THURSDAY, MARCH 23, US?
THt FRANKLIN PRESS AND THE HIGHLANDS MAC0N1AN
PACK FIVE
MYTHS . . . , about animals
The longer I live, the more 1
marvel at the credulity of. the hu
man race. So many things that
"everybody knows" turn out not to
be true. When 1 was- a ,boy every
body" knew that ,if you put a
horsehair in a rainwater barrel and
' left it there long enough it would
turn into a snake. 1 suppose there
are country boys who still believe
that. , :
"Everybody knows" that wolves
are dangerous wild beasts which do
not hesitate to attack people. But
a man I know up in' Canada has
had a cash reward standing for
years for proof that a wolf ever
attacked a human being, and no
body has claimed it Canadian trap
pers say that wolves are never
man-killers, and Dr. Stefansson, fa
. mous explorer, says the same about
European wolves. '
. . "Everybody knows" that the red
fox is . a chicken thief, to . be shot
on sight. But . the . Michigan Con
servation Department reports that
Br'er Fox' lives mostly on grass
hoppers and insects, and has asked
for a law to, protect him.
LIFE ...,'.. . . Miib-human
Where and how " did life begin
on Earth? Science is getting closer
every - year to a definite answer.
Life ibegan in the sea. That is gen
erally ' agreed, ' and salt and water
are parts of every' living thing.
"Without them ' in proper balance,
we die. . ' , V
How long, ago life began is' an
other question. Archaeologists now
say that 'human life is. at least a
million years old, and that many
millions' of years mut have, elapsed
before the human race was evolved
from the primitive lower forms of
inc.
.There is evidence that more thin
one man-like . kind of animal lived
fifty .thousand or more years, ago,
sub-human" species of which traces
have- been found but which have
long been extinct. It is probable
that' the ancient folk -myths com
mon to all races, of giants, ogres,
satyrs and gnomes which lived un-.
der-ground, ,corne down from the
earliest contacts of our own species
' which those vanished " experiments
of nature. ...
GROWTH . . ; . . continue
Until lately it has been generally
. believed that everybody, unless the
victim of some rare malady,' stop
ped growing somewhere i6tween
fifteen and thirty. Now Dr) Ales
Hrdlicka of th6 Smithsonian Insti
tution, who has measured. more. liv
. ing persons and skeletons than any
one else, says that most people
keep on growing right up to 50 or
60. Our bones actually, grow. Our
heads get larger, and so 1 do our
. noses, ears and mouths. ,.
I was a bit skeptical about that
until I remembered that when .1
was 25 I wore a 7- hat, and now,
with much less hair and no fat at
all over my skull, I have to get a
ry2: v:
Dr. Hrdlicka says he has nd ready
explanation for the facts he offers,
but suggests thatthe enlargement
of people's , heads may be due to
growth of the. brain through use.
SHOES ; . . and Wley corn
I I had lunch the other day with
America's largest shoe, retailer. I
, asked , him a question which has
long puzzled me. What do shoe
sizes mean ?' How much difference
is there between a size 7 and a
siifc' BI'A barleycorn," he told me.
I knew that ancient standard of
measurement, for in my first school
arithmetic it started with "three
; barleycorns ' make one inch' But
my No. 7 shoe, I 'pointed out,
was certainly mor'e than 24 inches
long, so if each size was only a
third of an inch, the numbers must
start somewhere above zero.
We got some other shoe men in
to the discussion, ; and finally went
to my friend's store and began
measuring ' shoes. We found that
the smallest shoe is a baby's No. 0,
? which is for a , foot four inches
long. Then there are thirteen sizes,
eachya third of an inch, in chil
dren shoes, before you get to No.!
1 in men's sizes.
I thought it was an interesting
lit of informition, 1 worth passing
HOOD: FAMDinr
JOHN JOSEPH GAINESvMD,
OUR ELDERS ARE OFTEN
GOOD TEACHERS
At this writing I have eight
people under my care who are over
eighty years of age six men and
two women.- All buf two of them
are ori foot ; one ' woman has, had
a "stroke" but can get. about- and
help herself. She is 85. The other
is just past 80, and has a sprained
hip, uses crutches to go about her
house. One old man, 86, is a veter
an of the Qvil War; another will
be 88 at his next birthday.
