MARCH 1;, 1941 . w

ITNEWSY ‘NOTES -

l! AGIJOOLA

m; lL-‘ililiff enact:

t scottish readers will IM°oéiInI1l)CLlIt\' in recalling Viri- uievtreiit "Graces" uttered by . mums] poet, presumably ‘be- wmM-tt uutl also many more I“ '0 him on doubtful [Ill- rut io be found in his lrolible was not the It to offer these l givings, and I im- ccnlemporary R0- I him very close °I ‘ R hItrtlag 1on5 _ » _ 0.15 -- g, ; race. uMn-elillscrfuqilirt: across all the details I’-“,",,‘,’,p,,.,.. u, given by the Rev. ‘nitrides Rogers in his "Century ‘swttlsll Ll The -Rev. Doc- . fame. was the authority for one of the stud- fwu... u... ~- at the Univer- "Ofgl, Airurcrrs. and it was hid“,- ol tlzc bursars to say grace wllllfb at the thiitier in the Com- II H111 rvurn it came to Fer- wni, turn, he rose and deliver--

dmreli thus; wmbbu; roung and for rabbits

old ' - l 1 . d for rabbits cold, fiflfffifff. ‘tgiiggr and for rabbit's

F‘

n1 ’ udwifylhflllk Thee. for we've had enoiufil-

’: l that the UXIIVEISIIFY. m .l.l..i§fliiiig.~.i spirit, had drawn - n a rabbit-warren in the ylglrborhootl for its chief faije. to ‘m, tho students had periodically jetted in ' Fiergusons on- i-esisiible and the t-d. But the profes- p-twere iiid sore. and were M; u; discipline the frivolous poet, rlu one of tilPIl‘ number, a cauti- mfellow, thought it was "better bittsleepilig dogs 1ie" than have lirgusvn make up something more mion and zit their own expense. (yergusou dicd in 1774).

NOTES 0N ISLAND PLANTS The Lablatrte (2)

TIIPRM Doud Nettle (Lamlurn ytrliltrsuml has (usually) cordate hiss truth cruiluliite edges, and le-red labiate flowers in axil- EIPIMI temunal clusters. It was all: common in England, but I re seen it once only on the Is- u when lt was found (1935) in a mien at suuiuit-rside, by Dr. W. lllokiiaii The "Dead" iii its com- wllllame c.l2_v mciins that it does lasting like the Common Nettle titties). from which. it is further tiliugitshed by its square stem. Fr it is the "Ortie Rouge," cc Poulrt." In Sweden it . in s as "greens." jltiill lmli, rriih large palnrately- tell the Cotnmun Mother- Ii-‘i (Lwnurus (nrtlliica) is some. tilts louncl in waste places. Its Itllllhr rams- comes from its use

titre imuuluc nerve trouble. Ii-‘tfl rd soon. The lierbals still l at ‘up tonic for coir- "IF-f s r for This plant is lllliloln oil I. coming to t-hs coli-

iiient by wit‘ of Europe. Two inter- Ktitt lifts about the Motherwort u: it is visited by the wild Bmnble. ' - ' those g C1113 current rind. s rc AgL-‘IIGTIVOII. in summgixa m m. ole arc two species of Stnchyi Iillie Islmid. The March Wound- m 15- twill-iris) appears to revel hmolstsoll and becomes a nest. ciiliiratcd ground. It. Ls o. “m” Spreading rapidly by 0290i s running i-ootswck, m; | l is surprising: 1 was gent. Wilton or the root about five P651540. and planted it in order muster what. it was. I goon out. Illlfgofifll still forkingmup , " ' every spr . hgwlllt says that formerly, M °I “We-filly all of the “Inhlvc been eaten. Its com- “Mléges of All-heal and Clowns “it show that it. was once J‘ “I115 a vulnerary. It has M m‘: If dlilmcs. kidicatlng a wouidrlbllilfifi. The dried leaves H a jtmtnrc sold in Britain to p d‘ ca‘ for relieving gout, _ stuff" Tl‘ and internal bleed- .. 1 em‘ “m "I"! a good c01- hebpgrteofi this‘ plant in "Farm ind“ Net-Heat's. tinder the name

"liter Slachys is the Flld "W"! Woundwort (S. arvenslesl.

m“ a diffuse annual with a h, legal: and long-percoled oval

t I with crenate margins. ma“? was recorded by Mr. ‘Newaflgibcll, of Campbellb y‘ asgow, two or three

