‘ABBOTSFORD, SUMAS AND pre eben NEWS

~ Nature As Handmaiden

The late Luther Burbank, whose memory is revered the world over and
whose lascrs are perpetuatgd to the service of mankind in the form of new
and improved fruits, flowers and shrubs is, or should be, a source of in-
spiration to thousands of people, not only in his native United States, but
in Western Canada and other countries of the globe.

The knowledge of Burbank’s work with plant lifetto some degree is
almost universal, but only those who have studied his life and achievements
or who have visited his Santa Rosa gardens in California, now owned by
the Santa Rosa Junior College and open to public inspection, can appre-
ciate to the full the benefits that he has conferred upon humanity.

In two particulars, as pointed out by the College authorities, Mr.

Bur-

bank differed from any man who ever worked with plants to improve them;
first, he learned from a study of natural laws how to speed up their develop-
ment so that he could accomplish more with them in a short space of time;

@econd, he did all his experiments on a wholesale scale.

Because of this,

he was able to accomplish during his lifetime what others could not even

approach.

Burbank carried on as many as a thousand experiments at one time,
growing perhaps ten or fifty or a hundred thousand plants in each experi-
ment. He crowded the lifework of three or four men into one span of little
more than fifty years. Besides this he studied, wrote, lectured, met thou-
sands of people, interested himself in worthwhile enterprises, in children, in
animals; learned about other men and other occupations and activities so
that he could talk with and enjoy almost any man or woman who came to
see him—in short, filled his life with interests and a knowledge such as

few have ever found time for.

In the Santa Rosa gardens Burbank did most of his work with flowers;
in other gardens and particularly on the Experimental Farm at Sebastopol,
eight miles southwest of Santa Rosa, he carried on his experiments with
fruits. It would be difficult to list all his plant developments and creations.
It is simpler to say that there is scarcely a useful plant which he did not
study and very few with which he did not do some work.

Burbank was always pointing out that during a lifetime one could not
more than scratch the surface in the field of plant experimentation and said
nd wrote again and again that young men and women would do well to
look into the possibilities of plant breeding if they wanted to do something
worthwhile for themselves and their fellowmen.

It is, of course, not possible for every farmer and every townsman who
loves a garden to emulate Burbank’s example and make plant experimenta-
tion a life work, but there is an avenue here for the pursuit of a fascinating
adventure in greater or less degree for every man who has a plot of soil

available.

It is suprising what results can be achieved, even by an amateur, in
the fields of hybridization, cross fertilization and adaptation, even though
conducted on comparatively small scale and under conditions which are not
always ideal. The amateur experimenter may grow hundreds or even
thousands of plants of single species without securing something of value
and worthy of perpetuation but, every now and again, Nature has the
habit of rewarding the patient and observant student-worker with a prize
which more than compensates for many hours of apparently unremitting
toil and brings joy to the heart of the breeder.

Even to those who are not so fortunate as to make new discoveries or
promote new varieties, such work brings indirect results that are more than

worthwhile.
ent learns at first hand much of the

For in carrying on such work the earnest and interested stud-

fundamental laws of Nature, and if

the student is a farmer, he is able to adapt this knowledge to his com-
mercial advantage. By following these laws he learns how to improve his
product and how to reap the greatest benefit from indiosyncracies of soil

and climate.

There is one phase of the work, however, that affords fine opportunities
for farmers and townspeople in the prairie provinces and that is the adapta-
tion of native trees, shrubs, fruits and flowers to cultivated enclosures. Com-
paratively little has been done in this direction in the Canadian west, but
such activity, when undertaken with intelligence promises fine aesthetic

and utility awards to participants.

It is astonishing what can be done to beautify farm and home sur-
roundings by the use of native varieties. They have the advantage of being
indigenous to the soil and of acclimitization and are easily available at no

in t

more cost than the labor

and care.

Isolated experimentation has shown that the size of native flowers and
of wild fruit can be materially increased and quality improved under cul-
tivation, when conditions as nearly ag possible approaching the natural are
provided, and to this extent at least, there is no reason why every resident
of the west should not be his own Burbank.

