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LONSCOUTS Lone Scouts will be glad to hear that A new book has been published by the Dominion Headquarters of the Boy Scouts Association with the title of "Proficiency Badge Reference Book." It Is a handy little volume of 40 pages, bound In a stout grecu cover, and contains the picture and require- ments of each badge. The book Is made to carry In your pocket, so that It may be studied during your leisure moments. The price is lOc, and copies may be obtained from Lone Scout Headquar- ters. Bird Houses Last week we suggested that the Lonles of this Province should get busy during the winter months and make homes for their feathered friends, and we are therefore publish- ing the following very useful hints on this subject, which have been written by Mr. F. C. Irwln, M.A., the Assistant Provincial Commissioner for Ontario. "Building houses for the birds Is great sport, according to two Sas- katchewan boys who built six nesting boxes recently. They found that their camping site was strangely de- serted by the birds which formerly made the days merry with their song and chatter so they decided that some- thing had to be done to attract them back. They found their Inspiration on page 2G9 of the Boy Scout "Handbook for Canada." Perhaps you too would fliul Inspiration there if you looked It up and would set to work to build homes for our feathered friends during these long winter months. In building bird houses, however, the following general principles should be kept in mind If the houses are to meet the needs of the tenants for whom they are being constructed. First, the house must have a roof which will shed rain because birds St. John of Jerusalem Order to Lady Bessborcugh London -The London Gazette re- cently announced the appointment of Ui Countess of Bessgorough to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem as a Dam* of Grace. don't like leaky ceilings in their homes any more than you do. Second, the floor of the house should have some small holes bored In to drain the nest in case rain should be driven In at the entrance. I Third, In order to ivt> sufficient depth to the nest and to prevent the little birds, after they are hatched, | from falling out. the hole should be well above the floor of the box. Fourth, some kind of perch or ver- andah should be provided at the door as an alighting place for the birds ' when flying to the nest. Fifth, the house must be placed so that the cats cannot roach It and also | far enough away from houses so that the birds will not be afraid to use It f<T nesting purposes. Feeding the Birds In addition to bird bouses food tables ' and drinking dishes can be provided, i but like the houses they should be out of reach of cats and In places where the birds will not be afraid to go. If the drinking dishes are kept full of water and the food tables are well sup- plied with wheat, screenings, bread crumbs, suet, cracked corn and an oc- casional feed of fresh cherries or rasp- berries the birds will come often and under circumstances which will give you splendid opportunities to better y<>ur acquaintance with them. A Scout Is a friend to animals. Why not be one by starting to be a friend to I birds? Look up the requirements of the "Bird Warden'* Badge." Then start In at once to qualify for it. You will find It to be a very interesting hobby. For information about the Lone Scouts and particulars of how to join { them, write to the Lone Scout Depart- ment, The Boy Scouts Association, 330 Bay Street, Toronto 2. Full particular* will be gladly sent to you. "LONE E." The Order of St. John of Jerusalem U conferred for services In the cause of humanity throughout the British Empire and It is open to both men and women. There are five classes of the or- der; Bailiffs and Dames Gran'l Cross, Knight* and Dames of Justice and of Grace, Commanders of bo*h sexes, serving brothers and sisters. : The alms and objects of the order include the maintenance of the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital at Jeru- salem, and th3 St. John Ambulance Association and Brlgada In Great Britain and overseas, and the Lon- don Light and Electrical Clinic for the poor Flying Fur Trader Covers 2,000 Miles Prince Albert, Sask.