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The Seaforth News, 1948-10-14, Page 2THE SEAFORTH NEWS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1948 MALABAR FARM WELL WORTH READING A book 'recently placed in the Sea forth Carnegie Library should prove of especial interest to farmers,' as well as of general interest to town people. Its title is Malabar Farm and it is written by the famous novelist Louis Bromfield, who writes in an entertain- ing manner and is not at all technical. Mr. Bromfield tells about problems that confronted hint when he acquired worn•out farmlands in Ohio. While he deals particularly with conditions iu Ohio which has been settled longer than Ontario, his observations, es- periences and philosophies make in- teresting reading. In a friendly simple manner Mrs. Bromfield covers a wide range of ag- ricultural activities—crops, grass for pester° end soil improvement, drain- age, plowing and live stock. Malabar Farm started as a single farm which has grown until it covers 1,000 acres. It is a co-operative project run under what Mr. Broomfield calls. the New Agriculture. Some of this land whieh at first grew live bushels of wheat an acre has increased in productivity to 85 bushels an acre. Replacement of minerals in the soil he says is necessary. Minerals grad- ually are removed from the soil after 100 to 150 years of use. One of the most important minerals gradually removed by livestock is lime. Each animal has large quantities of calcium (lime) in its bones; and livestock, milk, etc., shipped off the farm will remove this valuable ele- ment from the soil, the author points out. Lime of course is important in making foods available to plants, and the legumes (clover) which supply nitrogen from the air are unable to worn properly in rebuilding the soil when lime is absent or depleted. Similarly. numerous minerals re- quired in smaller quantities than cal. eium, Mr, Bromfield says. are depleted from the soil in the same manner. People who live on land which is depleted of minerals suffer from the lack of these minerals in the food they eat. is the theory of Mr. Brom- field. They lark the vitality to proper- ly care for their land. Another theory advanced by Mr. Bromfield is of wide interest. Soils that are in proper balance he says will grow plants that will resist dia- ease and insects. In other words, if you can get the amount of minerals balanced properly with the amount of organic matter-, etc., in your soil you can say goodbye to potato bugs and cabbage worms, and also to that long list of blights and rusts which grow on so many plants and fruits. He believes that plants which are in proper condition and have the proper mineral content, etc„ will resist any disease or insect which may attack it. If an insect or disease suc- cessfully attacks any plant, Mr. Bromfield believes the soil it is grown on lacks some necessary constituent to give it sufficient vitality to resist all attacks. A resident of France for many years between the wars, Mr. Brom- field gives 'credit for the inspiration for many of his ideas to his observa- tions of fanning methods in Europe. The 5011 of Europe has been cultivated for many centuries, incl today is in a high state of productivity. He con- trasts the results of farming in America after only a century or two. With the present dry weather, Mr. Bromfield's views on drainage and. conservation of water supplies are interesting. . He believes when soil x g eve e s in proper condition, it will quickly. absorb large quantities of surface moisture, and little or no drainage is necessary; that drains are injurious to the land to the extent that they carry off minerals and organic matter from the soil, leaving it in a cement - like condition : This • condition he says causes the'. surface water to run off with ,Undue rapidity and causes floods. Interfei•ence with natural drainage he feels is a serious mista'ko. Nature has built up its -own very efficient drainage .systems, and any tampering with it throws ` the whole system out of balance, and leads to floods in the spring and drought later intho season, Another interesting little sideline at Malabar Farm was the project of dig- ging ponds whieh were stocked with fish: There are other things Bromfield goes over. Pasture growing and use, and cattle raising for beef are dealt with in a revealing manner. He likes to keep his cattle in penis in the barn (during the winter season, of course), rather than in stalls or stanchions. The animals he says are happier, and the manure produced is better and cared for more readily, Mr. Bromfield says his ideas are simple and commonsense; they can be carried out by any farmer, whether his resources are large or small. He works on the principle that each field should pay its way each year, and thinks that fallowing land is un- necessary and wasteful. In concicsion, it can be said Mr. Bromfield has discussed the conserv- ing aucl the increasing of soil fertility in all its aspects, and the reader can absorb some of his enthusiasm for this important subject. This book— Malabar Farm—should prove popular in a farming community such as Huron County, where prosperity de- pends upon the fertility of the soil. It is u book that should be read by anyone contemplating the purchase of land as it gives a clear picture of land values as related to fertility. It will be of interest to the land owner who wishes to increase the fertility of his property, New Lone Ranger Adventure Follow the celebrated masked hero as he stars in a new exciting exploit, "The Outlaw Trail". .See The Lone Ranger, Flash Gordon, The Phan- tom and other famous and thrilling adventure classics appearing in PUCK, The Comic Weekly, the big color comic magazine with this Sun- day's (October 17) issue of The Detroit Sunday Times. OTTAWA, CONVENTION ' (By Clare Westeott) Continued from last week The platform was very beautiful, the rear of the stage was fronted by large colourful replicas of each pro- vincial shield. Over the top of the stage andpart way out over the crowd hung white and blue cloth streamers a s r•s t •ha t had to be seen at night under the glare of the colored spot lights to be appreciated. The press room at the rear of the coliseum was equipped with about 200' typewriters, telephone and tel- egraph and teletype service, press lounge and lunch counter, which help to maize the reporters' job eas- ier and: assisTed in getting out. the news while still news. Friday the platform was taking shape and the 1300 .odd delegates had the opportunity of stepping up to any one of the four microphones that were placed