I‘. m‘, Cmeplhs Thyme um“ ffmflmmi ls abundant ° “M195: as at lib-ench-

‘ tho lalterlocality may be I,“ slantllfi-lcx-llowered variety, a- b"... kin $1 the normal purple-

mymo, <h The scent oi the ' ‘m, e as made it a favor- m. “mhrtgitsiirttiil us-Idaki; ‘rufifljfi’ gilYflt broth oi- soup. and 51pm,“ It sucks. but seems to ., rom favor in modem

t _ ‘i’ "OAR TOMATO _ i: h’ u % "hr Content t warm of all Tatum In , i,» ‘L. . nrodnesrlwlmlt. . _‘ 9]‘ éThink of it. s sweet lo- , » _ -mnt0 with mnny IrullI f. rand-ding“ 12% 8 n. " lore. “Idols the beauty ""1 lymmct of tho n; men _ hi"? lmtlh length.

Nit-hi In it IWI .-""° of 'l often

IRE! — Our m; m: 8M nu Runny m»:

at" i submit,

times; at least it is not used ,5 1:“ as half a century ago. In medi-

9 It I8 used as tonic and antiseptic. It does not greatly up. iect to dY°l18ht since it. grows “bundantly 0n the top of the Ru- man Wall in Northuznberlgnd ’ Anmhe!‘ “Blllsle-weed" is. the Lycflllus unlforus. (It will be re- membered that another labiate, the “"33 "PI-aha lvas also known as Bugle-weed: thus illustrating the 60915151011 that may arise from the use of popular names alone. One 511M113 always endeavor to memorize the botanciil name as well). There scents originally to have been some confusion in the identity of this Dlant. which has been corrected in later text-books: but the. L. unl- florus is readily known by it's tub- erous base‘ and stolons, and its corolla. with flaring lobes. The Busleweed was formerly used against. coughs and hiiemorrhage of the lungs. The Cut-leaved Bugle- weed or Water Hoarhound (L. Am- erlcanua) ls found in wet soil, and has deeply and irregularly incised (siiiute) leaves.

In I926 Professor Groh of Ottawa identified the Creeping on Downy Whorled ivllrit (Mentha. gcntills) as growing on the Island. It has sharply serrate ovate leaves, and whorls of flowers all axillary on freely branching stems. which are often of a reddish color. MacSwaln lists the American Wild Mint M. urvensls canadertsis), and Churchill the Red Mint (M. rubra) as natives of the Province. The last does not lflrppfifll‘ in Grays or Brittorrs ,Maiiuals, and may be a variety of M- Rntllls? None of our Mints have been put to any use. thougn all contain menthol.

These are all the Labiates found here so far, Remember, all lablates have square stems --but not all square-stemmed plants are labiatesl

AS I LOOK BACK

Before parting with Mr. Wilson. I must relate his explanation of the term “rurming amok." I had sup- posed it to mean an lndiscrlmlnute attack on innocent bystanders by a Malay in a state of delirious in- toxication. To my surprise Mr. W. said it was caused by what ~ s called “Amok Fever " The Ma he said, were normally indolent but courteous and gentle; but when un- der the influence of religious excite- ment, gambling losses, jealousy or other domestic troubles, they net the “fever” and rush through the crowded streets, cutting down with their sharp krisses (swords) all who get in their way. The attack gen- erally, terminated with the shoot- ing of the swordsman in the inter- ests of the public safety. And so W6 dismiss t-licse tales of the Malay States.

I came across an Italian in the way of business once only: and he was a young fellow from Naples, by name Luigi Monti. There were plenty of Italians in Newcastle. as already stated. but they we're‘ of the poorest class and were no? in- terested iii education. Luigi seemed to be of good family, and was willing to pay well for a course u! lish grammar and composition. He did not look (nor dress) like a Istage brigand as our Italans did, ‘but was stout an jolly-looking, and I could imagine him better as a "Friar of Orders Grey" than in any other role.

