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Zurich Herald, 1952-01-24, Page 3Which Way Does Pig's Tail Curl . , Recently published in an Aland - can farm paper was the sketch of a pig with its tail curled to the left. In a short accompanying article the question' was asked whe- ther the artist had curled the tail" in the wrong direction. Readers were invited to write and give their opinions and obser- vations. Over 1,000 *letters and pos- tats were received. Here's'a tabula- tion of the replies: Thirty-two per cent said a pig's. tail" curls clockwise (or right); 13 per cent said a pig's- tail curls left; 55 per cent sa:d it curls either way —and that's correct. The most surprising : thing was how many folks had never paid.any.:' attention to that' portion o£lawig an anatomy; had never had the "Ques- tion raised.. • Sonic interest:ng farm beliefs came to light in these replies. Quite a few farmers said that if„a sow's tail curls to the right, that's a sign of a good brood sow. Others were just as certain that a left curl was a sign of a good brood ,sow.' Some folks said it was a anatter of se>X, some thought it was the breed that determines the direction of the curl. Many a reply said: "I don't know, but I went out and looked at our 'hogs.” Several sent snapshots 'of their pigs in evidence. Some of the vo-ag teachers had their students triadic 'counts on pigs in their prej-. ects and send the tabulation :^ of right cerise and- left . curls.. One country school teacher, in Michi- gan had all the fourth grade pupils look the matteat up and write a reply, then alr the letters were mailed in one huge envelope. The letters came from oldsters ,as well as youngsters.- A ,farrier wrote:, "I am 70 years old and 'thave 'lived ow a farm all my life. f never saw a pig with its tail curled to the left."" A farmer, 65, correctly observed that tails can curl either way. A farmer's wife in Texas said: "My. husband and 1 went out and looked, just to. make sure." A boy who has raised, fed, exhi- bited--and judged hogs for three years said the curl of the tail, had never been called to his attention. Another young farmer who had really spent some time watching his pigs came up with this obser- vation: "A pig seems to have per- fect control. While I watched them, some pigs curled their tails left, then let them uncurl and twisted them to the right." ..One point on which many agreed was the importance of curl in a pig's tail. A curled tail, they allowed, was a sign that a pig is feeling good; doing well. A sick pig, or a chilled pig, usually lets its tail hang straight. Is Man a Fighter By Nature or Training? Do men and animals fight be- cause of some inherited inner urge? Or is itbecause they are trained to be belligerent? Some light is • thrown on these questions by ex- periments that Drs. J. P. Scott and, EmilFredericson of the Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory have been conducting with fats and mice. The laboratory has long been studying the behavior of animals to determine the relative influence of heredity and environment on beha- ' vior. Though heredity, especially :the male -hormone factor, may be im- portant in -some situations, train- ing proves' to be more important. Drs. 'Scott and Fredericson regard this as hopeful. because the. same ivies of learning and habit -forma- tion apply to all higher animals. But, the two investigators find that more research 'is necessary before it is tNH ork ng Girl's BotidoirWodrobe Should Be Practicoi IA' EDNA IMES THE girl who earns her own living and must therefore get an. entire wardrobe from her paycheck each season quickly becomes a shrewd shopper. When she shops, she looks for practicalitz as .well as fashion. In choosing boudoir fash- ions, site passes up gold- etched tricot and the pleated nylon nets in favor of gowns and pajamas that are charm- ing but inexpensive. And, in making her selections, she, looks for fashions that are young, that are comfortable, that launder well. Designer Myrtle Mayfield has done a series of. just such gownsand pajamas for Colura in high fashion colors and in warm and washable brushed rayon. These . have a styling that's definitely y o u n g. They're done in warm, glowing col- ors: aqua, coral,pink and sand.. Some have clean touches of white la big pom- This brushed rayon gown In coral was designed for the paycheck ons while others, -are sparked • girl. It's edged In white Venice lace, has a mandarin collar; white °bey bright ribbons.. -" pearl buttons, and is Witted ' at the sides for comfort. The mandarin,: collar, the •q• Werresette,t, Warm wear for a wintry night Is the over-all minim in aqua brushed rayon. Waist - length jacket has a wide slit collate touched witiz coral ribbons. Peter Pan collar and the