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:;>?-â-  â- -â- ^^ -â- ^- A n a 3 < « k -% r T h. :? < .« ^ # •^ ^ «. * Wv!^ ^ * T a. -t T ^ •1 ^ 2> * <*' •<, T -^ »' â- i «â-  >»• lit' â- Â»v f â- ^ -^, ^ ,-**.; »* ^ .^ r A -^ A ^f: â- Â» ^^ A â- Â»'. t Says Thatched Roofs Are Best Of All 'No method of covering roofs has yet be^ invented which can equal thatch in being both weatherproof and resistant to extremes of tem- perature.' declares William Martin, a thatcher for fifty years, who emphasizes that 'there must b« no attempt to cheapen the work at the expense of the craftsman.' During the thousands of years of progress since men first built ouses, it is really rather remarkable that no method of covering roofs has yet been invented which can equalthat in being both weather- proof and resistant to extremes ot temperature. Not only does the thickness of the thatch makes the house warmer in winter and cooler and summer, but the reeds have, an effect like a cavity-wall, with simi- lar insulating properties. As a thatcher of some fifty years' standing, I have always found the job very interesting. 1 actually started work with my father and grandfather when a boy of about ten years of age. It "is a highly skilled job, if properly done, requiring a good eye and plenty of patience, but it is work of which anyone can be proud. Now what about the materials? This is where the farmer comes in, for he can produce for thatching practically everything needed on the farm. The timber can be freshly cut from the woods â€" ash, hazel, fir-poles ,and so on. The rods and spars can also be got from the underwood â€" the hazel and withy. The straw of straw-reed, too, is grown on almost every farm. In the south-western counties of England, the wheat straw reed is very popular. This is wheat put through a special attachment called a reed-comber, which is fitted to an ordinary threshing machine. It comes' through the machine cleaned of all corn, and flag and we«d and the butts are all one way and un- bruised. -"This straw-reed i* sold usually at about twice the price of ordinary straw. To thatch an average-size root of fifteen squares with wheaten straw-reed â€" a square is 100 square feetâ€" would cost $500 to $600. This is the cost of an entirely new roof â€" if put on to an existing thatched roof it would cost aout $350. If, however, all materials are supplied by the farmer, the cost would not be Hkely to exceed $150. And how long, you may ask, would such a roof last? I should say that, with straw-reed, from thirty- five to fifty years, with the excep- tion of the ridge, which requires renewing about every ten to twelve years. Norfolk reeds will last much longer, but the cost is very much higher. \ ery often, when 1 am working on a roof, people stop and ask me questions about thatching. They admire the neatness of the thatched roofs, and many ask what is being done to preserve this craft, and why more young men do not take up such satisfying work. It is perfectly true that, during recent years, there has been a steady decline in thatching. The cause of this, in my opinion, has been the low rate of pay the thatcher received for his work, as a result of which the thatchers' sons retused to take up the cratt. At last, however, the thatchers are getting an adequate reward for the service they render to the com- munity, and if thatching is to sur- vive there must be no attempt to cheapen the work at the expense of the craftsman. /There are at present 778 full-time that. hers in this country, but bOO of these are over forty years ot age. These are far too few in number to' cope with the work needed, but the Rural Industries Bureau is doing all it can to en- courage young men to take up the craft. I am pleased to say we are meeting with a certain amount of Leaders In Great British Election Struggle Clement Attlee Winston Churchill Sketch from photo by Karsh, Ottawa. success, as there are now about forty trainees learning the work, but more are ' still required. Thatchers' associations, too, are being formed tci maintain and im- prove standards of work, and this is a step in the right direction. I am often asked if thatching is a dying craft, and my reply is 'definitely no.' In the south-western countries of England, I find many people are buying old cottages and having them reconditioned with a coat of thatch put on the old roofs. In many cases, unsightly gal- vanized, iron and asbestos sheeting is being removed and entirely re- placed by thatched roofs. How long, you may ask, does it take to learn to make a good thatcher? This is not an easy ques- tion to "answer. ."Vs 1 have already told you. I have been thatching myself for nearly fifty years, with all kinds of material, and 1 am not too old even now jo learn a point or two. Held By Czechs â€" Aldon Johnson is one of two Mor- mon missionaries seized by Czechoslovakian officials in Moravia Jan. 27. The Czech foreign office said Johnson and Stanley E.