I always made a point of iearii- fng something from my students af- ter the lesson was over, and l learned (to my own satlsbction) that Italian was a more musical language than even Spanish. and, that is high praise. But the spellirir; seemed to be so unnatural to Angtlo Saxon eyes that I made no attempt to learn the language. The only Italian poet that I knew of was Dante. and my actual knowledge of his works was confined to u few translations by the poet Longfellow; but Luigi made me aware of Tessa.- the best heroic poet that Italy has produced. His "Jerusalem Deliv- ered" approaches classical per- fection and it was a treat to hear Luigi recite it. lven when one didn't understand. What a rolling sound had such words as "Tavrtareo. tromba," Tartarian trumpet.‘

It is customary hOW-a-days t0 be- lieve the Italians are cowards, but I venture to dispute that. They. like all the Celtic nations, fight best when all is going well. no doubt. but in the present case they are fight- lng a war in which they have no in ..'.‘I¢I1B.Il'..h68-X‘IS are not in it." as the Britons would say- The 0f‘ ficers themselves are only half- hearted about lt. If led by British officers they would be much differ-

fir... or worn-o citoP. 104-0

Figures released by the D°mmj ion Department of Agriculture DH- the value of the potato crop In C1" ‘l; ads at $35,160,000 in i940 a1 “B? "5- $41,065,000 in i939, Tire overall‘? price per cwt in 1940 was 84 cts: “In i939 it was $1 13. From these fig- ures may be gleaned the total PTO‘ dupe in tons, or cwts, if you prefer

‘Ly-gm, Edward Island's total poiato crop is valued at SI-AWMWO and the price is 42 cts per cut. price (42 cts )lo0ks better tiranzaz really is‘; fgrlthat only means - cts per us e .

The average DIICCS 01' WAQIQ". It“ the other Provinces are thoolizj provoking. Nova Scotia K09 9 CLZ; per cwt", New Brunswick P M01“: Quebec 80 cts: Ontario $1.1 .1 a u toba 90 cts: and British Co utmsez _ whose total crop was valued 8r m.‘ 020,000. got $1 20 P" ""- l Wm nine Provinces we had the o prices. Is there any valid reason rolikrbrirlythe some release I 83th" the‘. the value of the ifeld cm!) Pm‘ duction of the Province had do; mgqerl 23 per cent below that o i999: Nova Scotia had increased l pg!‘ gent; and New Brunswick de- creased 0-5 P" 6""-

Agriculture In the North i0

The processes of agriculture sac. by (ml.- very nature. slow; and t e improvement of crOP 01‘ 99111191 I'm‘ bandry always depend-a °" m‘ plodding progress of the man)’. rather than the revolutionary ‘$31k ius of the irwUOi course b10111‘? were men who mood out u. P0

.

I CONSERVATION I

A WEEKLY COLUMN OI’ Pl-AOIIOAL OPINIONS OI fill VITAL ISSUES AFFECTING THE USES AND ABUSIS OI NATURAL RESOURCES B! Ml. LUDLOW IINKINS.

THE STEEL TRAP- .. MENACE TO CONSERVATION

tPillbIishid bv The Notional Antl- Stecl-Trap League, Inc Wesilfnglon D10. M25. Edward Bi-eck, Resid- en )

There is no doubt among inform- ed persons that. our wild mammals are approaching extincton,

A special Committee of the Unit- ed States Senate, created to invisti- 8911a the conservation of wild-life ‘resources. Refining its labors in Ma , 1930 su Ltted its initial te- por on January 21, 1931. Under “Evidences of Decrease Wild- Life,” the Senatorial Committee says: "YOLlr Committee finds con- vinchig evidence of a rapid disap- lpearance of wild-life. The evidencei .sitpponting this conclusion eomita | from every source. It 1s not disput- '

ed. Both national and state sources of information agzee, and substan- tiation comes fiom conservation and sportsmens organizations; from manufacturers and dealers; from r search bureaus and statisticians. 'i'ii_t= alarm of the consezvatyzlnist, sportsman, fisherman, recreationist and. hunter has naive: greater than .a_t the present period. The rapid Idisappearance 0f wild-life is pro- _ claimed by the gzeatest newspapers Iof the nation, and by the smallest local publication. This alarm is sup- ponzed by all the Government ex- ports who have appeared before your Committee, and from reports receivzd from the Conservation Commissions of the forty-eight. States. There ls unity 0f opinion on the subject. It. comes from every pat of the country."

We have not fa: to search for the rsascn of this.

Like the trade in feathers which "threaten-ca to wipe out our plum- age birds a generation ago and the tiaffic which all but divastatcd that great seal herd of the world, that of the Pribilofs, the vest€d inter-i ests with the aid of the steal-trap‘ are robbing us of the wild-life of this Continent.

