-THE GUARDIAN.

CT-IARLOTTETOWN

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FEBRUARY 2. 1952 ”,,,,...-

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v At. a meeting of the National chinchilla Breeders Association held during their 2nd annual chinchula show at. the Blackstone Hotel. Omaha. Neb., which was attended by 400 breeders, it was stated that the aim of the organization and its shows is to improve the breed- mg stock so that production can be increased and quality of pelts improved. It is their hope that eventually chinchilla will enter in- to competition with other furs and that it will be brought from the luxury class into the reach of any woman who buys a fur coat. Ac- pot-ding to Mrs. Fulk, one of the breeders. there are not enough pelts available in the United States as yet to permit their being offer- ed to the fur trade. She estimated that breeders would go on a pelt- inc basis in about five years and that perhaps enough pelts would be produced to bring chinchilla out of the luxury class within fif- iron or twenty rears.

Chinchillas produce one. two or three litters a year and average two to a litter. A producer needs several hundred pair of breeding stock in put. himself on a pelting basis. she said. A few skins are available now but are beinit taken bv private buyers. A coat requires about 100 skins and weighs be- tween three to five pounds. The tremendous demand that existed for centuries by women of high fashion for chinchilla furs. brought about the wholesale slaughter of the wild chinchilla. That lasted until the early part of this cen- iurv when F. M. Chapman. an American mininit engineer work- ing on a project in the Andes. heard the story of the chinchilla. with permission of the South Am- crlmn Government he conriucted a four years' search. In 1922 he fin- ally found a colony. the eleven sn- imais survivinc. in a rocky crevice two miles above sea level. He spent a year bringing the animals down to lower levels. then placing them in refrigerated cages he raced them across the equator. one animal died and one baby was born en route. Eleven survivors' reached lnglewond. California, on February 23nd, 1923.

That was the beginning of the ' Industry in the United States but it took another ten years to deter- mine whether the breed would sur- vive and increase on this contin- ent. Now successful breeders look forward to the day when chinchil- la will acain reign supreme in the 'ur fashion markets of the world. Today the National Chinchilla Breeders Association has approxi- mately 5000 members owning some 125.000 chinchillas. There are esti- rnatt-d to be 2000 chinchillas in Neliraska. Mrs. Fuik said there are fully about 25 chinchilla coats in ie world since the growth of the chinchilla stock is slow. A chin- rhlila coat costs upwards of S25. 000. Princess Margaret of England owns one. as does T.i1y Pnns or the Xfetropolitan. Dorothv Kirsten were a chinchilla Wrap when she open. N1 in Tosca at the San Francisco Opera recently.

bwtll. all we can say about the nhove is that for persistence the 3 nchiila breeders have everyone 'n0"&9d- 701' Years they have been H-v".lni! on a campaign of public. hvs rntilsr to the above but we Mdtgi rirotlced in any of the fur -mm Eu lications where chinchilla mark” live been offered on the M” the n recent years. some years Ysnrk bait PEPE but on sale in New Mme 9 "Spouse was unfav- lhe .!completelv out of line with

or ces asked for the breeders,

mm FARMERS!

FOR SALE

Potato Graders; Hand, Gas ?JjmElectric Power, with or I out picking table (ran.

"F-L Price 355.00 to 3150.00.

FRANCIS MacDOUGALL. Canoe Cove

- 00000 O

PROPANE GAS

For Hot Water 000 and Cabin fleeting. Non- lsonous - Clean -

Economical . list." in Gas in-

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our-union of menu, .--.f.'!lII-no an Issue stoves ITI 01., & M '

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TIMLEY I TES Oil TOPICS

Silver Fox and 1 A Farmingn

46

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which ran, into hundreds of doi- lars.

Raw mutations were in fair de- mand at the concluding portion of the New York Company's mink sale with pastels selling from 35 tn 40 per cent and Silverblu Plat- inums about 70 per cent. The col- lection was described as mostly ordinary with some good lots. Pas- tels sold up to 3513.

At the American Co-operative Fur Auction held in Milwaukee last. week a total of 50.000 mink of all types was reported 52 per cent sold. Standard mink brought a high of 333.50 and Platinum 334. Of 20.- 000 fox offered 35 per cent was sold with full silvers reaching a high of S17.'l5.'Platinum 020 and white Face 810.75. The quality of both the mink and fox offerings was termed fair. The sale was marked by hesitancy on the part of buyers. attributed to general industry uncertainty. Thirty-five huvers attended from New York. Chicago and various other western cities.