conveniently around the convention floor and ex- pressing their views on carrying or amending the 30 some resolutions. The ,gathering not only touched on but was specific regarding such po- litically hot subjects as,communism, margerine, income tax, Canadian wheat board and many others, and in every case it was threshed out completely till the resolution was passed unanimously and carried. In the evening the three aspirants for the leadership drew lots for speaking positions and came out with Mr. Drew speaking -first, Mr. Flem- ing second, and Mr. Deifenbaker third—Each candidate's nominator snoke for ten, minutes, seconders spoke for five minutes, then the con- tenders spoke, each for 20 minutes. The applause for Colonel Drew was terrific. It was sort ofa contest be- tween cheering sections to see who could get the most noise from the convention floor in support of their respective candidate when he was called upon to speak. The Drew sup- porters in the front rows were so successful that newspaper photo- graphers left the platform and carne down to get their pictures. Returning to the Chateau Laurier at the conclusion of the festivities I' Sound real convention spirit—conga lines were formed by Drew andDie- fenbaker supporters with each try- ing to drown out -the other with their campaign songs. Leaflets telling the attributes of Donald Fleming were about one inch deep on the lobby floor. In the centre of the main lob- bystatue ofSir Wilfred Laur- ier—Friday is a st t id b ita bowl- er a night hal on Y tga hat and on it was a sign saying "George Drew welcomes you". One had only to ask any bell hop to find holy this P.C. assembly rated as conventions go. They all said it was the most enthusiastic gathering they had ever witnessed. Saturday morn - Mg saw the voting delegates filing into Landsdown Park Coliseum to register for and pick up their ballot books. Revival meeting enthusiasm spiced with nervous tension could be seen in every eye. Ballot boxes were carried up and down the rows of delegates and then whisked off to the official counting room. The ovation was terrific when it. was announced that Col. Geo. A. Drew, had received 827 votes, almost twice as many as needed for a clear. majority. From my, seat in the press room I heard Mr. Drew's acceptance =speech and when he finished and spoke to the French delegates in their own language about 100 re- porters busily working against a deadline stopped as if struck by lightning—that was one of the greatest surprises of the convention. His wife, Florenza Drew, stood up before the bank of microphones and speaking in French and English told the people of Canada, that unity from coast to coast was the keynote of the Convention and would be the byword in the months to come. , For my part, speaking as a news- paperman, and as a Young Conser- .vative, I believe that the convention put the Handwriting on the wall. Send us the names of your visitors Only One Sin Between You and Heaven ! Only one sin has damned the souls of men throughout the ages — the sin of unbelief. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him," John3:36 "Behold NOW is the accepted time; behold NOW is the day of salvation." 11. Cor. 6:2 DELAY NO LONGER ! Chas. E. Fuller P.O. Box 123, Los Angeles 53, Calif. HANDS AT WORK... for ONTARIO ONTARIO'S products are desired and purchased by people all over the world and the capacity to produce such goods largely determines the economic welfare of every man, woman and child within her borders. Because the sale of every article produced in Ontario brings valuable dollars into this Province, we all are more assured of job security ... and we and our children can have more of the better things in life. To produce such goods in sufficient quantities, skilled labour is vital. That is why every single one of us should be glad that war veterans are constantly being trained to provide the skilled hands so needed by Ontario industry. They receive ON THE JOB training under expert instructors in our Ontario factories. This training, provided through the co-operation of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Federal Department of Labour and the Ontario Department of Educa- tion, starts veterans on the road to skilled oraftsmanship. • Taught to use their hands in such jobs as routing, etching, stripping, burnishing and finishing, they will eventually become photo engraving craftsmen. Because of the increasing im- portance of this trade, every effort of these newly -skilled workers helps to make Ontario a 'finer place in which to live and contributes to the welfare and happiness of all her citizens. THE BREWING INDUSTRY ONTARIO) , LEARNING PHOTO ENGRAVING R. C. Smith, 22, of Toronto, an R.C.A.F. veteran, is shown routing a plate in a large Toronto photo engraving plant: Duringtheirtraining,veterans are shifted from one job to another to familiarize them with all phases of photo engraving. Many veteranssubsequent- lye obtain full time employ: nreirt in the factories where they receive training. • `, s.•• When the day comes for you to ease up, will you be de- pendent endent on others—or will you enjoy freedom from worry on a CANADIAN GOVERNMENT ANNUITY? Don't look back and say "If Only.:.. " Look forward and say"1 Will." HUMPHREY • A low-cost Canadian Government Annuity guarantees you as much as $1200 ayear .for life,. • No medical Examination is required. • Your Annuity cannot be seized under any law. You cannot lose your money even if your payments fall into arrears. • Anyone, from 5 to 85, is eligible: Annuities Branch DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR MITCHELL Minister A. MacNAMARA Deputy Minister Masi this Coupon today POSTAGE FREE Annuities Branch, Department of Labour, Ottawa. Please and me COMPLETE INFORMATION about Canadian Government Annuities. NAME (PRINT CLEARLY) ADDRESS. 3 NAVE YOU MOPED OR CHANGED YOUR if so fill out this cGfiNi October 31Is Refundable Savings cheques for 1943 and 1944 will be mailed by March 31st, 1949. - Make sure that yours arrives safely by following these instructions. If your name and address are the same as in 1943 DO NOT MAIL an address card ... your cheque will reach you in March. 2If you have changed your name or address e since 1943 go to your Post Office, obtain a special "Change of Address" card, fill if out and mail it AT ONCE. .3. Even if you mailed an address card last year, you should complete one this year if your, name or address has changed since 1943. DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL REVE,Nt1E Taxation Division Ottawa Hon. J. J. McCann, M.D. Minister of National Revenue