The Brussels Post, 1956-08-15, Page 3• • •
SCHOOL
LESSON
M.
Jumping Beans
Down Mexico Way
scooped off the sea bed into std
WO net. Although fish bele.*
a certain size are threwn back
into the sea, a great many Of
them are killed, or too badly in..
paged to survive. Trawling,
therefore, does immense hand *by xeducmg the potential rat*
Of future years,
With electrical fishing it may
well be possible to control the
size of fish attracted to the net*,
by varying the strength of the
electrical discharge into the we-
ter, Then only fish of marke.
table size would be caught, and
the Mailer ones WOuld escape.
injurY.
Some investigators see possi-
bilities in applying electrical
aids to whaling, A powerful
discharge could draw the whale
towards the ship, so powerful
that it might prove pretty Un-
comfortable for anyone who had
the misfortune to fall Over-
board! When attracted along-
side, the whale would be meas-
ured and if below minimum
size released unharmed by
switching off the current.
Besides having poime1 the
way towards fishing by elec-
tricity, the electric eel has an-
other claim to fame. It is now
most valuable to medical men.
trying to find out more abdut
how our nerves work. That
nerves give out tiny electrical
discharges of about one tenth of
a 'volt ,has been known for s
long time, and a good deal of
research has been devoted to
finding out how they do it.
During the war a team work-
ing on the electric organs of the
eel made the discovery that they
seemed to be nothing more than.
nerves magnified several thou-
sand times. The whole organ
consists of between five and six
thousand separate elements, each
capable Of giving a tenth of e
volt discharge, like a nerve. In-
vestigating- it has therefore pro-
vided information that could net
have been obtained by study-
ing single nerves.
With these shocks the eels cap-
ture their foed, skilfully adjust-
ing the strength according to the size of their prey, so that
It is stunned but not killed,
When electric eels are put
into an aquarium tank it takes
them a few days to adjust their
Shack mechanism. At first most,
of the fish put in for fOod are
killed outright, and the eels
refuse to eat them.
High voltage shocks, though,
are not the only electrical weep
ens employed by these remark-.
able fish. They also make use
of radar in finding their way
about and in locating their prey.
The young eels have quite well
developed eyes, but these de-
generate and are useless by the
time the fish is about a foot
long.
When they are swimming
they give out a. series Of fifty-
volt impulses into the water at
the rate of about fifty every
second. These get reflected back
from objects in the water, and
return to the eels, which have
special organs for picking them
up. This sixth sense replaces
their lost sight.
How does a fish produce such
a big electrical voltage of the
least twice the ovltage of the
electric mains? Running down
each side of its body to the end.
Of i'ts tail the electric eel has a
series of special muscles. These
behave like a long line of bat-
teries connected up in series,
But how the fish release the
electrical discharge remains a
mystery.
If an electric eel can stun or
kill fish with a discharge of
electricity surely it might be
possible to design fishing equip-
ment based on the same prin-
ciple? A number of scientists
have been working on this
theory for the last ten years
with encouraging' results.
They 'found that if two metal
rods are connected up to a gen-
erator and put into,, the water,
any near-by fish are drawn to-
wards the pdsitive rod. They
behave as though hypnotized,
being quite incapable of •swim-
ming away•and are easily scoop-
ed up in a net. Even large and
crafty fish are enticed from
their lairs by this modern pied
piper.
From angling by electricity it
is only a step to deep sea fish-
ing with larger apparatus; and
the Russians are reported to
have made some headway in
this direction. Electrical fishing
has important advantages over
the present method of trawling.
When a trawler is working,
small as well as large fish are
Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking
flies to assure a healthy annual
crop,
Millions of the beans are har-
vested annually and shipped in
five; gallon cans which hold.
about 30,000 Jive bean%
Since the Mexican jumping
bean has almost human attri-
butes, special care must be
taken in seeing that it remains
healthy during transit. The
cans that are their temporary
homes must be perforated for
ventilation.
A carload of the beans in cans
causes a noise like rain pelting,
on a tin roof. If the can is touch-
ed, all noise ceases for a time.
Then the beans begin their re-
peated jumping and clicking
again,
BarelaY Warren) CA. B.D.