SLAUGHTER HJNcEDEn

Dr. H. E. Anthony. American Museum of Natural History has said: "The fur trade thzeatens to- b:in|z to a close the Age of Mammals- whiclh began three million years ago.“ Dr. Anthony was uphelcl in this statement by the distingulsned Curator of the same Museum, the late Dir. Henry Fair-field Osborne.

“Unless the slaughter says J. M. Johnson, "there will soon b? no mammals on this Continent lazger than mts "

Urompson Seton wrote, in 1924, “We are now facing the most acute situation of this kind in history. One result of the eager market, with constquent h‘gh prices, is tihe early extinction of a. number of our leading fur-bearers.”

Six vetrrs later, another Canadian William McMillan, wrote in "Rod and Gun" for March, 1993, ‘that the fur trade is at the croxroads; that the Canadian ‘wild catch‘ is most assuredly on ‘the wane; that there has not been a normal fur catch since 1923." “The future of the fur business," says he, "lies be- hind t-h~ fences of the IIPI-IHLITYIS."

"The Fur Trade of America," published by MclMillanls. 1921, says

termination of the. fur-bearers over large areas, is only one cause for our shortage.

"Serious responsibility rests also on fur buyers who, by accepting at a price all skins offered. thus mar- keting illegal pelts, tempt ti-apgezs to make a clean-up all along t eir lines . . . . Taking unprime skins is a deliberate waste of one 0f nil-t- tire‘s most valuable and beautiful gifts and not until trappers and raw fur men look upon it as such will the best use of our valuable re- sources be realized."

Who can doubt the reckless, in- excusable wasta of wild-life when ho reads such statements as iiirose be found in "The Fur Tzade of Am- erica," which says: "Furs to the value of $25,000 have been confiscat- ed from One trapper in Alaska this year," r1920) and again, “I know of

p-u /\---i~'—-v1 I‘--\ that, brguight over its dyers from lelpzitz when th wa b cke out. It sacrificed

20,000 musrkrats in one experiment to get tints just right, and 100,030 ralbbil; skins in another experiment "

RAPID DECREASE 0F MAMMALS

in an earlier gdIbIOfl of thfs lfaflett. that rabbits and muskrats-the lowliest of fur-bearers-alre to be found in abundance. Rabbits arc protected in some states as the natural fcod of foxes. Muskrat: have dwindled from over-trapping to an almost unbelievable minimum for so prolific a rodent, A statement made in 1931 by the than State Game and Fish Commissioner oi Minnesota that an open season that year would spell ruin to the music- rat crop for a long time to come was prophetic. ‘Illu- trappmrr regulations of 1938-39 limit the catch 0i’ musk- rats to a season of not more than

to the discretion of tihg Minnesota Department of Conservation

Let us also remfrnber the buffalo. the seal, the beautiful sea ott=r and the beavsr, whose near-extinction may be laid to selfish enterprise and who hav- been brought back only by legislation enact=cl ‘n defiance of the cry of vestsd interests.

"As an individual man is not a conservationist." says Robert H. Davis, “0nIv group conservation is effective." Least of all are those in- dlvicluais of the v=siecl interests con- serizttionisits who Brave plundered the great outdoors with unrivalled prodigality. resulting in deforesta- tion, denud-‘d lakes. clcssd seasons and. in some instances, complete annihilation.

Beaver- is. in many States, on the protected list. Does th’s stop the work of the stsel-trap in the hands of fur bootleggers? Nct a trapping season passes in the areas whn-e this fur-bearer is Dtotscted but the beaver is illegally taken and its pelt sold into th- fur markets. Yet the beaver fs not only one of our most

- interesting and intelligent mammals

but, alive and active. it safeguards man, l"fe and property.

THE BEAVERS GREATEST VALUE

The Conservation Department OI Wisconsin belitves the beaver in its state fmesfs prevents forest fires by the budding of dams which create ponds and lakes in the dense

“the world fur sales dispos: of 100.- 000.000 prlts a year, not counting rabb't and mcle and muskrat." i

The latte Hem-v R. Carey, in his] paper "Shall Tin. Shel-Trap Be Oittiawed." says that "the attik-i ing facts about this holocaust is its- recklessness. its lack of control and ' its wastc." "Furs." said Mr. caress! "are now worn not because they are . t ecess-ary but b‘cause of fashion and ‘ the vested interests of tires; who create and sustain 1-t."

