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THE COLBORNE EXPRESS, COLBORNE, ONT. JAN. 6, 1953 THIFABM FRONT jolw1<Well Writing in the Agricultural Institute Review, Dr. K. W. Hill summarizes tests _ made with various synthetic soil conditioners in a number of locations extending from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia. The objectives were to learn the effects on the yields and quality of the crops and note the physical ef-■ fects on the soil. More than two dozen individual experiments were made during 1952-53 and in two cases significant advantages were attributed to the treatment with soil conditioner. At Nappan Experimental Farm, the yield of marketable potatoes on dyke-land soil was increased 11 per cent as a result of adding 2,000 pounds of conditioner per acre, and at Normandin Experimental Station, the yield of silage corn was increased 83 per cent following treatment with 1,000 pounds of conditioner per acre. In the remainder of the tests on oats, sugar beets, wheat, corn grain, barley and potatoes -- except at "Nappan -- no significant differences in yield could be ascribed to the conditioner. In other tests it was found that soil conditioners had a measurable effect on soil properties. Generally they tended to improve the crumb structure and the rate of percolation of water through the soil was speeded up. The total porosity and the non-capillary porosity was higher in the treated than in the untreated soil. Results of the studies do not indicate that soil conditioners at present available have a place in general farming practice in Canada. With current costs of about $1 a pound, conditioners could not reasonably be used at recommended rates except on very small plots or extremely valuable land. Clearly evident changes in certain physical characteristics of the soil due to treatment with conditioners have been noted consistently but these benefits have not been reflected in higher yields. When a food shopper buys a can of fruit or vegetables, how Warm Reception--Storekeeper on the Rue Tronchet, in Paris, France, installs infrared heaters over his display window in hopes that window shoppers will pause long enough to thaw out both themselves and their poc-ketbooks before going on to some other store. many times does she wish she could examine the product inside- How many times is she influenced by a colourful label, a brand name, or a low comparative price, and fails to note whether the label bears the word Fancy, Choice, or Standard, All canned fruits and vegetables packed for shipment from one province to another in Canada are subject to inspection by the federal Department of Agriculture. The products are segregated into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quality grades and labelled respectively as Fancy, Choice, and Standard. The grading is based on such factors as nature and uniformity of colour, texture, and flavour, and on freedom from defects and foreign matter. Products which are labelled "Fancy" may be expected to excell In all the above factors while "Choice" products can lack top quality in one or more aspects. 'Standard' canned products may be expected to show poor quality in one or more of the factors although they must meet the requirements for human edible food. The grade requirements for each crop are set out in the Meat and Canned Foods Act. For example, the regulations for canned peas include the following specifications:-- Fancy--Prepared from young, tender peas, practically free from loose skins and splits; shall be tender and have a normal flavour; shall be uniform in colour and maturity; the liquor shall remain clear. Choice--Prepared from fairly young, tender peas, 90 per cent free from loose skins and splits; shall be fairly tender and have a normal flavour; shall be 80 per cent uniform in colour and maturity; the liquor shall remain fairly clear. Standard -- Prepared from peas not necessarily uniform in colour or maturity or free from loose skins and splits; this grade shall be 90 per cent free from hard ripe peas; the liquor need not be clear. Corresponding descriptions are given for other products so that the consumer, by simply noting the grade on the label, can be guided as to the quality within each container. Often, the price differences between grades is very small in comparison with the differences in quality. The discerning customer can often purchase Choice and preferably Fancy products to better advantage than the Standard products. Fashion Hints "Now that Christmas is c.„, what about New Year's Eve?" "Pasco-Doble" is the name France Davies has given her evening design. A strapless sheath, its hip drapery ends in voluminous back fullness. Fabric is a blend of acetate and viscose. The flecked pattern gives the fabric a textured, tweedy look. This is one of 44 styles, featuring Canadian fabrics, presented at the first American showing of the Association of Canadian Couturiers of the Hotel Pierre, New York City, December 7. Stolen Hamper Was Policeman's Hiding Place Answer Elsewhere on This Ps*« Concealed in a luggage van of the Manchester to London night express, two railway policemen recently saw a pair of thieves creep into the van and break open a mail-bag. As one of them plunged a hand inside it, he gasped with astonishment. For two nearby mailbags had suddenly come to life -- and out popped the policemen! With an authorized establishment of 3,842, the present - day strength of the British Transport Commission's Police Force is 3,365 policemen and 113 policewomen. This is a sizeable squad, the biggest single dark blue force outside the civic police in Britain. It shoulders no light burden. For, as the Force's chief officer, Mr, William Richards points out, it has to guard 51,000 miles of railway tracks plus huge termini, docks and inland waterways. Broken Bottle Attacks Since the introduction ol guard dogs to Glasgow sidings and goods yards there has been no record of a railway pilfering gang mauling or assaulting a police officer. Previously, several officers were beaten to their knees and badly injured by assailants armed with broken bottles and crowbars. Af Hull docks, the first port to be dog patrolled, an officer had to grapple with two roaring drunks. One bit his ears as the other seized him. It seemed he must be hurled into the water, but his whistle brought a police dog into action, and soon both men were completely subdued. The dogs, bred and trained at Hull, operate now in docks along the north-east coast, m railway depots and sidings both in Scotland and London. Alsatians, they can smell any inter-lopes' lurking in a van or tunnel. Crook's Hunting Ground Scotland^ Yard co-operated with the railway police in tracking down and suppressing one of the worst rackets of recent times. Waterloo Station, London, was the crooks' hunting ground. Here, in a six month period, nearly £50,000 worth of parcels vanished. Eventually, the plot was unmasked. The chief