Apathy Towards Arson

No Moral Scruples About Obtaining
Money From Insurance Companies

W. J. Scott, Ontario Fire Marshal,
told the Association of Superintend-
ents of Insurance he found the gen-
eral public “often feels no moral
scruples about obtaining as much
money as they can from a fire insur-
ance company and view arson with
comparatively lenient eyes. Arson
trials without juries have given us
more than 90 per cent. convictions,”
he said. “Trials with juries only 25
per cent., which reflects the attitude
of the public towards arson.” The
Fire Marshal said a company should
require replacement be made by the
assured after a fire, He said this
would reduce fires and stimulate the
building trade,

Chinese Never Drink Milk _

The Chinese are an agricultural
and not a pastoral people. What few
cattle they raise they work in the
fields. They eat plenty of pork and
lamb, but little beef. They do not
make butter or cheese, and sell milk,
very, very ancient milk, at drug
stores as medicine. They don’t drink
it as we do.

The Clyde ranks an easy first as
the busiest ship-building river in the
world.

To Deep For Cadi

Charge Of Cruelty To Animals Is
Dismissed

“It's too deep a question for me
to decide,” remarked Magistrate
O'Connor in dismissing a charge of
cruelty against John Kelley, em-
Ployee of a midway show at the Cen-
tral-Canada extibition at Ottawa.

Kelley admitted feding live chick-
ens to snakes which the humane
society claimed was cruelty—to the
chickens, he claimed death was in-
stahtaneous when a big python
clamped its lips over a hen and in
any event, pythons must have live
food.

“Apparently it is either the snake's
life or the chicken’s life,” the magis-
trate commented, dismissing the
charge when told the same show was

staged in various Canadian and
United States cities.
Visits Boyhood School

Lieutenant-Governor Of British Col-
umbia Sees Old Classrooms

His Honor Eric Hamber, lieuten-
ant-governor of British Columbia,
went back to school for half an hour
on a recent visit to Winnipeg and
scanned initialled desk tops for the
first time in 30 years.

“Well, well, here are the old class-
rooms,” he ed, running his

three, then the ete

GIN PILLS

FOR THE KIDNEYS

hand over the scarred surfaces of the
forms, possibly remembering his own
furtive pocketknife-signatures.

Eric Hamber was born in Winni-
peg, and entered St. John's College
school, where his father was a master
from 1884 till his death in 1913.
Headmaster Walter Burman, the
visitor's guide, recalled that the lieu-
tenant-governor won his B.A, degree
in 1898, specializing in classics,

Must Take Egyptian Name

Sixteen-year-old Sasi Naaz Zul-
fikar, whom King Farouk will marry
next year, will be known as Farida
(“The Only One’’) a royal proclama-
tion announcing the engagement sald.
The change was necessitated by the
fact the name of the queen must be
purely Egyptian, while Sasi’s is of
Persian origin, 2219

A Matter Of OF Opinion

Writer Says Ethiopia Unconquered
Despite Italy's Claim To
Contrary

Ladislas Farago, writing in the
Valparaiso South Pacific Mail, says:
Italy claims that Ethiopia has

been conquered. This is not true.
The Italians control the towns and
the areas around the towns. The rest
of the country is uncontrolled. Only
twenty miles from Dessye a strong
Ethiopian force commands the main
road from Asmara to Addis Ababa.
No Italian vehicle can pass.

All over the country bands of na-
tive irregulars, sometimes only fifty
strong, are harassing the Italians,’
The “conquerors” can only move in
large forces, accompanied by tanks
and armored cars, through country
previously reconnoitered by airplanes.
I learn from a well-informed source
that more Italians have been killed
since the war officially ended than
were killed during the war itself.

New troops are constantly arriv-
ing in Ethiopia. These reinforce-
ments consist mostly of older men.
Each troop-ship brings about 1,500
fresh Italian troops. They are im-
mediately put on board a train for
the interior.

Ethiopia is shut off from the out
side world, and famine is sweeping
the country. For two years during
the war the crops were neglected.
For two years most of them were left

to rot. The peasants refuse to work
in the regions occupied by the
Italians. They are afraid to bring

their products to the markets in the
towns. A small expedition was sent
out from Addis Ababa to requisition
foodstuffs. It was attacked and an-
nihilated. Not a man returned to
Addis Ababa.

Marking ine

Railway Erects Clever Sign Where

England And Scotland Meet
Passengers travelling by the Lon-
don and northeastern coast route be-
tween England and Scotland will no
longer have cause to wonder when
they cross the border for the British
and Irish railway has erected an un-
usual sign on either side of the main
line route, indicating the actual
borderline between the two coun-
tries.

