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The Seaforth News, 1961-09-07, Page 6Deer Slaughtered To Make Perfume In the mountain forests of southern China and Tibet lives one, of the world's smallest kinds of deer — an animal with such a price on its head that only its inaccessibility has enabled it to survive, • it is the musk deer from which comes the most sought-after and Valuable of all perfumes. Despite the difficulty of track- ing the musk deer in the dense rhododendron forests where they live, the musk hunters pursue them with such determination and skill that the annual toll approaches 100,000. How much longer the species can stand this enormous drain on its numbers we do not know. Protective measures by the governments concerned would have little value, for in these immense areas of wild and unin- habited country it would be im- possible to enforce them, All kinds of methods are em- ployed to catch the deer. In the valleys, nets are placed across one end and the hunters and their dogs advance right through the valley from the opposite end, making as much noise as they can to drive the frightened deer into the nets. In more open country, dogs are used to drive them •from cover, when they can be shot either with rifles or poisoned arrows, Others are caught in traps -along well -used deer paths in' the forest. But many manage to elude all these methods of capture and remain hidden in dense thickets. Even they are not safe, for the hunter knows they have one weakness — curiosity and an ap- parent love of music. So he sits down quietly and begins to play en the flute he always carries with him. The little creature is irresistib- ly tempted to investigate the strange, appealing sounds; but as he emerges, the liquid notes of the flute give way to the deadly crack of the rifle. Only adult males produce musk, but as at a distance there Is no way of distinguishing the sexes — neither carrying ant- lers — males and females are both killed, thus increasing the annual wastage. Although musk -deer venison is a particular delicacy, the musk hunter is interested only in the little musk pouch, about the size of a walnut, lying at the base of the abdomen. This he carefully removes, and then leaves the carcase to rot. Inside the pouch is the granu- lar musk — so sweet, yet so strong that anything that comes into contact with it retains the scent for weeks. So valuable is musk that the temptation to swindle must be very great. Many of the hunters bave perfected methods of in- troducing foreign . material into the musk pouch to increase the total amount of "grain" that finally can be extracted from it, and hence the price that will be obtained for it. The introduced material soon becomes as strongly -scented as the real grains, 'Music grains as removed- from the pouches are worth more than $300 per pound, but finally - purified musk extracted from the grains son be worth as much as $1509 an ouneel Musk hunting is clearly a profitable livelihood, but it can also be a dangerous one, Just as there is no law to protect the the deer, so there is no protection for the hunters, who are valu- able prey for the bandit, writes Philip Street in "Tit -Bits," For him to pick out those carrying musk is an easy matter, the strong scent giving him away, Many a hunter has been killed for the musk pouches he has been carrying, All perfumes are complex mix.- tur'es, A single odour has no subtlety. Among the odours blended in a good perfume are some that by themselves would be repulsive. Perfume makers distinguish four "odour types," which should all be part of a satisfactory per- fume, These are sweet, acid, burnt and goat, the latter being a very unpleasant odour, The value of musk is that be- sides contributing a particularly valuable odour, it is also able to make other scents with which it is mixed more permanent. It is a fixative; The perfume maker also gets three other important ingredients from animals— ambergris, civet and castor. Ambergris has a rather curious origin, being pro- duced when sperm whales have indigestion. These . large sixty -foot whales feed on giant squids, which are so powerful that they can inflict a considerable amount of damage on a whale before they are over- powered. Most parts of the squid are easily digestible, with the ex- ception of the pair of horny jaws. The whale is unable to digest these jaws completely, so they are coughed up as a half-digest- ed mass, called ambergris or "grey amber," after the rest of the squid has been digested. Large pieces of ambergris worth considerable sums of money are sometimes washed up on the shore. Ambergris itself has an earthy smell, but it helps both to mel- low and to fix other odours. Castor is a product of the scent glands of the bear, and is therefore a similar product to musk. It is, however produced by both sexes. Civet is likewise a produce of scent glands, this time of the civet cat. It smells quite horrible, yet, in