stooges were two dishonest porters. Picking out likely looking parcels, they stuck fake labels on top of the existing ones, thereby consigning the parcels to stations on London's outskirts. At the same Accomplices then drew up in their cars and collected the spoils. Much of this enormous loot found its way into a Soho flat, exhibited as a trade stall. Here, at bargain prices, the booty -- ranging from first-class golf bags, fishing sets and whisky cases to ladies' underwear, frocks and cameras -- was sold to discreet customers. When the flat was raided the police recovered £624 worth of stolen goods, a small proportion unfortunately of the the total of the gang's filchings. Railway police often show outstanding courage. One, Robert Cameron, recently saved a £4,000 vanload of whisky and was awarded the B.E.M. -- most deservedly. He was on his usual beat at Burton-on-Trent when he saw a gang jump into a lorry wrhich had whisky aboard. Dashing forward, he grappled with one of them and managed to immobilize the vehicle. But, a solitary policeman, he was no match for a whole gang of determined thugs. They hammered into him and, a3 they trussed him up like a turkey, he feigned un- They dragged him off to a warehouse and left him there. But as soon as they locked the door on him Cameron struggled free, ran to a shunter's cabin, raised the alarm and saved the whisky. In 1951, British Railways adopted a precaution which has since paid dividends -- the provision of steel grille corridors alongside luggage vans, so screening off the van's contents very effectively from petty pilferers. But the fight never relaxes; and "all's fair" in this unseen battle of the tracks and sidings. Police disguise themselves as porters, holiday-makers, ticket collectors, shunters, even business men, cleaners and waiters in order to watch suspects, or investigate a source of leakage. Goods Trains "Milked" In Scotland, a few months back, a shady coal merchant entered into league with some gangsters and, for a time, "milked" goods trains so craftily that dozens of truck-loads of best quality house coals, were diverted into his yard. He never paid a penny for a single consignment. In Wales, a gang greased the tracks along a stretch of steep gradient. They selected moonless nights for their van-busting operations. Then, as train was forced to stop while the crew sanded the rails, they struck, bursting open the goods van with crowbars to whip out everything within reach into a waiting lorry. But sometimes the rail gangs, responsible for sixty per cent, of all thieving on our railways, catch a Jonah or one of Chief Officer Richards' "plants." A rail 'tec hid himself in a wicker hamper inside a goods van at Camden Town. It was, he imagined, a perfect observation post. But judge his surprise when the thieves he intended to watch pinched the basket and carried him off, along with other stolen goods, to a poky little warehouse off London's docks! He popped up through the lid, and by sheer Jack-in-the-box shock tactics collared his kidnappers. Again, through spreading false information at haunts popular with goods thieves, the railway police dangle a bogus carrot before the gang's noses. Then, instead of a vanload of tobacco or nylons, the crooks open the van's doors to find waiting police. Policewomen, too, act as decoys and tackle the risky job-of detecting and arresting those respnosible for assaults on women passengers. These girls in railway blue, or plain clothes, often find their mirrors handy for watching a suspect's movements. Seen in the Mirror Perhaps the most inspired use of a mirror was made by a policeman disguised as a porter at Crewe.Glancing into a slot machine's mirror, he saw a man fidgeting with his braces. Having undone them -- he was hiding behind a pillar -- he turned slowly round and round as if winding himself up. The policeman moved over to investigate. Instantly, his man hared off down the line. But, with his braces unfastened, he was a loser from the start As expected, his trousers slipped down. "All right, it's a fair cop," he grimaced, sheepishly. What interested his pursuer was not so much his embarrassment as the coil upon coil of tobacco twist he had wrapped around his middle. All of it was stolen from a goods van crate. mm school SQesson Rev. R. B. Warren, B.A., B.D. The Living God Psalm 103: 8-13; Isaiah 40: 25-29; Matthew 6:9b; John 4:23-24; 10:3* Memory Selection: God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24. We become like the gods we worship. Mythology tells us of the gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans. They were jealous of each other, capricious and underhanded in their dealing with other gods and with men. They were in constant conflict, dealing out vengence of one sort or another, had illicit love affairs with each other and with humans, became intoxicated with the drink of the gods, and such like. The worshippers of these gods became like them and fell into moral and physical decay. Carson Reber, a former army chaplain says that we have our gods of power, money, personal gain and pleasure, with equally calamitous results. Nervous breakdowns fill our mental hospitals, drunkenness and divorce are breaking up the home, sex crimes are on the increase, and juveniles are becoming more lawles? -"4 bolder. With all Our military might we have less security than ever before. This is but a little of what comes when we burn incense to other than the Lord God Almighty. The god of the Bible is different. He is pure and holy, merciful and gracious, beneficent and forgiving. Christ, his divine Son, is the "express image of his person." When we yield our lives to his He will completely forgive us our sins. We will love him and our great desire wil be to serve him. Thus we will become like him. This is the way of happiness. "He giveth power to the faint" Without Him we are weak, baffled and frustrated. We need God. Let us seek Him while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near. "To them that have no might He increaseth strength. ON THE CARDS Juliette Pialat, a Parisian fortune teller, was not a little surprised to read in the cards that her dear husband would suffer a heavy blow in the near future. That the cards were right was beyond doubt; but as time wore on and the prophecy wasn't full-fllled Mm. Pialat began to wonder. Had she slipped up? It was out of the question; perhaps the mystic power needed a little encouragement? She supplied it -- a hefty whack on her husband's head with a heavy club. Hubby didn't approve, so the fortune teller ended up in court. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking Doubly Permanent--Twins Mary Jo and Suzanne Mulholland pick up their "permanent" Christmas presents by spending an afternoon under the dryers at Grandmother Verna Bentz' beauty shop. A confused Santa, who had to deliver his presents on time, took no chances; gave the 29-month-old pair identical dolls.