MOTHER NATURE GETS ROUGH - Huge hailstones and blister.
ing heat recently took their toll on United States farms, Photos
here show typical damage. Near Walker, Iowa, William. Mc-
Namara, above, lost 95 acres of corn when hailstones pelted his
field. Some of the stones, besides breaking 24 windows in his
house, went through the roof. At a turkey farm near Albanyi,
Ore., 'a heat wave killed some 13,000 turkeys, below. Tempera-
tures, during the wave which struck western Oregon, reached
106 degrees.
Why does the Mexican jump-
ing bean perform its nervous
antics? This oft-repeated ques-
tion has given most profitable
seasonal occuyatien to hundreds
of Mexican men, women and
children who pack and ship the
beans to novelty stores in Brie
tam, the U,S., Canada, and parts
of Europe.
The jumping bean is a native
of the state of Sonora, in north-
western Mexico, pear the town
of. Alamos. The bean, resembl-
ing a green coftee bean, grows
on the plant Arbe. de la Flecha
(Tree of the Arrow) in the
semi-eroded hills and gullies
near the town.
Harvesting is done early in
July, when the heavy torrential
rains cause the tiny pods to
start popping and falling to the
ground,
The `secret" of the jumping
bean is an insect known as the
"jumping butterfly," which lays
its egg in the flower of the Tree
of the Arrow about this time of
year.
A grub develops from the egg,
and it satisfies its hunger by
burying deep into the seed pod
of the flower. The pod of the
flower has three cells, and each
contains a seed of the tree.
While the grub completely eats
the first two pods, it takes up a
permanent home in the, third.
Somehow the grub knows that,
the hot July sun, combined with
the rains, will explode the pod
and drop it to the ground. The
grub "insures" itself ! against
this emegency by "bombproof-
ing" itself in a silky net.
The live grub inside the bean
causes the jumping, by rearing
up somewhat ,like a spirited
miniature:: horse. As the grub
brings down its forelegs, the
bean jumps or moves.
If harvesters would not' nter-
fere with nature, -the , •grub
would, finally evolve into a little
white butterfly. °Care is taken
that enough do become butter-
ti
The Wa)t of Christian
ship, 1. John, Chapter 1
Memory Selection; le we walk
in the light, as he is in the light,
We have fellowship one with
another, 1 John. 1e1.
No one was better qualified
than John to write of the way
of Christian fellowship, --Of all
the disciples he was the closest
to Jesus. Re leaned upon Jesus'
bosom at- the last supper. He
was "the disciple whom Jesus
loved,"
In the first general division
(1:4 to 2:29), the apostle states
that God is light (1:5); then he
proceeds to show that we must
walk in the light if we are to
walk with him. He then, shows
the conduct expected of those
who walk in the light. In the
second division (3:1 to CO, he
emphasizes the fact that God
is our Father: and he shows
that we cannot have fellowship
with him unless we act like sons
of God: In. the third division
(4:7 to' 5;21), John states tarot
God is love. The only way, then,
whereby we may walk with
him is Tor us to walk in love;
and the requirements of such a
walk are made clear.
To walk with God we must
have our sins forgiven, "If we
confess - he is, faithful and just
to forgive." As we walk in the
light the heart is cleansed. One
who. has fellowship with God
does not walk in sin. (3:4-10;2:1).
If he should fall into sin, he
- has an Advocate who is' eager
to assist him back to restored
fellowship with God. Ralph
Thompson writing in Arnold's
Commentary lists other charac-
teristics of the walk with God.
It is a walk of obedience to- the
Father; it' is a walk of love for
the brethren, it is marked by an
absence of love 'for the world.
Those who walk with God have
faith when they pray. This walk
is a way of happiness. "These
things write we unto you that.
your joy may be full." (1:41.
John's letters have a warmth
reflecting the intimate fellew-
ship which he enjoyed with the
Saviour. His second letter to a
Christian lady expresses his de-
light in the Christian character
of some of her grown children.
In his third letter to Gaius he
expresses his disapproval of the
church boss. The church board
who allows a Diotrephes to
dominate is as guilty as Dio-
trephes,
Recently, in The Christian Sci-
ence. Monitor, I ran across an
article about farming in Holland
-that is to say, that part of Hol-
land recently reclaimed from
the sea. It was so interesting
that, without apology, I am pas-
sing it along to you. Hope you
enjoy it,
Fourteen years ago, fishing
boats chugged across the IJsel
Meer here. Noisy sea gulls dove
low over white-rimmed waves
and climbed again in the wind
that blew from the North Sea.
