The Brussels Post, 1949-9-7, Page 3The Oldest
Living Things
O'f all the creations of Nature,
trees live the longest, At present
the oldest living thing on the earth
Is a macrnzawia tree in Queens-
land, Australia, and although only
about twenty feet high, it is thought
to be at least 12,000 years old.
But the trees which capture popu-
lar fancy more than any other for
their great age are the sequoias,
or California redwoods, Many fine,
ancient specimens still exist, 13y the
simple process of counting its rings,
one was found to be 3,300 years old,
while many have been growing for
over 2,000 years.
At the other end of the age scale
are found, in the main, insects like
mayflies and other such species.
Their spam of life is but a few hours
or less. Certain flowers, too, notably
many tropical cacti ancl also the
flowers of wheat, live for an hour
or two only,
•
"Maggie" Reached Thirty
But what about the ages achieved
by animals and birds?
To begin with, there is usually a
vast difference between the life span
of creatures in their natural, wild
state and those in captive or do-
mestic surroundings, Old age 15 a
rarity in the wild. Senility, loss of
vigour and strength, and—most im-
portant of all—loss.Of teeth, quickly
mean death. There is no room for
pensioners.
In captivity conditions are vastly
different. There is safety from
enemies and accidents. A regular
supply of food is usually assured.
Hence, while a bullfinch or a
green finch may live to be fourteen
in an aviary, it is doubtful if it
would reach half that age in its na-
tural state. A captive Barbary dove
once reached its twenty-seventh
birthday, while a magpie in a cage
attained -the truly remarkable age of
thirty.
Canaries, too, may live for twenty
years or so, and a certain barn owl,
not a bird usually kept in an aviary,
once lived to be twenty-three. Rav-
ens, like most of the crow family,
live longer. A tante one of twenty-
nine or thirty is not uncommon,
Among other 'pet birds, parrots
and macaws live to a ripe old age.
A parrot aged eighty-five is on re-
cord, while many birds are probably
rather older than even their owners
realise. But peacocks, which are
popularly supposed to be long-lived,
rarely attain more than nine or ten
years, and at that age they are
pretty feeble.
The record for longevity in the
bird world is shared by the mute
swan and the eagle. A swan shot in
Derbyshire in 1887 bore a ring on
its leg dated 1717 or 1711. This
showed that at the time of its death
it oust have been at least 170 years
of although that was probably
t)uice exceptional,
.An eagle shot in France in 1845
had a metal collar round its neck
bearing a Latin inscription, indicat-
ing -that the bird bad been .used in
falconry in the Causasus in 1750,
over ninety years before.
the smaller the bird the shorter
its expec,ation of life. Tits of more
than five or six summers are un-
common. !!'rens scent to have even
shorter lives,
It's Nature's Plan
Among the animals, the giant
turtles of the Galapagos and Sey-
chelles Islands live the longest, but
even among these a 150 -year-old
veteran is uncontnton. Many live to
be over 100, as do some of the
larger tortoises, especially when in
captivity.
Of the mannttals, only the ele-
phant habitually ,otitlives Man, al-
though seventy or eighty or there-
abouts is often a good age for Jum-
bo. Individuals have been known to
' live for 120 or even 150 years, how-
ever.
All the other animals have short-
er lives than Man himself. The
badger is old at sixteen, and the
fox even earlier. Toads live long
for antphihians, surviving many rep-
tiles, but they are really old' at
twelve. But the bigger whales anal'
live to be twenty or thirty—that is,
if the whalers let them,
Among the smaller animals like
mice, moles, squirrels and so on,
old age is never achieved at all, so
great are the dangers that beset
then and so numerous their
enemies.
Generally speaking, the more pro-
lific the creature in its breeding
habits, the shorter is its normal ex-
pectation of life. This would appear
to be Nature's way of controlling
the balance between one species and
another, and of disallowing' any one
breed seriously to outnumber the
others..
"But I want one that 0'11 outJlvp,"
Miracles Performed While You Wait—At the Ex. this year free miracles are perforated m'im-
proving milady's looks. In picture 1, Mary Hamilton demonstrates how she might look arriving
at the Lovely Wonsan show; in picture 2,' she proudly poses after receiving free permanent, free
facial, free lesson in posture and finally -free counselling in choosing most suitable wardrobe. All
women visitors to Canada's big Fair were invited to see Lovely Woman production produced
twice daily in Woman's World Theatre, second floor of Coliseum.