The sign, 14 feet wide and nine
feet high, is worded “Across the
Border” at the top in yellow lettering
on a black background. On one side
of this lettering {is the thistle of
Scotland, in green and purple; on the
other, the rose of England, in red
and green.

Beneath the thistle is St. Andrew's
Cross in blue and white, and below
this, a Scottish unicorn (white and
gold on black) with an arm pointing
towards Scotland. The lettering
“Scotland” is in black letters on "a
yellow background. Beneath the rose
is St. George's cross in red and
white, and the British lion rampant,
in red and gold on black with a
similar arm lettered “England.”—De-
troit Saturday Night.

Pensions For The Blind

Ontario And Manitoba Have Arrang-
ed To Pay Pensions

-"An order-in-council providing for a
system of pensions for blind persons
became effective in Ontario as the
provincial . department of welfare
moved to receive the pensions, set at
$20 a month. The Dominion govern-
ment will pay 75 per cent. of the
cost. It was expected Ontario's
share will be $300,000 annually,

Applications will be received early
in September by the old age pensions
committee, acting under the direc-
tjon of the welfare department. The
only qualification for a pension is
that a man or woman must be
totally blind. Payments were ex-
pected to be begun in September, It
was announced Ontario municipali-
ties would not have to bear any of
the cost.

Manitoba started paying pensions
to the blind Sept. 1 under terms of
legislation passed by the federal
government at the last session.

All blind persons more than 40
years of age will receive pensions of
$20 a month. The Dominion govern-
ment will pay 75 per cent. of the
cost and the Manitoba government
the balance.

“Fog bows” sometimes are visible
during fogs, but, due to the smallness
of the water drops, these bows are
white, instead of brilliantly colored.

The quality of the sleep we enjoy
is more important than the quantity,
Slumber disturbed by dreams is a
sign that the brain fs still active.

The folding fan was invented in
the seventh century by an ingenious
Japanese artist, who got the idea
from observing a bat closing its

wings.

The bicycle sulky still in use in

“HERE'S THE CHEW
THAT'S FRESH AS
A DAISY AND

| BIG BED

THE PEREECT
Chewing Tobacco

A Giant Locomotive

Germany Claims It Is Fastest In
The World
A new giant locomotive of revolu-
tionary design has been completed
by the Borsig Locomotive Works of
Berlin. During trial ruffs, the giant
on rails attained a maximum speed
of 125 m.p.h., which makes her the
fastest steam engine of the world.
The machine is’ perfectly stream-
lined, even the undercarriage being
included in a light metal casing to
reduce wind resistance.
Contrary to standard locomotive
design, the control stand has for the
first time been placed in front of the
boiler, so that engineers have an un-
restricted view of the tracks before
them, a point which is claimed to be
absolutely essential at over 120 miles
per hour, The smoke stack protrudes
from the rear of the monster to
which the coal tender is coupled.
Coal dust is for the first time in
German railroad history being used
in this engine to heat the boiler.
With this new system, the works en-
gineers claim, the engine can be
steamed up for work within half the
time necessary to prepare standard
type coal burning engine. Most of the
work heretofore done by firemen is
d by a 1 trans-
port band which automatically feeds
the exact quantity of coal dust
which the fire rieeds in order to keep
steam at required pressure.

The coal dust is obtained by sim-
ply pulverizing ordinary coal, On its
way from tender to the engine's fire
chamber the coal dust is automatic-
ally heated up to 176 degrees Fahren-
heit before a blower finally hurls it
directly into the fire.

A National Asset

Retention Of Conservative Leadership
‘By Mr. Bennett Cause Of
Satisfaction

However much they differ, and
must differ, on political issues, there
is no seriously-minded Canadian who
does not welcome the news that Mr.
Bennett has decided to retain- his
place in Canadian public life.

The improved state of Mr. Ben-
nett’s health after his visit to this
side of the Atlantic is happily most
apparent, and his supporters had no
hesitation in rejecting his offer to
resign the Conservative leadership if
that step were desired. His political
associates naturally rejoice at the
fact that (in the words of their reso-
lution) Mr, Bennett's health makes it
possible for him to continue to give
his “great talents and unrivalled ex-
perience of public affairs’ to the ser-
vice of his party and the country.

But the satisfaction goes far be-
yond the members of the Conserva-
tive party. It is a national asset to
have a man like Mr, Bennett still
directly associated with public life.
This question of leadership having
been settled, the Conservatives of
Canada will no doubt now set them-
selves to face the new issues that
new times have brought—Canada’s
Weekly (London).

