University of South Carolina Libraries
/ ■ * HcCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, SOUTH CAROLINA Thursday, July 22, 1937 Hi* M - HcCORMICK MESSENGER Fublished Every Thursday Established June 5, 1902 edmond j. McCracken, Editor and Owner Intered at the Post Office at Me* Cermick, S. C., as mail matter of the second class. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One Year $1.00 Ax Months .75 Three Months .50 Tip of Nose Is Center of Balance, Writer Says The center of all balance is in the end of the nose. By balance I mean physical, psy chic, spiritual—all three, observes ,a writer in the New York Sun. The nose is a most despised feature in Occidentals, and yet there is no other organ so quick to register like and dislike, no other with such a tenacious memory, no other more indicative of character. “Count noses” is a very elementary way of arriving at a decision. A ring in a bull’s nose, or even a stick without even a goad, will tame the wildest animal. A skater, a ballet dancer, a skier, an army man, all know this fact instinctively. The ideal nose combines both the eagle and the Slight Weevil Increase hound. Too straight a nose, without ° ^ a saving humorous tip, means fa- W eather Agflinst Pest nat i c i sm > to ° aquiline a nose means a too upturned a Clemson, July 19.—Weevil infes tation during the past week in creased slightly over the preced ing week, according to counts made by county agents. Of 26 farms poisoned with the 1-1-1 mixture, 13 showed an infestation of 10 per cent or less; three of the 26 ad- concentrates the nervous energy. It Jacent unpoisoned farms showed gives one a sense of the lode star, an infestation of 10 per cent or less. Fifteen per cent of the squares on poisoned plants were punctured while 26 per cent of the squares] unpoisbned plants grasping nature, frivolous one. A psychically disturbed person, one who is always and more and more in a hurry, who goes in great Catherine wheels over the universe till he is dizzy, can be checked by concentrating on the end of, his own nose. Try it and see. It polarizes and as the bow of a boat always swings with the tide, but comes back to balance, the arrow flies straight, the man bows to his Maker. Selah! on the unpoisoned plants were punctured. No reports of dusting to cut down heavy infestations were re ported during the week. Hot, dry weather has doubtless aided in preventing more rapid in crease, says W. C. Nettles, exten sion entomologist. xx Poultry Short Course For Aug. 31-Sept. 3 Ctemson, July 17.—A program that will cover all phases of poul try production has been arranged lor the eighth poultry short course to be held at Clemson College Au gust 31 through September 3. “This short course in the poul try Industry is arranged to afford buy farmers, poultrymen, and bateherymen an opportunity to get more information on the funda mentals of poultry raising”, says P. H. Gooding, extension poultry- man, pointing out that there are no requirements for entrance to the course. “The college poultry, plant will be open at all times, and full op portunity will be given for persons to become familiar with the meth ods employed in its operation.” Stating that special emphasis will be placed upon culling, judging, and selection, Mr. Gooding an nounces that an optional examina tion will be held in selection and judging following the course, and that persons successfully passing the examination will qualify as selecting agents to cull flocks in -compliance with the National Poul try Improvement Plan. Rooms will be available in the college dormitories for b6th men and women without charge, it is announced, but persons occupying them must bring along pillow, pillow case, sheets (single width), light cover, and towels. Meals may be obtained at various lunch rooms on the c&ipus for about $1.00 a day. J With its fine summer climate Clemson is a good place to spend, a short vacation, and Mr. Gooding urges those interested to make Poison in Berries and Leaves of Some Garden Plants According to a Home Gardening expert, many common plants con tain dangerous poisons, warns a writer in Pearson’s London Weekly. There is deadly prussic acid in leaves and roots of arum lilies, in hawthorn berries, and in the leaves of the cherry laurel. Another acidic poison, oxalic acid, is contained in the berries of the barberry species. The poisonous cytistine is found in butcher’s broom berries, and in laburnum seeds, while Christmas roses are dangerous on account of the helleborin in them. Every part of the common daisy, and the sticky juice of the dandelion stem, are also poisonous. Digitalin, a deadly drug, is con tained in foxglove