Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1952-06-05, Page 7Miraculous )lust Invisible to the naked eye, the miraculous, potent pollen dust is beginning to fly from the early spring flowers and plants. Scooped up by the wind, each pollen grain begins a journey which may be one inch or one hundred miles long in its search for a female flower of the same species. These pollen grains are as frag- ile as snowflakes, and range in size from one hundredth to ten thou- sandths of an inch in diameter. With9ut them no seed would set anywhere in the world, grass would wither and fruit trees become bar- ren. Some grains are smooth, others rough; some spherical, others en- gular. They are all alike, however, in this: they have a thick wall with a thin membrane under it, the whole enclosing a mass of life-giving pro- toplasm which can start the miracle of a• new flower or plant, This is the time of year When there are millions of pollen grains floating in the air over every square mile of ground. They are so fra- gile, however, that less than one thousandth of them survive and carry out the purpose for which they were created—to fertilize a female egg and start hew life. Flower to Flower The dew kills millions of them, for the moisture causes the thick walls to swell up and split, ad- mittiing ultra -violet rays from the sun, which destroy the male germ. Pollen can die of thirst or starva- tion. It has no reserves to fall back on like a seed. The flower manufactures its pol- len in little tubes called anthers, from which the powder shakes out to be caught up by the wind, or adheres to the • bodies of insects `searching for nectar. Bees some- times carry as much as half their own weight of pollen as they fly from one flower to another, AI ' 0 V fir's,, ride Chooses Long -Lasting Orlon DE EDNA MILES FASHION, for the June brides of 1952, will be balanced between the long and the short lengths in wedding gowns. The girls who pick the short length are those who want a dress to wear dancing or to parties when the wed - .ding's over. The brides who walk down the aisle in the floor -length gown with train are those who prefer tradition to practicality. For the formal brides, there are still gowns with many practical aspects. Most brides who choose the traditional wedding gown want to pack it away for a daughter and possibly a granddaughter to wear on her wedding day. Therefore, this bride will look for a fabric with staying qualities, one that will resist damage from mildew, sunlight, heat and abrasion. She'll find it in a man-made fiber such as orlon. She will also find that orlon has a luster and texture equal to that of any fine silk or satin. Further, it's comfortably lightweight, drapes gracefully without stiffness and has a luxurious "hand." For her June wedding, the bride in the picture wears a formal bridal gown with a train in orlon fiber. A Murray Hamburger design, it has a full skirt with inverted double box -pleat at center front. There's a molded bodice with long, tight -fitting sleeves that are pointed over the wrists. When the pollen from the male flower has been deposited on the stigma, or female organ, it begins to germinate, and little tubes grow out of it and pass down to the ovary and penetrates one of the ovules or egg cells, This is called fertilization, and a seed results. Experts, using a microscope, can identify every type of pollen, and are always on the look -out for "storms" or ragweed, plantain and certain grasses which give rise to hay -fever. The tiny pollen grains have even been found in the top- most rooms of New York's sky- scrapers. COCONUT VELVET CHOCOLATE PIE 2 squares Unsweetened Chocolate 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 6 tablespoons flour _/ teaspoon salt 2 cups milk 1 egg slightly beaten 2 teaspoons butter or other shortening 11/2 teaspoons vanilla 1/ cups Coconut, toasted 1 baked 9 -inch pie shell Combine chocolate, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and water in a saucepan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Combine flour, remaining sugar, and salt in top of double boiler. Add milk gradually, stirring well; then add chocolate mixture. Place over boiling water and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Then continue cooking 10 minutes, stirr- ing occasionally. Pour small amount of mixture over egg, stirring vigorously; return to double boiler and blend. Remove from boiling water, add butter, vanilla, and cup of the toasted coconut. Cool. Turn into pie shell. Top with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut. To toast coconut, spread thinly in shallow baking pan. Place in moderate oven (350 F.) and toast 5 to 7 minutes; or until delicately browned. Stir coconut or shake pan often to brown evenly. * M * BROWNIE PUDDING 2/ squares Unsweetened Chocolate 2 tablespoons shortening 1 cup sifted flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup sugar / cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla Va cup chopped nut meats 2 cups water 11/2 cups sugar 1 square Unsweetened Chocolate Melt 21/2 squares chocolate and shortening together. Cool. Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, salt, and / cup sugar, and sift again. Add milk and vanilla; mix only until smooth. Stir in cooled chocolate mixture. Then add nuts. Turn into greased 8 x 8 x 2" baking dish. Combine water, 11/4 cups sugar and 1 square chocolate in saucepan. Place over medium heat and sfir until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Bring to a boil. Pour over top of batter. (This makes a chocolate sauce in bottom of pan after pudding is baked). Bake .in moderate oven (350° F.) 40 to 45 minutes. Makes 8 to 10 servings. * * * CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES 2 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon baking powder / teaspoon salt / cup butter or other shortening / cup sugar 1 egg, unbeaten / teaspoon vanilla 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted 1 tablespoon milk Mint Filling Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift together three times. Cream short- ening, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add chocolate and beat well. Then add flour, a small amount at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add milk and blend. Shape dough into 2 rolls, 2 inches in diameter. Roll each tightly in waxed paper. Chill overnight. Cut CARRIER'S PIGEON Bobby BrasseU, 10, has'.a genuine carrier si pigeon. "Pretty Baby" accompanies Bobby as he makes the rounds of his newspaper p play route, left, and helps (7). him p y baseball, right. The pigeon is the boy's constant companion, and even follows the school bus when his young master leaves home each morning. Tough Eating 111 Wartime Christmas menu from the famous VOISIN RESTAURANT in Paris during the siege of that city by the Germans . , Franco-Prussian War, 1870. Unable to get food from outside the city, the people were forced to kill and eat the animals from the Paris Zoo. 25 December 1870 99th Day Of The Siege APPETIZERS: Butter, Radishes, Stuffed Donkey's Head, Sardines SOUP: Crean of Red Beans with Croutons Clear Elephant Broth Fried Gudgeon, Roasted Cancel a 1'Anglais Kangaroo Stew Roast Rack of Bear, Pepper Sauce ROASTS: Leg of Wolf, Game Sauce Cat garnished with Rats Watercress Salad Antelope Pie with Truffles Cepes a la Bordelaise Peas in Butter SWEETS: Rice Cake with Jam DESSERT: Gruyere Cheese in thin slices and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 10 minutes, or until done. Cool. Spread Mint Filling on half of the cookies. Top with re- maining cookies. Makes 3 dozen double cookies. Mint Filling. Cream % cup butter. Add 2 cups sifted confec- tioners' sugar gradually, blending well after each addition. Then add a dash of salt, 1 tablespoon milk, and 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract; mix thoroughly. Makes 1/ cups filling. * * * CHOCOLATE POMPADOUR PUDDING 1 square unsweetened chocolate 6 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons milk t/; cup sugar 1/ tablespoons cornstarch Dash of salt 2 cups milk 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 egg whites Melt chocolate over hot water. Add 6 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons milk. Set aside. Combine 1/3 cup sugar, corn- starch, and salt in top of double boiler. Add milk and blend. Place over boiling water and cook and stir until mixture thickens—about 15 minutes. Pour small amount of hot mixture over egg yolks, stirring constantly. Return to double boiler and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Pour into custard cups, filling two-thirds full. Beat egg whites until stiff but not clry. Fold in chocolate mixture. Pour over puddings. Set custard cups in hot water. Bake in moder- ate oven (370° F.) 25 to 30 min- utes, Cool, then chill. Makes 5 servings. :k k * FILLED BROWNIES 24 cup sifted flour / teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt t/a cup butter or other shortening 2 squares unsweetened chocolate 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, well beaten / cup broken walnut meats 1 teaspoon • vanilla Confectioners' sugar filling Sift flour once, measure,, add baking powder and salt, and sift again.' Melt shortening and chcr•nlato over hot water. Add sugar gradually to eggs, beating thoroughly, Add chocolate mixture and blend. Add flour and mix well; then add nuts and vanilla: ,Bake in greased 8 x 8x2" pan in•moderate oven (350' F.) 25 minutes or until done. Cool in, pan, then cut into squares. Split each brownie in half, then put layers together with a confection- ers',$tlgar filling, such as Pepper- mint, Orangei or Lemon Filling. Makes about 2 dozen filled brownies. Peppermint Filling. Cream 2 tablespoons butter, and blend in gradually dash of salt and / cup 'Sifted confectioners' sugar. Add 1 unbeaten egg white. Then add gradually about 34 cup more sifted confectioners' sugar, beating well after each addition until of right consistency to spread. Blend in 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract. Add a few drops green coloring, if desired. Orange Filing. Use recipe for Peppermint Filling, substituting 1 teaspoon grated orange rind for the peppermint extract and orange coloring for the green. Lemon Filling_ Use recipe for Peppermint Filling, substituting 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind for the peppermint extract and yellow coloring for the green. * * EVER -READY FUDGE FROSTING OR SAUCE 10 squares (11/2 packages) un- sweetened chocolate / cup water cup light corn syrup 1 cup evaporated milk 3 cups sugar / teaspoon salt / cup shortening 3 teaspoons vanilla 33 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (about) Combine chocolate, water, syrup, and milk in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until choco- late is melted and mixture is blend- ed. Add sugar and salt and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Add shortening and vanilla; blend. Add confectioners' sugar gradually, nixing well after each addition, until frosting is of right consistency to spread. Makes 6 cups frosting or sauce, or enough to frost 4 two -layer cakes, 8 inches in diameter. Use the blend at once if desired, or turn into bowl, cover, and store in refrigerator. Deeps well for 3 or 4 weeks. For Frosting: Place about 11/2 cups of the blend in top of double boiler. Heat over boiling water until of right consistency to spread. (If frosting becomes too soft, beat until it stiffens enough to spread.) Covers tops and sides of two 8 -inch layers. For