the latest—believe it or not!—is feeding dish -washing pow- der to chickens and pigs.. All over the map agricultural professors and commercial research men are stuff- ing swine and poultry with dozens of kinds of soaps and detergents —the latter the sort you hear boost- ed over the radio as getting the washing whiter than whiter than white. You know what I mean. * * * What's more, these researchers are getting just as good gains— and for far less money—as. when they use the anibiotics that have been talked about so much this:„ last year or two. , * * • * 'There's the possibility that they may be on the brink of a realliZ., tremendous feeding discovery, for there are literally hundreds of the • detergents that they haven't got around to testing as. yet. Some of these may be even better than those, already tried. * * * As for results already achieved, Dr. C. M. Ely of the National Distillers' ProdUcts Corporation has found, in six out of seven tests with 10 -week-old chicks, that those getting detergent in their feed are 10 per cent heavier than .the others —and that within 12 weeks the de-' tergents have caught up, with others getting the more expensive antibiotics. * * * Over at Michigan State Univer- sity researchers have secured even more amazing results. By adding a mixture of methiomine and whey, they get gains above what 'are secured with antibiotics. * * The researchers haven't proceed- ed• far enough- for • us to be certain just what is the explanation of all this; but it begins to look as if both antibiotics and detergents are helpful because they are wetting ..-agents, which reduce surface ten - ...Sion; and make it easier for the iitials and birds to use the nous- ishfuent in the digested feed. They .- ,...„44-ay-ralso have a cleansing effect on -....:11f.e'1iitestines. It has been noticed • • that the antibiotics giving the best • weight gains are those that are the best wetting agents. * * * It is also possible that both the detergents and antibiotics help by killing "bad bugs" in the intestines. For many years a lot of farmers have made a practice of putting dish water in their hog troughs. Maybe they were beating the scien- tists to the punch—much as grand- ma, with her mouldy, bread poul- How to BY a HAROLD ARNETT A MITTEN FASTENEP WITH SAFICIY PINS it4tsme vs JACKET MAKES AN exceLLoir 104POR.ARY POCKET'. 'TfH CAN 85 fiSALLY USEFUL. 1,11/14114E HUNTING, OR FISHING, We Have It In Canada, Too Sparked by the Kefauver investigation, American business is taking a serious look at organized crime. U.S. businessmen have, in the words of Business Week magazine, "discovered some new things about crime that call for new defenses . . Underlings in city bureaus are organized by master crooks (who) collect, and are collected from, as though they hired their jobs and had to bring in, the rent money. The second new thing is that supercrooks who make money by 9rganized shakedowns are using that money to buy into (legitimate) business." Crime in the U.S. has .come in for much publicity lately, and here in Canada we're very busy hanging over the backyard fence playing scandalized Peeping Tom. It blight pay to look behind us, into our own bailiwick. We • haven't so much to boast about. Recently there's been a rash of arrests by the RCMP attempting to break up gold -smuggling and stolen -car rackets. In the mid* of a protracted and not very impressive vice probe, Montreal has discovered it nurtured in its bosoma thriving international racket in black-market babies. Toronto's had its race -fixing troubles and now, in the very words of officials, is on its way to out -do Chicago in gun play. In Vancouver various charges involving dope peddling and bookmaking are under investigation. Windsor took only a peek at a very nasty situation last year. The Federal Government has had to do some hasty firing of officials involved in illegal passport rackets. Certainly our own backyard isn't a picture of purity. A lot of isolated — or apparently isolated -- crime incidents have cropped up lately. But so far nobody • seems to have worried very' much whether there is organization behind it all. We might take a leaf from the American book here. U.S. business isn't fooling. It's setting up anti-crime committees in at least 11 of its major cities. It's making crime -fighting a business. It's out to dis- cover patterns of organized crime, to rip them apart and to make sure that the law is enforced and crooked or scared officials are ousted. .. While there's no evidence of highly organized crime in Canada we can't afford to be complacent. Canadian businessmen might do them- selves and the community a lot of good by getting together and seeing what they can do to prevent the disease before they're compelled to cure it.— From The Financial. Post. tices for infected wound's, was an- ticipating penicillin. * * * But—but,-right here a word to. the wise. Don't start experimenting with detergents on your own as yet. These detergents differ, and some of them contain chemicals that might cause trouble. The scientists are merely spoofing out a trail that lboks very promising —but they don't definitely know just where it is going to land them. * So, in the meantime, better go •on buying 'commercial feeds that contain antibiotics. They have been proven good—and profitable to use as wefl. As a ‘Vriter in the Farni Journal (Philadelphia) wittily puts it, the best thne- to plant pear trees around your, place was four .or five 'years ago. But if you didn't do it then, the next best time is this spring. At blooming time they'll feast your eyes with one of. the prettiest sights in nature, and in the fall, ; after the trees mature, you'll be in for some real, !uicy eating. * * * Pear trees don't thrive every- where, more's the pity, but a good rule -of -thumb is that if Baldwin apples will thrive, pears will do so also. * * ..Don't make the mistake which many have done and plant just one pear tree—or just one variety. Few pear trees are self -fertile, so if you don't want to end 'up with many blossoms, but no pears, plant a mixture. of varieties. Best-known and probably best - liked of all the pears is the Bart- lett, but there are other favorites too that are well worth trying. Smartest' thing' to