- .\bliott are beings held for trying to enter a proliibited area. .American officials in Prague expressed "grave concern" over the case. Up And Atom â€" Sumner Pike (left), who wiH take over as act- ing chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, confers with retiring chairman David Lilienthal. Pikt, who had been vice- chairman, will serve as head of the AEC until Presideisi Truman appoint* a p«nnauent chairman. Grandma, Grandpa, Need Milk Too Milk is no longer just for the children. Scientists are finding out new reasons why all the members of the family need it. Mother needs it, especially if she's nervous. Dad needs if if he doesn't want to get old before liis time. And Grandpa and Grandma need it. Then tliey aren't so apt to get laid up witli a broken hip. We know that milk furnislies a dig\.sliblt protein â€" that's why it's such a pen'tict tood tor babies. It also furnishes minerals. Calcium is the mineral that your body needs in largest quantity. -•Vnd it's the one that your diet is most apt to be siiort of. It's what maki-s up the lime part of the bones. Milk is one of the best sources ol digestible calcium. Why is it old people's bones break so easily!' Hxperiments point to a lack ot calcium in their diets. Vou can't ii'.aintain strong bones on simply tea and toast. It's hard to think of such things as your bones dissolving away. But tests ha\ e shown that caicium is leaving t!ie body all the time. Ami since 9y per cent of the body's calcium is in tlie bones it has to come from them. You've heard about the "tagged" atoms (radioactive isotopes I that let one trace these particles of mineral as they move through the body. Such bone-buildiu'g mineral was fed to some white rats. The scientists found that at first it located in the bones. But later it was excreted and had to be re- placed with a new , supply. For obtaining this required cal- cium milk is a good food to tie to. tor example you'd have to eat seven pounds of carrots or cabbage or 27 pounds ot potatoes, to get as mucii calcium as from, drinking )ust one quart ol milk. Une quail (.four glasses^ of mdk a day ,will furnish all the calcium needed for the average ciiild. The amount ot calcium needed by ad- ults is practically as much. In a,dolescciice, children need one and a halt times this amount. The pregnant woman needs as much or more than the adolescent. If one is out of the habit of ilrink- ing this much milk, there are other ways of workuig it into the diet. Some liquid milk with the meal IS always recoininended. Out it can be used liberally in the cooking, too. Bread made with dried milk furnishes the calcium. Calcium does other things to you besides making harder bones. It's necessary for the clotting of blood in wounds. It helps regulate the beat of the heart. .-Vnd it helps keep your neryss stable. Vitamins of tlie B complex have something to do with nerves, too. Otie of these â€" sometimes called Vitamin B-2, at other times called Vitamin G (to stand for growth)â€" you now generally hear by its par- ticular name, riboflavin. All adults should want to get plenty of riboflavin. For it is called the vitamin that "helps ex tend the best years of life." That ; It helps you keep the qualities of youth â€" to postpone the signs of age. Sounds like the "fountain of youth" idea, doesn't it? But here's a part of the explanation science gives: Your body cells need ribo- flavin in order to use the oxygen brought by the blood. This better use of oxygen is like taking deep breaths. \'ou get a sense of well- beins. which is one of the charac- teristics of youth. So. if you feel nervous and run- down, get plenty of riboflavin. Then blue Mond;iys (we hope I won't seem quite so blue. The Taie, i lot The Tail, Of A Kilt Esther Butler is a Scot, a fervent Scot, and she maintains her Scot- tishness while she is in the South of Encriand by stitching at kilts for dear life. "In thirty-seven years, stated Esther in an air interview, ;:rve sewn enough tartan to stretch round the world." She was a girl of fifteen, making coats for a Glasgow firm, wRen the famous Variety artist Sir Henry Lauder came in and or- dered a kilt. She was not experienc- ed enough then to make it for him but later in life she became a kilt maker. She came South fifteen years ago and now sits comfortably and snugly in a country caravan listen- ing to the birds singing outside as she works. Hy