The Brussels Post, 1961-06-22, Page 7City, says the the rpla;i14.
InclUding labOttr to apply, runs
from $86 to $100 an acre. about
two-thirds the cost of hoeing
alone.
Plastie mulch brings the ber-
ries into production about 10-
days earlier than without it, and
Mr. Brooks. forecasts that its use
will cause a doubling of straw-
. berry acreage within a year or
•
two.
It con be used only in the
South or wherever else a single
plant row is used rather than
the• matted-row system.
UNDAYSC11001.
LESSON.
who.se aim is to get thenr
ghanc se installed and then con-
front the victim with ma'am.
Wished fact and. the small print
of the contract. Taking an op-
posite tack, repair gyps may -of-
fee minor roof or chimney re..
pairs for a small fee, wreak real
damage with a sledge hammer,
and quote a new price for a job
that •"is bigger titan we thought,"
Some other approaches: •
The Lawn Shark: Spreading
bad seed and fertilizer (often
harmful waste from chemical
plants), and: contrasting sharply
with the slick types who sell
home renovations, this operator
"always dresses real dirty and
acts real ignorant," according to
W. C. Stewart of Atlanta's Ste
wart Pet & Garden Supply Co.
"He'll. say 'help me add these
here figures' so the customer
will think he's taking advantage
of some poor country man."'
The Mortar Mice: Chicago
houswives have been plagued by
"exterminators" who ask to ex-
amine the chimney, feign alarm,
and reappear with a dead mouse
whose brethren are allegedly
"eating the mortar." In a Detroit
variation, the strangers release
live white rats to dramatize their
message.
The Landscape Artist: Equip-
ped with color slides of brilliant
floral scenes, this specialist sells
an expensive "landscape re-
design" contract that actually
gives the customer little more
than a few packs of cheap seeds,
Others run deceptive mail-order
ads for "exotic plants" such as
the "tree of heaven" (the ailan-
thus, or stink-tree) and the
Chrysanthemum maximum • (the
common daisy).
The Williamsons; A group of
interrelated itinerants, these hit-
and-run gyps make a regular
spring pilgrimage through the
Midwest wrecking chimneys,
selling rootless shrubs, and
working a dozen other lime-
proven gimmicks,
How can a homeowner guard
against the predators of the
venal equinox? The best rules,
as Better Business Bureaus have
been repeating for years, are' to
buy supplies and, services from
established dealers; distrust ex-
ceptional "bargains," particular-
ly those offered by strangers!
`sign nothing without reading it
carefully, and never sign 0 blank
contract. Another springthrie de-.
fense, failing all others: A:good.
sense of humus. From NEWS-
WEEK.
Those Racketeers
Are Still Busy
A New Jersey housewife,
weak in mathematics, thought
else sniffed a bargain when two
roughsand-ready strangers rang
her doorbell and offered to .ap-
ply fertilizer to the lawn. for "4
mere" 5 cents a square ic,ot..
Stunned by the hill- $200 lox
her modest 40 by 1.00-'.Foot plotes
elle waited too long to stop pey-
ment on her cheque, learned
eventually that het! lawn had
been coated with little more tinin
water and send, In St. Louis,
travelling entrepreneurs who
"guaranteed"' to make asphalt
driveway; as good as new were
simply applying old crankcase
oil, collecting fat fees, end mov-
ing on, leaving unimproved
drive.: that remained sticky for
weeks. A San Bruno, Calif.,
householdee, suing a painter .0e-
cause the house paint ran off in
the first rain and ruined his
shrubbery, learned that the
shrubbery would have withered
in any case; it was virtually un-
growable, purveyed by a root-
less "nurseryman" who had since
vanished.
From coast to coast, the warm-
ing sun of spring was producing
the annual crop of seasonal
swindlers who prey on the U.S.
homeowner in his most vulner-
able moments, Bemused with.
thoughts of grass and gardens,
uncertain about winter's ravages,
thousands of Americans needed
only the nudge of. a promised
bargain to be easy pickings -
end the pickers came in endless
variety.
