A
Unusual
The April issue of Pennsylvania
Game News is eagerly awaited by
many of the outdoor clan. In that
number the magazine commemor-
ates its silver anniversary and high-
lights the Game Commission’s pro-
grams and accomplishments over
the past twenty-five years.
The issue will be dedicated to
two former members of the Com-
mission—the late John M. Phillips,
of Carrick, and J. Q. Crevling, Esq.,
of Wilkes-Barre—as well as all sal-
aried employees of the Commission
who died in the service of the
agency.
In make-up the anniversary issue
will be informative as well as his-
torical. Some features of particular
interest will be: Pictures and in-
formation on 25 well-known mam-
mals and 25 well-known birds found
"in Pennsylvania; an article on hunt-
ing, 25 years ago; answers to 25
game law questions often asked;
present programs and policies of
"the Game Commission; and one field
note from each of the last 25 years.
The April issue of Game News
ent Game Commission members;
photos by divisions, showing and
naming every salaried employee of
"the wildlife organization at present
and a picture story that ‘tells how
' the magazine is produced, both ed-
itorially and mechanically.
The anniversary issue will be a
“valuable source of information to
‘hunters and trappers. It appears
that Pennsylvania Game News, long
' recognized as a leader in its field,
has come forth with another unique
* number that will be kept as a color-
ful souvenir.
Game Protectors to Help Fish
Wardens
Game Commission field personnel
. have received their annual spring
directive to lend every assistance
_ possible to the Pennsylvania Fish
Commission during the coming busy
period. Bhs
Game Protectors will ‘cooperate
with the sister. agency in its law
jot prograr
with main
egular duties,
Sportsmen Raise Fund’ for Woman
©" Injured in Hunt
~ In the “doe” season of last De-
+ gember, Mrs. Mable Fenstermacher,
of R. D. 2, Titusville, went with her
‘schoolboy: son to: hunt deer on the
‘family property. During the hunt
; several deer milled around Mrs.
. Fenstermacker in wooded territory.
.A man who was: unaware of the
woman's presence shot at one of
+the deer. His bullet struck the
woman in ‘the right leg. Quick as-
. sistance by ‘the shooter and hos-
pital attention quite possibly saved
the victim’s life. Even so it was
necessary ‘to amputate the wounded
leg above the knee.
- Medical and hospital expenses
Main Office
Market and Franklin
were burdensome to the Fenster-
maker family. In wview of the cir-
cumstances the Pine Creek Sports-
men’s Club of Warren County start-
ed a fund-raising campaign. Money
received from sportsmen’s clubs and
generous individuals will be used to
purchase the expensive artificial leg
needed. by the unfortunate woman.
Mother of five children, Mrs. Fens-
termacker has reportedly been most
generous in her attitude about the
unfortunate incident.
Early this month it was reported
contributions to the aid fund totaled
over $400.
Annual Hunter Casualty Report
Pennsylvania's latest hunting cas-
ualty figures, compiled by the Game
Commission, show deaths due to
sporting guns totaled 34 in 1953.
In the 12-month period woundings
numbered 509. Such shootings cov-
ered the hunting of predators as
well as wild game. They included
all persons so shot whether in an
open or close game season. Con-
ditions under which the shooting
mishaps occurred were broken down
more completely in this report than
ever before. The game authorities
study this unpretty side of an other-
wise pleasurable, beneficial sport to
learn the causes behind the human
shootings. In so doing they hope
to find better methods of preven-
tion.
Some casualties incorrectly called
“hunting accidents” are not includ-
ed in ‘this report. Heart failure
while hunting is an example. It
might claim a victim during a per-
iod of overexertion at home or at
work. Similarly an auto crash vic-
tim could be involved in an acci-
dent on any road trip.
A study of the record reveals the
needlessness of most of the hunting
casualties. Here are a few exam-
ples: Five hunters fatally shot
themselves and 79 injured them-
selves by gunfire while hunting.
