I-‘MAY r, __1949

F" . NEWSY NOTES - i

ly Agricola

i The K111811150!‘

. o rect name of this bird is mghgeltzd Kingfisher, which dia- Mnguishes it from the rnany kinds 2 I Klngfishers in the world! Even australia has an aberrant form lmown as the Laughing Jackass, “d more politely as the Kooka- a. , fbuygngfishers belong to the sub- .,-‘,,,.de, Aloyonel and the family IAh-pdlnlflle- These names are; pa- tently derived from "Alcyon or iiiflnlgyon", the classical and tra- itinnal name of the bird. Tile old iieiief was that Kingfishera built "f, raft-nest on the water and that “when the birds were sitting the ," a always remained calm. l-lence "serene weather was called the "hal- (yon days." ' Aptuglly Kingfishers choose the slam. hank of a stream for a neat- ,“ place, boring a tunnel five or gilt leet in, and laying up to elg t “,5 tn a chamber at the end of l 1t has long been a matter cf dis- pain as to whether the Kingfisher l, an economic offender or not. The minnows taken from rivers, lakes o; ponds, do not count for much. but if the bird frequents trout and “men streams, it “cannot be look- . ed upon with friendly eyes," as Dr. jfnvrrller says. Hgwcver. in W!‘ ‘QPrnVinCe the birds are too few to iqlnke much difference. 1 On one or two occasions I have notched a Kingfisher "flailing." It gave out a peculiar rattling whistle ' u it hovered above the small n gtrflnm, then plunged down like a flash and rose again preaumaby 1r with a fish. I was rather too far -oif to see. t. rlcar Milton, May 6, 1935). Belted Kingfisher, AOU. 390. Fair- ly common 1916, Tlumage, Male: r‘ Elli large, strong, head dark gray- lsh blue, with a bushy, ragged l» crest that makes it appear larger. g: Back. wings, tail, and a band across r the breast ashy-blue. Chin, neck, ‘t. and rest of underparta white. Io- arsie plumage much the same, but ~the sides are of a rich chestnut, ‘v with a “belt" of the same color 4- crossing the breast below the blue hand. Legs, (both sexes) short. -_ Length of adults. about 13 inches-

‘ Theflkyforltfay n.

.'.. On Monday, May 2nd, the Moon and the planet Uranus will be in 'Irifi1lll'lCllOfl shortly after 3:30 in ;_‘ the morning. On the 4th there is ‘,1 a shower of meteor. due-the Eta-

Arluarids, so-called: however, this

E-A. shower is not in the first

i!‘ rank.

hioon in the First Quarter May 5th and in conjunction with Saturn " on the 6th (15 hrs. 20 min.)

j Moon in Perigee May 10: dis- “ tant from the Earth 2M,900 miles. _ l-‘uli Moon on the 12th (Astronomer f‘ Perrey believed this situation -

{Perlgee + Full -— led to earth-

l" quakes.) , May 11th, Moon in conlunction ‘i with Jupiter: nearly always brings

had. weather. Moon in Last Quar- ,~ fer, on the 19th.

‘l Moon in Apogee, Sunday 22nd. “Distance from the Earth 251,600

1' miles.

On the 26th the Moon is in " ronlunction with Mars: usually a pretty sight it is spoiled this time , hy daylight. New Moon May 3'7. Conjunction of the Moon and Venus on 2th, the - prettiest of all coalunctions, spoilt because of daylight.

News o! the Sunapot Cycle. As-

tronomers agree that 1944 was the minimum year of solar activity as indicated by an entire absence of sunspotl, and consider April 1944 to he the central month. The sunspots had become larger and more nu- merous at the end of March 1945,

4v. r

(The last occasion was

\!\l\u__ @2516}! and a notable increase was observ- ed in June. The "most active" months in 1946 were February,‘ Marchyand July. On the northern hemisphere, from January to Atl- gust 194d, 2162 spots were observ- ed as. against 1822 on the southern hemisphere. The date of maximum activity has been given aa 1941-4, or about May M, 1941. ln March-April 1847. there appeared the largest sun- spot group ever recorded. For May 1941 the Wolf-number was 206, the highest since 1718. The peak in’ May was only 3.15 years after minimum. During 1948 solar activ- ity continued strong.

