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The Brussels Post, 1961-08-31, Page 4eseesse "Sacred Cows" hnt Our Landscaping In the village nearest to the Pennsylvania country where I grew .up, the houses were white and the lawns austere — com- ing right to the sidewalk, Am- erican to the core. In the midst of this, there lived an Italian family who didn't understand the necessity for such landscape treatment They had closed off their property from the street by a tall hedge as a kind of pri- vacy-baffle. But now and then you could get glimpses through or over the grape arbor and the fruit trees that lined the hedge . . . The thing I remember best was the noises: the sound of chil- dren at play, of intimate laugh- ter, and music from a long since out-dated phonograph. Warmth and simplicity seemed to filter through the high enclosure, mak- ing the garden like a happy oasis. And although the prim white houses and lawns which sur- rounded the house of the Italians had neither enclosure nor pri- vacy, they had another kind of bander looming high indeed — the barrier of conformity, that seemed to conceal the true rich- ness and vitality of the American scene, as if it were not quite proper, or safe, to use and enjoy the landscape. Nor is this American tendency 'to conform limited to certain regions or climates; the recalcit- rant lawn and the odious founda- tion planting are forever with us from Florida to Oregon — a sacred cow; which we feel com- pelled to have and hold to any sacrifice. I use the word sacrifice advisedly because it is well known that two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time, and I feel that the `lawn and shrubbery habit in landscaping is actually - prevent- ing something exciting and in- teresting from taking place. There is one consistent attitude of the average American home owner that seems to me to pre- vent good landscaping. This is the direct approach. The direct approacts. sounds like a virtue, and certainly typically American, but in landscaping it is naive. For instance, having permitted the electric meter to be placed on the front wall of the house, the owner attempts to cover it with a bush or a vine; having permitted an ugly; raised founda- tion (always for the most "prac- tical" reasons) the owner feels that the only answer is to hide it with a sea of shrubbery; having given no thought to how guests will arrive at the front door, how the garbage will be collected, how service will be directed to the kitchen, or how both the liv- ing rooms and the kitchen will connect with the patio, he ends up in a state of confusion. It is quite common in recent develop- ment homes that all guests must arrive at the kitchen door, be- cause it is the only one accessible to them, while the lady of the house sneaks the garbage out the front door, because it is most handy for the garbage man, and the patio is not used at all, be- cause you cannot get to it with- out going around the house. Once privacy is given its proper place — that is, first place — in our thinking, we can tackle other more specific problems like the one of getting people to the front door without confusion. The us- ual handling of this is familiar: we drive in from the street on a driveway the width of the garage, dismount, and walk up a (slight- ly curved) path cut in the lawn to a front door, flanked by bushes. and a couple of feet higher than the garage floor. But suppose that instead of dealing with four or five elements separately — the drive, walk, lawn, planting, etc. — this were thought of as one thing — en- trance? This can be done by making the ground between the garage and the front door all one level and one surface. If the front door were higher than the garage level, we could have a series of impressively broad steps up to it. There would then be no mistake about where guests were expected to approach the house. We would have an area, perhaps large enough to park cars off the street, instead of a single driving strip. And if the planting were part of the pri- vacy-baffle sequence I spoke of as spaced throughout the proper.. ty, we would end up with an en- closed entrance court, and in- stead of the garbage cans, or the electric meter, or a maze of walks, grass strips, drives and shubbery each demanding at- tention, we would be aware of one large space — the entrance. It might even have dignity. And suppose we carry this same type of thinking into the hack yard. Instead of that side- walk-concrete slab (9' by 12' or 12' by 20') which the contractor called a patio, suppose we have a space for family activity. The surface is not important, It can be brick, flagstone, pebbles, asphalt, or concrete — whatever suits the activity, But, most im- portant, suppose this space were also part of the privacy-baffle so that many activities — outdoor eating,* games, services, chin dren's play, -vegetable