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THE COLBORNE EXPRESS, COLBORNE, ONT. JULY 4, 1957 Siamese Cats On very hot days the beautiful jet-haired Siamese princess always went down to a little beach where she could bathe unobserved, afterwards sunning her slim body as she lay on the warm sands. But sometimes she was haunted by the fear that her priceless jewels might be lost or stolen while she was in the water. One day the sight of her faithful and inseparable companion, a sleek short-haired cat with eyes of clear forget-me-not blue, gave her an idea. She careful iy Strung the jewels together and hung them securely on the cat's rather nusual-looking tail, where they remained until she had dressed and was ready to return to the palace. So often did she do this from that day onwards that the cat developed an odd kink in its tail and that is why -- says an ancient legend -- all the early Siamese cats had these kinks, or knots. Few people nowadays believe this picturesque but unlikely story, but everybody knows that Siamese cats were once regarded as sacred animals in their own land, and were only allowed to be kept in the royal palaces and temples. , As to the kink in the cats' tails, there is to-day a difference Of opinion about whether it is a good or bad point at cat shows. In Siam itself the kink is considered to be a malformation and one that no good cat should Many breeders and judges outside of Siam, frown if they see any trace of the kink, although it is generally agreed that a slight one at the extreme tip Of the tail doesn't matter very much if the cat's other features are of the highest standard. These amazing little animals with jewel-blue eyes are cats in name and in appearance only; In disposition they are more like dogs. All cat-lovers agree that they have a wonderful personal loyalty and a dog-like fidelity which is quite touching. Some experts believe that the Siamese cat is the nearest existing relative to the "divine" cat *f ancient Egypt. In old Siam, •iertainly, it was widely thought that when a man or any of his family died, their souls passed into the cat That is why, after a rich man's death, a Siamese cat was frequently sent to the temple where it lived in luxury and splendour, lying on silken cushions and being fed with the choicest foods. Jewels, gold and priceless fabrics were "offered" to these pampered pets. Whenever an old Siamese nobleman went on a long journey he usually took a Siamese cat with him in case he should die on the way. With him, too, went a specially appointed "cat woman" whose job was to feed and tend the cat and see that it slept warmly and comfortably at night. There are still Mohammedans in Siam who seriously believe that when Mohammed comes to earth again he will be reincarnated in the body of a Siamese cat. They are amazingly intelligent and sometimes almost human in their ways and emotions. One Siamese cat I know, when he has failed after many gentle taps with his paw to make his owner attend to him, leaps lightly up on to the mantlepiece and begins to sharpen his claws upon the treasured portrait of his owner's great-grandmother that hangs above it. Cat breeders warn that the Siamese can be very destructive in the home. Their claws have been known to rip the most valued of soft furnishings, so it is advisable to train them from kittenhood. An epidemic of whisker-biting broke out among Siamese cats in Britain about seven years ago and many potential show-winners were losing their looks. It was found that the whisker-biting usually started with a newborn kitten. The kitten nibbled off the whiskers of all his brothers and sisters and then chewed off the mother's! One result of this strange epidemic was that whiskerless Siamese cats were bumping against furniture and stumbling in the dark, because a cat relies upon whisker - sensitivity to gauge width for the passage of its body. Although the whiskers grew again in six weeks, the constant chewing and pulling of the top lip widened the nose of many cats and, as Siamese cats should have pointer noses, the value of the whisker-bitten ones went down and prizes at shows were missed. On* Siamese cat expert said: "Whisker-bitting is just like nail-biting in humans. Sometimes it Is because the whiskers tickle." NO BUMPER JACK? - Towering nine feet tall, the world's largest tires are tested in the New Mexico desert before shipment to Saudi Arabia. The huge tires weigh one and a half tons each, containing more than a half ton of rubber, 197 pounds of fabric and 27,000 feet of bead wire They're designed to help move complete oil pumping stations across the Arabian sands. crossword puzzle ;:i Plaything 32. gratified ^ ACROSS DOWN 18. Optical gl:iss .43. Historical Shoemaker's 1. Entire 20. English city periods tool amount 22. Banquet 47. Drop bait Si«mpnt 2 Very small 23.One defeated ' lightly 5 A J 7 a 0 9 0 11 i 4 m 8 19 20 .