Chocolate sauce: Place about 1 cup of the blend in top of double boiler. Heat over boiling water until mixture begins to soften, then add 2 tablespoons water and blend well. Beat until soft enough to pour. Serve hot or cold. Note: To make only 3 cups frosting or sauce, use about 11/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and half of the other ingredients. Filing suit for $28,000 against a ,!riving school because she headed her car into a tree, a Columbus, Ohio, woman declared: "They should have known before they took my money that I could never learn to drive a car." Wild Ducks Flying As the golden spangle of the distant lake tipped over the world's curved rim behind and dropped out of sight, the pintail drake uttered a loud fluting whistle. It wailed through the immensity of the air, and other birds took it up and echoed and flung it on so that it ran, wild and forlorn, right across the flying regiment and floated plaintively down to where the earth below was spinning itself silently into the light of a new day. The wild ducks were crying their farewell... They were flying purposefully, still traveling at almost a mile a minute. They shared such exulting excitement that sometimes one or two, sometimes a group, and some- times almost all of them together would play on the sliding air waves as swimmers play in the sea. Here and there, a bird would lean side- ways on the flick of a striking pin- ion, glide like a fish under a neigh- bor while closing wings suddenly to avoid collision, then stretch them again in a vacant yard of space amidst strangers whose craning necks and brilliant eyes were shin- ing with this new northern desire. Another would soar suddenly, miss- ing other fliers by a feather's width in inconsequent artistry, while those neathy adjusted with coordinated and careless perfection as though this aerial ballet leap had been re- hearsed a thousand times... . From the moment that the wild ducks leaped from the lake on this first lap of their great flight into the north, they seemed to have be- come footless, belonging only to the air and knowing of nothing but wings... . They did not fly high—not more than a thousand feet above the flee- ing fields. Sometimes, at the rush of their coming, the foreshortened figure of a laborer would turn its white blotch of face upward for a moment to watch them pass high overhead. They flew for the most part very silent, except for the great drowsy swish of wings and the aerial whisper of feathered bod- ies piercing through the air. They were flying so steadily that all were enclosed within a general and intricate pattern of air waves created by their wing strokes, which most perfectly and with the least possible resistance bore them up and on.—From "Wild Wings," by Frank S. Stuart. Keep Eyes Open For Valuable Stamps The postmaster at Bury St, U. rounds ran out of "postage duel stamps ... so'1;te over -printed $oma* blue penny stamps and unwittingly doled out a small fortune. A postman bought eighteen of the stamps as curios at the face value of is, 6d. and soon sold them through a friend to a stamp dealer at £5 apiece. £90 for eighteen - pence was a windfall! Yet, the dealer sold the stamps for up to £40 each .. and when a school- boy found yyet another of the stamps on a discarded envelope it brought £55 at auction. Stamp watchers are rubbing their hands. You never can tell when mistakes will creep into the best - printed stamps and the coming issues for Queen Elizabeth, experts say, are bound to mean errors at first. Just look at what can •happen. A London Civil Servant who bought a 5s. hook of stamps in a post office noticed that the second sheet of 21/2d. stamps was unper- forated. Quickly he took the book to a stamp dealer and sold it for £200. In as many minutes the dealer re- sold it for £275. With equal speed a stamp col- lector noticed that some 2/d. stamps at a post office were of a slightly different shade from the general issue and he promptly bought all the remaining 319. A single stamp from this sheet has been sold for £200. Another lucky customer bought a 5s. book with one page mutilated, the 2d. stamps running diagonally. It, too, recently fetched £55 at an auction. A Devonshire postmaster com- plained to a philatelist customer that stamps from one of his sheets would not stick. The philatelist bought them the instant that he noticed the printing was on the gum and the other side plain. Stamps of the wrong color similar- ly crept into circulation when a printer's test sheet became mixed with the others. Six 11/2d. stamps once soared in value because the watermark was sideways. Two others sold for £26. They lacked perforation! Last year a block of Festival stamps contained one' blank stamp and three incompletely printed. They now repose in a safe-deposit vault and their value advances from year to year. Only last month a dealer left a Pall Mali auction with a King Ed- ward VII sixpenny stamp of 1902 for which he had paid £800. "Worth every penny of it," he said. "I've been chasing that stamp 'for thirty years." Mint officials had withdrawn it on the day of issue and put the Inland Revenue mark on it. It is the only unused copy outside the royal collection and museums, yet a Swiss financier once threw it away, thinking it a forgery. So watch out! The coming stamps of the new reign give us all an extra chance in this freaki°" Post Office lottery. MERRY MENAGERIE r�ww,• DioNnr.1 I, x.;, Into:. s is "Well, there goes George on his return trip?" "Alarmists" Beware—As punishment for turning in false alarms, these Cortland, N.Y., boys get busy scrubbing flours at the local fire station. Work on fire trucks or other glamorous equipment was ruled out because firemen decided such "punishment" might make false alarms a favorite sport.