The foregoinl account is com- plied from several yearly issues of the "Observer's Handbook", publish- ed by The Royal Astronomical So- ciety of Canada. The "Wolf-num- ber" refers to Wolf and Frltz's list of sunspots and auroras A.D. 1706 to 1871. Schwabe, of Dessau took up the work in 1826, and carried his list on to 1865. By questioning vari- ous estronomers in the U. S. A. I carried on the Wolf and Fritz list to the present date. One thing is remarkable: the peak year of sun- spots is the peak year for influenza too. It has been asserted that the disease ls specialiyvirulent every thirty years: if this is the case, we are due for a formidable outbreak.

Smclta and Cispeilns

"The smelts are running today," said a friend who had come from exploring the creek. (May 22). "That so?" I said, "are they pro- tected?" "I think they are, to. some extent," he said, "but no- body seema to mind if you take a single "fry" in the spring time. The real smelt-fishing is done very late in the year." This conversa- tion set me to Francis Baln’s Na- tural History of P. E. Island for more about the Smelt.

"This dellcloua little fish," he says, "comes in multitudes in early spring. to spawn in the head wa- tera of our streams. it is then readily taken with the scoop net. The rest of the year it lives in the rivers and bays and is taken with hook and line."

The Smelt was included in the Salmon Family in Bain's ‘book, but at the present day this fish and the Capelin are grouped into the Oassseridae that is. the Smelt Fam- ily. The scientific name of the Smelt is Osmerua Inordax, and that of the Capelin Mallotua vllloaua.

The Smelt is very common throughout the Maritime waters, and the annual catch just before the war was, for Nova Scotia, 797,- 000 lbs. valued at $115,000. I have no figures for P, E. I. Usually the Smelt reaches about 10 inches in length, but a specimen was taken in N-B. in May 1917, that measured l8 inches. In some of the N. S. lakes a land-locked form occurs which reaches 14 inches.

The Capelin is a northern fish and vary rarely finds its way to the coast of Nova Scotia; Bain says that they ros.m round our coasts in "schools" and are caught in large querttities for bait. They are small fish. scarcely eves- ex- ceeding B inches in length, and ymlng Oapelin are the natural prey of the smells ‘lino waters round Newfoundland aibound with Capelin in unbelievable ers: which is one reason why Cod go there. These little nsh are as plentiful in the North Pacino as they are in the North Atlantic.

The Highlands, A Problem

This is the heading of an article in the London Economist, dealing with the Scottish history of the last hundrod years. The problem, however. is very mach older than that. for to it we owe all those emerprising Scottish families who crossed the sea almost 200 years ago tn settle in Canada, and. more especially in Prince Edward Island.

‘I110 core of the Highland prob- lem is the "oroitter" counties. Ork- ney. Shetland. Ccithness, Suther- tland. Ross and Ommarty, Ai-gyil and Invemess. The crofter had a house and a strip of arable land adjoinlnt it. and at the best. of times his standard of living was not. high. This was trhe reason for the migration to the colon- ics, and later to England or to

lot-her parts of Scotland.

The Economist, dealing only

“a,

' MAM-i! come UP HERE.’ I vosrr t; LIKE MAKiNG sens IN THE FIRE-T PLACE--BUT

with the last 100 years, tails ua that the erofter counties cover 41 per cent. of Scotland's land area but contain only 800.000 people- lee-s than six per cent of Scot- land's population and 06,000 fewer than they supported in 184i. Since 1871 the Highland popula- tion has fallen by 78.764. whereas that of scotland as a whole has increased by 1,856,000. (Part of the increase is clue to an influx of lrisb laborers to the industrial areas-an influx little appreciated by the original Scots!)

The immediate object, in at-

tempting to solve the problem, is to increase the national food sup- llly. but the task is no easy one the to the crafting system “which perpebustes in legal form a high- ly involved version of peasant tenure which has no counterpart anywhere else in the Common- wealth,” The Crofters’ Act of 1886 and the Small Landholdcrs Act of i911 gave great security of tenure lo the crofter. The crofters are passionately attached to the land and ho-nes won by the political (and other) struggles of their an- cestors, and regard them as in- sllensrble property in a way that astonishes the borderer or Eng- lishman. I-n consequence econ- omic planning in the Highlands is not a simple affair of blue- prints and statutory orders: it mutt rest on the findersliantiing and consent of the local inhabit- ant-s. This temper of local inde- pendence has caused the Scottish Department o! Agriculture. as wail as other official bodies, to move with a caution and delicacy that pnlzzles those used to the rougher rule of WhitehalL-(Oontinucri next week.)