- 73 M n 25 it ' : 33 i a •h : 38 39 4-5 48 50 54 Si % S8 Answer elsewhere on this page. DUNKED DOLLY-With all the spring flooding, Dallas might think of water as a pesky nuisance. But Camille Pratt, 18, knows better. She escapes the 95-degree heat with a frolic in the overflow waters of the White Rock Spillway. . THE FAEM FRONT Free world farmers are increasingly alarmed that the United States, through the growing bulk of its agricultural surpluses, may be forced into a mammoth program of dumping of commodities. This dumping (the export sale of grains, oils, or fibers at prices below the costs of production) they feel is already destructive to their interests. Their concern arises from the growing world comprehension that subsidized export sales can become, if pressed hard enough, "a struggle ndt between farmers, but between treasuries." In such a fight, they fear, they can only lost against the American dollar. Such views, expressed in louder chorus through disploma-tic channels in recent months, formed a central theme for discussion at the tenth anniversary meeting of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers. They appeared as the backbone of recommendations drawn up by 200 delegates from 42 farm organizations representing 35,000,000 farmers in 26 lands. Weighing these lengthy recommendations and 10 full days of probing discussion -- in simultaneous translation in English and French -- farmer observers to the IFAP session see two possible outcomes. A world "umpire" may be set up for commodity trading under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as urged by IFAP delegates, to serve as a review board using public opinion to check the actions of nations ruled to be using unfair trading practices. Secondly, a new decision of just how dumping should be defined for farm crop sales may be added to the journals of agriculture. It would probe closer to the real costs of production. Should world farm thinking move in an opposite direction, shifting toward the conclusion that fair export competition is not and will not become possible in food and fiber, farmer organizations will urge their governments to propose that dollar-subsidized exports be limited somewhat by world marketing agreements, observers predicted. Under these cartellike understandings, if achieved, smaller nations that rely on their farm crop exports for vital national income could be assured of retaining an area in which they could see at a profitable price. With most of the world's wheat surpluses now binned on the North American continent due to a combination of good crops, increasing technological improvement in farming, and government policies, IFAP members heard the most detailed criticism of Yankee export policies from the United States' neighbor to the north, Canada. Other traditional wheat exporters, Australia and Argentina, and exporters by policy, France and Turkey, have been less affected, because they had had less to sell in recent months. "During the present crop year," said Canadian delegates in the restrained words of diplomacy, "intensification of surplus dis- posal efforts by our competitors will, by all appearances, seriously reduce our exports and cut very substantially into commercial markets we believe, in the absence of very heavily subsidized competition, would go to Canada. This whittling away of. our markets threatens to continue into the future, with increasing severity." "Surpluses existing today outside Canada are sufficiently large if they continue to be disposed of by methods used during the past 12 imsaths, to gravely damage the Western and Canadian farm economies," Canadian spokesmen added. Avoiding direct reference to the past years of government high parity price supports which most delegates have agreed encouraged the burgeoning American surpluses, the Canadians noted: "The roots of the international commodity problems lie, to a considerable degree, on the nature of the domestic agricultural policies of the world's nations." Australian delegates pointed their comments toward their nation's need to export agricultural commodities to earn credits with which to buy machinery and industrial raw materials. These in turn are necessary, they said, if Australia is to assure a reasonable income to its many World War II and cold-war refugees -- 400,000 in five years. State treasury competition, it was indicated, could wipe away this income. Echoing these views were delegates representing the American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest American farmer organization. Walter L. Randolph, AFBF vice-president and farm bureau delegate from Alabama, outlined the nationwide organization's thinking in detail. "In our view," he said, "gov-renment policies which encourage production in excess of and in advance of effective market demand not only