(One of them was killed while hunt-
ing in close seascn).
in the 1953 bear season, but in the
deer seasons there were nine. Hu-
mans killed in small game seasons
totaled 14, while 411 were wounded.
such as crows and foxes, accounted
for two fatals and two non-fatals.
In pursuit of furbearers, one person
was killed, two were injured. Dis-
couragingly, the number of persons
killed hunting the lowly woodchuck
was eight, and the number of those
wounded was 32.
Shotguns of hunters killed 15 per-
sons in the Keystone State last year,
wounded 415 Rifles took the lives
of 19 persons and injured 87.
Causes of hunter-gun casualties
include: Shot in mistake for game,
11 fatals, 17 non-fatals; did not see
victim in line of fire, nine and 195;
gun placed in dangerous position,
four and 56; hunter slipped and fell
(with safety off), four and 27; ac-
cidental discharge of gun in hands
of hunter, two and 31; using gun
as club, one and two; etc.
The localities and conditions un-
der which a high percentage of the
Raccoon
Raccoon, pirate, pet, predator,
prize or pest. So varied are the re-
lationships between men and rac-
coons that you may take your choice
for a single designation. Teddy
Roosevelt built his Bull Moose party
about a wild animal. This being an
election year we found Senator Ke-
fauver following his example and
using the coon skin cap as cam-
paign symbol. The fate of the Sen-
ator’s ambitions matters little 'to
the coon who seems able to survive
dogs, traps, civilization, fire, hunt-
ers and almost anything. Even the
rage of college boys for coon skin
coats did not wipe the animals out
of their range over our whole coun-
try.
When a country boy in his early
spring wanderings finds what look
like the prints made by little 2 x 4
inch hands in the mud along the
creek he has a hunch that the
coons have come out of hiberna-
tion. If he is a careful observer he
instead of five and if he finds one
he knows he has found a track of
a woodchuck rather than a coon.
Raccoons breed in February just
after coming out of their hiberna-
tion. In 63 days two to six young
are born of the union and both
parents take part in the success of
as a group through the first winter.
By the first winter a young coon
may have reached a weight of 12
pounds. Two hundred acres of suit-
able woodland should yield an an-
nual crop of one raccoon in spite
of the normal accident of nature. A
full meal may be about %% pound
of fish but it may be an equivalent
in crayfish, insects, sweet corn or
vegetables. We hope this clown of
our neighborhood never vanishes
off our home range. If he does we
will move to his just for the fun of
it. Without prejudice for or against
Senator Kefauver’s political future
the National Wildlife Federation of
Washington, D. C. this year elects
his political symbol, the raccoon, to
its 1952 Hall of Fame—its remark-
able popular wildlife stamp series.
shootings took place destroy alibis
citing “accidental” causes. Inves-
tigations showed that many of the
persons shot were in open fields or
ibility was good.
When all is said, the principal
causes of hunting casualties are still
in the human frailty class—greed
for game, lack of firearms knowledge
and reckless handling of sporting
guns. (There were no human cas-
ualties due to bow and arrow hunt-
ing in 1953).
Unfortunately, there will always
be human casualties in the hunting
sport. Even so, the high hunting
casualty record of 1953 will serve
as a sad reminder that hunters’
urges, and impulses under stress,
call for emotional control. The prob-
lem is how to bring about this re-
straint so that most persons, at
least, will not. handle or shoot guns
carelessly or stupidly, therefore
dangerously.
Read The Classified Column
Kingston Office"
Wyoming at Union
or
J
THE DALLAS POST
“More than a mewspaper
a community institution”
ESTABLISHED 1889
Member Pennsylvania Newspaper
Publishers’ Association
A non - partisan liberal
progressive newspaper pub-
lished every Friday morning
at the Dallas Post plant,
Lehman Avenue, Dallas,
Pennsylvania.