keeping hard at it from early morning till late at night, Esther Butler manages to make six kilts a week. There are ei^^ht yards of tartan in each, every stitch is sewn by hand with silk and match- ing the pleated back and plain front of a kilt is the tricky jpb, for the chetk lias to look the same all the way round. She has to know more til.; 1 .' r huiulred diiurent tar.ans â€"for each Highland clan ha» its own tariaii. anu ti.ere are dress and hunting tartans, modern and ancient ones. Nine out of ten of Mrs. But- ler's kilts are exported to America. She can recognize her own work anywhere and one day when she wa* in a London Hotel talking to /» friend and they sat near two ob- viously aristocratic Scots, the girl wearing a kilt that Mrs. Butler in- sisted was her work. Her disbeliev- ing friend, bet her a pound that it was not. Mrs. Butler went up to the lady and asked her name. "'When she told me I nearly fell through the floor because of my impudence." she said, "but it was my kilt." Here's An Idea For Busy Mother* Little Bobby Seaman haa been playing Indian for nearly six months â€" ever since lit wa« thre« :' months old. ,' Today, like any good little pa- poose, he enjoy* nothing better than being toted around Boston'* Back Bay, strapped securely to hii cradle board. This papoose-style perambolating â- tarted when two active Boston mothers sought to be freed from baby sittinsi â€" or pushing. Mr. and .Mrs. James McDouough enjoyed hiking and mountain climbing, but when little Jean ar- rived, they quickly realized they â-  couldn't push her carriage up over the trails. So they scouted around and hunted up pictures and read an article about Indian cradles or car- rying boards. Improvising a bit. but following specifications closely, they built one for Jean, using an old army ruck- sack carrier and weblied army bell- ing. Discarding the Indian siiua-v's forehead strap, they substituted the belting, attaching it so that it slip- ped over Mrs. McDonough'.s shoul- ders. Shortly after Mrs. Richard Sea- man met her neighbor carry nij Jean â€" papoose style. She, too, liked the idea immensely, .«ince she and her husband enjoyed outdoor sports and also were s'eeking some method by which Bobby might be included. . So they copied the cradle, laced Bobby inside his blanket, strapped the whole contraption over Mrs. Seaman's shoulders. â€" and off they went. Lo, the happy little Indian I AULD SCOTIA (From A Reader Who Enjoyed "What Heather Means To Ths Scots !) 'Butter" From Mud" In the latter part of th« year 18o9 someone applied to the owner of a wharf on the Thames for space on which to erect a butter factory. llie extravagant rent oifcred in- duced the owner to investigate. Ha discovered that the tenant really intended to" make something that would pass for butter, and this from the Thames mud. .\fter some cJieiuical treatment, a pure, white fat could be obtained from the mud. The product sold well. Quiz Question A motorist was 100 yards from an open railway crossing tearing along at 60 miles an hour. .\ train, com- ing down the track at the same "speed, was an equal distance from the intersection. Problem: Did the motorist get across? Answer: Yes â€" a beautiful marblt cross purchased by his widow from his insurance monev. Y« tak' me back tae my Heilan' Hame, Tae a wee Clachan in th' Glen; Tae a Heather thack'd Hoose, wi' it's wa's sae white, Like the Sna'-tapp'd mountains that I ken. Whaur th' Heather blooms an' Brackan' grows. An' tumblin' burns roll t'wards th' Sea: Whaur Skylards sing their sangs ia Spring, That's wJiaur I lang tae b«. 'W'haun day was done at set o' sua, â- We'd sit 'roun' th' auld stane hearth : 'Write, read or »ew, by tire-licht glow, Th' happiest folks on Earth. A thing now rare, we'd say a prayer, Thank God for His mercies shown; 'Ere rest oor head on a Heather bed. That t'would a treasure ba to own. It's noo lang syne, but wi' tochtt sae fine, Ye've brought tae me o' Hame; I've seen this Worl' frae end t»e end. But there's naething quite th' same. Like oor heather'd hills an' bonnie Glens. Oor rugged coasts an' raging sea; Unconquered still auld Scotia stands. By God's will, she'll aye be free. 'Copter For Cold-Weather Rescuesâ€" This is an artist's conception of the first Air Force helicopter designed especially for use in Arctic rescue operations, the Piasecki H-21. Big as an airliner, the craft will be able to land on snow, ice, water, tundra or marshland,?. A hydraulic swivel hoist enables it to haul in litter cases and make other pickups at spots V 2/ where landijig is impossible. For emere;ency purposes, the H-2 can carry two crewmen. passen.si'ers and JITTER By Arthur Pointer i