Today, at this same spot, there
stretches the Smooth central
square of Emmeloord, new town
in a new land won from the
sea. And all around there lies
the wide feitile farm country-
red-roofed farmhouses and black
and white cows amidst miles of
green fields arid meadows-ten
• small villages in all,
This is the Northeast Polder,
the northeastern'most of the ter-
ritories won from the former
WrierIt is a civilization
grown out of the ,Sea bottom, an
Atlantis created by the courage,
ingenuity, and work of men, 4, 9 *
This is new Holland « where
nothing-e-graes, trees, or roads-
is older than 12 years. Even the
microscopic organisms needed
'for the develOpnient of the soil
Were brought in by men.
The people, too, have come
from outside, from the old main-
, land. Living' on this polder land
is the reali±ation of something
they hardly, dared to dream of:
a farm of their own. In this
overcrowded country, only the
eldest sOn can hope to inherit
his father's land, Farms are too
sinall-to be divided. Atid prat-
.tically all arable land is tinder
, the plow,
But also for agricultural la-
borers; rnechaiii'cs, and clerical
workers, , the pOlder is a new
frontier. -Many of thorn have
fOund jObS in arid, around the
town of Erertielecird There are
three,. aittorriobile agencies in the
town, a straw faLtOry and many
Other alVate businesses:
Off the central square runs
- two' broad., shopping, streets, -
modern stores displaying. the la-,
test merchandise fterit Amster
dam and the Hague: Where the
Street ends; the'cow pastureS
begin. Lining the curb are trim
small tat*, many of their
longing to polder farmers. Re*
branch OffiCes of banks,. saving
institutions; and farmer coOpera,
tines tell of ,financial growth,
Pacing the Square IS, the en--
trance of .the town's civic ten,
ter; topped by a gretip of, biome
sculptures'. Inside the' Center
there is a theater fof stage
CHICAGO FLOODED-BY WHEAT-An avalanche of wheat
descending on Chicago. Nearly one million bushels arrive every
hours, as the wheat harvest run reaches its peak. In one
seven-day period, 6,825,000 bushels poured in-enough to
load a train 36 miles long. .In typical scene, above, workers
guide power shovel dt the city's largest grain elevator, the 174
million-bushel Car ill installation,. The shovels pull the grain
into high-speed elevating equipment,
Angler's Paradise
Every fisherman dreams of
the perfect day when he will
hook a fish every time "he casts
his line, and go on doing so un-
til his basket is full. What a
tale he would have to tell!
Such a dream may now come
true as a result of experiments
with electrical aids that have
been going on recently It may
then be possible for the angler
to put aside his rod, and to take
with him instead two metal
poles connected to a portable
battery.
When these poles are put into
the water and held some dis-
tance apart they will attract
fish to them All the fisherman
has to do is to lift the best ones
out with his net. It would be as
easy as that.
This novel fishing idea was
discovered by studying the elec-
tric eel. It had long been
, known that this South American
freshwater fish was capable of
producing a powerful electric
'shock. It was decided to inves-
tigate this shock in order to find
out how and why the fish pro-
duced it, As a result we now
have a clear picture of a fish
that leads an astonishing all-
electric life.
A full grown electric eel may
be anything up to five feet long
and is capable of sending out
an eleetric shock of at least 500
volts, The highest recorded
voltage was 650. Even young
eels only six inches long are
capable of a full strength shock.
and movies, a, modern hotel, and
an artistically designed farm , ex-
change hall which can be con-
verted into an assembly hall
within an hour.
9 *
A glance from the third-stcirey
hotel window takes in the steep-
les of 'new churches all around,.
the long rows of sturdy modern
brick residences surrounded by
flower gardens and by the be-
ginnings of parks and play-
grounds.
The soil on the polder's 2,000
farms is some of the most pro-
ductive in the world. It is irri-
gated through a dense network
of underground pipes whose total
length exceeds that of the equa-
tor. The pipes connect with small
ditches; the ditches empty into
canals, the same canals,on which
ships bring supplies and carry
away the farm produce. Huge
pumping stations regulate the
polder's water supply in relation
to the inland sea.
Farming is highly mechanized,
fibm the automatic feeding of
the cattle to .the harvesting ma-
chines and the machines with
which the crops are stacked in
the large, fireproof barns made,
of prefabricated concrete. '
Development of the Northeast
Polder, like that of the future
other polders; has been dorie
through a petullar combination
of socialist planning and capita-
list free enterprise. *
Farmers are selected by the
national goverturient. Candidates
can choose the farms they pre-
fer. They sign a 12-year lease,
Which they can renew without
difficulty as long as. their ferries
production meets a required
minimum.
