Great Prairie Of The Midwest Almost Gone As Civilization Overtakes Past The prairie. which pAayed ? , major role In American history haa almost disappeared Plows tore up the tlch grassland for (arms. Cltiea rose- Suburbs spread. Roads ate up more aod. Today there remain only a few shreds of the original prairie whose rich grasses and delicate flowers \ once astonished and delighted pioneers coming out of the eastern foreata. But at least some of Uie original 1 prairielaod may be saved for the lature. thf National Geographic Society says. National Park Service officials are studying surviving prairie areas with the Idea that a prairie national monument may some day be created. Already the Univer sity of Missouri has acquired 160 acre Tucker Prairie near Colum bia. Missouri, and will try to pre cerve the original sod. Conserva tion groups are taking a lively in terest. The prairie known to the pi oneers was a magnificent mea dowland that stretched from the forest margins of Indiana and Wis consin Into Kansas and the Da kotas. In the north It ranged into Manitoba and in the south. Into Texas. Early settlers gave it the name prairie, a French word mean ing "extensive meadow." Beyond the prairie's waving grasses and flowers lay the Great plains, an even bigger but drier and sparser grassland that swept to the Rocky Mountains. It is hard to imagine the sur prise and joy of the pioneers when they first saw the prairie grass lands. . "They run ... as far as the eye can see," General Josiah Harmar reported to Secretary of War Henry Knox on November 24, 1787. "Here and there a copse of woods is interspersed. They -are free from brush and undergrowth and not the least veslige of their ever having been cultivated. The country is ex cellent for grazing, and abounds in Buffalo. Deer, Bears, etc." In 1824 William Blane described j his teelings as he crossed the "boundless meadows" west of Vin-J cennes. Indiana. "I was perfectly aton". m l could see nothing In any direction but sky and grass. Leaving the wood appeared like embarking alone ^ upon the ocean: and, upon again approaching the wood, I felt as if returning to land . . . Not a living thing could I see or hear, except the occasional rising of some prai rie fowls, or perhaps a large hawk or eagle wheeling about over my bead." Scientists believe the North American prairie originated about 25 million years ago after an uplift of the Rocky Mountains and conse quent changes in climate. The mountains blocked the moisture laden winds coming in from the Pacific Ocean, and the winds that vaulted the Rockies were dry, and produced little rainfall. Hence tree-growth was generally retarded. Forests gradually disap peared. and grasses took over. The grasses were sparse in the trier Great Plains area, but lush in the prairie where there was more moisture. For untold ages, the prairie en dured. Then civilization arrived. Overgrazing began, and the rich grasses gave way to weeds. Only recently have men became aware of the treasure that U slipping through their fingers. but now there is reel hope that what re mains of the prairie caa be pre served as part of the country's living heritage to delight Ameri cans of the future. Pkute Taking Harder Than It Looks The Job of getting the .right kind of picture to tell the right kind of story is not the easiest thing in the world. Ask any outdoor photographer who has gnashed many a tooth antt pepped many a flashbulb in futile agony while a jumping fish refused to pose, or a balky deer just didn't give a hang about having his pic ture plastered in the press. Not all outdoor lensmen can spend the time and patience of a Walt Disney crew, waiting in a blind or up a tree or behind a bush for hours and days and weeks on end for just the right moment for the hard-to-get wildlife to go about his natural way. Waterfowl and game at times must be trapped and then released right in camera range to bring out the full impact of the picture story that tens just how good hunting or fishing is going to be in a certain locale. The so-called "set-up" picture is actually more difficult to make than a one-in-a-million natural shot The set-ups, however, provide true authenticity of fish or animal in tts natural habitat, and help tell the story for the hundreds of thousands of words that are printed in maga zines and newspapers throughout the world To get a set-up shot, photograph ers must call on assistance from hunters, fishermen, camp opera tors, weather experts, editors, writ ers, guides, trappers, chambers of commerce, hichway patrolmen, wildlife officers, game agents, the Coast Guard, the Navy, sometimes ihe