growing, etc. — are all together, yet prop- erly separate, accessible, and communicating. We then not only have a sequence of privacy-baf- fles, but also a sequence of spaces volumes .of space — some larger, some smaller, but part of each other, part of the dwel- ling, and part of the total land- scape. This could be the basis of an American landscape tradition.' It is simple, and sensible . James C. Rose, in Landscape (Santa Fe, N.M.) "The best way to keep from growing old is to work hard," says a physician, Thanks for the warning, doctor. CUBA'S NEW MONEY — These are the new pesos Wile Issuer] by Cuba's Fidel Castro, The one-peso bill, above, pictures Cuban patriot Jose Marti on one side, Castro's 959 march into Havana on the reverse. The •five-peso note, below, shows Antonio Mcsgeo, another Cuban patriots reverse side depicts Costro's invasion of Cuba in 1956. 1.1,',41.Feselalessit'ATeeilssrfaiVT" Now it happened that in 17611 a Navy captain, Samuel Mine. had discovered the island of Ta• hiti, the old home of the Maori, and astronomers, finding thee would be a very good place front which to- view the transit, per- suaded the British Government) to send out an expedition, Then it occurred to someone, why nob at the same time try to find oub something -about the great MYS4 terlous continent supposed to lie behind that jagged bit of coast- line called New Zealand? Having resolved that it ahoul be so, the Government lookeQ. around to find a leader, an of- ficer of the King's Navy who woe skilled in navigation, marine sur- veying, astronomy. Such a man was found in James Cook,e-Front "The Story of New Zealand," by A. H. Reed. WELCOME CONTRAST — Sweden's Sture Limier, U.N. Secretary General's special representa- time, gets hearty embrace from Congolese Premier Cyrille Adoula, right. It is a contrast to the harsh treatment which some U.N. officials have undergone in the Congo. U. A. R. COMMEMORATIVE — These two stamps have been issued by the United Arab Re- public in Cairo in honor of the ninth anniversary of the revolt which brought Nasser to power. - The stamps feature two facets of U.A.R. planning. Canadian Founded World-Famous Sleaniship Line Had' you been a passenger on the North Cape Cruise of Cunard's RMS Caronia last Aug- ust" you would have been. pre- sented at dinner-time one even- ing with an imaginative dinner menu featuring sketches of some of the great mariners of history— John Cabot, Christopher Colum- bus, Amerigo Vespucci, Sir Wal- ter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, Henry Hudson and others, Doubt- less in modesty, the publishers had failed to include a vignette of Samuel Cunard, the founder of the Cunard Line. Cunard was no adventurer or explorer, but he tamed the North Atlantic because he was the first man to implement the idea that — given adequate navigational aids — steanaships could run as regularly as railway trains. There seems to be a certain amount •of confusion about the origin of the founder of the Cun- ard Line, The fact that the two biggest ships are named after British queens probably gives a lot of Britons the notion that such an enterprise could only have been started by a Briton. And since the big Queens spend most of their time sailing in and out of the port of New York, a 1c1t of Americans are , convinced that Cunard is an American line, and a fine example of Yankee ingen- uity, Part of the mystery might be cleared up by considering the sign of a Halifax firm dealing in coal and fuel oil: S, Cunard and Company. The firm now has no connection with the huge Cunard Steam-Ship Company Ltd. But it was founded by Samuel Cunard, the same man whose dream is fulfilled today in the biggest and fastest passenger liners crossing the Atlantic. He was a Canadian, born and raised in this • country. Samuel Cunard's father, how- ever, was originally an inhabitant of the southern part of North America. Like many other early citizens of Canada, he was a United Empire Loyalist who came to Halifax at the tune of the Colonial Insurrection later known as the American Revolu- tion. Young Samuel was demonstrat- ing his sharp business sense when he was barely into his teens. He grew up in Halifax and soon be- came one of the most important citizens of the town, These were the days when Halifax was a city of merchant princes, fishermen and shipbuild- ers, and one of the great ports of the world. It was early in the 1800's, when the wooden ships of Nova Scotia sailed to all parts of the world. The enterprise for which Sam- uel Cunard is today most famous was not even initiated until he was past fifty. Before that he had lived in Halifax and prospered not only as a merchant but also as an officer in the militia, a fig- ure in society, and even served as, Administrator of Bounty for Destitute Emigrants, He was a member of the local legislature, and a man of influence. But even the