Sb m sharpsters promoted
"home repairs," collecting exor-
bitant fees for fixing nonexistent
""roof damage," exterminating
imaginary mice; selling cheap
screens or peeling paint jobs.
Others were closer to nature if
not to virtue; unwary customers
'will plant bulbs that never
sprout, have trees mangled 'by
quack "tree surgeons," or buy
tons of worthless "fertilizer" and
"topsoil" (impressively, if mean-
inglessly, black) from unscrupu-
lous merchants.
While some of the rackets are
outright criminal fraud, the most
costly are simply sharp business
practices that leave victims no
legal remedy. A prevalent case
in point involves high-pressure
salesmen of aluminum house sid-
ings who sell cheap materials
and workmanship, talk custom-
ers into contracts as high as
$7;000 for a modest-size house,
often taking a second mortgage
on the house itself as security.
The "contractors". develop sales
leads with boiler-room telephone
operations or blatant TV com-
mercials. "There 's no hard sell
here, folks," runs a Los Angeles
version. "Just helpful advice."
Once in the door, a salesman
may offer rebates for referral
sales to other neighbors or even
offer siding free as a "demon.
stration model" for the neighbor-
hood. He requires only that the
householder sign a "few papers"
since it is "illegal" to give things
away. The papers, of course, are
are a complex and ultimately
expensive contract. Others offer
to pay off all a homeowner's
debts if he signs for a contract,
then add these to the price.
Atlanta's Better Business Bu-
reau estimates that no less than,
90 "contractors" were operating
in that city last month. Cali-
fornia officials have started a:
special drive.. against such phon-
ies, whose take "is running into
millions of dollars."
Specie!' "breaks" "for "refer-
rals" or "demonstrations" are a.
common gimmick with sharpies
K v. Barclay Warren
Out
Prover1i1 31:178.;141M31
Altennery tig/r
heart with all diligetice, .for (Mk
of It are f life. oAtlt..01;0 4,.es:2;3.of
Jeremiah wrote. "The heart Ii
deceitful above all things, and:
desperately wicked: who can,
know it?" It is from this evil
nature of man that sin emerges.
Jesus said, "For out of the heart
proceed evil thought, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts,.
false witness, blasphemies
Iv our day we inclines to ex-
cuse the individual and blame
society. We lift the load off the
individual and spread it out on
the group and thus blame the silt
of the individual on environ-
ment. The fact remains that we
are persons with a will of our
.own and every one of us shall
give account of himself to God."
What is the remedy for man's
bad heart? First, -We must admit
it. 'Then we can become really
concerted about the cure. Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, was
manifested that lie might destroy
the works of the devil, We may
do seine reforming on DUI' own,
but we can't effect a cleansing
of our heart, "If we confess our
sins, lie is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse '.us from all unrighteous-
ness." When we repent of -our
sins, the Holy Spirit will guide
us into faith in Jesus Christ.. the
living active faith that involves
our committing ourselves fully
to Him, "Trust in the Lord with
all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding; In all
they ways acknowledge him, and-
he shall direct thy paths."
The memory selection exhorts
us to guard the heart. When we.
have been forgiven of all our
sins and our heart has been puri-
fied by' the indwelling Spirit,
(Acts .15:9), we need to watch
against the wiles of the devil.
"For we wrestle not against
• flesh and blood, but against.
prinCipalities; against powers,
against the rulers of the dark-
ness of this world, against spiri-
tual-wickedness in high places."
When there is no hostile attitude
toward God's will from within,•
we have full access to God's
power that we can overcome the
evil forces without. We must
keep the heart pure, As we 'coal ,
t,intrte. walking in the light
blood of Jesus..Christ cleanseth
us from all sin. (1 John 1:7). •
Will Venus Prove
Worth The Trip?
Will the surface-of Venus, the
bright and mysterious planet to•
wards which the Russians re,
cently launched an "interplanet-
ary space station," prove to be
one great desert?