Army, travel agencies, navi gational bureaus, boat dealers, out board manufacturers, fishing and hunting equipment dealers and manufacturers, and even the wife. When all proper components are placed in the proper place at the proper time, the outdoor photo grapher and get his picture, and nine times out of ten. it's a beauti ful job, that graphically illustrates the story that the writer is trying to tell. And it takes a much short er time than waiting out a week or month for a* tarpon to jump at the right spot, or for a goose to fly in just as the right angle and at the right time. So, next time you see that fight ing fish flying high in the air. don't always wonder at just how that fish was caught at just that right time. It could be the finny fella ' was made to jump at just the right time. But if he hadn't been, there is a million to one chance you wouldn't have seen him in action at all. Outdoor photography is as exact ing an art as any Hollywood cam eraman getting just the right pose from a pretty model. And the mod el is always handy. Sometimes the ! fish aren't. AUCTION SALE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY 4M Edney Building 11th and Market Streets CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN RESORT IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA At the time and place stated the Tennessee Valley Authority will offer for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, or on the terms stated In the prospectus, the Hiwassee Dam Resort site located in the mountains of western North Car olina, near Hiwassee Dam, and just upstream from Apalacbia Lake. The 633-acre tract ranges in elevation from 1,500 feet to 1,760 feet above sea level. A SWEEPING VIEW of Hiwassee Lake and the surrounding mountains, combined with a delightful summer climate, deep water recreation, and room for expanding existing facilities make the site Ideal for development Into a major tourist at traction. LOCATED NEAR MAJOR North -South and East-West travel routes, the site lies 110 miles from Ashevllle, 08 mile% from KnoxviUe, to miles from Chattanooga, and 77 miles from Chero kee, N. C., the Southern gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Part. ' BUILT BY TV A to house its construction people, the resort site contains 42 permanent frame houses, 13 semi-permanent frame houses, and 5 frame buildings suitable for recreational facilities. The black-top roads, water plant, and the under ground water and sewage systems go with the land. AMPLE LAND for additional vacation housing and recrea tion faculties of all Mods. To obtain a copy of the prospectus and make arrangements lor personal inspection, call or write Jack D. Hollis. Supervisor of Land Bales, Tennessee Valley Authority, 605 Lupton Building, Chattaaoofa, Te County ASC News By L- L. USSELBUKG CONSERVATION THROUGH VEGETATIVE COVER CooMrvatkoo-coascioui North Car olina Fanners spent more than (13.4 million In 1967 for Insurance against their vital farmland wash ing or blowing away. According to H. V. Mangum of the State Office of Agricultural stabilization and Conservation, the Federal Government, through the Agricultural Conservation Program, paid back to them on a share- 1 he cost basis 16.7 million of this. The Federal Government shares with farmers up to one-half of the out-of-pocket cost of carrying out conservation practices in recogni tion of the fact that conservation of the Nation's agricultural resour ces is the Nation's responsibility, not just the responsibility of the farmers who at the present time are farming the land. Our urban and city folks should be grateful to these farmers who are spending their own money to assure today's children that they will have sufficient food and fiber in future ' years. We should also be thankful that the Congress 22 years ago saw fit to pass the Soil Con servation and Domestic Allotment. Act which has permitted the ACP to aeeorapliah near-miracle* ta pre serving our reaourcea for today and for tomorrow. According to Mangum. there arc several type* of conservation prac tices under the ACP that are avail able to farmeri in this State. In addition to the all important vegati tive cover pracicea, there are sev eral types of drainage practices, forestry practices, water coaaerva tion practices providing for the contraction of farm ponds, and others. The principal which permits the Federal Government to pay part of the cost of carrying out these practices is based on the fact that every one of tbeae practices are de signed to conserve the vital top soil. which one* lost can never be regained, and to conserve the water that falls on