most influential man in Hali- fax, in those days, could do noth- ing about the irregularity in the shipping of mail and merchandise across the ocean. To improve that situation, Samuel Cunard had to go to England. It came about this way, Urged by several eminent Nova Scotians of the time — including Seseph Howe and Thomas Halibuttori the British cioverrarierit advertis- ed for tenders for somebody to provide a regular passeri get and mail service between Barant and Nova Stoiia, Samuel Cunard, reading the advertisettlenf, tried Venus Shows Way To New Zealand "Land Ho!" A shrill cry from the masthead of the Endeavour, on Saturday afternoon, 7th Oc- tober, 17139, brought the iveteh below tumbling qn deck. The lookout aloft was one of the youngest members of the crew, Nicholas Young, the surgeon's boy. That is about all we know of him, but he must have felt a glow of honest pride when he was told that Captain Cook, evi- dently a bit of a wag, had written In the ship's log, "Young Nick's Read," And there it is on our maps to-day, a lasting-reminder of the alertness of a ship boy, the first Briton to catch a glimpse of New Zealand's shores, For a hundred and -twenty- seven years — since the days of the Roundheads and Royalists — there had been nothing on the map to represent New Zealand except that crooked line drawn by Abel Tasman in 1842. What strange lands might lie beyond that beckoning line; nq one knew. Though it was known to be un- connected with South America, many still thought it might be a fragment of the western shores of a great continent stretching far into the eastern Pacific. "It must be so," some wiseacre said. "Isn't it just plain common sense that if nearly all the.. land were in the Northern Bemis- Sphere, the earth would lose its balance and topple over?" It is interesting to notice how one event often hangs ,upon an- other, both in large and shall affairs. The real truth about New Zealand might not have been dis- covered by an Englishman but for something that had happened about a hundred and thirty years before, A young Lancashire cur- ate of those days, Jeremiah Hor- rocks by name, only twenty-two years of age, was an eager stu- dent of astronomy, One after- noon, by means of a half-crown telescope, trained on to a screen in a darkened room, he watch- ed a tiny speck crossing the sun. the first time by human eyes. It was a transit of Venus, seen Seventy-seven years later, a famous astronomer, Edmund Hal- ley — the man who discovered Halley's comet — foretold that a transit of Venus would take place fifty-three years ahead — in 1769. Knowing that he would have been gathered to his fathers long before that, he left a message for those who should come after him, charging them to see that -the for the first time by human eyes. transit was properly observed. But why, it might ze asked, all this fuss about Venus crossing the sun? One reason was that it enabled astronomers to calculate the distance from. the earth to the sun; but of course it is the business of scientists and explor- ers to discover all that can be learned about the wonders of the earth and skies, LIFE LINE — Using what is ba. lieved to be the world's long. est personnel hoist, a Hiller 12-E helicopter demonstrates how It picks up a man. The line reels out to more than 150 feet, twice that of most hoists, Mexico will use four of the 'copiers •for lowering and re• trieving geologic l engineers in dense jungle areas. The hoist Is similar to the one which picked astronaut Gus Grissom out of the water after his spate flight, for a famous first run across the Atlantic, The second Queen in her wartime role as a troopship often carried as many as 15,000 troops — in some contrast to the 115 passengers of the earlier Britannia. The Queens became and have remained the standard of luxury ocean travel. Their arrivals and departures are social events well covered b' the press. The combination of luxury, comfort and _prestige associated with ocean travel on the big lin- ers is the main factor that hats kept these ships running. Despite the remarkable increase in trans- Atlantic air passenger travel, the liners continue to ply their routes and turn a profit. What the liners sell is relaxa- tion with a capital R. While this is true of the trans-oceanic runs, it is even more true of the cruise ships, As a man's income increas- es, he looks for something new and exciting to spend his money on. He probably already has a second car. The more exotic rec- reations appeal to him — a win- ter vacation in the south, his own powerboat, a tour of Europe, or a cruise — very often a cruise. Cruises today • come in all shapes, sizes, lengths and prices. Typical of the luxury liners which are serving in this popu- lar field is Cunard's Caronia, ad= vertised as the largest major ship built especially for cruising. No ferry boat, the Caronia is 715 feet long