- That the aeroplane has definitely taken an Important place In the fur trade of Northern Canada was shown when "Del" Simons, veteran fur-trader, took off In a plane with William Broatch at the controls on a 2,000- mile flight, in the course of which he collected furs at various parts of the Northland and transported them to Winnipeg. Lac du Brochet and other points in the fur country were touched at In the trip which formerly required thirty-all Jays by antiquated methods of transportation. This year, Simons collected Ms furs, circled around by , Churohlll, took the cargo to Wlnni- j peg. and arrived back bome with bis . family In time for the New Year's \ dinner. . /* -- * ---- Nevada Experiencing A Happy Boy! 'Continents Float On Molten Rock, Scientist Latest Note Greenland Moving Westward Six Feet a Year, According To Conclusions of Austrian Geologist Who Perished in Arctic Canadian Savants Checking His Claims Ottawa. Stored away in vaults In at Vancouver and Ottawa. Dominion observatories at Victoria tudal measurements were extended and Ottawa are scientific records that around the world with the aid ot may prove or disprove some day the beam wireless. The positions ol truth of the theory that North America ! North America, Greenland and other ' and the other continents are not fixed i continents were plotted as> minutely 1 or stationary. Dr. Alfred Wegener, ' as possible. The observations will tlie Austrian geologist who lost his , life In Arctic exploration, laid down be repeated in 1933 and again la 1936, and any variation In the plot- j the theory that continents float on a ! ings will be noted. By this method sea of molten rock like rafts on a j It is hoped to establish the accur- | quiet ocean. Canadian scientists hope acy of Dr. Wegener's hypothesis. I to supply tho facts and figures that j The first evidence to substantiate will determine its accuracy. the drifting theory was established Canada is vitally interested in set- in 1907 by J. B. Koch, German ex- I tllng the Wegener theory because pJorer. In 1823 84 years earlier Sir j Greenland is supposed to be the \ Edward Sablne, British scientist. I "speed king" among the continents. '' made longitudinal observations la crawling westward at a rate estl- : Greenland, but when Koch took | mated as high as six miles a year ' similar readlings at the same spot the Meteorological conditions, especially figures did not correspond. The only along the Labrador coast, the Marl- ' explanation was that Greenland had time Provinces and the New England ' drifted several miles toward North states, would be affected by any appreciable narrow or lengthen- ing of the distance between the two land masses. Delicate scientific observations were made some years ago at the ' each adopting a nomadic life of its Dominion Government observatories own. America in the intervening years. The basis of the Wegener theory is that all continents formed a solid mass at one time. They drifted apart many millions of years ago, Junior Ryan all dressed up as an Aztec Indian as he led the band In the Philadelphia Mum- mers' New Year's parade. Ontario Marsh Lands Reclaimed 7,500 Acres Converted into Workable Soil For Market Gardening Toronto. A wilderness of marsh may ba turned Into a veritable gar- j den as a result of a project for re- clamation on land recently complet- , d la Ontario. Converting 7,600 j acres of marshy ground into work-! able soil, the scheme already gives ! promise of yielding bountiful hsr- j vests. The reclaimed area, situated In ! the townships of Gwllllnbury and ! and King about 30 miles north of Toronto, is known as the Holland marsh. It drains Into the south end of Lake Slmcoe. A river valley for a distance of five miles and varying ' In width from two to three miles, I comprises the drained land. Commenced In 1915 by the munici- pality of Gwllllmbury West on peti- tion of land owners In the district, ' the project was only completed In ' 1930. Some 200 acres has already ' been developed, however. The land has been devoted to market garden- ing. W. H. Day, former professor at the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelpb, who owns 37 acres, reports ' he secured a yield of approximately j $700 an acre In the first year of cul- , tlvatlon. Lettuce and celery proved ] especially profitable. Part of the de- . veloped area is being worked by a group of Dutch farmers and rcsl- : dents of the nearby village of Brad- ford own small plots. Drainage methods employed stamp the scheme as unique In Ontario. A canal, varying In width from 40 to . 