Problem For Airmen

"Plane Could Sink Battleship “If
Enough Explosives Carried

Found—an admiral who is willing
to concede that aeroplanes can sink
battleships.

There's a catch to it, however, ;for
Rear-Admiral W, T. Cluverius, newly-
appointed commandant of the Phila-
delphia navy yard, says the aero-
plane must first get enough ex-
plosives close enough to the ship to
send it to the bottom. That's the
big problem for the airmen.

“You can't load an aeroplane down
with enough explosives to put a dent
in a vessel's side and then send it
1,000 miles out to sea to look for a
ship,” he maintains,

The Chinese dolphin, though blind,

harness racing made its first appear-
ance in 1890,

® x

is able to catch and devour fish that

[ALICE STEVENS’ RECIPES |

FRUIT RELISH

ripe peaches

ripe pears

ripe tomatoes

cups white sugar

teaspoons salt

red peppers

teaspoons allspice

teaspoons cinnamon

4 cups vinegar

Wash vegetables and fruit. Blanch
tomatoes and peaches and remove
skins. Peel pears and remove tongue
and seeds from peppers. Chop all
(not too finely) and add sugar, vine-
gar, spices and salt. Boil slowly for
two hours. Seal while hot in steril-
ized jars.

10

o

16

WNYNND

DINNER MENU

Liver Casserole

Baked potatoes
Creamed carrots
Brown bread and butter
Apple ¢rumb pudding
This menu is inexpensive, tasty,
easily preparer and high food
value. All six foodstuffs are repre-
sented. Recipes will be sent on re-
quest if you write to Alice Stevens
and mention this paper.

Readers are invited to write to
Alice Stevens’ Home Service,
Penticton, B.C., for free advice
on home cooking and household
problems. (Please mention this
paper).

None In Canada

Precautions Being Taken Against
Invasion Of Japanese Beetles

Canadian entomologists have been
on the hunt for Japanese beetles and
are pleased they have found none in
Canada. The pests have spread over
large areas in the United States and
done extensive damage to fruit and
other trees.

It was feared they would shortly
invade Canada and precautions were
taken to fight any invasion from the
start. So far none have been found
although the discovery of two of the
beetles on the deck of a ship arriy-
ing at Yarmouth, N.S., recently gave
rise to some alarm.

Words pronounced alike but spelled
differently and with different mean-
ings are called homonyms.

Deep-sea diving is perhaps the only
profession in which it is customary

Hoarded Gold

United States Makes Midas Loo!
Like An Amateur

If you were to dig a hole—as yor
have, indirectly—in order to bury
some twelve and one-half billions of —
dollars in gold, you might have some i.
curiosity as to the bulk and weight
of the treasure. The gold which the

United States has accumulated is no

bullion and coins and occupies more
space in the Fort Knox subterranean
chambers than it would if it
melted and consolidated into a solid
block.

The Wall Street Journal has giver
an estimating attention to th
cache. It says that if the

which Uncle Sam has buried, as a

=

squirrel may conceal a nut, Were

melted and poured into one block |
would form a cube a little less “ia
27 feet three inches high and wide
It would fill Secretary Morgenthau's ~

office in the Treasury Building way y

up to the decorated ceiling. It would
be a heavy block, weighing 12, 17.5

tons or (if you care to multiply) —

24,235,000 pounds. It is, all but lit-
erally, enough gold to “sink a bat-
tleship,” though it may occt
limited space.

It is in a hole in the ground, and
the buttercups may grow above. It
ig there to serve a purpose in bel

a
out of sight. Uncle Sam may smile

and Temark that Midas and Siegfried
were amateurs—Oakland, Calif., Tri-
bune.

Same For Centuries

‘Temperature Of Curative Waters At
Swiss Spa Never Changes

The Tamina gorge near Ragaz S|

is one of the strange examples of

erosion in the Swiss Alps, and at the ©

same time more or less mysterious.
The curative waters flow from a

crevice in the rocks at the rate of
10,000 quarts per nffhute, at a tem-

perature of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

No change has been noticed in all
the centuries during which the spa

has been visited by recreation

seekers.

An ounce or more of salt is re-
quired daily by the average dairy
cow. Rock salt should be placed

to begin at the top and work down.

where the cow can lick {it at will.

have normal eyesight.

——~ ae

“A

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