leaves, while hol ly berries hold several poisons. Peo ple are also warned against the ivy berries, which are full of heder- ine. Lupin seeds contain lupinine, and the berries of Daphne, daph- nine. The entire monkshood plant is impregnated with aconitine, and poppy heads are full of morphine, the chief narcotic agent in opium. Finally, t’-? yew is dangerous on account c. its taxire content. Tax- ine is a poison which causes suffoca tion. Arch Erldges Old Arch bridges date back beyond the Christian era. The oldest arch, at Nippur, was built about 4000 B. C. by the Assyrians. The Pont du Gard, at Nims, France, was erected by the Romans in 15 B. C. This three-span arch bridge carried an aqueduct which brought spring wa ter from the hills to the baths of Nemansus. It was 880 feet long and 160 feet high. The original London bridge was built over the Thames some time between the years 1000 and 1200. It consisted of 20 stone arches, and on it were built houses and shops. Although it was in al most constant need of repair, it managed to last until less than 100 years ago. Artesian Wells Artesian wells are the ones in which the water rises above the ppint at which it is encountered. If the rise is enough to cause the water to flow over the top of the pipe a flowing well is the result. All flowing wells are artesian but not all artesian wells are flowing wells. Ar tesian water is usually good water plans to visit the Agricultural Col- , although it is apt to be rather hard, and take advantage of the op- J Water from deep wells, unless thay portunity to attend the Short Course, thus combining pleasure with profit. xx \ A Honey Contest For Beekeepers Clemson, July 12.—South Caro lina beekeepers may join in a na tional honey cookery contest which has been announced by the Ameri can Honey Institute of Madison, Wisconsin, a non-profit organiza tion dealing exclusively with bee keepers in the United States, through the Clemson College Ex tension Service. The honey contest will be conducted in cooperation with different bee organizations which will hold a joint meeting in Washington on October 25, 26, and 27, says Ned Prcvost, bee spe cialist of the Clemson College Ex tension Service. Any individual may make more than one entry in each of the three c esses, which include honey pound cadres, honey cereal cookies, and heney candies. Entries must be in by October 22. 1937. County and homo agents in foo'h Cfro’ina wFl ly» glad to give !''-”Tia ! i'*n on earning the xocii^ry contest, Prcvost states. happen to be in limestone, is as pure as any ground water can be. Pure water is a relative term for all ground water naturally contains some foreign materia 1 which it has picked up in its passage through the soil and earth formations. Despised English Language Francis Bacon, the famous philos opher, politician, scientist, and writ er, who lived .under Queen Eliza beth and James I, despised the Eng lish language, although his own clear, strong prose is perhaps the finest to which Elizabethan English ever reached. He wrote his most important books in Latin because he wanted them to be read by fu ture generations, and he believed that the English language would die out and be forgotten. He even had some of his English writings trans lated into Latin for that reason. Where Columbus Once Lived One of the famous ancient monu ments of Savona, Italy, is the Pan- cak*o tower, which overlooks the harbor and was built to guard it at night. In 1664 the tower was orna mented by a clock and a statue of the Madonna, the latter facing the sea. Close by one encounters a small square, the Piazza Colom bo. On the right-hand side of this square, as one faces the harbor, stands a tall, narrow dwelling, with a tablet on its wall stating that Columbus lived here for many years. Women Dream More Than Men, Experiments Reveal Amateur psychologists at West minster college, reports a New Wil mington, Pa., United Press corres pondent, in the Chicago Daily News, decided on the basis of ques tionnaires and experiments that: Food does not cause bad dreams. Women sleep more lightly and dream more than men, and remem ber their dreams more vividly. Dreams do not forecast future events. In a series of experiments mem bers of psychology classes learned that external stimuli stimulate dreams which are definitely con nected with the external forces. For instance, icebags placed on the head of one victim caused her to dream that she was sick in a hospital and that the nurse was ap plying ice packs. Another one dreamed she was caught in a freez ing windstorm. The experimenters held a bottle of perfume under a girl’s nose, caused her to dream that she was in a shop