When this correspondent asked
one of the leading farinerS of
the polder how long he eXpected
to remain" on hiS new property,
he met With a pnitled look.
"Well, 'forever, of course!"
The thought had not occurred
to this farther that he might not
frilfill his quota nor that he could
not pass the farrri on to his son.
The latter is possible, as long
as the "heirs" continue to ful-
+111 produotion requiteriletitS,
A'. Ooi
Apart from the conditional
lease,• the farmers are free to rim
their farina after their own plans`
and under, the risks of private
enterprise. While half of the
is subsidized by govern.'
Merit price guaranteeS, the teat is
sold-on the free market.
This sySteiii apparently pays
off handsomely.. Sand fielder
larifierS clear a net iiiconie of
WOO to $15,000 a :Year, Coen-
:Parable to that of a higher
field in the Middle bracketS et
the ititach 'assn tertice',
SMALL-FRY MERCHANDISING-No Wasting of surei)tii0e. Witt:hien time playing oce4boyi dna
Indians for. nine-year-old Johnny,'Lettiet, The enterprising ‘youtiotee 'collected. number oil
Vehicles and, as seen CitaaVe, fixed himself up aused car lot, complete With ,taki, tenficiii; .0ice
Chapman, eight, who lives next door, ihieFeSted'iffnieking ix elle61,66t doesn't seem 4.4 have
ion trade-in,
Too Mach Violence
For a long time we wondered
whether we were just being old-
fashioned in viewing with alarm
the steady stream of murders,
shootings, knifings, assaults and
other assorted violence that
floods in the American living
rooms from TV sets day after
day, night after night.
We fully realize that TV has
become the whipping boy for
editorial writers and columnists
looking for a handy target to
blame for the vicious, national
brand of juvenile delinquency
we have on our fumbling, adult
hands today. •
We believe that TV is ,the
whipping boy hecause. it well
deserves the whipping.
Sir Basil Henriques, one of
Britain's top authorities on ju-
venile delinquency and chair-
man of the East London Juven-
ile Court for 33 years, recently
visited juvenile courts through-
out the United States, including
Cleveland's in an eight-week
tour.
In every court he visited, he
found juvenile cases far worse
than any he has ever had in 33
years in London.
He minced no wordi about
TV here and its role in produc-
ing what he saw in the juvenile
courts in our land. '
Time magazine quoted him,
in part:
"Television is the pernicious
poison of America. I find noth-
ing but shooting, prison scenes,
divorces, teen-age girls going
wrong. You can just twiddle it
on any time' day or night . . ,"
By permitting our children to
view in, detail shotgun murders,-
stabbings and other brutal
crimes committed by men with-
out conscience, we are harden-
ing our children to the point
where the honest horror and
shock at such crime, when it
does occur, in real life, is weak-
ened or absent, thanks to too
much familiarity with such vio-
lence through TV.
Then we are shocked and
stunned when mere children
commit senseless murder, when
teenagers torture old, helpless
men for the "kicks", when
youngsters who don't like their
teachers set the school house
ablaze, when a high school boy
will strangle his date at a pet-
ting party . . .
The,fact that the fabric of our
whole civilization is based on
the avoidance of violence for
the settling of human differ,
ences, (indeed survival on this
planet in this atomic age de-
pends on non-violent soldtions)
is not being gotten across to our
children through TV programs.,
The exact opposite viewpoint,
that violencce is the way to set-
tle differences, is being drum-
med into their immature little
heads day after day, week after
week, month after month . .
Let's'all close the door to Mur-
der, Inc. in our living rooni be-
fore too many more of our
youngsters join the expanding
Cult of Violence. - Harry Volk,
Hillcrest• Sun-Press (Cleveland
Heights, Ohib.)
SYMBOL OF HATE - Standing in
Warsaw's, Peffl,es Square, the
Palace of Culture and Science is
reportedly regarded by the Poles
as a,symbol of oppression. Built
by the Soviets, it can be seen
from' any spot in the city. In
Warsaw, they say, that the best
view in the city is from the pal-
ace itself-it's the only „place
from which the Communist strue-
ture cannot be seen.
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