70 feet, was dredged out around the edge of the valley, the excavated earth forming a dyke to prevent the water from seeping Into tho area enclosed by the canal. The river and smaller streams flowing Into the marsh were diverted Into the ranal To prevent Lake- Slmcoe from back- j Ing up and flooding the reclaimed area at high water, a dam was built whore the canals nipt a few miles above the lake. To complete drain- age two pumps, each with a capa- city of 20,000 gallons a minute, were installed at the dam, taking care of precipitation In the reclaimed sec- tion. Similar schemes In other parts of the province, according to Prof. Day, who has been Interacted In the scheme since Its Inception, have all been accomplished without building drainage canals. Incoming flraln- ge Is usually handled by pumps, hn explained. The marsh Is historic ground. The river which flows through It was followed by Indians on their way to the long overland portage from Lake Slmcoe to th trading post which Is now Toronto two and tlires cen- turies ago. Low Temperature Weather Canadian Wheat for Britain Reno.In contrast to the mild tern- 1 Sir Thomas Cunlnghame In the Na- peratures of the East, the entire State t tlonal Review (London): Since we are of Nevada has experienced some of. the the coldest weather in years largest absorbers of Imported it should be one of the flrnt Self-denial and solf-control are the necessary postulates of all moral ex- cellence. A man who will take tho world easily will never take It grandly. To He In the lap of luxury may be the highest enjoyment of which a feeble character Is capable: but a strong man must have something illfMrult to do. John Stuart lilalkle, "Buy British" Plan Gains The strongest propaganda effort ever devoted to a peacetime project Is apparent In the "Buy British" campaign now sweeping England and her dominions, Roger Bracken, ex- port manager for the Millers Falls Company and former president of the Export Managers' Club of New York, Inc., said here. Mr. Bracken has been absent on a business trip through England and the Continent during the last six months. "The combination of depreciated exchange, high tariffs a ad Intense propaganda against foreign goods makes the English market a major problem for American exporters," he said. "In some lines of merchan- dise, such tut electrical tools and equipment, tariffs and exchange dif- ferences, combine to put a 100 per cent premium on Amercan products. When this handicap Is coupled with the growing prejudice against for- eign products, the difficulty of re- taining a foothold In what was once a major market for our goods can be Imagined." Unseasonable Thaw Puts Moscow Back on Wheels Moscow. Droshky drivers, who have had their sleighs on the streets of Moscow since December 1, had to substitute wheels for runners because of an unseasonable warm spell. With the mercury several degrees above freezing, the snow, which had covered the streets since mid-Novem- ber, melted rapidly, making the going slushy for pedestrians, who found furs and other heavy clothing uncom- fortable. When the picturesque Izvostchik. or droshky cabbie, brings out his sled hitched to a horse, and puts away his wheeled conveyance, it is always a sign that the long Russian winter has come to stay and this is the first time in several years he has been fooled. Radio Control in N.Z. Auckland, N.Z. The new plan for ! transferring control ot the main broadcasting services In New Zea- land from private hands to the State took final nhape '" the past session. The Government's Broadcasting Bill, as passed, provides that the system Hhall bo managed by a board of three members, aaaUted by ian advisory council of eight members, five from the North and three from the South Island, to be appointed by the Post- maser-Generul. Theso eight members will be chosen from nominees of organiza lions representing listeners. Silent "Talkies" Used to Help Deaf Learn to "Hear" With Eyes Silent "talkies" are being ni."l for the deaf and hard ot bearing tn loach them to "hear" with their i>yas, says "Popular Moohanlcs Maga- in.)" Lip motions and other facial i movements, together with body ges- | tures, are emphasized In the silent ; "talkies" In order that lip reading and interpretation of other motions may be easier. ' Ohio State University is expert mentlng with this form of motion picture w Ith a view to uldlng deaf ! students in their college course*. | lately, wheat, Reno has had temperatures just above tasks of our new Government to carry the zero mark for the last few weeks, ' through with Canada some plan of while other cities have reported 'ecord mutual exchange concerning the ex- breaking cold. In one night the m<r- change of manufactured goods for cury plunged from zero to 18 degrees wheat, preferably on a quota basis. below, then to 23 degrees below the There does not seem to be any valid following day at Elko. 