Entered as second-class matter at
the post office at Dallas, Pa., under
the Act of March 8, 1879. Subscrip-
tion rates: $3.00 a year; $2.00 six
months. No subscriptions accepted
for less than six months. Out-of
state subscriptions: $3.50 a year;
$2.60 six months or less. Back
issues, more than one week old, 16c.
Single copies, at a rate of 8c
each, can be obtained every Fri-
day morning at the following news-
stands: Dallas—Berts Drug Store
Bowman’s Restaurant,
taurant, Smith's
Shavertown—Evans Drug Store,
Hall’s Drug Store; _Trucksville—
Gregory’s Store; Idetown— Cave’s
Store; Huntsville — Barnes Store;
Fernbrook—Reeses Store; Sweet Val-
ley—Britt’s Store; Lehman—Moore’s
Store.
Evans Res-
Economy Store;
When requesting a change of address
subscribers are asked to give their old
as well as new address.
Allow two weeks for changes of ad-
dress or new subscription to be placed
on mailing list.
We will not be responsible for the
retarn of unsolicited manuscripts, pho-
tographs and editorial matter unless
self-addressed, stamped envelope is en-
closed, and in no case will this material
be held for more than 80 days.
National display advertising rates 63c
per column inch.
Transient rates 75c.
Local display advertising rates 60c
per column inch; specified position 70c
per inch.
Political
Advertising copy received on Thursday
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charge 75e. All charged ads 10c addi-
tional.
Unless paid for at advertising rates,
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nouncements of plays, parties, rummage
sales or any affair for raising money
will appear in a specific issue.
Preference will in all instances be
advertising $1.10 per inch.
given to editorial matter which has not
previously appeared in publication.
Editor and Publisher
HOWARD W. RISLEY
Associate Editors
MYRA ZEISER RISLEY
MRS. T. M. B. HICKS
Advertising Manager
ROBERT F. BACHMAN
Photographer
JAMES KOZEMCHAK
ONLY
YESTERDAY
From The Post of ten and
twenty years ago this week.
From the Issue of March 31, 1944
Harold, six-weeks old son of Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Hislop, Jr. Dallas,
is gaining strength in an iron lung
at Nesbitt Hospital.
Lt. Stewart Yorks,
wins air medal.
Fred Schutz receives word that
his nephew, Sgt. Alfred Maury, is
missing over France.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wright mark
their golden wedding.
In the Outpost: Tommy Evans,
Italy; Ernest King, Italy; Joe Bela-
vage, Italy; Elwood Renshaw, Kan-
sas; Charles Metzgar, Edgewood
Arsenal; John Fink, Texas; Johnny
Garbutt, Texas; Elmer Phillips, Pen-
sacola; Odel Henson, Martha's Vine-
yard; George Lamoreaux, California;
Darrell Loomis, Florida.
Married: Mary Jane Post, Trucks-
ville, to Albert L. Morse, New (Cas-
tle. Isabel Smith, Beaumont, to
Ralph Taylor, in Los Angeles.
Reynold Deater of Harveys Lake,
is in hospital in Italy.
George Traver, Beaumont, dies
at: 81.
Shiela Ann, six year old daugh-
ter of Mr. and Mrs. William Arch-
ard, Dallas, wins first prize in chil-
dren’s vocal contest at Edwardsville
Eisteddfod.
From the Issue of March 30, 1934
Trucksville,
Eugene Lazarus replaces James
Besecker on Dallas Borough School
Board. .
Arch Austin is a candidate among
‘five others for superintendent of
Wyoming County Schools.
Unseasonably cold weather harms
peach buds.
Eggs, 2 doz. 39¢c; mayonnaise, 15¢
per pint jar; fluted cocoanut bars,
11c per lb.; butter, 3 lbs. for 79c;
confectioners sugar, 4 lbs. for 25c;
jelly eggs, 3 lbs. for 25c.
Lake Fire Auxiliary
Plans May-Day Dance
Committee members for the May-
Day dance planned by Daniel C.