buying perfumes and testing them by smell. Another girl dreamed she was driving on a road lined with magnolia trees in full bloom. The research workers said they found that men were less suscep tible to outside influences in their dreams. PenicilHum Magic Word of Famous Cheese Tastes For many years science has been seeking to discover the secret of the flavor of the most famous cheeses—what it is, aside from dif ferent names, that makes Cam- embert. Brie, Stilton and Roquefort individual. According to J. Rams- bottom, of the Natural History Mu seum of London, much of the secret lies in one word: “Penicillium.” “Molds of the groups known by this name,” Ramsbottom said, “play an important part in the rip ening of all these cheeses.” Penicillium, though unfamiliar even as a name to the layman, al though in American dictionaries, is a group of some 600 members, v/hich shares with one other kind of fungus the responsibility for most of the common “molds” of fruit, leather, and many other materials. “Penicillium roqueforti” ripens cheeses of the Roquefort, Gorgan- zola, Stilton type. It is, par excel lence, the maker of green cheese, and its special virtue is that it can live and thrive in cheese cracks where the supply of oxygen is very small. This Butter Grows Butter from a tree sounds ridicu lous, but there is such a commodity. The tree from which it is obtained is the butter tree of West Africa. The produce is Shea butter, a finer product than the best animal but ter. savs London Answers Magazine. In South America, Nature goes or.e better, for the “milk tree” sup plies the natives of Cordillera with a white liquid closely resembling row’s milk. When stored in bowls it thickens, and the top, when ck : mmed. tastes like good cream. The milk is fed to children and used in tea. Curiously enough, the tree is found only in barren areas and can be “milked” only during periods when little else will grow. The “milk” is obtained by puncturing the trunk and catching the sap as it slowly oozes out. Fenrt Beats and Fear Many peonle believe that when hey get scared their hearts beat faster and faster. The truth is that the action of the glands, particu larly the adrenals, during fright is such as to cause a slight initial speeding up of the heart when first scared, and this is followed almost immediately by a slowing up of the heartbeats and then the beating be comes stronger—but not faster, de clares a writer in Pearson’s Lon don Weekly. People mistake the oounding of their hearts for speed. These strong beats raise the blood pressure, pump sugar to the mus cles, cause fatigue to be banished and prepare the body for defending itself. The heartbeats are stronger but not much faster. All Urged to Make Arrests Citizens of Chicago in 1851 were told they could constitute them selves a one-man vigilante in ap prehending speed-law violators, as revealed in the ordinances of the city. “No person,” read the anti speed ordinance, “shall immoder ately ride or drive any horse in any avenue, street, alley or lane within the limits of this city under penalty of not less than $2 nor more than $10. And it is hereby made the duty of every officer, and it shall be law ful for any citizen, to stop any per son who may be immoderately rid ing or driving as aforesaid.” Tonic Talk If at any time you think yourself a failure (and most of us have that feeling at times) go out-of-doors, no matter what the weather is, advises a writer in Pearson’s London Week ly, and keep on walking until you come across a man doing a job of work and doing it well. Now say to yourself: “If that man can do his job, why can’t I? What others can do, I can do, too.” Jonah, al though badly down in the mouth, came out all right, and so can you The kettle, even when up to tht "eck in hot water, can always sing Promotion By RICHARD HILL WILKINSON © Associated Newspapers. WNU Service. Roscoc Cy RICHARD HILL WILKINSON © Associated Newspapers. WNU Service. C 1 ATE has a curious way of ar- 1 ranging things. For example, if Percy Longman hadn’t written “The Turning Road,” and if “The Turn ing Road” hadn’t proved to be a best seller, and if Bert Mayfair hadn’t been born in a little New Hampshire town called Carltonham —there would be no story. There is a little matter of shrewdness, too, to be considered, but that is incidental. Bert was a prop boy for the Fal mouth Films corporation, in Holly wood, and because he hailed from a hick town in New Hampshire his working mates were constantly kid ding him, Bert had been with Falmouth two years and was still a prop boy when Percy Longman’s “The Turning Road” was hailed by the American public as a best seller, and Fal mouth