Mink is the big selling item in fur in Paris. followed by Persian lamb and beaver. according to a fur retailer from that city who has been visiting New York and Can- adian markets during the past week. Mr. Kotler. who has a skin business in Paris and who is rep- resented in Lima, Peru. said that the past season in Paris was the best since the end of the war. More and more Paris is showing interest in mink and fine wild mink, he stated. Many stoles and full length coats are being sold. He noted that the good houses are showing mink collections and that the pastels Aieutians and sapphires are pre- ferred to the Siiverblu types.

At the second fur auction in Oslo. Norway. held January 24th. an offering of 5 500 Silver Fox and 2.500 Blue Fox was 75 per cent sold. Silver Fox averaged 131 kroner while Blue Fox brought an average of 80 kroner. The silvers were medium quality and mostly of lighter types. Subsequent sales this week will offer 19.500 Silver Fox, 12.500 Blue Fox. 2000 Piatlna Fox and 35.000 mink. The kroner is. we understand. worth about 20 cents in our money. so that would make the average price for fox 820. while blue fox would be about 317.50. There is a possibility that exchange may have shifted and these prices are higher than were actually received.

At a similar sale held in Copen- hagen the same week by the Dan- ish Fur sales, which was attended by American representatives. ranch mink males averaged 111 lrroner- equal to about :16: females aver- aged 70 kroner-equal to about sin. Of a total of 59.245 males. 29- 317 were sold. Of the 55,042 fe- males 42 283 were sold. Mutations sold well with pastels avers-zin': 3.1: and silverblus almost.320. Unit- ed States buyers purchased about 05 per cent of all the mink sold silver Fox was 50 per cent sold with the cheaper grades moving best. Blues were neglected. The Danish lrroner is worth approxi- mately 14.45 cents in our money.

It must be surprising to our readers who have been foilowinil these notes for a number of years. to learn that the Danes could put such great nuantities of mink on sale. It seems only a few years hack-as a matter of fact. shortly after World War 2-that the Danes added mink to their fur farming activities and now they are pro- ducing nrnbably between 100.000 and 200.000 annually. Another thing. a perusal of the auctions in Norway and Denmark shows. is that blue fox is very much on the down trend in price and cannot possibly be produced at a profit. in fact it must be produced at a very -treat loss. There was a time when Norwegian blue fox was heralded as being the long sought after fashion fur and suite large unanti- ties were exported to the United states. but for some reason or other its brief day of glory now seems to have pretty well ended.

oossnure VISUAL , anrraatmoiv and ANALYSIS

6. F. Hutciiesou

Ir SON i Optometrists 58 Grafton St.

The Pest control Products Act Why?-

The cisi value of the ac- tual pesticides now sold in can- ada approximates twenty million dollars yearly and their value to Canadian agriculture could be es- timated at many tens of miliona of dollars annually, and there are approximately two thousand dif- ferent pesticides now registered for sale in Canada. according to P. M. overholt of the Plant Pro- ducts Dlvlslon Canada Depart- ment of Agriculture.

Pest control products which in- clude insecticides. fungicides. weed killers. rat killers, and worm reme- dies are essential commodities in agriculture. and some of these are useful also in industry and house- holds. The yield aud quality of most farm and garden crops de- pend partly on the successful con- trol of insects, plant diseases and other pests and the fact emphas- izes the value. and importance of effective insecticides and other pest control products.

So extensive and important a trade as that of pesticides could be open to a number of abuses such as the selling of useless or iery inferior products and the sale of actually injurious mater-

ials. were it not subject to some legislative control. Such control is exercised in

Canada under the Pest Control Products Act. a Federal Act ad- ministered by the Plant Products Division. Department. of Agricul- ture. This Act requires the regis- tration of all pesticides and re- quires that all claims and direc- tions for use be approved before the product is accepted for regis- tration. Re-registration can be denied it it is sold contrary to the terms of the registration. or should fail to provide the control claimed for it.

The Wonticnlay

The x-ray has helped medical science accomplish wonders since its discovery by Professor Roentgen 57 years ago.-It has greatly simp- iified the detection and setting of bone fractures and has taken the tgucssvvork out of the dialmosis of many human ailments. Tubercu- losis. once a malady responsible for thousands of deaths annually. is how on the wane thanks to free chest x-ray clinics operating in ev- ery province.

Until recently, the x-ray was used almost exclusively on hum- ans. If it. horse broke its log. it was invariably shot. If a cow swallowed a few bits of barbed wire and her milk production began to drop drastically. she was butchered. if '1 pet cat or dog was seriously ill. it cfirn landed in the gas chamber. But. this situation is changing to- my. Veterinary science has adopt- ed the x-ray as one of its tools. Results have been so gratifying in diagnosing animal diseases and in- juries that it is fast becoming as (sscntial to the profession as ra- tiiniogy is to modern medicine. Research workers in Canadian agricultural colleges are using the x-ray to produce mutations in the plant world which may someday help alleviate the world food short- wave. One scientist produced a corn plant with ears two feet long. but this "giant" was lost to the world Lccause no record was kept of the amount of radiation used in the experiment.

