Subscribe ToThe Herald? $2Per Yeai
Haywood E. Lynch
]im Lifttleyohn
Ed Link
BEST
By Shirley Sargent >
THE SMALL KITTEN called
* Tupid watched preparations for ;
Christmas dully. Only the middle !
boy, one Archie Raymond, noticed ,
his apathy. The tree, in all its
green splendor, stood tall in the
living room bedecked with an in
creasing number of ornaments.
"Careful," Marcia Raymond ad
monished her son sharply. "Don't
hang those big balls down so low.
The kitten will break them."
Gently Archie lifted them to a
higher bough, drawing in the pun
gent scent, of the pine. Only he saw
that the kitten walked slowly under
the tree unaware ' of the boughs
tickling her furry back. His young
est brother had named the roly
poly butterscotch kitten Tupid.
Young Billy was easily aroused to
fits of anger. His favorite expres
sion, under stress, was a lisped,
"Y<ju 'tupid, you big 'tupid."
Archie, his ten-year-old brother,
Joe, and his parents laughed at the
little boy '8 wrath and, because the
kitten was slower than. the others in
Tapld circled and swelled at
the black kitten tutttl he wu sat
isfied. Then his tongas flicked
eat te lick the kitten.
the litter, they named him, most af
fectionately, Tupid.
"Arehle," Mrs. Raymond was
flurried from all the eztitement,
"That blue globe is much too low.
Tupid will get it. I don't doubt," she
added pessimistically, "that we will
lose half of our gkri>es."
Archie could see that Tupid had
no interest either in the swaying
boughs or the brillianKelored frag
ile balls. For two. days Tupid had
wandered carelessly about ? the
house and yard. He wasn't playful
ar friendly asi be bad stopped pur
ring. Only Archie sensed that the
kitten was lonesome for his sisters
and brothers and his mother. At
first there had been four balls of
?fur and a proud old alley cat moth
er. As they grew, they had become
playful, pattering swiftly through
the house. But now they were all
gone, including the mother. Just
Tupid was left to keep. Even the
black imp with shoe-button eyes
had been given away. Tar Baby,
who had been the boss of the litter,
had been gone barely two days, and
Tupid missed him. ?
"Well," his father's voice boomed
again, as he climbed down the lad
der. "All dona in time for Christ
mas Eve. Come here, Joe, Archie,
you too Billy. I want you to see this
fine tree."
Mrs. Raymond switched the lights
off and Archie shivered in delighted
excitement as the tree blazed, 11- !
himlned by the strings of lights (
and balls. The mafeic moment /was
shattered by the sharp ring of the |
doorbell.
A rush of cold air came in as Mr.
Raymond flung opep the door wide
to admit a bundled figure. "My
father says I can't keep the kitten,"
Gerald Parks recited automatically,
close to tears, "I have to give It
back because it gives my father
hay fever." Gerald went out in
another rush of frosty air, but not
before Mrs. Raymond had pressed
a fat candy cane into his mittened
band. ?
Tar Baby huddled in the middle
of the floor. "Watch it, boys," Mr.
Raymond warned, "Let's Just watch
him. He ?ee is strange here now;
he'll be all right in a while."
Archie saw Tupid jump from the
serfs with a purr of dallght. Tupid
circled and smeQed at the Mack
kitten until ha was satisfied. Then
his tongue flicked out to lick the
Mtten.Tupid's paws caressed him
as his tongue washed him. The
Mack kitten stood passive, as
Tupid showered his pent-up love
on him.
"Thsy, mommy," Billy lisped,
"Tupid's kissing him, ioi't hat"
"Um," Mrs. Raymond agreed,
"Tar Baby's Tupid's Christmas
present."
Mr. Raymond's eyes 4 swept his
son*' awe-struck (sees, "No," he
said firmly,^ "He's our Christmas
Three New Tobacco
Varieties Released
Millions of dollars eventually may
toe added to the State's (arm income
as a result of rhe release of three
new flue-cured tobacco varieties by
the North Carolina Agricultural ?x
per?ment Station, believes Dr. R. VV.