W.C.T.U. NOTES

THE L.T.L. SECRETARY

To the L.T.L. Leaders:

Our year is drawing to a close. l hope we will find it has been n very successful year. Please make a special effort to pay your dues to the Provincial Treasurer, before the end of April. Your reports must be in to me by the 15th of May, as our Convention is to be held at Kingston, May 31st, June 1st and 2nd, 1949. Will all the new groups take notice that only paid up Leg- ions are eligible to compete for the trophy. I hope I will have the plea- sure of meeting a number of our leaders at Kingston this year. Sincerely,

(Mrs. J.) Florence Nelson.

WHAT IS THE ALCOHOL PRO- BLEM AS SEEN BY SOCIETY?

Does society grow excited about the man who takes an occasional glass. lie doesn‘t nci in a way in cause lcar, or embarrassment to his friends. You see 16 cases of empties on the sidewalk in front of your neighbor's house, waiting for the panel truck to pick them up. You see a swarm of little boys not over ten years calling at all the doors to bring out your empties and you are annoyed. It l; a shame to employ Little boys in this way. Your neighbors are drinking too much. But they are nice quiet Pwlble, they never annoy anyone. They are never rowdy and they own a lovcly car which they often park in front of your house. But oh, all those empties. A shame. Now what is the problem? They never drink to excess, never have a car accident, don't appear- to b; g menace in any uni’. Society says they are no danger. Society says the man who drinks to excess is the problem. He might endanger Your life. I-le might commit an in- decency. He is unpredictable and irresponsible. And this is the thin: that upsets society and its sense of security. Society is not easily stirred until some tragedy occurs and then its concern is short-

down to the underlying causes of excessive drinking and correct than; causes instead of fighting the alco- hol as such. So society says the solution is to remove the cause that makes men drink. How can you legislate against nature? So long as nature causes sugar fruits to fer- ment under certain conditions, how are you spins to prohibit making alcohol?

One group will say, take all the profits out of the manufacture and

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—By J. R. Williams

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GUARDIAN- unscrew“

YAGE

IN MEMORIAM

MRS. GEORGE LESLIE

On January 30th. one day be- fore her 61st wedding anniversary, Mrs. George Leslie passed to her eternal rest from her 1181M m Moi-ell. Widow of the late Cap- tain George Leslie who predeceas- ed her eight years ago. anddwflh- tes- of the late Joseph Fairchild.

she was born October ‘l. 1866. J05- ephine Fair-child Leslie attended the early Church of lmsltmd schools in that town and won. at an early life. the Governor Gen- eral's bronze medal awarded i0 pupils with the highest standing in Grade X or Public School leav- ing. l-ler son Walter won the bronze medal si: the age of four- teen while in Sourls school.

,Mrs. Leslie retained all through life the quick wit and ready re- plies for which she was new! H a girl at day school and Sunday School and had a iseen knowledge of English and of the Bible.

Like her husband she was known and hiphly respected for her fair dealing and readily WmPB-meilc ‘understand’ in all thins: Wlih neighbors and friends and people ln general regardless of race, 61B" or creed.

She-was confirmed by the Bish- op of ‘Nova Scolds in Ailélilfil-‘lalg in ‘trinity Church of Engrlild. Georgetown. and thoush B- W1“ member all her life. she beiievfii in the wider membership of Christ's Church that includes all who do His works. d

An old-fashioned. mother an homemaker she preferred her own

sale of alcoholic heveragl‘! find W“ will solve the problem-

Another school of thought advo- catea startln! with the inebriflie and rehabilitating liim and then working back through the mtldefflle drinker to complete abstinence. At the same time you must begin n! the other end before tirinkinZ be‘ gins, and by the very sloW PT°°°55 of education prevent PWPR “m” ing drinkers. This PPM"! ""1" begin in the home and be carried on in the churchp and school.