``.e.a.-e. -o+
0,6T
Rv, ='t3
NI L
Gwc r,d
oltitl,e P. Cla,rl;e
Some like big houses, some small.
Generally speaking I like plenty of
space- But the last couple of days
I've been thinking there is some-
thing to be said in favour of a one -
room apartment. You see, I've lost
my glasses and I haven't any idea
in which of our eleven rooms they
may be hidden. So I go tramping
from one room to another, upstairs
and down, turning over this thing,
looking into that! trying to remem-
ber exactly where I was the last
time I used them—but so 'far to no
avail. By the time I have found my
glasses — if and when I do — I
shall probably have used up the
price of the glasses' in shoe -leather.
If we lived in one room it .would at
least limit my lost and found area,
although those whit know from ex-
perience tell me it is amazing the
things that can disappear even in
one room.
Added to my too -many -rooms
problem there is Honey! Could she
by any chance have taken my glasses
outside? -If so how far from the
house do you stop looking on a
hundred acres? Last winter, if you
remember, I lost my glasses one
time and found them in the coalbine
By the teeth marks on the ear -lugs
I didn't need to be a Sherlock
Holmes to know how they got
there. Fortunately I have another
pair of glasses but they are bifocals
—and f don't like them—at least
not for reading or typing.
However, even without reading
glasses I can distinguish good work
front bad. And.that leads up to a
very real "beef."
A few months ago I bought a
smock—you know, the kind of thing
women wear around the house. It
was a very pretty smock, spun
rayon, nice lines, and apparently
well made. It cost $4.98. But alas,
with a few . washings the smock
started coming to pieces because the
seams were neither pinked, bound
nor overcast and so frayed right
down to the stitching. To save the
garment I had to practically remake
It. Since I had had similar experi-
ences before I thought to myself—
"Well, I suppose that it what comes
of buying ready-made things—prob-
ably all garments are the same est -
sept in the top -price bracket"
But one day last week Daughter
brought ns home a Mock , , , and
what a dltiforenoel On this smock
nearly every seam wag pinked -or
if it couldn't be pinked it was faced
with bias binding. It was made of
a good quality print, cost $2.95 and.
—I hate to admit it—was bought in
Buffalo. Naturally the question I
want to raise is this: If ready-to-
wear garments can be made proper-
ly in the U.S.A., why not in Can-
ada? Are things just thrown to-
gether in this country because we
just accept them and ask for nothing
better? If that is so then here is
one person who would like to do a
lot of asking, The question is
where? Is there a manufacturer's
association that would give an ear
to such complaints or is there any
other way in which we women
could agitate to have better quality
work on the garments that are
offered for sale?
I also have another worry—but
it isn't exactly a "beef," Daughter
also brought home a little white
blouse for her three-year-old god-
son in Toronto, The blouse cost a
dollar—and Daughter said it was
cheap at the price. But I was horri-
fied . , . a dollar—for that little bit
of a thing! It bothered me so much
that I promptly sat down, took a
pattern off the ready-made blouse,
and trade two more front old broad-
cloth shirts I had around,
I was appalled to think of what
young mothers who can't sew must
spend on children's clothes. But
thank goodness some of them know
how 'to use a needle and thread, I
had a letter front one reader -mother
and what she does in the way of
sewing and .knitting, for her own
family, and for sale, is amazing,
Seems to me it would be worthwhile
for any young wife and mother t�
learn enough about sewing to that
she could at least make clothes for
lrer pre -school-age children.
And speaking of letters . , I
often wish my correspondents would
add a pen -name to their own so that
letters could sometimes be answer-
ed ins this column. My fan mail is
often so good and so interesting I
sometimes feel I would like to share
it. But of course, unless a letter is
sent to me with that understanding,
I respeot the writer's confidence and
do not refer to it in any way that
will bring recognition to, the sender.
So friends, how about it? Do you
think you would oare'to add * pen
name need time you write?
Large Order
Wanted; Small horse. Must be
gentle
to work.
autorepairlug,� A Dian; Cit (1lor_
ids) C'burfeth
Smelling Colors
Can you smell different colours?
Two scientists say that cockroaches
can—and perhaps human being, too. .
They believe Clint colours affect
the sense of smell through a sudden
loss of heat in the smell organ,
At an experiment scientists used
a board with alternative squares of
lampblack—which has no odour—
and unpainted aluminum, Cock-
roaches in a cage were placed over
the board and the lights turned out.