It is interesting to watch these
old boys and girls who have some
how come mighty close to live the
right way, else they could not have
achieved all these years with such
success; I meet many of half their
ages who really complain more
than they do.
And they know just a little more
about what is good for then to
eat than" I do. I never put them on
a diet except to ask them to eat
what "agrees" with them. If I
caught one of the old fellows eat
ing salted peanuts and topping off
with ice "cream, I would not stop
him. If one has diabetes, 1 do not
by any means cut off a reasonable
amount of sugar from his dietary. I
have always been a stickler for let
ting well enough alone;.
One of them just went out my !
door this moment has a. leg ulcer.
I keep DRY dressings applied while
it .heals nicely.:. He laughs over the
situation, not at all like a much
younger ; man would do.
And, my old people are so ap
preciative; . they make one; love
them. They have lived all these
years. I have no doubt, on that
very principle. The fellow who is
eternally finding fault is in a poor
way to live out a long and beauti
ful existence, because he burns up
the good within him. We all may
learn from this.
PLAIN HORSE-SENSE
IN EATING
Somehow, I can't get away , from
the good old plan of eating, be
cause I am hungry the best rea
son on earth isn't it? If you are
not hungry and have no appetite
when you should have ' cae then
something may be wrong; better
see, your doctor that's what he's
for. It may be an easy time to set
you right.
Then I still cling to the ancient
plan of eating things that taste
good. What's wtong with that ?
Just why should I be obligated to
force .down stuff that I despise?
Eating is part of my reward for
being a good, industrious boy. That
also applies to you dear readers.1
If' you-,. are a girl, limply change
genders in thi9 letter and go ahead.
Boys are not so different from
girls, when it. comes to living and
eating. V
Those two good old rules eat
because you are hungry, and eat
what tastes good. . It will take a lot
of theory to scare up better ones.
But . . . people get to figuring on
"balanced ration," and "calories,"
and they fuss around about them
with an air of superior learning.
First thing you know, you are off
on the trail of ''vitaiuines ' and
then you don't lack much of being
in over your head! You get afraid
to eat white bread really the meit
nutritious best tasting bread in the
world. Are you scared of white
bread ? One of my contemporaries"
refers to certain bread alarms as
"the vitamin' fad." That's not far
from right.
I've written thousands of words
on. diet and eating yes, millions.
After all, 1 believe I feel better by
practicing plain horse sense, that
tells me not to eat too much but
what I like. ' -
One gainful worker in every six
is listed in the "white collar' class
by the Bureal of Census.
"MY DIGESTION ROLLS RIGHT ALONG
If
-says Fred McDanlel, Cowboy
"I SMOKE PLENTY of Camels, and
enjoy my meals," McDaniel says. Cam
els at mealtime step up the flow of
digestive fluids alkaline fluids that
help you enjoy a sense pf well-being.
MACHINE OPERATOR, Frances
Morel, says: "When I feel low,
I get a 'lift' in energy with a
Camel. And Camels' aid my di
gestion." Camels set you right!
CAMELS
COSTLIER TOBACCOS
better thm (Jji
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TO THE GALLON
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The new 460" Ford (illustrated)
is the thriftiest car in all Ford history!
Drive it all day on a tankful of gas
owners report 22 to 27 miles per gal
lon. And it (carries the lowest Ford
price in years.
yet the new thrifty "60" V-8 is as big
and roomy, as well engineered as the
"85." You get the same all-steel body
vith safety glass throughout. The
same new quietness and beauty. The
same easy-acting, quick-stopping new
Ford brakes. The same large luggage
compartments.
And it's a real performer! like most
cars it bows a bit to the brilliant "85'?
Ford V-8 in pickup and top speed but
. you will be amazed at what it will do
just the same. The thrifty "60" V-8 is
a car you will own with pride and
, drive with pleasure. A car that will
save you not just pennies but dollars!
A car that's built so fine and priced so
low you will have to drive it to believe it
exists. Your Ford dealer invites you to
. drive this car'yourself. Call him today.
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$2S a moath, after
1 dowa pay
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modal 1937 Ford
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