do is ask a re- liable nurseryman wliat kinds he recommends for your particular area, and' follow his advice.. * * * Pears, like apples, make their • fruit buds on short spurs which take two or three years to grow. Thus you can expect a tree to start bearing fruit around the third or fourth year after you get it from the nursery. If you happen to be short of space, it's possible ribw to get dwarf pear trees which generally hear the second year af- ter yon get them established. * * * One grand thing about pear trees is that they require so little at- tention. "The more you leave thein alone and just enjoy them, the bet- ter they'll do as a rule" is the way one expert puts it, explaining that pears do better under sod than under cultivation; that they shouldn't. be pruned unless it be- comes, absolutely necessary, arid that they shouldn't be fed too heavily with nitrogen fertilizers. * These opinions seem to be borne out by other researchers into the matter who have fotind that cul- tivation and heavy fertilization tend to increase the only disease that bothers • pears very seriously—fire blight ---and that test trees in a sod produced about a third more pears than those in a cultivated *** now it's up to you! UNDAYKI1001, LESSON By Rev. R. B. Warren, B.A., B.D. Jesus and The Law Matt. 5:17-20; Mk. 10:17-22 Memory Selection: The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. —John 1:17 The remaining lessons for this quarter are a study of "The Ten Commandments and the Teaching of Jesus." As a University profes- sor remarked, "Though the ten commandments were given more than three thousand years ago, they are needed today for man's basic nature hasn't changed." Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law. No more was there need of the various burnt offerings. Jesus was God's offering for sin. There need he no other. The first four of the ten com- mandments pertain to our duties to God; the last sixrelate to our. duties to others. They are brief but lay the basis for all our re- ligious and social relationships. Too many have a superficial under- standing of the commandments. The rich young ruler was as we would say, "a clean moral young man." Yet he loved his riches too much to give them up for Jesus Christ. He had his own god. • Jesus gave a closer application of the law. He condemned despising or hating one's brother. If the heart attitude is alright, there will be no murder. Concerning the com- mand, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," He said, "Whosoever letoketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heartl" We need new hearts if we are to keep the moral law. Through confession of our sin and faith in Jesus Christ we can be forgiven and horn again by the Holy Spir- it. Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we can then keep the law in the spirit and in the letter. A:;i' Ira& ,Gorclot‘S-141,,. Get These In First Shrubbery, vines, roses, trees and other nursery stock should be planted as early as possible. This is especially true where the climate is dry and extra watering is dim - cult. The main thing is to make sure that the roots of the new stock are kept moist in transit and planting. All these things should be planted in a good-sized hole, the roots spread out loosely, then cov- ered with fine, rich soil, pressed down firmly to exclude all air. Water liberally for a week or two. Good nursery stock is soft and pliable and well supplied with good live buds. The latter, however, should not be far advanced. The nearer a plant gets to leafing out the more difficult the transplanting. If there is any secret about the business it is being sure that new stock is not allowed to dry out either in transit or after planting out in permanent quarters. They Are Hardier Now Just because one couldn't grow melons or corn ten years ago doesn't mean that one cannot grow these things today. On the market. now are far hardier varieties. Per- haps hardier is not quite the word as no melon vine will stand any serious frost and corn does not ap- preciate it either. What the plant breeders have done, however, is to give us corn, melons and a host of other types that mature days and sometimes weeks ahead of the old kinds. They also give us faster - growing types. These two factors mean that these new kinds can be grown farther north where the sea- son is short. And there are other ways of beat- ing nature or our short Canadian growing season. One can start seed in a hotbed or window box and have plants well -grown and ready for outside just about the time it would be safe to sow seed. Thip means transplanting, of course, but for a few early things almost any vegetable and flower can be trans- planted. Then there are some other tricks like putting little paper caps or even flower pots over hills of tender melons, squash, cucumbers and tomato plants and keeping them thus protected until danger of frost is over. Timely Tips Anytime from now until June is the best time for pruning most shrubbery and trees. A good gener- al rule to remember is that early blooming shrubs like Forsythia and Spirea should be pruned after blooming, later blossoming ones before or first thing in the spring, If one can walk through the gar- den without getting ones shoes really muddy or if when one squeez- es a handful of soil it crumbles rather than packs into a hard ball, then the ground is fit to cultivate and plant. If it is wetter than this it is too soon. Too much emphasis cannot be laid on suitable seed. Suitable seed is more than just pure, high quali- ty, graded seed. It is seed of varie- ties especially selected and for Can- adian conditions. In vegetables it approved and tested officially for Canada. FORGETFUL Wife: "Didn't you take the car down town this morning?" Absentminded husband: "Good Heavens! Now I remember. I turned to thank the chap when I got out and wondered where he had gone. High -Living Weasel—Willie the Weasel looks over the office sit- uation, left, at a lumber company. Scorning the fields and streams, Mile finds pickings much better in the office, where he "weasels' tasty meals, right, from office workers' lunches. By Arthur Pointer 44.14411 4 4 44 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 A 4