When the test was over all the
cockroaches were found to be di-
rectly over the black squares.
Not A Thing
Girl (arriving late at game)—
"What's the score, Larry?"
Escort—"Nothing to nothing."
Girl—"Oh, goody! Then we
haven't missed a thing!"
Teeth Sewn Into
Your Gums •
Free dental service in Britain has
caused the biggest boom ever in the
manufacture .of artificial teeth. Cy-
prus is sending nine million teeth
a year and a Blackpool factory is
turning thorn out at the rate of forty
million per year, with production
still climbing,
Before the war thirty million false
teeth were used in Britain every
year, ten million being home -pro-
duced and the rest imported.
Chief material used for their man-
ufacture is acrophylic plastic, Sets
are "authenticated" by touching
thein up with colours and markings
found on your own natural teeth.
But the tune may come when
your new teeth will be "sewn" into
your gums. This has already been
done with cats, "Tooth buds" have
been taken from the guns of one-
week -old kittens and transplanted
into full-grown cats, It is claimed
that the buds developed into normal
teeth.
In early times it was believed
implicitly that the pain of toothache
was caused by the efforts of a small
worm persistently boring through
the tooth, and to this day in parts
of the Hebrides toothache still goes
by the name of the worm,
In China, too, travellers have re-
ported seeing a patient writhing in
agony whilst the village "dentist,"
having inserted a long, sharp -point-
ed instrument into the hollow of
the tooth, calmly taps away with a
little wooden mallet to impale the
mischief -making creature.
Toothpicks have been used from
Roman times. In the seventeenth
century it was considered fashion-
able for a gentleman to carry a case
of toothpicks round with him. On
the Continent they are still used by
the million,
In France several factories do
nothing else but manufacture then`
from wood or quills. They are ex-
ported to all parts of the world.
One firm boasts that they turn out
172 different models, flavoured with
essences such as mint, rose, cloves
and violet.
Much Too Much
The Oppenheimer brothers were
interviewing applicants for the job
of private secretary, One, Amazo-
nian creature had excellent ref-
erences, but the brothers did not
enthuse after she waddled out, "1
don't think she'll do," said one,
"There's too muds of her in the
first place," His brother added,
"That goes for the second place,
tool"
By Request
Bernard Shaw was eating his
usual meatless dinner with a learned
confrere when the restaurant's or-
chestra struck up a • particularly
noisy piece. When, after the briefest
of intermissions, it launched into an
even noisier one, Shaw summoned
the headwaiter. "Does this orchestra
<play anything on request?" he ask-
ed. "Oh, yes, sir," said the head-
waiter. "Excellent," snapped Shaw.
"Kindly tell then` to play dominoes."
Show Must
Go On --
Despite the
, strike of Paris
seamstresses
for higher
wages, models
and fashion
designers were
anxious to
have their fall
collections
ready in time.
So they took
things into their
own hands to
make sure the
show goes on.
Using a statue
for a
dressmaker's
form, these
models put the
finishing
touches on a
dress in the
gardens of the
swank shop
where they
work.
; J � SABLE TALKS
clone Andrews.
Tomatoes are plentiful—in our
district at least, and I hope in
yours—and as far as my immedi-
ate family is concerned, recipes
about "fancy" ways to serve them
are just a waste of time,
That is to say they eat them
before meals, alter meals, and with
meals, just as they come from the
vine—raw, raw, raw. (I do try and
make them wash the tomatoes
first,)
However, there are others—like
myself—who sometimes like our
tomatoes dressed up a bit. And it's
to thein I'm passing on this recipe
for a very hearty, and tasty, lun•
chcon or supper dish,
BROILED TOMATOES
ON CORN CUSTARD
3 cups corn, (canned or
fresh cooked)
3 tablespoons fat
3 tablespoons flour
1% cups milk
2% teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
134 tablespoons chopped
pepper (green or red)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
Method: Combine all the above,
then turn into greased individual
molds, placed in a pan of hot water.
Bake until set, (shout 30 minutes
at 325 degrees). Then top your
corn custards with tomato slices
made as follows: Dip 6 tomato
slices in one egg, slightly beaten;
then into 1 cup cracker crumbs.
Then broil the slices in a pan
with 3 or 4 tablespoons butter or
shortening. A friend of mine adds
a "finishing touch" by garnishing
with diced, crisp bacon—but they're
grand eating even without that.