Roberts Volunteer Fire Company
Auxiliary, met Tuesday evening at
the home of Mrs. Anna [Stenger to
discuss arrangements.
Mrs. Edward Jackson and Mrs.
Robert Payne are chairman and co-
chairman. Mrs. Richard Williams
has charge of publicity; Mrs. Ste-
phen’ Hartman, prizes; Mrs. Calvin
McHose, tickets; Mrs. John Stenger,
decorations; Mrs. Malcolm Nelson,
president, housing; Mrs. Payne, en-
1 tertainment.
—_—-." wm
"FARM TOPICS
Timely Reminders from
The Pennsylvania State University
College of Agriculture
Potato Acreage Down—Herbert
McFeely, Penn State extension
marketing specialist, reports that
potato growers’ intention to plant
indicate a reduction of 7 per cent
in potato acreage for the late and
intermediate states for 1954.
Protect Plants—Damping-off re-
sults in more failures of vegetable
plants in the secedbed than any
other factor. Formaldehyde is ef-
fective in sterilizing small lots of
soil to kill the fungi.
Feed Steers Cheaply—Cattle feed-
ers planning to graze yearling steers
on good pasture next summer
should not feed much grain this
winter. Winter them largely on
good roughage, consisting of high-
quality hay and grass-legume or
corn silage.
Girdle Pulpwood Trees—Chemical
girdling is a new way of loosening
the bark on trees cut for pulpwood
production. Walter Simonds, Penn
State extension forester, says the
treatment consists of a 6- to 12-
inch sap peeled girdle, about waist
high around the tree, which is
painted liberally with a solution of
sodium arsenite.
Prevent Farm Fires—Every year
farm property worth at least $90,-
000,000 is lost by fire. Most of this
loss could be prevented, Penn State
extension agricultural engineers
point out. Defective chimneys and
careless handling and improper use
of combustible materials rank high
as causes of farm fires during the
heating season.
Feed Brood Sows—Proper feeding
and management are of great im-
portance in the second half of the
gestation period for sows bred for
early spring farrowing, reminds
Dwight Younkin, Penn State exten-
sion livestock specialist. Feed well-
balanced rations.
Sow Reliable Oats—Spring oats
varieties recommended for 1954, ac-
cording to Elmer Pifer, Penn State
extension agronomist, are [Clinton
59, Clinton 11, Clinton 11-25, Craig,
Ajax, and Zephyr. Ajax and Zephyr
are not recommended where lodging
is a problem.
Decide Rearing Program—Wheth-
er to raise chickens in confinement
or on range must be decided by the
poultryman after careful considera-
tion of the advantages and disad-
vantages, reminds Robert Lauffer,
Penn State extension poultry spe-
clalist.
Grow Meat-Type Hog — Thomas
King, Penn State extension live-
stock specialist, says the meat-type
hog is one with a higher percentage
of the carcass in the lean cuts—
hams, loins, bacons, and shoulders
—and a lower percentage of the
carcass in fat. With lard prices
down, butchers must get more for
these lean cuts than before.
Early Pullets Pay—Those early-
hatched pullets are the ones which
will produce the high-priced eggs,
reminds Robert Lauffer, Penn State
extension poultry specialist. To pro-
duce large eggs in quantity during
the high-priced months, July-De-
cember, chicks must be started in
December, January and February.
Use Heat Lamp — Use of some
kind of heat lamp to keep baby pigs
warm is becoming a common prac-
tice on most farms, reports Dwight
Younkin, Penn State extension live-
stock specialist. Swine growers
know that they can keep more pigs
alive if they get some additional
heat during those first critical hours
of a pig's life.
Provide Ample Space—A better
job of brooding will result if the
poultryman considers the relation-
ship of size of brooding quarters
and floor space per chick, number
of chicks in the brood, and season,
says F. H. Leuschner, Penn State
extension poultryman.