bought the screen rights. Gene Sawtelle, Falmouth’s ace director, was assigned the job of making the film, and Bert Mayfair was assigned to the Sawtelle lot. Before work was begun Bert read “The Turning Road” from cover to cover, and was quite thrilled to dis cover that the novel’s setting was a small New Hampshire town. In stantly an idea occurred to him, a gleam of hope. Excitedly he went to Director Sawtelle and explained that as he was a native of a small New Hampshire town it might be possible for him to provide informa tion that would assure accuracy in details regarding the new produc tion. Director Sawtelle listened and at the same time glanced through half a page of manuscript. When he had finished he smiled paternally and patted the young man’s head. “Thanks, sonny,” he said. “I’ll tell the scenario writers about it.” Crestfallen, Bert turned away. An other hope blasted! Another of the few chances of attracting attention that had come his way gone up in smoke! He felt saddened and a lit tle hurt, but he didn’t waste time brooding and airing his feelings to his mates. Instead he continued to go about his work with the same interest and willingness as before, j • And so work on “The Turning Road” was begun. At last the thing was done and the first prints made. Directors, as sistant directors, prop boys, writers, ! actors and dozens of others trooped into the projection room to witness the first run. It looked good. Everyone said so, ! everyone agreed that the film was j destined to have a big success. ' There wasn’t a thing wrong with it. ! Not a thing. Or that is, everybody j but Bert Mayfair thought there wasn’t. Bert, sitting in the back of the room, watching alertly, suddenly sat upright in his seat and his pulse began to quicken. After the lights came on he made L ATE in the afternoon the wind had swung into the northeast, bringing rain and sleet and cold weather. We didn’t care much; the earlier part of the day had yielded .good fishing; the open fire inside ithe lodge was warm and cheerful. There was a snug evening ahead— and Rufe Saffron was there to tell us a story. “I’D tell you about Roscoe,” Rufe said. He puffed at his pipe and crossed his legs close up to the fire. Roscoe (he went on) and I were boys together. Brought up in the same town, attended the same school, lived on the same street. We liked each other and spent a lot of time in the woods. There was nothing extraordinary about Roscoe, except that he was always wrong. Roscoe couldn’t help being wrong. He had a reverse complex, if you know what I mean. He’d caL me up of a crisp autumn evening and i say: “Rufe, let’s you and me take ‘ a hike up along the Ridge tonight. There’s sure to be coon there.” And so we’d tramp up to the ridge and never see hide or hair of a single coon. He’d suggest fishing up in Cutler’s cove, because he was pos itive the trout were biting, and we’d fish all day and never get a nibble. At first it was amusing and we kidded Roscoe about it a lot. Later, when it became evident that he wasn’t going to outgrow his reverse complex, we began to take it more seriously. We worried about it, and so did Roscoe. It looked like the thing was going to be a drawback in whatever undertaking he might set his hand to. And that’s the way it worked out. When Roscoe. was twenty-four he went into busi ness for himself. He stayed in busi ness seven months — found he couldn’t make a go of it because he made so many wrong decisions. His natural instincts, his sense of judgment—things upon which every man must more or less depend— proved to be just the opposite of what they should be. After failing in his business enter prise, Roscoe secured a position with a construction company. He stayed with the oufit four months— fired because he’d made a wrong guess about a strike that was pend ing. Next he tried selling insurance The Home-Coming By STANLEY CORDELL © Associated Newspapers. WNU Service. 'T'OIVO stood near the bow of the ship and watched the shores of his native land draw near. Bright sunlight sparkled on the blue wa- , ters. Tall buildings gleamed white and gray against a background of green, sloping hills and distant pur ple. , Twelve years ago Toivo had left his native land to seek his fortune in America. And he had succeeded. America had been kind to him. He i had worked hard, but the land of 1 promise had yielded fruit for his labors. He had saved and accumu-. lated. And at last had come the long looked - forward - to moment when he could return home, bearing his modest fortune, to spend the rest of his days in peace and happiness. The rest of his days! Ha! The thought was amusing. He was only thirty-five. The rest