'reason why the example of Czechoslo- Ely has experienced temperatures vaki should not be followed here, i.e., of 8 to 10 degrees below zero, while by prohibiting the Import of other Carson City, the state capital, saw , wheats until the home production and th thermometer register 10 degrees the Canadian Import have been absorb- below zero recently for the first time in five years. White-Meat Chicks Raised By Non-Scratching Rule Tonawanda, N.Y. Something new In chicken-raising Is to be found on the farm of W. M. Woodward, who raises broilers almost free from dark meat. A long shed houses between 3,000 and 4,000 chickens of varying ages. The pens are built one on top of another to the roof. Each pen has a false floor of chicken wire two Inches above the actual floor. The chicken's feet never touch ground until It Is at least three months old The building Is boated by stoves Because the chickens scratch and buttermilk 20 per cent of their feed, there I* almost no muscular development. The meat Is almost entirely whlto and tender, even on the legs and Joints. L-d. this will The sooner some sort of plan of The Sovereign Poet He sits above the clang and dust of Time, With the world's secret trembling on his lip. He asks not converse nor compan- ionship In the cold starlight where thou canst not climb. The undelivered tidings in hts breast Suffer him not to rest. He sees afar the Immemorable throng, And binds the scattered ages with a song. . . . William Watson, in "Collected Poems." Britain and the Dominions Windsor Border Cities Star (Ind.): The great governing genius of Britain has had no finer, no more striking, de- monstration than is to be found In the official attitude in London toward the political development of the Domin- ions. The British Commonwealth of kind is Inaugurated the greater j Nations is held together not by force Its effect be of Russia. n/wiv.. ^j R.I;,. -U.UUO- 1 ear-Old KellC Found in Gravel Pit Minneapolis. Minn. A gravel pit In southern Minnesota has given up a bleached skull of a giant musk ox, which lends support to the theory that the arctic tundra once lay over this re- ' slon. j Mr. W. E. Neuman of Preston. Minn., discovered the skull, almost complete, in an outwash of an ancient glacier. He believed It to be a queer rock for mation and forwarded it to the unl- cannot verslty. where It was Identified. The constitutes skull was estimated to be 20,000 years old. * , "Mechanical equipment should create opportunity for leisure not unemploy- mont." William Green. i upon the foreign nor authority, but by ties of mutual un- derstanding, mutual respect and ad- miration, mutual interest and, of course, the earlier factors ot race and language. A '32 Beach Note Women of India Calcutta. The All-India Women's Conference on Educational and Soc- ial Questions opened at Madras on Dec. 28. Mrs. P. K. Ray of Cal- cutta, president of the organization, urged the remodeling of Indian homes In order to "produce a real type ot womanhood that will be a glory to our country In the future.' A Famous Rendezvous One of Berlin's historic waymariu has become a memory, according to a correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor. Cafe Bauer, the corner bouse of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse, was for many years the place of meeting for dis- tinguished Berllners and their friends, and no foreign visitor to the German capital would have omit- ted Cafe Bauer from his program ot sight-seeing. It was built some sixty years ago by a Vienna cook, Bauer. He determined to introduce the "Vienna Cafe" a type then little known to Berlin, and he did so with unqualified success. He had the temerity to appeal to a famous painter, Anton von Werner, to de- corate the walls with his brush and his request was compiled with. All the world flocked to Cafe Bauer to see the beautiful frescoes, to meet friends and enjoy the Vienna confec- tionery. One ot the most regular visitors was Adolf von Menzel, popu- larly known as the Little Excellency; others were Adalbert