Intense gales blow perpetually
over the planet's surface and the
yellow dust is carried high into
her atmosphere, according to a
former Astronomer Royal, Sir
Harold Spencer Jones.
"The heat is intense," he wrote
some years ago. "There is no
vegetation of any sort, Nor are
there any great mountain ranges,
for the dust and sand blown by
the violent winds have denuded
the mountains to the level of
the plains. Venus, then, is a
world where life is entirely out
of the question."
That's one great astronomer's
opinion. Others now suggest that
Venus, known to astronomers as
the earth's twin sister, may af-
ter all have some form of primi-
tive organisms which flourish in
the planet's waters - if any
exist.
A strange fact about Venus is
that the length of. the day there
is equal to about four or five of
our weeks.
So bright is Venus, the "eve-
.ning star," it seems hardly cred-
ible that she merely shines by
reflecting sunlight, Apart from
the moon, she is much the bright-
est object in the evening sky. At
her brightest she is easily seen
with the naked eye in broad day-
light.
Nobody yet knows whether
Venus herself possesses a moon
as the earth does. Venus is a lit-
tle smaller than the earth with
a diameter of 7,600 miles com-
pared with the earth's 7,927
miles.
Some people have claimed that
men from Venus have landed on
earth, are living among us and'
are sending back reports about
us! One man held public meet-
ings in London "to deliver mes-
rages from the Venusians" while
he Was in a trance.
Curious bursts of radie noises
have come from Venus this ,yeah,
Their cause is still a mystery but
they have been likened to some
of the effects of thunderstorms
on earth.
RINGS AROUND THE WORLD - The earth resemble , huge unraveling ball of string in this
space-age exhibit at Case Institute of Technology. C. iterpiece of the display is la model of
the earth showina the orbits of all but the most recent satellites sent into space by the.U.S.
and Russia. The show, put topether by Natio nal Aeronautics and Space Administration, cost
more than $50,000 and is the most complete exhibition. of space vehicles ever assembled
under one roof.
the layer houses and we saw
1,350' flapping hens and a few
cocky roosters expressing their
individual notions about the ar-
rival of strangers, we could un-
derstand how he feels: It's easy
to drop problems of the day in
such an animated scene.
School Superintendent by day,
poultry farmer by night, C. R.
Thompson of Iowa enjoys the
best of two worlds, He has prov-
ed that a man can manage a
10,000-chicken operation success-
fully and still keep his place in
the educational field.
HO was helping two young
girls with. their shorthand when
we met him in his office at.the
Milford Township High School.
As the noon hour was approach-
ing, he excused the girls and
was ready td answer our ques-
tions about his unusual side line,
• •
Mr. Thompson is interested in
the marketing problems of poul-
try producers, At the present
time competition is keen and the
profit margin small, he says. "An
extra, penny per dozen in selling
price can mean the difference
between profit and loss." By
selling direct to consumer and
eliminating some handling costs,
he says, the farmer's profit may
be increased.
Mr. Thompson sells a consider-
able portion of his eggs to the
Iowa State University cafeteria.
"Hatching eggs," used to produce
Chjelss, he sells at 4 10-cents-a-
clozeh premium to the hate-lieu.
The hatchery sells these eggs
not only in many parts of the
United States but in several
countries in Europe.
• • •
Which has paid better, admin-
istering an institution of nearly
200 rural youngsters from kin-
dergarten through high school
or producing eggs? Mr. Thomp-
son says that depends upon the
egg imarket, which is variable.
The school jab is more stable,
whatever the return, and he re-
gards his school income as satis-
fagtory. But when he retires in
the near future, he thinks the
poultry business will be a very
nice one to have. He is referring
not only to the income it will
provide but to the demands it
will make upon him for continu-
ed activity. To keep up with
modern farm technology reC11/iTtal
constant effort, and this Mr.
Thompson is prepared to make. • • •
The use of black polyethylene
plastic film as a mulch for
strawberry beds promises to
double the per acre production
cif berries in the South. Only
about half the increase is due
to the plastic itself, by, reducing
the number of culls, eliminating
soil rot, and reducing damage by
birds.