of 'his days were many. Perhaps he would not live them alone. Perhaps he would marry Thekla. Toivo reached his native village, 60 miles back in the hills, by train and by stage and by donkey cart. Every inch of the way was a joy. Riding down the main street of Karlskog with whitewashed houses on either side and bright-faced peo ple staring at him from doors and windows, he felt hot unlike a con quering hero. No one recognized him in his American clothes, and this amused him. Did clothes change a man so much? Or was he changed in other ways? Even his mother, who sat before her door and husked corn in the sun, did not at first reqognize him. But when he stepped from the cart and came toward her, grinning broadly, she dropped her basket and flew into his arms with shrieks of de light. Hilda, his sister, and Carl, his brother, came from the house, and there was much laughter and talk and warmth of greetings. Carl and Hilda had spread the news of his arrival. Friends began to drop in. They greeted him warmly and asked more questions than he could answer all at once. So presently he told them all to be still and he would tell them about America. He was about to begin when the door opened again and Thekla en tered. At first he did not recognize her. She was very plump and very red of face, and when he looked at —lost his job because of his deci- her she giggled shyly and slid along sions about taking risks. Affer a while it got so Roscoe couldn’t get a job anywhere—or at least anywhere he was known. How ever, he had a little money saved up. and he began studying nights. He figured he’d learn a trade, migrate to some land where he wasn’t known and begin all over again. Noble spirit, and all that, but it didn’t do any good. Roscoe came his way to the group of smiling men I east and worked at three jobs in which included Director Sawtelle, and waited patiently several feet away in the hopes that the great man would catch his eye and ask what he wanted. But the great man didn’t. Bert a single year, from all of which he was fired for making wrong de cisions. Tough. Pitiful. It began to look as though the thing were a curse which he couldn’t shake off. More years passed, and Roscoe followed the group out into the open i didn’t change. Everyone felt sorry air and finally took his courage in hand and stepped timidly forward. “Mr. Sawtelle,” he began. But Mr. Sawtelle merely smiled and moved off. “Some other time, Sonny. I’m busy now.” Bert hesitated and then for the first time a feeling came over him of reckless abandon. “All right,” he called bitterly. “If you want that picture to become an object of amusement to every one in the cast, don’t listen!” Mr. Sawtelle swung around. He scowled, considered Bert’s flushed face a moment and asked: “What was that you said, young man?” Bert Gulped. “I said that unless you want your lousy picture to be come a joke in New England, you’d better change that scene in which Miss Hemingway dials police head quarters.” Director Sawtelle was on the point of saying: “Listen you young up start, you’re fired!” But instead he came back and towered over the prop boy and barked: “Yeah? Why?” | “Because,” said Bert with a great deal more spirit than even he knew he was capable of mustering, “in Beltshire they don’t have dial tele phones. I know, because I was born and raised in Carltonham, which is the next village, and there isn’t a dial phone within 50 miles!” . . . That night Bert Mayfair wrote a letter to Agnes Hopkins, who was his sweetheart, residing in Carlton ham, N. H. It read in past as fol- | lows: “And now that I have been promoted to assistant director, hon ey, you can come out and we will be married. I am going to ask you to do something that may arouse your curiosity, but please comply with ! my request without asking any ques- for the boy, and Roscoe himself began to get discouraged. Presently he found himself definitely out of a job, with little hope of obtaining an other. The depression was getting under way; Roscoe had fallen in love with Mary Randall and wanted to get married. The future looked pretty black. You can’t ask a girl to marry you when you have neither money nor job, and you can’t ask her to keep her faith in you when you’ve been fired from more than fifteen positions in a quarter as many years. It was all very sad. Rufe stopped talking and stared into the fire. The wind had increased In volume, rain lashed against the windows. For a moment we were silent, and then Vic Read said: “Gosh, that is tough.and queer, too. Tell us, what happened to Roscoe? Didn’t the poor Vhap ever get rid of the complex?” “No,” said Rufe, “he never did.” “And what became of him?” Rufe