dol- man sleeve appear in these gowns and pajamas, both for fashion. and forf.,- comfort, Flowing cuffs sire', used, too, and often they are piped in a contrasting color;:•:f safe to conclude that training equal- ly influences fighting in higher ani- mals, man included writes Walde- mar Kaempffert in the New York Times. Apparently there is no spontan- eous internal natural cause for fighting. Rats and mice, and per- haps man, if some extrapolation is permitted, do not need to fight. If they fight it is because of goading and training. The spontaeously arising need for food , may be as- sociated . with fighting through training. The converse is also true. In other words, if the environment is right, nice and rats ,can be train- ed to keep the peace. Drs. Scott and Fredericson point out that there are departures from the behavior patterns of rats and mice in someother species. Dogs, baboons and men "gang up" on an individual. Rats and mice never do. It may be that this is a here- ditary difference. If so, then what holds true of rats and mice does not, hold true of some other species. To discover if man is naturally a fighting animal, or if he is belli- gerent because he is often taught . to walk around with a chip on his shoulder, is not easy. Rats and mice do not read ;.newspapers ' or listen . to rabble-rousers. .Men do and'are thus inflamed against whole nations, races and social classes. Such cultural factors will be diffi- cult to control if it turns out that what applies to rats, mice, dogs and baboons also applies to man. • SALLY'S SALLIES Cebl'.., 12.17 Con w., Kuv rm.. tMJ:., 1n. ,wie to, ...0 "There's no longer any discount —not even for high government officials!" "Angel" In The Wings—Taking time out froth herb role as anangel in et production of "Christmas Through the,Ages;' little Loretta Young, .4, gets in a fewlicks as a stage hcinds The all -girl show,. featuring four -and -five-year olds, was produced by a Children's Aid Society centerr1 , . Royal Bank Statement Sets New Record As Assets Cross $2.5 Billion Level Total deposits at $2,350,314,347, reach new high point . for Canadian banking—Liquid position strong—Increased profits offser'by' higher taxes. New high recordsin the field of Canadian banking are revealed in the annual financial statement of- The Royal Bank of Canada kr the year ending November 30, 1951: The report, just issued, shows total assets have now topped the $2.5 bill on mark and stand at $2,515,645,208, an ,ncrease. of $18,268,886 over the record figure of a year ago. Deposits have al, reached the`,` highest figure in Canadian banking history, the total at the end of the Royal Bank's fiscal year standing at $2,350,314,347 as compared wtih the previous y ea,r's figure of $2,337,503,468. This increase has oc- curred despite a reduction in Gov- ernment deposits of nearly $46,- 000,000. 46,000,000. Interest-bearing deposits have also reached a new high level of $1,123,723,791; an increase of $19,805,565 as compared with the corresponding figure in 1950 bal- ance sheet. The steady rise of in- terest-bearing deposits, characteris- stic of bank statements during the past few years, shaws a. tendert, 1 level off, due no doubt to' the sm-„ pact of heavier taxes and higher liv- ing costs. Non-interest bearing pub- lic deposits have increased by $39,694,767 and now total $1,085,- 717,203. Demand for commercial loans in Canada has continued heavy, due to the high level of comercial and industrial activity during the past twelve months. This is reflected in an increase•of $67,122,070 under this heading as conpared with the cor- responding figure in 1950. Much of this increase occurred prior to. the Government's announced policy of credit restriction in February. Call loans in Canada standing at V1,- 191;848, 21;191;848, are down by $31,347,547. -The liquid position of the bank con- tinues very strong. Cash assets total $488,057,49, which is equal to 20% of all the bank's public liabilities. Liquid assets amount to $1,624,599,- 059, equivalent to 66.96%. of the bank's liabilities to the public. In- cluded in the bank's liquid assets are Dominion and: Provincial., secu- sties tetalling $836,209,958. Y ' Bank PremisesAccount has in-.. nreased from $17,068,704 to $19,- 508,884, due to the bank's continu- ing programme of branch building and improvement. During the year major improvements and extensions were completed at a number of branch points for the better accom- modation of the bank's steadily in- creasing clientele and staff and for increased efficiency. If You're Modernizing Your Home These Hints May Be Helpful Many people can easily spot a modern piece of furniture or a modern interior. Yet they search in vain for a common denominator, or a rule which says "this makes modern." Kim