Ladies! Could you spare a mo- ment to wrlteyour thoughts on these matters. with or without P9P" mission for me to pass them 0h l"

thi lumn? ' co -Elaie Wrfghi

NATIONAL GRANGE PLANS TO FIGHT CRIME

Recommends Temperance Educa- tion in Schools

According to an Associated Press dispatch of Nov. ‘l0 from Portland. Maine, where the National Grange is in session. that organization ls planning a vigorous fight against crime, indecency anti lawlessness in the nation, and. to that end recom- mends employment of a full-time youth director. The Master of the National Grange. Albert 8. Goss, in his annual report, recommended adoptiois of the following:

1. Urge school studies of "tem- perance and the abuses of drink- ing, smoking. end other practices ieadingito vice.’

‘ 2. Seek cooperation of "character- bullding groups in making clean movies avdilebls"

3. Get local authoritierto ban those “comics" which violate the common standards of decency and feature crime and lawlessness. Gees stated that the past 15 years since the repeal of prohibi- tlon have been marked by "an enormous increase in liquor con- sumption and a tremendous increase ill filmb"

shiptmllder at Georgetown where-

famlly circle and books and loliil-V friends to any reward the hillside world had to offer. The plaudits of the crowd held no interest for ner. _ Three of her sons predeceased her: Howard died of measles in May, 1916; John, killed at the battle of Vlrny rudse in April. 1011; Walter died or "flu" in 11w 1018 epidemic. in October.

Left to mourn the loos of a de- voted mother, but. also to cherish her shining example and his?“ idealism, are four sons and four daughters: Percy and Joe of Cal- gary. Albcrta; Andrew, James and Elspeth (ms. Gerald C.’ Rcyanl all of Toronto, Ontario; Isobel (Mrs. Ralph E. Ding-well) of Ban- ggr; Anne (Mrs. C. B. McExem and Mary of Morell; Mary, twin of John. and Public Health nurse of King's County, suffered a scv- ere illness last June, a. serious

still confined to her bed at her home. The funeral services fol- this reason were held from the home of Mrs. R. Dingwell.

A short Church of England scr- vice was read from the 100 YER? old prayer book of Mrs. Leslie's fat-her. a hymn sung by a. very clear friend, Mrs. J. l-t. Compton of Charlottetown. followed by the regular service in Marie United Church, and interment in Mldgell cesnete y beside her husband and two sons. The services were con- ducted by the Rev. W. McPher- son. pastor of Marie United Church.

Floral offerings from all mem- hers of the family and from close friends, as well as letters and cards of sympathy too numerous to record. were mute testimony to

i the esteem of this kind friend and

gocd neighbor gone to her Just reward.

Of the eleven grandchildren three served with distinction in World War 2. ‘Ilhcre are eight great grandchildren.

May God bestow His richest blessing on her and hers!

MEADOW BANK W- l.

The Meadow Bank women's In- stitute convened with lvltrs. Rob- ert Jewell for the April meeting when the vice-president. Mrs. Ei- mer clow presided. Eleven mem- bers snd three visitors were pre- sent and the Institute was vary plascd to greet Mrs. Richard Mac- Kinnon as a new member. The secretary reported 828.17 net pro- ceeds from the pantry-sale hold at Rogers liardwire. and Miss Laure. (fioeby reported $30.86 pass- ed to the treasurer of the rink from the concert and candy sale held recently in Cornwall hall.

After discussion it. was decided to have the school committee pur- chase six new blinds for the school. The sick committee re- ported sick remembered. The sec- -etary was asked to write lnvitins Pownai Y. P. U. in nrdsent. their

nlay in Cornwall Hall early in May. A request from the Junior

Farmers asking for a donation for nrises for the oratorical contest to be held in Cornwall l-lall was re- ceived nnd s2 was voted. Miss Laura Crosby and the president were enpoinied as a committee to help about the prises. Correspondence consisted of a ‘eiicr from the Red Cross asking tnr the support of the members in the campaign being conducted. also a beautiful card 0d soot-ecl- etionjrm-i Mrs. Fred ‘Hyde for fruit. sent her when ill.

The institute News was tils- tributed and nine members paid

relapse on Christmas eve. Hid l5-

wlth a donation of one dollar. on

motion of adjournment the meel- ' ‘rrrg closed with The King. Lunch was served and a social hour spent. '

The May meeting will be held at. the home of Mrs. L.H. and Mrs. stuart Drake when Mrs. W. W. Crosby will assist the‘ hostess and the roll will be answered

me.

Mrs. Stanley Hyde read the April questlonaire on Social Wel- fare and some health pamphlets were distributed.

; MAJO-R HOOFLI

e000 ueavercsf? "rt-wt HE'S 601 A cuckoo

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