looked up in some surprise. “Why—oh, shucks! I thought you knew.” He smiled and stood up and crossed to the radio, glancing at his watch as he did so. He spun the dials and music filled the room. the wall behind some of the others. I Toivo went to her and took her chubby little hands in his and there before all the others he kissed her roundly. There was much laughter ! and good-natured jesting. The guests stayed late. They I stened round-eyed while Toivo told • them of the many wonders of the land across the sea. After it was i over he walked home with Thekla ! and at her door tried to kiss her good-night. But she shrieked in fear and flew into the house. Gradually, as the days grew into : weeks the people of Karlskog ap- ! peared less interested in Toivo’s wondrous tales. After all there is a i limit to the stories a man can tell | of his experiences, and when he be- ! gan repeating himself their interest i became polite but forced. Toivo, perforce, began to find him- i self much alone, and being alone he j began, unconsciously, to notice ' many things that, in the excitement ! of being a central figure, had hereto- i fore escaped his attention. There were, for example, many inconveniences that one was not i forced to contend with in America, i It was necessary to draw water ! from a well and carry it to the I house for drinking and washing pur- j poses. Fall was coming on and ex- ! cept for the one room with its open ■ fireplace, the house, especially Toi- j vo’s room, was cold and uncomfort- ; able. When one walked abroad at i night there were no electric lamps ! to light his way. Long ago he had decided that shy, j giggling Thekla with her plumpness j and moist chubby hands could never i make him happy. Another month passed, and winter ; set in. Toivo began to brood. Even 1 the plans for the great Christmas celebration, at which, because he had contributed so generously, he was to be the guest of honor, did not improve his spirits. He contin- Presently the music stopped and an i ued to brood, the brooding of a announcer’s voice was heard, di- 1 man of great discontent. rectly followed by another, which said: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Roscoe Dix speaking. I will now bring you the weather report. For central New Hampshire, fair and a trifle warmer tomorrow—” Rufe snapped off the radio and turned to us, grinning. “Roscoe came to New England and got a job reporting the weather. Now, then, you men are all New Englanders, you ought to know what I mean.” The wind yowled around the lodge. We listened to it a moment. tions. I will explain more in detail and Vic Read said: “Why, gosh, the when I see you. What I want you to do is this: The next time you are in Concord go up to the State House and find out if there is such a town in New Hampshire as Beltshire. If there is, please find out for me what kind of telephone service they have. If you find that it is a dial service, please never mention the matter to anyone once you arrive in Hollywood. Of course I realize that dial phones have been installed in a few of our rural towns, but I am just anxious to learn if Beltshire is ir eluded in the list for reasons that are important to us botiy” „ wind's shifting to the northwest, sure enough! That means it’ll be fair and warmer tomorrow. So Ros coe finally found something in which he was right, eh?” “No,” said Rufe, “he found something in which everyone is al ways wrong. The weather can change quicker in New Egg^and than anywhere in the jKrld quick, in fact, as to reverse decisions c^gfe out smack ght. He makes dab 100 per cent out hik charts posite of" what he’s never\m Td reads the op- ley tell him, and yet.” \ His mother and sister and brother could not understand it. They watched him in wonder and awe, vastly perplexed. But when Christ mas eve arrived, Toivo’s attitud changed. He became gay and haj py again, and everyone was re lieved. The party was a great success. Toivo was again the central figure, and this time the interest of the guests was not forced and polite. For Toivo had a new story to tell. Tomorrow he was leaving for the seaport, and on the next day he would sail for America. The people of Karlskog listened, but no one understood. They were amazed and horrified and some of them a little resentful. But Toivo only laughed. For Toivo knew how they felt. It was impossible for them to Jt^el otherwise. They had nevgs-tjeem Jo America, or away jjflm Karlskc^g, for that matter. They were contexit and happy. God bless them! Somd day he would re turn—for a visit. Oh, yes. That was it. A visit. It was nice to visit, when you knew you could always | return where you belonged.