Apple Sales Increase—A study of
12 Pittsburgh self - service super-
markets, in which the Pennsylvania
State University cooperated, showed
5-pound bags increased sales by
two-thirds more than when apples
were offered only in bulk.
Host to Dairy Scientists — The
Pennsylvania State University will
be host to the 49th annual meeting
of the American Dairy Science As-
sociation June 22 to 24.
Home Topics
BB
Timely Reminders from
The Pennsylvania State University
College of Agriculture
Where to Store—Luggage needs
to be stored in a dry place. Outdoor
tools and equipment, such as porch
furniture, also need a dry spot for
storage, according to Doris Conklin,
Penn State extension home manage-
ment specialist.
Altering Patterns—Buy patterns
in the size that is nearest your bust
measurement, recommends Margery
Bessom, Penn State extension cloth-
ing specialist. If alterations are
necessary, it is easier to alter the
N f Barnyard Notes
The shrill piping of Spring Peepers from the swale across from
the Barn sends a thrill through my being that was not evident when
I was a boy.
I never liked the Peepers. They made me lonesome; but now
their chorus of voices—like miniature flutes made from wheat
straws—bring wistful memories of other Springs when life surged
through young bodies and there was a restless desire to seek
adventure.
I recall how my father loved the Peepers, though I could never
understand why. Now I know. They are the eternal voice of Life
itself, of springs that will always return in spite of atom bombs,
political turmoil and man himself . . . the everlasting promise that
life is good; that the little packet of seeds I hold in my hand will
not forever remain shriveled pellets of dry dust, but will burst into
fragile beauty or life-giving food with the coming of soft rains on
the warm earth.
If spring failed to make the great circle and return just once,
what a catastrophe would settle on this globe! How the Hydrogen
and Atom bombs would shrink to their relative size in this great
scheme of things!
At fifty-two, I think I know why my father loved the Peepers
and understood the promise of their delightful chorus. But like the
song of the Cardinal from the tallest Elm, the quiver of Aspen leaves
in the gentlest breeze, the busy journey of the ants interrupted by
our footsteps on the grass—most of us never consider the promise
nor stop to determine from whence it comes.
For more than fifty springs I have heard the Peepers; but only
accidentally did I ever make an intimate acquaintance with one of
this Lilliputian choir. Great moments, it seems to me, sometimes
happen that, way—accidentally, and in the most outlandish places.
It was by accident in a Motor Court that I met Senator Harry Byrd.
It was by accident on an early summer evening a few years ago that
I met a solitary Peeper—though not a forlorn one—on a raspberry
cane amid the tangle of brambles at the edge of our garden. At that
thrilling moment he was perched there in the rays of my flashlight;
his throat distended like transparent bubble gum, thimble size, and
piping his heart out!
That is the way Peepers have perched and the way they have
sung their exuberant song since the ‘first vertebrates made their
epic change from life:in the water to existence on land. This mil-
lionth son of the millionth son of those first primitive forms still
follows the same dim urge to sing—and does it lustily.
There are some creatures it seems to me that are the quint-
essence of “cute.” A chickadee is one of them, a chipmunk is an-
other, but a tree frog—Spring Peeper to you, is the epitome of all of
them!
So small that he can rest comfortably on your thumb nail—it
would. take 10 or 15 of them to weigh an ounce—he is nevertheless
perfectly formed. He is one of America’s smallest amphibians; one
of Nature's tiniest vertebrate animals . . . a perfect frog and no bird
or insect as some illinformed erringly suppose.
Across his chestnut brown back there is a pronounced diagonal
X running from left shoulder to right hip and from left hip to right
shoulder. It is this cross that has led scientists to give him his Cru-
sader’s name—Hyla crucifer, in Latin’ or in English, The Cross
Bearer—an appropriate one I think for one who arrives so early
with his message of spring.
His delicate toes and fingers end in little round dises which
secrete at his wish a sticky substance which permits him to cling
to twigs, stubble, reeds, a sturdy straw or even glass. It is by this
means that some species of tree frogs later in summer cling to tree
branches high above our heads and trill their songs that are some-
times mistaken for a locust’s, which are far more shrill.