GOVERNMENT ADMONISHES INTERESTS

‘Flier-e is ample evidence that a. large propozfion of this wast.- is attributable to the steel-trap.

The Unit'd states Government Survey of the trader in Raw Pelt-a and the causes contributing to over- trapping of our fur-bearers assures us that." “Trappfn tco early and too late and fai ng to care for skins properly has resulted in a loss of approximatelv 3i per cent of the annual catch. Receiving houses axe responsible for much of ths waste by sending out early price lists con- taining quotations on prime skills not obtainable at the t-me-a for- mal lnvitation to the M89991‘ l0 I79- gln operations at once . . That nianv trappsrs have been allowed. to ply their trad..- out of season and to gather pelts to the point of ex-

eers. but the high standard of farm- ing which prevailed in the North h. my time, was largely the rc- sult of generations of great land- owners. of tenants and of farm workers in harmony to improve J19 fertility of the land they loved t0 well The landowners with few ex- ceptlons had ions mmlwi that the ownership of land, if it PTO- vldcd great. privileges. entailed even greater responsibilities; and the unsettled conditions of former clays bound the landlord and his 109M" into a sort of protective alliance

growth that is subject to conflagra- tlons. During the high water of 193a in the 42.000 acres of Palisades Park N. Y., hundreds of beaver dams built across the strfasns of that great park insured lives and PTO- rty by holding the swollen Watws

n check. Without the beaver dams

it is thought th» water mav well have burst th man-made cement dam siveral miales below. Are g, few collars and cuffs on a lady's coat worth the value of this animal when it is allowed to live and purus- its natural functions The bea/ver _|s trapped, notwithstanding its ind s- putable value alive. because the im- p‘ous assumption of man hOIds that Providence has foreorrdalned ani- mals with fur to prcviit- luxury for woman kind. ma, with other stupi- ditifs of man's thinking, hag brought in its wake logfoal, if c.uel, results to react upon his more vital welfare. We have ourselves to thank for the disasters of flood. erosion and dust storms. as well as those fearsome results of insrct. and rodent lagues.

WASTEFUL AND URUEL

The steel-trap is res nsible for the gssatest mass ci-ue ty of all these we perpetrate upon the Inno- c'nl. creatures over which we hold dominion. But before lt- invention in the middle oi’ the 19th Century. the fur trade had been built up by the Indians on the use of dead-falls and snares-comparatively humane mihcds of death. It remained for s, while man to invent, the bone- broaking device which has since been used successfully to sever the bond of kinshi with our ao-called lower fellow-to? rigs. ‘Plies.- we have maligned, hated and destroyed.

It is no longer true, as was said_

30 days the actual time being left Show

TlMEL-Y NOTES ON TOPICS CONNECTED WITH

Silver Fox Farming

These are days when most silver fJan. 90. 194i. Ont Fur

fox farmers you meet have their chins up, particularly if they con- signed their pelts and are now re- ceiving returns for those sold on the auctions. Prices have risen anywhere from 26 to 50 per cent since. the beginning of the season lest November. and in some cases shippers say that they are receiv- ing 100 per cent more than the value placed on the pelts by them. With the above in mind it is no surprise to learn that the returns for the "Show Felts“ consigned to the Candaian National Silver Fox Breeders’ Association and sold 1n New York by Lainpsori, Fraser 8s

1m Huth. Inc. Wednesday. March 5th,

are so good as to be reminiscent of the years 1936-37.

Two of the pelts brought. $100 and $102 each; 50 of them ‘realiz- ed an average of $75.56, while one lot of six well. matched three- quarter silvers fetched $70 each; 1B5 were sold at an average of $64.88. This means a net average to the shipper of more than $50 per pelt in Canadian funds. That the pelts created. a sensation in New York is admitted. Their class and quality was very much above the best pelts consigned by Am- ericari fur farmers and sold the two days previous. They were well advertised to the trade through various fur journals and this led to close inspection by discrimin- ating buyers. since the sale we are informed by George A. Callbeck, who managed the plans for their disposal and went to New York to attend the auction, that requests have been received for photographs of Island foxes and ranch scenes for window displays to be used by buyers in featuring Prince Edward Island peltries. Below we are giv- ing a detailed account of the fur market and more particularly the Peffs sales as furnished by George A. Callbeck.