Another beneficial use of the x- ray is its ability to "see" flaws in metal which has resulted in strong- er and longer lasting farm imple- meuts. It is widely used to detect foreign matter in processed foods It has brought to light the won- oers of birth by revealing what was on inside the shell when an egg is hatching.

The radiologist and the x-ray may do as much in the future for agriculture as they have for med-

we HAVE IT! The lingers Hardware

COMPANY TLTD:

and SU

88 Ll. Water Street

Get the Best Bgiys in

lilacilonaid-ilowe Woodworking

, GOIIPAIY LIMITED

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PPLIES

Phone 2707 or 2768

of a pesticide:

mTN.EWS? NOTES -

' ny J. A. Clark. D.8e.l

3IO&0Ot-00-&O Potash

The chemical symbol for potas- sium is K.; its atomic No. is 19, and its atomic weight is 39.105. It is a metallic, alkali chemical ele- ment thdt is never found in a free state in nature. The name potash was originally given to a vegetable alkali that was obtained from wood ashes. These were collected in pots, and the potash leached from them by using water. It was com- monly called carbonate of potash, or pesrlash. K2002. Soda and pot- ash were not distinguished by the earlier chemists. until Davy sepa- rated them in 1807.

The early farmers on the Island knew the value of wood ashes and the potash it contained, and not only carefully saved their wood ashes from their fire places and stoves, but when they were in need of more, out and burned their trees to secure potash. to make soap and as a. fertilizer for their crops. We can recall gathering ashes. when clearing land. from wherever a brush and stump pile had been burned, to secure the potash. We have seen the wood-boats and those carrying ashes to the farms along the Saint John River. This was once quite a trade movement. on that river.

occurrence

Potassium is known to occur very extensively in nature. It is a component of granite and igneous rocks. and is estimated to form three per cent of the earth's crust. some orthoclase feldspars contain 16.894; K20 in combination with sil- lcic acid. Many other rocks con- tain up to 10v. K20, but the cost so far. of getting the potash ex- tracted for fertilizer purposes. has been prohibitive. when river water was evaporated, the solids were found to contain about 27a potash. K20. There is from one to two per cent present in the oceans.

The largest known deposits of commercial potash, previous to World War I were at Strassfurt. Germany. some area of a prehis- toric sea, believed by gcologlsts to have occurred during the permian age, dried up. and kainite and oth- er potash salts were deposited. near enough to the surface in Ger- many to be manually mined. Valu- able deposlts have been worked in

the ollgocene formation in Alsacc.,

France; in the lower miccene for- mation in Galatia. and in the early tertiary formation in Spain. There are also deposits in India. Brazil, etc.

Essential To Plant Growth

Potash is one of the three chief elements: Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. that are essential to plant growth. Soluble potash fer- tilizers not only greatly increase the yields of potatoes, cereals and grasses, so essential in the pl'OdllC- tion of food supplies. but it enables plants to withstand the attacks of diseases. pests and adverse condi- tions, of climate and soil. The world had been largely dependent on Germany for potash before the Great War. In 1913 the United States imported from Germany t.hc following potash fertilizers: Kain- ite. 521,176 tons': manure salts. 250.529 tons; muriate of potash. 237.630 tons; sulphate of potash. H340 tons; and other forms to make 1.092.558 tons. equal to 270,- 720 tons K20 and worth over :18.- 000.000.00. In 1917. the United States was able to secure only 8,- 100 tons K20 and this cost 57,778,- 406.00.

The price of potash. when the German supply was cut off. rose to eight times the former cost. Ev- ery possible source of potash was investigated. The salt and brine lakes in Nebraska and California were the chief source, but kelp, a marine plant. and flue dust. etc.. were collected pnd used. The am- ounts thus secured in the United States. increased as follows: 1915. 4.232 tons: 1916. 42.320 tons; 1917. 126901 tom; and in 1913. 316,951. tons, valued wholesale s9't48.290.00.

Potash In New Mexico

During the period between the two great wars. great deposits of potash were discovered at Carlsbad in New Mexico. where it is man- ually mined. This assured this continent of a sufficient supply of this essential fertilizer, and New Mexico has been the chief source

SKIINK and

The payment of

Patch Foxes has been

ousiy advertised.

Ot&OO&eOO3MQ

of potash for Canada. The Average amount of ' t of potI.lh(0096) imported into Canada in recent years. has been about 100.000 tons annually. The 1 method of mining potash is expensive, and has cost Canadians 360.00 per ton at some points. Thus Canada's potash fertilizers have cost almost three and a half million dollars per year.