Matkowsky, the former Kaiser's favorite actor, Paul LIndau, Hermann Sudermann, Ernst von Wildenbruch and other literary notabilities, as well as many leading diplomatists. Alter its more bril- liant period, Cafe Bauer changed hands during the war, but managed to exist until recently. Anton Ton Werner's mural paintings have long been transferred to Hotel Bristol and have been excellently restored. . . Pink Lemons Now Grown New York. Pink lemons have been found growing on a tree In California. However, the tree Is a rare specimen H was stated that he provincial legls- an j t ne United States Department ot latures opposed the reserving of i Agriculture warns that there Is llttlt special seat* for women when the chance ot the pink lemonade industry switching to the new lemons tor raw material. * > ' n ' 1 lemons were first exhibited at the National Orange Show this year. They came from a tree , a Burbanki and go tar as known the tree Is a bad legislatures are remodeled. Brazil's s Area f, , , , Calculated Rio de Janeiro. Brazil. The total area of Brazil Is now calculated at ayoT t ( or freak) of the variegated 8,494.299 square kilometers. It Is , Eureka lemon, which was developed larger than the whole European con- froin a llrab yar iatlon of the Eureka tlnent, excluding a part of Russia, and i emoni discovered in 1911. The varle- lt Is the fifth country In the world as far as size Is concerned. Brazil is 250,- 000 square miles larger than the United States, not Including Alaska and other possessions. Animal Facts All spider* are short-sighted. Owls have two pairs of eyelids. A blackbird bathes at least a dozen times a day. Tho goldfish Is merely a domesti- cated variety of the Chinese carp. Geese are used as watchdogs around homes In the West Indies. Rhinoceros herds use the same , paths. If your camp is pitched on one you'll flnd out. I The male cardinal Is tho most affec- ! tlonate of birds. Only death or cap- ! tlvlty can separate it from Its mate. A gun fired close to the ear of a sloth will not cause the slightest tre- mor In that creature's body. "Animal Ufe." Pressing the Point McTavish was very shy. When he ., ent to his first dinner party he made .'rantic efforts to begin a conversation with the woman at his elbow, but tt .vasn't until a full ten minutes had assed that he managed to utter the Boning words: "Does your brother ike cheese?" She turned with a smile and re- Kcd: "I haven't a brother." Dead silence for another spell. Then he said: "If you had a brother \A you think he'd he'd like cheese?" gated Eureka lemon trees are not as productive as the uormal Eureka lem- on trees and they are grown cklefly for ornamental purposes. Defence Costs Ottawa Journal (Cons.): In 1913 the United States had a fleet ot 963,000 tons, Great Britain a fleet ot 2.222,000 tons. To-day the United States has a fleet ot 1,173,000 tons and spends $382.- 000.000 a year on it, whereas Great Britain has a fleet of 1,373,000 tons. costing $271,000,000 a year. In other words, the United States is spending 187 per cent, more yearly on naval cost, nearly three times as much as she did in 1913, whereas Britain is spend- ing but 10 per cent. more. Combining army, navy and air defence cost, the United States last year spent $842. 000,000; the British Empire but ?r,GO, 000,000. "While other nations hav felt that they were forced to prepare, for war," declared President Coolidga in a Memorial Day address, 'w have always been preparing for peace." Miss Stopliunlo Mi ll.i! in- is shown here wearing one of the > hinlunna handkerchiefs so popular tlii.s your down where the p..l trees grow. Irak Postpones New Currency Bagdad. Irak has postponed intro- duction ot Us new currency, which was 'o have been Issued January 1, The money will be based on the pound sterling, but not on gold. Declares Engines Alone Prevent 1,000-Mi. Speed London. If man will but build at I inline powerful enough there w no- tln. .; to keep him from flying at a I speed of 1,000 miles an hour, believes squadron leader A. Hi Orlebar, cap- tain of the Schneider Cup team, mem- bers of which have already flown in xcess of 400 miles an hour. "Flying at high speeds is a per- fectly wonderful sensation." he said "But there is really no big thrill There is a much bigger thrill in to- liogganninjf or skiing. "If somebody will design the en- gines there is nothing in the humat clement to prevent airplanes reaching a sreed of 1,000 miles an hour." . I