the land. The coat of carrying out these conser vation practices is considerably greater than the immediate return to the farmer or to the persons to be fed from the land. Conservation is a long-term pro ject. an expensive project, and one in which the Government must take a hand to see that conserva tion is carried out to the extent needed The same family has owned the Appleton Farms in Ipswich, Mass., since 1638. You Can Get Good And Sick From Spoiled Food There isn't such a thing M ptomaine poisoning That doesn't mean, however, that you cannot get good and sick from spoiled food. The things in food that cause trouble are germs. Ptomaines are substances formed In meats by germs, but they do not make you sick. You ociety," the State Association for the Blind, and lions clubs' through out the State are attempting to fill he breach, he said. "This aid is for the child who is lot blind enough to go to the State School for the Blind and yet with .lot enough vision to make use of .he textbooks provided by the State in the public schools," Bark er said. Except in tne very large centers of population in the State, these 'marginal" handicapped children ire so sparsely scattered that it is not practical to provide special classes for them. Barker declared. Yet he said, they are found from the seacoast to the Tennessee line and in every county and urban cen ter in North Carolina. One great advantage of providing these children with the special-type textbooks is that they can then, in most instances at least, be able to attend regular classes in he public schools. This saves the State and private agencies from the cost of providing private teachers or spec cial classes for such children, he said. Barker painted to other advan tages. He ssid that the State would thus be freed from the necessity ef poviding institutional care and special education for such children. In turn, the child is not forced to live apart from his parents and is thus not dislocated in his home life, he pointed out. cleans the tools and helps preserve the metal and they are kept rust free. LEMON JUICE AND SALT rub bed into your breadboard at fre quent intervals will keep it fresh smelling and white. This makes a mild bleach that will not be harm ful to the board or hands. For best results, sprinkle the dry salt onto the board and then rub with a slice of lemon. C-*t3 ?Mkl Declaring tkat the public fcea very Uttle idea of the hlcfc ?et 9* I such ? pec 1*1 -type inmnH, ?eTh er Mid that ? set ef Hm* M? for the third or fourth prti at least 178, tea Unas fee coat tor testfaoofca of the etyataetf type for (uch gradea. The Ml r?? p?cKl i)lf>p for vuu ally-head! capped '?JMW> now being operated la suck Miff cities in the State aa Cherfett* Greensboro, Wln?ton-6ale? Aaheville. Whenever end U ever the HMl takes over such mWiw as 4 regular part of iu special tduc? tion program, private ageeciee wift be relieved of this reeyoulMW* he declared, "it i? probable, tee, that better coordination ao4' better results can then be obtained a program that is connected to tlx special classes for the viwUBj handicapped as well as te rcfuje classes in the public schools. Man Can Be Placed In Space When U. S. Wants America's foremost rocket at*' pert. Dr. Wernber von Braun, be lieves man can be sent into ipJc4 and brought back aitve any Ubm tbe government wishes to lauock such a project. i '' *\ A moon rocket, a missile to M^ra, even a spaceship for the teal spaceman now pose "no tarttadlrf technical problem," von Braun Mr quoted in the February Utile of t Nation Magazine. "For all of these projerte,"' True states, "the hardware it cs' the shelf." The articles adds that vM Braut would have fired an American trWs' sile into space almost two years before the first Soviet sputotk the Pentagon bad given him folds for a space shot. "Had the high Ptntagbtt Mn listened to him," iM magazine contends, "Explorer I (first' Arftfcr ican earth satellite. ptaptM ' space by von Braun's Jnpiter-C rocket on January 31, IStt) .would have been in orbit two lier, averting a lot of American embarrassment and the moi& diltt* aging Soviet propaganda trtbntpil of the Cold War." The Columbus of space, Braun, who once believed he Md helped launch the first liquid-fuel missile, gives credit to aa Ameri can physics professor, the lite Dr. Robert H. Goddard of Worcester, Mass., as the true "father Of tM rocket." Dr. Goddard successfully fired a rocket fueled with gaaoMne and liquid oxygen from a Meadow out side Worcester in 1MB, four yMfS before von Braun and Berlin tcien tists Herman Oberth lannqhtd a similar missile, unaware of God dard' s invention.