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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-04-17, Page 22Page 2—Crossroads—Apr. 17, 1985 H. GORDON GREEN. There are few aspects of modern farming which city people find more intriguing than artificial insemination, and after you fill them in on the details they are apt to be a bit uncomfortable, or even frightened. The basics of AI can be ex- plained in less than a para- graph. Semen is drawn from the bull in whatever obscene manner is most convenient, the ejaculate is diluted so that it can impregnate 300 to 500 cows instead of the one for which it was originally intended, a preservative is added, it is packaged in vials and finally thrust into, a deep freezer. And that is all there is to it so far as the bull is concern- ed. He may never see a cow in all his life. Years ago when I was visiting one of the early AI centres in Denmark get- ting an article for the dear old Family Herald, I photo- graphed a whole field full of bulls, two dozen or more, each of them anchored by a chain which connected the ring in his nose to a stake in. the ground. It was spring and the bulls were pawing the ground and throwing the dirt up over their shoulders, 4 which was about all there was for them to do. The title I suggested for the photo (and which the Family Herald thought. too " risque) was "Five acres off frustration." And for the cow the pro- cess is even less romantic. Comes the day when said cow gives evidence that her ovaries are biting at her and -the farmer calls up the man from AI. And within an hour or so this gentleman appears with his little black bag and one of those little vials fresh from the deep freeze. The vial is thawed out be- fore its contents are insert- ed. Nine months later comes the calf, theproduct of some- thing which can't be much different than immaculate conception. The process works amazingly well for cattle, not so good for horses and swine. As a matter of fact the only animal for which AI works as well as it does for cattle is the goat. Used to be that if you wanted to raise goats you had to suf- fer the belligerent presence of the billy goat. And his bel ligerence wasn't the only reason why he wasn't .pop- ular on the place. As one of J' HEY 1(I08! LEARN TO DRAW WITH DANNY COUGHLAN (11 lea 1. Here's Danny's complete drawing. 2. Finish what Danny started. 3. Now try it yourself! crossroads Published every Wednesday by Wenger Bros Limited as the lifestyle and entertainment section rn The Listowel Banner, The Wingham Advance- Trmes, The Mount Forest Confederate and The Milverton Sun Members of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Press Council Controlled distribu- tion in Arthur. Drayton, Harnston. Moorefield. Palmerston Elmira. SI Jacobs and Wallenstein Display and Classified advertising deadline — 5 00 p m Thursday week prior to publication date Advertising and Production Accounting and Billing The Ustowel Banner The Wingham Advance Times 188 Wallace Ave N Josephine SL. PO BoK97 PO Box 390, Listowel Ont Wingham. Ont- N4W 3H2 NOG 2W0 The Listowel Banner 291 1660 The Wingham Advance Times 357.2320 The Mount Forest Confederate 323 1550 the Milverton Sun 5958921 our dirty old army songs used to describe the odor of the billy "the stink would nearly blind you!" Chlorophyll seems to work all right for Certs but it hasn't done a damn thing for a billy -goat. The prospects for humans are disturbing to say the least, because one off the car- dinal principles of the whole idea is that only the very fit- test will be allowed to propa- gate. In the case of cattle, only one bull in 10,000 will be allowed to contribute his seed, and the method of con tribution must be somewhat less than satisfactory for him. We males of the human species can take some com- fort however in the fact that man seems to be in no hurry to give his own race the im- provement he has forced upon his animals and birds. Strange as it may seem, many farmers were quite re- luctant to accept AI, and their reasons seem rather •ridiculous now. The advan- tages were undeniable. A farmer no longer had to pro- vide bed and board for a bull, and besides the cost of his keep, bulls were ,dangerous. Bulls gone savage used to be a major cause of tragedy on the farm. With the coming of AI the farmer had no more need of a bull, and for $10 or less he could have his cows served to the best in. the land. Why then should he have been so slow to switch over to the new system? Believe it or not, some ob- jection had religious over- tones. I well remember the irate woman who signed her- self `Miss' . writing the Family Herald to warn us that God would not forgive the farmer who dared to al- ter God's plan of propa- gation. "It is true that God has given man dominion over the beasts of the field" she wrote,'"but that does not give him licence to take away the one pleasure re- maining to them." But I think most of the early reluctance came from the fact that many farmers just didn'tbelieve that it would work. The cows would rebel, or refuse to conceive, or something. As one old farmer in Athelstan, Quebec, told his buddies down at the feed mill one day some 20, years ago, "It's just like a lot of other ideas those college men keep throwing at us. They look all right on, paper but they just wouldn't work. Oh you might fool a heifer ith it. She wouldn't know any better. But an old cow? No sir! She'd know the dif- ference right away!" t Cute kicidies and animals tug heart strings, pu strings Some phoney charities are using cute kids and helpless animals to tug at the purse .strings of unsuspecting Ontario residents, warns the Ministry of Commercial and Consumer Affairs. The sale of chocolate bars by young children is the most common charity scam in the province, says Tom Johnson, chief investigator for the Business Practices Division of the ministry. "I'd say there are more kids out there selling chocolate bars for phoney charities than fortruly worthy causes," says Mr. Johnson. "As in most of these scams, the canvassers play on people's sympathies." The business is set up