Hoeing is eliminated, and sav-
ings of up to 600 pounds of fer-
tilizer per acre are possible by
use of the plastic, •
A. N. Brooks, plant patholo-
gist, at Florida's Strawberry In-
vestigations Laboratory, Plant
• • •
How did he get into it?
"Well, our family liked fried
chicken," he said with a twinkle
in his eye. "I started with a few
broilers for our own use. Then
I-got interested and kept ex-
pending." Mr. Thompson now
has a $50,000 investment in his
hen houses and equipment.
took us over to see his plant at
Roland, not many miles away.
In addition to some 6,000 lay-
ers in conventional houses, he
cares for 4,000 more hens in in-
dividual cages. These are sup-
plied him on a contract arrange-
ment with the Ames In-Cross
Hatchery. For each of these a
daily egg production record must
be kept, The records enable the'
hatchery. people to single out the
best producers for 'breeding pur-
poses, Mr. Thompson sells their
eggs, as the hatchery has no use
for them.
Seeing all these vigorous red-
combed white hens (a Leghorn
cross), you naturally wonder
who looks after them. Obviously
there is a great deal of work in-
volved, too Much for a school
superintendent even if he is an
energetic one. Mr. Thompson
says he employs his brother and
sister-in-law at the present time.
Before his sons went to col-
lege, they did much of the work.
Actually, it was to give them
jobs that Mr. Thompson thought
of expanding his chicken-farm-
ing operations in the first place.
His boys needed something to
do, and they needed to earn
money for college. The chickens
provided answers to both re-
quirements.
JUST STROLLIN' - Pokey, an
opossum in Leavenworth, takes
his morning stroll. Holding the
leash of the fearsome fellow is
Kent Hall, biology instructor in
a local school, and John Hamil-
ton, 15, a student helping to
care for the animal, Hall cap-
tured the marsupial.
POSTAL ODDITIES
People frequently travel many
miles to buy a stamp at th'h post
office in Richardson Grove, Cali-
fornia. Because it is inside a tree
-one of America's great red-
wood trees, some of which grow
to a height of 300 ft, and have a
Circumference of up to 90 ft.
The entrance is through a split
in the trunk of the tree and two
other giant redwoods serve as
the front walls for the main
building behind.
The world's loneliest post of-
fice was established on Floreana
Island, about six hundred miles
west of Ecuador, South America.
It consisted of a large barrel
standing on the shore.
The islanders dropped their
letters into it and passing ships
called and collected them, put-
ting back into the barrel any
post from the mainland.
This City Needs
One School A Week !
Los Angeles is growing so fast
it needs a new fourteen-room
elementary school every Mon-
day morning. This staggering
fact is no exaggeration. It was
spelled out by Ellis A. Jarvis,
superintendent of the city's pub-
lic schools, last month, "There
are 500 new students every 30
days in our schools," he said,
"and an average of •$1.e million
is invested each week on new
buildings." Los Angeles (popula-
tion: 2,479,015) just passed a
$153 million school-bond issue;
it will be spent in two years,
Currently under construction:
Four junior high schools, four
,senior high schools, sixteen ele-
mentary schools (containing
1,319 classrooms),
In their efforts to anticipate
this growing crush (1 million
students by 1970, Los Angeles
officials occasionally stumble
into pitfalls. A land' develop-
ment in the San Fernando Val-
ley, for example, was parceled
off not tong ago, and city plan-
ners rushed through the Mayan.
Street Elementary School to
serve the new community The
bizarre result: The land didn't
sell at first and the school stood
empty for several months in a
barren field, Today, of course,
'the school' is packed. "This sort
of thing can happen," said
superintendent Jarvis wearily.
"We have to be constantly ex-
pecting phenomenal increases."
Sense folks remember way
back when infiltration Meant no-
thing more than flies getting
through a screen dear on a hot
sumnior's day,
ISSUE 18 - 1961
3, Curtain
mated 1
9, Give assent
10. Bleat
32. Kind of
black tea
33, Continuance
35,,,,Leaftess
Parasitic plant
CROSSWORD
PUZZLE 11., eAbstractbing
16. Remnant or 10. rail to follow
comb'ustlon
40. Day's march
20. Seclusion
44,445 2..