Cummings, associate director Qf the.
station.
The varieties are Dixie Bright 27,
Dixi<.\ 'Bright 101, and Dixie Bright
102, all of which were released last
week. The first combines good
yields and quality with hi?h resis
tance to Granville wilt. The other
two hace combination resistance to
black shank and Granville wilt.
"Of course, it's still too early to
predict exactly how these varieties
will perform on the average fatm,"
Dr. Cummings says. "They have all
shown up well in experiments on
State test farms. But we know their
ultimate value depends on how
thie growers like them."
To give some Idea of theii poten
tial value, Dr Cummings cites the
case of Oxford 26, the variety now
being used on most soils infested
with Granville wilt.
'The U. S. Department of Agricul
ture estimates that Oxford 26 has
added more than a billion dollars to
the nation's anni/al farm income
sincc it was introduced in 1945," he
says. GranviHe wilt had become so
bad in the Old Belt that growers
were abandoning their farms. Des
pite weaknesses in yield, Oxford
26 enabled growers to stay in the
business and ntake money. New
Dixie Bright 27 should further add
to income from wilt-infested soils.
Dixie Bright 101 and 102 are the
first varieties to offer resistance to
both black shank and Granville
wilt. Depending on' how farmers like
them, they could easily be of as
much value to the State as Oxford
26.
Dr. Cummings makes it clear that
release of rhees varieties does not
mean an end to the tobacco breed
ing program. This kind of research
is a continuous thing, he says. New
diseases will continue to show up
as Jong as tobacco is grown. The va
rieties just released will some day
One immediate problem is to de
velop a variety resistant to Gran
ville wilt, black shank, and Fusar
ium wilt, since some farms in North
Carolina now h'ave a>l three disets
es. Another problem not yet solved
by plant breeders is that of nemato
des, the tny soil pests that bore into
tobacco roots and stunt the plants.
State College Hints
To Farm Homemakers
The location of the outlet where
the electric iron cord plug* in may
seem an unimportant detail to the
man who wires the house. But to the
wonvan who does the ironing, a con
venient location for this particular
outlet saves time and effort and
makes for a better ironing Job, say
the home management specialist
, For efficient work the cord should
not drag or catch on the board,
hamper the movements of the work
er or pull across and thus wrinkle
clothes being ironed. -
The best place for the outlet is a- I
?bove and to the front of the board.)
the tesis of hand ironing showed.
The best heigh 1 is 3ti inches or more
above {he board The most conveni
ent position is on a wall faced by
the worker: next best, on a Wall to
the side tright side for right-hand
ed workers); least convenient, on
the wall in back. An overhead out
let also makes for convenient iron
ing if it is within easy reach; But
.the specialists! caution against us
ing an o:din*ary "light fixture on a
drop coro for ah iron, this does not
give proper heat and is likely to
cause overheating of the wire.
In New England, many farmers
sell Christmas trees that they clear
I from pasture land. If the Christmas
tree market did not exist, much de
sirable thinning or pasture clearing
'might remain undone because of!
; labor costs.
END OF THE RAINBOW . . . The
rainbow of at least one hnmn de
sire had fulfillment at the end
when Judy Sue Warschaaer found
herself face to face with the dslt
of her dreams ? and it was the Very
one she wanted for Chlrstmaa.
CRAWFORD'S
MAHKET & CHOOSY
V
The Yule is a season for songs and
rejoicing. Our earnest hope is that all
you friendly people may share in this
spirit to the utmost
And for what it's worth, we offer our
heartiest wishes
for a very Merry
Christmas.
KINGS MOUNTAIN
BUDDING & LOAN ASSN.
J.
SteratarT'TnoiatM
I. C. K?ll*r, Viot-fmidMl
J. R/DotW. AMtnwf
S.
C.W.
Oi
j? y ?. L Tfti T m, 1__^_ fffUilimlullanlw
Directors
Or. u v.
*.u
W.M. OoBtt
OUtee