* * *
Names are funny things; and
when a friend out in the far west
sent me this next recipe, I couldn't
help wondering why it was so
titled. But after I'd tried it, I
understood. The "Oh's" and "Ah'a"
represent the appreciative sighs
you're liable to hear after folks
taste the first piece—and pass back
their plates for a second. It's:
MOTHER'S OH'S AND AH'S
CHOCOLATE CAKE
3 egg yolks
1 cup sour cream
1% cups sugar
2 ounces chocolate
14 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
13/4 cups flour
5/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
Method: Beat egg yolks and
sour cream together. Add the sugar
and beat until thick. Dissolve cho-
colate in hot water and add to
cream and eggs. Add the flour;
then the three egg whites, which
have been whipped. Bake in a
moderate oven (350-375) for about
50 minutes, or until done,
* * *
And with the grape season upon
us ---or pretty nearly—perhaps it
wouldn't be out of the way if I
included a couple of fine ways of
using that delicious fruit. The first
is:
Answer to Crossword Puzzle
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SPICED GRAPE JAM
22 quarte grapes
2 pounds sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 bottle carte or other fruit
pectin
Method; Wash and crush the
fruit. Add the sugar and apices.
Bring quickly to boil fn large
kettle, stirring constantly. Boil for
2 minutes, then add the fruit pec-
tin. Skim carefully and pour irate
hot, sterilized pint jars, or into
Jelly glasses. Seal. (Paraffin, if you
use jelly glasses), Makes 3 pints
or nine 6 -oz, glasses.
* 'M *
AMBER GRAPE MARMALADE
4 cups grape pulp (skins
removed)
2 cups sour applesauce
334 cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon
rind
Method; Cook the grape pulp in
a small amount of water until soft
enough to sieve. Pass through a
sieve and add the sopr applesauce,
and bring to a boil. Then add the
sugar and grated lemon rind. Sim-
mer until thick and jelly-like. Pour
into hot, sterilized glasses. Para-
ffin. Makes about seven 6 -oz,
glasses.
Obliging
"Madam," said the kennel owns-
to the newly rich sportswoman, "1
offer you this thoroughbred blood-
hound." "How do I know it's a
bloodhound?" she asked doubtfully,
"Hector," the owner ordered aha
dog, "bleed for the lady."
WANTED
01d gold, Jewellery, sterling silver,
dental gold, antique Jewellery, pearl
sunbursts and watch eases.
Gather together your forgotten "`Elsie,
sad tarn them into dolls,, at Tho
Gold shoppe (Crawfords), Sag Xense
Street, Toronto. Prompt valuation on
maned parcels.
7/4194/r rA
ArAllir
trer
Soothe .
them with
MINARD'S
LINIMENT
P. Rub ron freely, and
wsck Inn, panel
sass[ [coxoalcat % o afro
slr6_odor.
3 e i6.
lee
WANTED
YOUNG WOMEN
for
Hary eating Peaches Plume,
Pears, Apples, Grapes, Tomatoes
and
other Fall fruits and vegetables
Accommodation in
Farm Service Force Camps
August 13th to November 13th
Campers must bring
blankets, sheets and pillow cases
For further information write:
Ontario Farm Service Force
9 Richmond Street East
Toronto 1, Ontario.
Auspices:
Dominion -Provincial
Farm Labour Committee
YOU WOMEN
OI WHO SUFFER
then
Due to 'change of life'
Are
eifyougoing through trying 'change
of maks Does thio functional disturbance
you suffer from hot Sashes, ner-
vone and elm:holy feelings, weakness
and a sense of being irritable and high-
strung? T1,on do try Lydia E. Pinid,mn'e
Vegetable Compound to relieve such
symptoms.
Many wise women take Piukhmn's
Compound regularly to help build up
realetaneo against this distress. Pink-
),am's Compound acts on one of woman's
most important organo and hoe (MCal a
grand soothing effect.
in addition, this groat inodielno s a
fns stomachic i
tonic. A real blessing for
women who Buffer title way,
NOTE, Cr on airy prof a Lydin •8.
Ph.khnm's TAELETS with added lrnn,
ILydNa P , PhAth lug's VEGETABLE COMPOUND
AFTER 'ou
CLEAR 114E WALK
GO IN51OR !i
ITS
S TOo COLD To
PLAY OUT IN TUE
y SNOW!