Netherlands
.:Ctoolit
18. Mandate
ggnti
ns gait
Contend
22.31 I)l Cast
Motion
urefiss I 47, ,solicrinnueitiethor
gold
24 Leoarnnd sopfikteisV. 48. Heavens
of Noah
castanet 49. Weight 25, Cif aobnrt jaeminate 50. Downcast
29. Light gauzy 01. Left hand
(music)
ACROSS 1. Evergreen
4. Combines
9, Mr, Lincoln
12, Exist
i 3. 'Vagary
14, 'lletal
container
5. Selling again
7. Betel palmii
0. Danish fiord
0, Self-esteem
1. Pugilist
4. Surrounded
by
/
7. Hostelr 8. rag-se 0. The onion
1. Football.
position (ab,)
32, Corrupt
34. Threo-toed, sloth
35, Current fashion ct.n.sasonahio
3, UP, Weigh
9. Feed the fire
1, Nunnery
41, Feeble-Mind-
ed (OeilOy
45, One ( er, 14. show on -
ses fot
11, onfeetloba
Si. Female
rabbit
82, past Bohe-
Ii4. Tibe tanm a e
doe
gaxetib 0. DIVer (ootitr.)
51. An antikneelt
Mild
01, Result
DOWN
1. Distant.
2, Choler
3, 'Yield
4. Artist's mix-
ing board
0. Common
logarithm o
ten
5. Part of the
Bible (ab.)
7. Fabricator
7 4 5' '5 Among other progressive steps
in today's world we note a re-
cently announced four-handled
shovel built for ground-breaking
ceremonies of companies • that
have an eight-handed executive
board.
7 15; 9 /0
',g /l-
6 17 /i3
20
24 '5 215
29
3 .• ti 3y
tr; i3
; 3
4z, • # •
The older lad, now a sopho-
more at Iowa State 'University,
is still paying his expenses with
wages he saved from his chick-
en-farm days, his father said.
Other boys in the neighbour-
hood who worked for Mr.
Thompson also are using money
they earned here to help them
through college, writes Dorothea
Kahn Jaffe in the Christian Sci-
ence Monitor.
Mr, Thompson has installed
automatic feeders to reduce la-
bour, They dispense feed by the
clock, Still, there is much to be
done, Hens must be carefully in-
spected, houses cleaned arid ven-
tilated, records enlist be kept,
And, of course, eggs have to be
gathered, cleaned; candled (oil
sprayed if they are to be put in
storage), and cased, Management
Can be a Part-tittle job, as it is
for Mr. Thompson, but to do
the detail work Tull-time em-
ployees are needed.
It's only 'after his eight or
Mete hOttrs in school administra-
tion that the Superihteriderit
turns to his liens, He finds it
relaxing to visit his flocks, ge-
ther eggs, platt ithproVenierits in
preduction or distribtelen,
"Fascinating work," he says.
When he led tti into One et
St+ :•• •:$4:44:
50 3
5-4- 54. 3
61" e6
1' 3.15 •
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Upsidedown tq 1'-event Peeking
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POR EXCELLENCE - The largest annucil international award for OrChitectUreil eXcellence hoe
been given tti the designets of this striking structure, The firm of Murphy and Mackey wig
receive' the 1061 it, S. keynOtcli Mernorial Award - .$15,000 for the "tliMatriin," a display
OKeetihOUte in the Mitsaurt Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Thin structure` it a geodesic donie, 70
feet high, Mods of aluminum arid glass,
J. ci Jiro H
FLYING :LOW These' yourtq Chirtipdrtieds -Make their first
flight - in an dirline bag, The chitin's look cOl'idefned about how
they• are transferred from winter lei •SUrnriner quarters' the.
Frankfurt, Gettnettiy,
a d S 3
S V 3 8 S 3
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