and 91 feet in the beam. She is a "one-class" liner, and every stateroom, regardless of its cost, has air-conditioning, private bath or shower and telephone. This year she will cruise the Mediterranean in May and Sep- tember, Scandinavia and the North Sea in July, the Mediter- ranean and the Black'Sea in Oc- tober and November. Of the lat- ter . cruise, the company asks: "Where else can you get this kind of bargain — visiting 19 countries far as little as $1100?" Liners today are for those vrho want to relax and escape, to get away from the desk telephone end the In and Out baskets. In Samuel Cunard's time, the ships were Mower and the passengers were in a hurry. About the only item that has remained constant is the idea of regular schedules, and that was Cunard's contribu- tion, He made the ships run on time. — By Charles R. Graham in "Imperial 011waes". to raise sufficient local capital to allow him to put in a bid. He failed in this but went in Eng- land to see what he could do there. In London he was insuc- cessful; in Liverpool he was un- successful; in Glasgow he found support and aid. Cunard was able to organize a company which undertook to build and operate four steam- ships which would run regularly between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. They would sail each fortnight carrying mail. The Brit- ish Government signed a seven year contract with Cunard's firm, and the first properly scheduled service across the wide Atlantic was thus begun. In July of 1840, Cunard's first ship, the Britannia, sailed from Liverpool. Despite adverse winds, she arrived in Halieax after 13 days. A day later she docked in Boston, where her captain was presented with what is probab- ly still the largest silver cup in the world — a gigantic trophy for the buying of which some 2,300 Bostonians . subscribed money. Boston was excited over the advent of a regular steamer service — Samuel Cunare (who travelled on the Britannia's first trip) got some 1800 invitations to dinner after the maiden arrival of his ship. They lionized hint in London, too, but Samuel Cuhard contin- ued to live in Halifax until 1848, when he took up residence in England, Not too long afterward, like many other Canadians of the period, he became a baronet — Sir Samuel, Cunard, The same creative spirit that led Cunard to think of ocean transport as something that ought to he put on a firm schedule has kept the steamship line he found- ed in the forefront of world. ship- ping through the yeats. The Britannia which sailed from Liverpool in 1840 was a lit- tle over 200 feet long: she could carry 115 passengers and 225 tons of cargo, and she moved al- ong at something over eight knots, Her hull was wooden and though she was a steamship looks quaint to modern eyes for she had paddle wheels. By the 1850's the Cunarders were being built with iron hulls, and by the 1880's they were being built of steel and had lost the auxiliary sails that were a feature of all the earlier vessels, Paddle wheels gave way to propellers, and needs Went up to a commendable 14 knots or .9o. Through war and peace the Cuhatd liners of each era served well, Perhaps the grandest .day came in 1934 when the great nevi Queen Mary was launched _zit Clydebank, She is surpassedto- day only by War sister ship, the Quece Elizabeth, If feet Toned', Willa slid dottrel the launching ways tvaradi6,fieOree-V iri 11140 Those leen-Agers /Airerafrall At It Bobby-soxers by the squealing thousands flocked to a dance casino in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., to a tourist compound at Weeki Wachee Spring, Fla., and to New York City's normally sophisticat- ed Lewisohn Stadium. The re- spective attractions: Canadian- born singer Paul Anita, who ob- served his 20th birthday by of- or a handshake to some 10,000 Buffalo gals, most of whom exercised both opticins; hip- flipping Elvis Presley, who held 2,000 Weeki-whacky admir- ers in thrall, and bestowed four kisses on 17-e/ear-old St. Peters- burg Times reporter Lynn Chako (her awed appraisal of Elvis: "The sincerest guy I ever met or kissed") and classical pianist Van Cliburn, whose ear-piercing Lew- isohn reception set New York Times critic Alan Rich to shud- dering. Rich wrote testily: "Pure- ly musical considerations Make it difficult to fathom why (Cli- bent's appearance) should out- drawt other notable events by 3 to Vitt 1.6010 PRETTY SHIFTY — Jack Root, 85', former light. Weight champion of the world, dernonstrates the stance het used in 1903 in Detroit to beat Kid McCoy to beconie the first champion of the world in his division. He held the title unnt 1907. Mr. Root' arrived in New York in the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth en mule to his home in Los Angeles otftOr Q trip to Paris, too otii$ koow who oulted shine in d fegiti- mate Mane* tilt teach Ws tap Virli/o the litteetiter et the to-ye.