by a promoter,_ generally a young adult, who buys chocolate bars from a manufacturer or makes them in a basement operation. A team of chil- dren, usually 10 to 12 years olds, is then recruited to sell the candy on commission. The promoters sometimes wait for youngsters outside school buildings to offer them jobs. Each child is told exactly what to say in the sales pitch and warned to avoid using the word charity. As long as it is never referred to as a charity, the scheme is not illegal. Since some worthy chari- ties also sell chocolate bars to bring in money, it is diffi- cult to spot the phoneys. And the promoters set up their operations to look as much like the real thing as possible. Some tell their young sales force to say the money will go to ,"student employment projects"; al- though the only jobs created are in peddling chocolate bars. Youngsters are also in- structed to tell potential cus- tomers the money. will'"help keep children off the street", when in fact the sales are putting young people on the streets to flog chocolate bars. SMALL PROFIT The youngsters them- selves get little money from the venture..If bars ,are sold for $3, the children might get 40 Cents for each one: Generally, the candy costs about $1 to make and the promoter pockets the rest of the proceeds. Legitimate charities may even get conned into helping promoters: Charitable groups have, for example, agreed to take a small per- centage of proceeds for allowing their names to be printed on chocolate bar wrappers. Thus, the pro- moter still rakes in the largest profit and can adver- tise sales as a "legitimate charity drive": These schemes can be%almost im- possible to spot. ' The ministry recently became 'aware that kind - WITH THE QUALITY OF A BODY JOB A poor body job on your car is a mistake that cannot be corrected. It also devaluates your investment drastically. At Listowel Chrysler, we have the equipment and the personnel to restore your automobile to its original condition. Rentals available. Re- member it is YOUR vehicle and you have ALL the say as to where. it is repaired. Don't set- tle for 'second best. See Us For All Painting and Collision Repairs We honour all insurance appraisals. All repairs guaranteed. CH Kl'SI.II K 1)ad10 Truths !!ALES/sEav-1 l L 754 Main St E., Listowel 291-4350 See Lloyd McLaughlin, Body Shop Manager CaII today for a FREE ESTIMATE LISTOWEL CHRYSLER 1,40 Rentals essasekhremY hearted people have been duped into donating money to an American -based "animal welfare" group which had only its own financial welfare in mind. Residents even volunteered to collect funds for the outfit, until they discovered most of the money went straight into the directors' pockets. Few creatures with more than two legs ever benefit from such schemes and some may even suffer if people become wary of donating - money to legiti- mate animal welfare societies. ASK QUESTIONS Simply asking questions can help deal with phoneys. Ask outright if the money is "going to a legitimate charity". If the answer is yes, find out which group is involved, where they are located and how much they will get from each sale. Be aware that the existence of a federal income tax registration number does not guarantee the organiz- ation is a reputable charity. Get the name, address and phone number of the can- vasser Or promoter. Check on the organization if it looks suspicious. Ask children if they're making money from the sales. Most charities use vol- unteers to sell fund raising items. Any legitimate organiz- ation will be happy to answer questions. An informative brochure, "Phoney Charities — Scams For All Seasons", has been produced by the ministry. To obtain a copy, call the Con- sumer Information Centre at (416) 963-1111 or (toll free) 1- 800-268-1142. The Permanent 1775 Ernest Ave., London, Ontario N6E 2V5 CANADA PERMANENT TRUST COMPANY REALTOR HOME PLUS INCOME Two storey brick building now contains three bedroom apartment and variety store. . Main street location. $49,900 plus stock. Call Gwen Metcalfe for more information 686-7100. COUNTRY LIVING 1 3/4 frame structure needs a little work but has super large living quarters plus. attached garage; and storage area with loading dock — business potential. Beautiful corner treed •lot with small stream. Also extra lot available. Call now Gwen Metcalfe 686-7100. 2 ACRES 2 storey home on nearly 2 acres with maple, oak and walnut trees. Seven bedrooms, library and Targe kitchen with much more: Asking $59,900. Call Gwen Metcalfe 686-7100. Mount Forest HARMONAIRES BARBkRSHOP CHORUS present their annual show on: April 27th at 8:01 p.m. in the Mount Forest District High School Auditorium Guest quartet will be the "Tri -City Slickers" Admission: $5.00 advance or $6.00 at the door Contact Verne Small RR 1, Mount Forest Phone 323-3029 or any chapter member for tickets. SPORTS do FITNESS ONTARIO Robert Tait McKenzie ofAlmonte, won Canada's first Olympic medal (in th.e arts competitions— a bronze at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. McKenzie was on internationally renowned sur- geon tqlo vppli d his medical knowledge to create life -like figures in metal. A miniature replica of `McKenzie s medal -winning relief. and four of his bronze statuettes are currently featured at Queen's Park In an exhibit entitled: 'Celebration of Amateur Sport' presented by Sports and Fitness Ontario. Ministry of - Tourism and Recreation We've moved.. . to serve you better. 1 Ideal Supply has moved the hydraulic hose sales and assembly facility from the machine shop area at Ideal Supply, 1045 Wallace Ave. N. to Global Tools & Equipment- at quipment-at 1100 Wallace Ave. N., Listowel. (across the street from Ideal) tkr- T Come visit us at our new location. . we'll be happy to look after your needs, • RIGHT AWAY! We've made this move to provide additional space for servicing and repair of hydraulic jacks and cylinders as well! Our drive in facilities are- able to handle vehicles large and small...FAST! an 44 company 1 100 Wallace Ave. N., Listowel 291-2280 Open Mon. -Fri. 8 am -5:30 pm Sat. 8-4\ kQ� 1 �o.