depress farmer incomes but they create international problems which at best can be dealt with on a very unsatisfactory basis. We agree that it is not fair on a continuing basis to subsidize the production of surpluses of our export crops through policies which requin government 'surplus disposal programs' to market the commodity." Not necessarily is the domestic sale price of a commodity always a fair export price, Mr. Randolph argued. A fair price, he suggested, is a price not lower than "the price at which the production of the commodity was induced," either by the free market price or government programs. IFAP delegates displayed keen interest in the "soil bank," concept as a device to reduce production without harsh farmland effects after war prices or government support programs have pushed crop production above market needs. Farewell In Tibet One of the most attractive features in Tibetan life is the habit of going to meet, and seeing off, one's friends. When anyone goes away, his friends often put up a tent on his road several miles out of the town and wait for him there with a meal to speed him on his way. The departing friend is not allowed to go till he has been loaded with white scarves and good wishes. When he comes back the same ceremony is observed. It sometimes happens that he is welcomed at several places on his way home. In the morning, maybe he first catches sight of the Potalia; but on his way into the town he is held up at tent after tent by his welcoming friends, and it is evening before he arrives in Lhasa, his modest caravan swollen to stately proportions by his friends and their servants. He comes home with the happy feeling that he has not been forgotten. -- From "Seven Years in Tibet," by Heinrich Harrer, translated from the German by Richard Graves. In Rochester, ordered by a judge to leave town right away after he was caught in an attempted burglary, George Williams, 22, was nabbed 14 hours later repeating the crime, explained that he was looking for money and a new pair of shoes for the trip. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking BHHB ancio HEEDBECDB bbe Fim HEnn eeebe enH HBDSE BEE OBEEH EBBLTJ SB SEBE DEEBnEEH secara BBSs HHEHEEBIE HEBE HOB BBESn HBE ITCH iQODGHQ Jethro, a Practical Counsellor Exodus 18: 13-24 Memory Selection: Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done. Exodus 18J One never knows what great events may hinge on a little act of kindness. Moses had fled from Egypt to Midian and was sitting by a well. He saw seven sisters, who were drawing water for their father's flock, being driven away by rude shepherds. His sense of justice was outraged. He came to the aid of the young ladies. The result: Moses was later invited to the home where he stayed for forty years; he married one of the daughters; he received the very valuable advice recounted in our lesson; he receivd helpful guidance for Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness. Numbers 10:31. D. L. Moody said, "It is better to set a hundred men to work than to do the work of a hundred men." This is especially true in the work of the kingdom of God. When people have a specific responsibilty in promoting the work of a church they take a greater interest. It is a point in favor of the smaller church that a higher percentage usually have responsibility. By organizing Israel so that there are rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, Moses was able to conserve his strength for the weighty matters. It was well that he was humble enough to accept and act upon the advice of his father-in-law. The men chosen were to be "able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetous-ness." The apostles acted on the same principle in calling for "seven men Of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" to look after the care of the widows and other matters. Paul wrote to Timothy, "The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2. We must share the good news of salvation which others and urge them to pass it on. Only thus with the gospel be carried te all men. Each one teach one. Moses may well have said conceits the counsel received Jethro, -"T^ was the best advice I evef had." "For twenty-five years ttif wife and I were ideally happy," said Bill to his companion. "Then what happened?" "We met." LIGHT UP BEN'S FACE-Behind one of the four faces of London's famed Big Ben, workers Eric Lucas, top, and Sid Harbour install one of the 56 fluorescent-type lighting fixtures which will illuminate the massive clock for the first time since 1954. The fixtures are replacing the ordinary electric bulbs previously used. SHIPS AT SEA - Britain's newest aircraft carrier, rigged Mayflov/er II in the Atlantic Ocean while ti Naval Review. The replica of the Pilgrims' ship i v\.S. Ark Royal, passed ier was en route to the Internatio iling «3 Plymouth, Mass.