But it is in his changing coloring that the diminutive spring
Peeper would drive the Hazle Bishop people to distraction, though
he uses it to avoid being seen in preference to standing out like the
belle of the ball., He has the chameleon ability to change his color
to match his background, and can do it in less than twenty minutes,
a power that would drive the cosmetics manufacturer crazy. Three
brownish Peepers, one resting on a fern, another on a purple crocus
and another on a clod of brown earth, can, within half an hour, match
their individual surroundings so that the casual eye of a boy or the
searching eye of a muskrat or circling hawk would be unable to
discover them.
In fact with the exception of frost and freezing temperatures, a
hawk, a muskrat or some similar natural enemy, is about the only
thing that can quiet their resonant Anvil Chorus. They have no
fear of artificial light nor of an automobile motor’s purring. The
one I observed on that early summer evening, poured forth a torrent
of high shrill notes, revealed as he was in the beams of my flashlight.
How such a small creature can make so much noise is explained
by Roland Rood in a delightful article, “Those Spring Peepers” in
this month’s Coronet magazine.
“In the throat region is a thin air sac which communicates with
the mouth cavity through tiny openings. When the Peeper is about
to sing, the throat sac becomes enlarged like a translucent bubble,
serving as g small but effective resonance chamber.
“The high pitched sound produced is so penetrating that this
little tenth-ounice midget can be heard for half a mile. Thus, if our
voice were in the same proportion to our size as the tiny Spring
Peeper’s, a man, weighing 160 pounds could be heard 12,800 miles
away.”
The thin membrane beneath the throat swells out until it seems
almost large enough to balloon the little chap off his perch.
The Little Cross Bearer lays its eggs in ponds or marshy places
during April. Each egg has a little globe of jelly to hold it to a stone
or water plant. The tadpoles are small and delicate and more pre-
cocious than most frog youngsters for they often leave the water
while the tail is still quite long. In summer they may be found
among the leaves and moss along the margin of a pond where they
hunt with zeal for mosquitoes and gnats. The voice of the mature
Peeper may be heard among the shrubs and vines or in trees and
meadows during late summer and until November.
But like all amphibians, they cannot control their body tem-
perature and as soon as it becomes cold the little creatures hiber-
nate to sleep beneath moss and leaves. But as sure as spring comes
with its eternal promise, their bodies warmed by the everlasting
sun, they will hop unerringly toward water led on by the instincts
of a million years to bring us the first news of spring.
— B=
LIQUID WALL-PAPER
NOW ON THE MARKET
MARCH LION SHEATHES
TREES IN ICE, TRIMS
ROCKS WITH ICICLES
March 30 saw Back Mountain
trees sheathed in ice after a
freezing rain, March 31 rock
ledges trimmed with icicles, so
March fulfilled tradition by go-
ing out like a lion after com-
ing in like a boisterous lamb
at a temperature of 65.
Back Mountain Lumber Com-
pany will handle the new liquid
wall-paper, Applikay, Super-
Kemtone’s answer to home dec-
orators who prefer textured and
figured wallpapers to a plain
background.
William Moss, Sherwin-Wil-
liams, was host at a Hotel Ster-
ling demonstration March 9,
when representatives from the
press, radio and television were
delighted with the ease of ap-
plication, and impressed by its
Musical Memories
aah RE RRR
waist and hips. ‘
speedy drying. - The new pro-
duct was featured in the March
12 Pillar to Post.
The material, iridescent and
manufactured in several colors,
is applied to a plain surface
with a double roller.
A program called “Musical Mem-
ories,”” in which children of the
community will take part in panto-
mime, will be given by the Dorcas
Society of St. Paul’s Lutheran
Church early in May at Westmore-
land High School. . Co-chairmen are
Mrs. Edyth Kromelbein and Mrs.
Hilde Bayer.