very small quantities, it adds to the qualities of a good perfume. The latest news is that pure musk has at last been synthesiz- ed. This is good news for the musk deer, because it means the end of persecution for them as soon as the process has been developed on a commercial scale. "Some motorists never stop to think," says a road safety pam- phlet. Yes, and others never think to stop. HOODWINKS AND CUTAWAYS Hoods ore the rage in fall and winter collections in Paris. Left, the hood is set high on this wool coat, which is completely framed in matching "fat" wool fringe. The coat's only closing is a how under the chin. Right, a satin wrap falls straight from the shoulders and arches in front to reveal a matching sequin -embroidered dress be- e eath. Both designs by Michel Goma, MERMAID IN THE SHADE — Resting ,on +he old mermaid tree in Weeki Wachee Springs is pretty Lou Spikes. In the traditional mermaid fashion, as soon as her picture was snapped she dove back into her deep, crystal clear underwater home. TABLE TALKS �neAncipeaz Oven frying is an excellent way to prepare chicken, particularly when more than one is to be cooked. Crumb coated, placed in large shallow pan, they take very little watching and you will serve fried chicken as tender and even- ly browned as anyone could wish. OVEN -FRIED CHICKEN 2 broiling chickens (234 pounds each) 2 eggs, slightly beaten 2 tablespoons water 3 cups dry bread crumbs 34 teaspoon salt 34 teaspoon pepper a teaspoon celery salt 14 teaspoon sage Y4 teaspoon thyme Pinch dry mustard 1f; teaspoon ginger Pinch cayenne Pinch garlic salt (or powder) 14 cup melted butter Cut chicken into serving pieces; wipe with damp cloth, Combine slightly beaten eggs with water in shallow bowl. Mix bread crumbs with salt, pepper, celery salt, sage, thyme, mustard, ginger, cayenne, garlic, garlic salt in large deep bowl. Dip pieces of chicken in diluted egg, then roll in seasoned crumbs. Let stand in cool place for Yz hour. Melt butter in large shallow baking pan, place chicken in it. Bake in 325 -degree oven for 1 hour. s a. In some parts of the country bacon grease or salt pork is ad- ded to green beans while they are cooking to give additional flavor. They may be boiled, then butter and seasoning added after cooking. They may also be creamed, In fact there are many, many ways to fix this favorite vegetable. Here is an unusual way to prepare them. STIRRED BEANS 3 cups (about 1 pound) fresh green beans 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or bacon fat cup water 1 teaspoon salt Snip off ends of beans and slice them either diagonally or lengthwise. Heat oil in a heavy skillet; add beans and keep stir- ring them as they cook for about 1 minute. Add the water and salt and cover skillet. Cook 3 to 5 minutes ((beans will turn a brighter green), Then, take off cover and continue cooking 5 or 6 more minutes until beans are tender. Stir occasionally to avoid scorching. The water will evapo- rate, leaving flavorful green beans ready to eat, Serve prompt- ly. w * :r CORN ON COB, PRESSURE -COOKED 8 ears freshly picked, sweet golden corn 4 tablespoons water Butter Salt and pepper Husk the corn, remove the silk, wipe the ears with a damp cloth and place on rack in pressure cooker with 4 tablespoons water,. After the pressure is up to 15 pounds, cook corn for 1 minute. Serve at once, drenched in but- ter and 'seasoned with salt and pepper. SPICE CUP CAKES ' ',I cup shortening le cup sugar i egg, 34 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup pastry flour l.1,2 teaspoons baking powder 14 teaspoon salt 16z teaspoon cinnamon X14 teaspoon nutmeg 34 teaspoon cloves 6 tablespoons milk Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually and continue creaming until light anti fluffy. Add egg and vanilla to the creamed mix- ture and heat well. Sift together flour, baking pow- der, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, three times. Add dry ingredients with milk to creamed mixture, stirring af- ter each addition until the bat- ter is smooth. Pour into 12 paper -lined muffin tins. Bake 3n 375 -degree oven, 18- 20 minutes. Cool on cake rack. Then cut cone from top of each cake, fill with fluffy cream cheese frosting. Replace cone, dust with icing sugar and serve. P r 4 - CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 3 -ounce package cream cheese 1 tablespoon thin cream (18 per cent) 1r/ cups icing sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Beat cream cheese with thin - cream until smoothly blended. Gradually add icing sugar and vanilla, Beat until fluffy. a w a VANILLA CUP CAKES This recipe will make 24 me- dium-sized cup cakes. Frost half of them and roll in coconut, make cherry upside down cup cakes with the rest. 2 cups pastry flour 2 teaspoons baking powder r,` teaspoon salt 7a cup vegetable shortening 1 cup sugar 1 egg, unbeaten %s cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together three