Hoffman, world famous de- signer, believes he has found a formula which will help solve the, problem for the average layman. Modern, he believes, is not a series of elements. It is not char- treuse walls and pink sofas, nor spindly iron furniture, nor sling chair s, nor free -form tables. Though legitimate in themselves, these pieces, he says, cannot make modern. • "It is' the atmosphere rather than its separate components that counts," he says. Modern Means Special Outlook. . "Going modern" to hien simply means sharing a special philosophy and a special outlook on life. Mc- dern has character. He chooses to describe it in three strong charac- ter qualities — honest, simplicity, and generosity. Honesty, he says, enters the pic- ture when you stop disguising things to look like what they are not. Using marbelized paper to fake a marble table top he cites as a good example of what should not be done. It means courage to refrain from covering every column with air-, rors, and to hang draperies without a covering valance. Simplicity is the second defining quality and the one which he con- siders most difficult to achieve, People who have been exposed to' the flapper era of "cuteness" do not always take to it kindly. "There is nothing cute nor coy nor fussy about a modern interior," says Mr. Hoffman. "Rather it is a study in understatement and :nee turity. We do not fear the empty. spaces outside our houses; why then, must we fear them in our rooms and on our furniture? In- stead of buying more furniture, why can't we buy better furniture? An empty corner or a bare wall has quiet restfulness, and there is real pleasure in looking at fine woods." Generosity, the last word in his trilogy, implies, he says, generosity in line and treatment. For instance, where several small tables, chairs, lamps or pictures were used in the past with cluttery effect, modern interiors employ fewer, but larger pieces. One long row of unified book- cases or chests takes the place of innumerable small commodes of different heights. Instead of fram- ing three windows individually with six panels, one generous cur- tain now covers the whole wall. In- stead of two or three short sofas or love seats varying in type and size, one long sofa continues hori- zontal lines. One or two bold, gen- erous patterns are used to accent plain fabrics. Generous lighting calls for fewer lamps which give stronger light, and clearer lamp shades which cast a whiter light. Generous carpeting means wall-to-wall carpeting or linoleum to take the place of seven small scatter rugs. - In understanding overtones of "going modern," Mr. Hoffman be- lieves home owners will not seek just to be fashionable or modish. They will rather seek the intelli- gent application of their own aes- thetic ideas to make contemporary rooms which are airy, spacious, comfortable, and useful. FIRST COME *14 A visitor to the village attended.- church ttend,.¢*church and afterwards a resident asked him what he thought of the • service. "I liked the service very much," said the visitor, "but one thing puzzled me: why did the congrega- tion hurry out so quickly after the Benediction?" "Well," the native replied, "the sexton makes them leave their umbrellas in the porch, and those who get out late haven't much of a choice." t• i� .ale HRONICLLS i1NGERFARM r v2t1.dolin� D Clat`1 e What do people do with their . spare time --that is, when it isn't Christmas? Read, play cards, run around to dances, parties and shows? Yes, we know • people do many of these things—some more, some less --but there are also plenty of folk who make use of their spare time to develop their own creative talent. And I believe their number is on the increase. At least that is my impression after visiting local bazaars, hobby shows, and more recently, a sale ,of arts and crafts. It is also evident in the tremendous response in this district when night school classes were organized by the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of teaching art, leather - craft, sewing, woodwork and other forms of handicraft. Obviously, people like to work with their hands and their brains. Perhaps I should put it the. other way round because a'person must first use. his brains before he can work with his hands. Small town bazaars are more or less conservative in their set-up. The work that is contributed and the articles offered for sale are generally along the lines of knitting, crochet, fancy work, baking and candy, probably because these items are always sure of a ready sale. Church members responsible for all this fine work certainly wouldn't have much spare time left on their hands for idle amusement. Think of the number of work hours involved . in such an undertaking! It. trust be. colossal. At hobby shows we