Tárogató, 1943-1944 (6. évfolyam, 3-12. szám)
1943-10-01 / 4. szám
16 TÁROGATÓ There is doubt and uncertainty and misgiving when even for a short time they lose sight of it. The central thought of the decalogue around which all other thoughts revolve is that of God. The Jews were inferior to the Roman nation in military affairs. They certainly were inferior to the Greeks in art and sculpture, and in many other ways the Jewish people were secondary to contemporary nations, but there was one source of strength they had and it more than atoned for everything else. The excellence and vitality of the Jewish religion was due to their lofty conception of the Divine Being. They were above everything else a reverent people, and the passage of scripture seen even today after the lapse of all these centuries over the doorway of synagogues reveals their moral strength, “The Lord our God is one God.” Read—Exodus 20:3-7; Matthew 4:10: 6: 9: John 4:23, 24. —“ONWARD.” SOY BEAN FIBERS It is not long since the soy bean was a “foreign” importation for which we had relatively little use. But times have changed, and today this continent is raising huge quantities of this useful bean, and will probably raise much more. First, it was found that the oil from the bean could be used in the paint industry. Then, the meal was found to be excellent cattle food; then, it was discovered that it could be converted into a plastic, which made fine steering wheels and other automobile accessories. Now, the soy bean meal is dissolved, and the protein developed into a fibre which is loose and fluffy, so that it may be used for upholstery, and today in one of Ford’s plants at Dearborn 1,000 pounds a day is being turned out. —“ONWARD.” REDWOOD THE MAGNIFICENT The Redwood, that native of California, is one of the tallest trees. So big it is that one wonders if it gave birth to that very American story of the tree so high that it took a man and a boy to see to the top of it. In fact, the redwood reaches a height of over 300 feet; specimens have been known to soar over 320 feet, and the diameter of the trunk is sometimes thirty-five feet. Although so mighty, its leaves are particularly small, looking like green scales overlapping. The age of the redwood is remarkable; one specimenn, counting its years by its rings, has been estimated to have reached 3,000 years. An American tree lover gives us an account of one which was felled a few years ago. It was not a big tree of its kind, but is needed a hundred lumbermen to clear it away. They took from it 95,000 feet of lumber, while the butt, twenty-two feet long and nearly fourteen feet in diameter, made its history plain. The tree was born in the year 728, and scars showed that it had been damaged by fire in 1147. When the tree fell its age was only 1,205 years! —“ONWARD.” WHAT RADIO REVEALS IN EGGS The use of radio in determining the sex of chicks while they are in the egg has been demonstrated, and it seems to show just which egg will develop into a lively and vigorous chick, and which will be but a feeble bird. The egg, when it begins to develop life, develops also an electric potential which the radio-tube measures. It appears that every animal or human being develops a faint electric current whenever a muscle is moved, and these electric impulses can be measured. Even a goldfish swimming in a bowl produces tiny electric currents, and if small electrodes are placed in the water the currents can be measured. —“ONWARD.” British Columbia has engaged the services of about seven hundred conscientious objectors to work at forest protection. These workers are said to be diligent and well disciplined. * * * Some Indians still tap the Manitoba maple, or box elder, for syrup. While it is not so sweet as that of the maple, yet it has a resemblance to it. * * * The British Government is urging its citizens to eat more potatoes. One newspaper says that potatoes are good for the complexion. Now the popularity of the potato should be fully assured. * * * It is on record that a kingbird built its nest and raised a brood under the very eaves of a hawk’s nest. The hawk was a Swainson’s hawk, which is not especially interested in small birds.