times. Cream shortening, ,add sugar gradually, cream until light. . Add egg and beat well. Add flour, alternately with milk, in small amounts, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. Pour one half of batter into 12 paper -lined muffin tins. Bake in 375 -degree oven 18-20 minutes. Frost with fluffy frosting, sprin- kle with coconut. Place brown sugar, butter, pineapple wedges and a big red cherry in the bottom of 12 muf- fin tins, place portions of re- rrfaining batter on top and bake, for cherry upside-down cakes. p * r CHERRY UPSIDE DOWN CUP CAKES a/ cup melted butter 34 cup brown sugar 10 -ounce can pineapple rings 12 large maraschino cherries Vanilla cup cake batter Blend butter and brown sugar. Divide evenly between 12 muffin cups. Drain pineapple slices, cut into wedges, arrange on top of .brown sugar mixture, place red cherry in centre. Add vanilla cup cake batter. Bake in 375 -degree oven 18-20 minutes, Let rest for 5 minutes, loosen edges of cup cakes, turn out and serve, Great Painting Stays In Britain Britons high and low hotly pro- tested the recent sale of Goya's 1812 portrait of the first Duke of Wellington to American collector Charles B. Wrightsman, The Ok- lahoma -born oil millionaire took the heat coolly, If Britain was so anxious to. keep the famous por- trait, he indicated, all she had to do was pay back the $392,000 that had been bid June 14 to get the treasure. After nearly two months of frenzied fund-raising, Chancellor of the Exchequer Selwyn Lloyd said the other day that a $280,000 gift from Britain's Wolfson Foun- dation, coupled with a $112,000 government ante, had saved Goya's 25- by 20 -inch Wellington from exile, "We are delighted that the portrait will not be go- ing to America," said a British National Gallery spokesman. Wrightsman, too, may have breathed a sigh of relief. For weeks London art circles had speculated that hot bidding in the June 14 auction drove the price a trifle high, even for a Goya, and maybe even for an Oklahoma oilman. DRIVE WITH CARE A Restaurant Built Just For ' Two Nesting 60 feet from the ground in the branches of a century - old banyan tree in Honolulu is the worlds most intimate res- taurant, which is jammed every night to its full capacity of two. The restaurant is the lofty in- spiration. of Donn Beach, propri- etor of the famous Don the ' Beachcon'er's bar nearby. "The tree house is an escape for those in love. With love," says Beach. At $38 an escape, couples are let through a gate, up a stairway disappearing into the t r e e, through another gate and into their leafy isolation, Beach locks both gates behind him when he leaves, and guests must call him when they want to descend. Lit by candles and furnished with a low table holding the pre- viously prepared food (squab, roast bananas, champagne), a record player and a sofa, the tree house is favored by older (and richer) couples. "Mos t youngsters are out for a lark, not a truly romantic experience," Beach explained recently. "I have served at least a million people but my greatest pleasure is serv- ing two in the tree house. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to re-create true romance for peo- ple." ISSUE 35 — 1961 This •Teacher is 19 Peet Tall 1, Schoolchildren of the future are not likely to take anapple to the teacher, They are more likely to take a, can of oil ° as a gift, For, in a few years' time, the eduoation of youth is ex- pected to be carried out by mon- ster robots. But they won't be anything like Frankenstein's horrific mon- ster, They will be gentle giants such as "Bozo," the robot super- man who is now being exhibited by his Russian creator, Paul Ke- zar, in Sao Paulo and other cities of Brazil. Nineteen feet tall and weighing a ton and a half, B o z o, is commanded, via radio wavelengths, to act exact- ly like a living being. Under the. direction of his de- signer, he answers questions, walks, moves his arms. He can stop and start, emlbraee a per- son, move mouth, eyes and head — and all without any clanking or jerky movements, On his first test hike, Bozo walked a total df fifty miles. . He is six and three-quarter feet across the shoulders and his head alone has a height of four feet. His "heart" consists of two elec- tro -magnetic motors and two six - .volt batteries. Kozar took more than six years to build his superman. In the beginning Bozo was just a jumble of parts and electrical wires and appliances, packed in- to an outsize trunk. The job of putting him to- gether continued in several dif- ferent countries. Finally Kozar completed his robot marvel in Brazil, where he has been ex- hibited for the benefit of the Red Cross, Kozar says that there are more robots on the way. Other countries are also realiz- ing the value of robots for step- ped up teaching. They can replace many hu- man professors and can teach large groups of students, as Bo- zo has done. 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