find a greater variety of handicraft. Here there is. work that has been adopted pri- marily as a hobby—craftsmen, both men and women, taking a delight in making something that is new and different, testing their own skill and ingenuity. Occasionally hobbies also develop into profitable sidelines. Somebody once said—"Show me what a person does in his spare time and I can tell you what kind of person he is." There is a lot of truth in that observation, isn't there? When there are so many creative pastimes to work at and to hold our interest surely none of us need be guilty of "killing time." Last Saturday I picked up two of our neiglthohrs and tool< them to a sale of arts and crafts at a neigh- bouring town, .cleverly timed t* catch the Christmas gift -buying. public. It was wonderful , , butt` terribly hard to make a choice for' the presents one wanted to buy Pottery of all kinds useful and ornamental. And as an added attrac • ' tion there was a young lady artist from the Sovereign Potteries de- monstrating free-hand painting on handmade pottery. It was fascinate jrag to watch her at work, A few deft touches of the brush—and there • r. was a., in full bloom There ,were also bowls, vases and ashtrays:., in natural terracotta clays froze soil ° taken straight from the nearby village of Terra Cotta. TIM.. streaky clay mixture looked some -ea. thing like marble cake, only pinky. white. Of course all the pottery was . glazed and baked and was most attractive. Apgther display was quite unique' —at least I had never seen anything like it before. Costume jewellery in the very finest of leather—in all kinds of artistic colours and designs. I bought a beautiful orchidpin, in bronze and gold, that I am sure Daughter is going to love wearing Q.n',itew'lapel on her brown fur coat. I"wouldn't have had any trouble in choosing one for my own use but I couldn't afford to be Santa Claus to myself. In handwoven goods there were guest towels,, place mats, scarves and most attractive.evening bags in a pleasing combination of colours. Between us .we came away with three -bags and two towels. Friend Phyllis was having a wonderful time—"'Picking out cos- tume jewellery, thinking about it afterwards, add then deciding a different colour would really ° be much better for her sister -in -taw. It was changed with the best of good humour. Then she bought a bag for Aunt Susie ... in a few minutes she was 'back again—she had to have one in blue for Pamela. . and that one in coral shai}e; would be grand for 13 -year-old Bonnie iM ` Finally we had a cup of teaa-.J 5 made tracks for home,' very well pleased with our purchases, ,and" grateful for the initiative of the i Arts and Crafts Guild who 'shade our purchases possible. tee f z Wore A Uniform Broke Into Rash That a United States soldier had to be discharged from militara.;ser- vice because he broke out into a rash ever3i time he put on uniforms is by no means a mystery to the medical profession, for the fact.that certain people are allergic to pecu- liar influences is an old -established one. A few years ago a doctor re- ported. that one of his pa,ients broke out in sores and tnfla'tna- tion behit. the ears and ori the bridge of the nose for no autiarent reason. Eventually it was .found that this was caused by the nickel - framed spectacles be wore—such as are worn by thousands of :people —ithout ill effects. But the .:doctor found that if he placed a e, nickel coin on i".e palm of this man's hand for a few hours. the skirt .neeeet neath looked as though it had ben burnt. A young wife who 'because il1 adee intervals was found to be tabitor, mally sensitive to flour in its raw::' state and was only unwell after she;:; had been making cakes. The .ann.: tact of silk with the skin cif sol to . r ple has a most harmful -effect.: The fact is that our bodies. have fads and fancies ust as much_ as we, their owners, have. Fortunately, most of us are not adver cic.''af- fected by things ii'3th iv1iiila w e cone into contact flit freetteut nc- casions. In a country church an, absent- minded verger was showing two late strangers into a pew when the ,preacher announced his text:.''Paul ire know and Apollo we know, but who are' these?" "Just two cortTniercial travellers from the Red Lion Tavern," :veneer- ed the cereer. Member of the Underground—You may laugh at this, pocket gopher's buck teeth, but he won't. His. chisel -like incisors ore just about the most important things he owns. He uses there for dig, ging tunnels, cutting roots, stems and tubers The little rodeni'i teeth grow a total of apprroximately;46 inches a yedr or about six times his body length, according fo a recent study And ow'+; ,Pau like to spend a year lacking into'fhat face in order tr- those.teeth? Huh—not even for science?