Canadian Sources of Poluh

I In 1914. the Canadian sources of potash were limited to kelp and seaweeds gathered along the coasts. wood ashes and flue dust. There were traces of potash in the salt mines of Maiagash. N. S.. and large quantities of Malagash salt were sold and applied to hay going into storage. This assisted in the curing of the hay, and provided the animals with a much needed supply of salt at low cost. The securing of potash from this source. however. proved a. disappointment. and no paying quantities of pot- ash have been located anywhere in the salt deposits in the Maritimes.

Saskatchewan Potash

In February. 1951. Beta Petrol- cum Ltd., secured a permit from the Saskatchewan Government to prospect for potassium salts. and in April, 1951, these rights were assigned to the Western Potash Corporation. which now holds per- mlts to prospect, during a three- year period. on 120,000 acres. A bed of potash salts, believed to be eleven feet thick, and to extend over an area, of twelve acres. has been discovered at Unity. Sask.. at a depth of 3,406 feet. This ranks among the great deposits at Stramfurt. Germany, and Carlsbad. New Mexico. The estimated po- tential of the Unity field is nine billion tons. A similar product at the mlnehead in New Mexico brings about s28.00 per top.

The altitude of the mine indi- cates that it may be possible to mine the potash by the brine me- thod. This would be very much cheaper than the manual method. This may be a wonderful industry for Saskatchewan, and a great boon for the farmers of Canada, if they can secure this. an esential fertil- izer, at a. much lower cost. It should also be good news to Prince Edward Island potato growers. who in 1949, used one-sixth of all the potash imported into Canada.

Apple Quality

If apples are to gain their utmost in popularity with Canadian con- sumers. storage operators would be well advised to do some testing of their storage stocks at this time of year. according to officials of the Division of Horticulture. Canada Department of Agriculture.

These officers point out that much of the pleasure derived from eating apples is due to the pres- ence of a natural blend of acids, sugars and aromatics within the fruit. when the apple is ripe these factors are at their most ap- pealing stage. This condition is approached very gradually at stor- age temperatures, but once reached a prnduai decline in quality begins.

At this season of the year apples of moderate storage life such as Mnlntosh, Cortland and similar varieties are at their peak of qual- ity. This is true only if harvested and stored properly. If ideal con- ditions have not been provided the quality of the fruit will very likely he low.

Too many storage operators ig- ,nore ths quality factor. having only reg rd for conditional factors such as rots, scald and breakdown It wouldgbe well to remove a sam- ple of apples from storage at week- ly intervals, allow them to ripen for several days at room temper- ature and evaluate their quality by sampling them.

if this is done and followed up with an attempt to get the apples to the consumer before high qual- ity flavours are lost, apples would become even a more popular win- ier fruit in Canada.

...---A-A..

Field days on Illustration stat- ions and District Substations of the Canada Department of Agri-

bounty on skunks and Red or 1952 and will be paid at receiving stations as previ-

The Bounty on Skunks snouts with portion of white stripe attached.

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

culture numbered 130 in 1951 and were attended by 13.539 persons.

FOX BOUNTY

extended to February 29.

will be paid ONLY on

Red, White and Black

No short wood No rot or red heart

Pulpwooti Buyer's Agreement

We, the undersigned Pulpwood Buyers. agree to adhere to the following specifications: Four hell (A") minimum

Peeled Poplar In the sp ng

All knots well trimmed No pasture. line fence or open-grown White

Spruce

Signed: '

A. ll. Anderson. 1'. E. T. Produce Co. Ltd. CKAIlJ0tl'I'EI'0WN. KENSINGTON.

Is an Construction ('onipau.v. -7. Arthur Peters. MONTAGUE. HOUBIS.

Daniel (P.E.l.l Limited, Keith Putt. 7- - -- N . ILOOMFIELD. Co-operative Union of P. E. I Albert Qnigley. . 51'. PITIIC. Johnston and Acorn. John A. Menonald. sooars and CITTOWN. CARDIBAN.

diameter (inside bark) S ruce, Balsam Fir (Var)

Seed llroduction cf Registered And certified cereals

.:.

Because of adverse harvesting conditions in Western Canada in 1951 s " of liteglstered and Certified cereal seeds may be re- duced by almost 50 per cent below early estimates, II. R. Parnell. Plant Products Division. Canada Department of Agriculture. has in- dicated. Mr. Parnell points out that while this may cause regional shortages in Western Canada. the overall supply will still be suffic- ient for requirements with some movement from surplus into defic- iency areas. In Eastern Canada it is estimated there will be an ade- quate supply of Registered and Certified cereal seeds. There was considerable wet weather experi- enced durlng harvest season in the east. and this factor may result in a considerable amount of No. 2 seed. so graded because of discol- oration.