lGgT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wednesday, March 2l; 1&5B
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BLASTING OFF amid cloud of smoke from its jet assisted takeoff bottles, Navys
surface-to-surface guided missile Regulus leaves launching platform aboard the sub
marine Tunny during operations of the California coast. (International Soundphoto)
Ripple Rock Ship Menace
Will Be Blasted by Canada
Washington (U.R) Tons of
high explosive will remove a
shipping peril along the inside
passage to Alaska if a Canadian
plan succeeds.
The target is Ripple Rock, a
twin-knobbed reef on which
more than a hundred vessels
have foundered with a toll of
scores of lives.
Ripple Rock is at the southern
end of Seymour Narrows in the
Strait of Georgia between Brit
ish Columbia and Vancover Is
land. Seamen have tagged it with
a number of names: "the Fang,"
"the Barb," "the Lurking
Jackal."
Government plans for destroy
ing the reef began last fall. But
the actual blast will not be heard
until late 1957 or early 1958.
Engineers have learned that
blasting Ripple Rock is no or
dinary task. Turbulent currents
and tides defeated two previous
attempts to remove the obstacle
by drilling and blasting from an
anchored barge.
Many Solutions
For years' officials have been
beseiged with ideas from eager
amateurs. Canadians and for
eigners, engineers, scientists,
laborers and daydreamers, have
offered solution. Some would
attack the rock with Navy torpe
does, plaster it with mortar
shells or vaporize it with an
atomic bomb.
The prevailing plan is to bore
from below, place explosives in
prepared slots and rip it apart.
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The assault calls for a 500-
foot shaft on neighboring Maud
Island. From this shaft a 2,370
foot turmel will be excavated to
connect with the reef. The tunnel
will provide means for placing
water and vapor-proof charges
for detonation.
Elaborate safety precautions
have been devised. Advance
warnings will go to persons in
danger areas. Seismic recording
apparatus will check the magni
tude of earth tremors. And the
blast will be timed to do min
imum damage to fish.
The explosion is expected to
reduce Ripple Rock by about 40
feet. This depth will provide
clearance for vessels swept in
on the strong .tidal currents.
Now, at low tide, the reef's pin
nacles reach to within a few feet
of the surface. They defy direct
passage by anything but low
draft shipping.
Traffic Jam -
The current "traffic jam" at
each end of the Seymour Nar
rows was described by a Ca
nadian engineer. He said ships
wait "like cars on Main Street
at a red light, and at the right
moment they all dart through
from both sides, causing a heavy
pileup." The yearly time lost
by ships and barges forced to lie
idle for long periods is substan
tial and the monetary loss is
heavy.
Another consideration mo
tivates removal of the reef. In
an emergency, United States and
Canadian shipping to far-north
bases and supply depots would
be held up or actually imperiled.
Ladino Clover
Commission Desired
Salem (U.R) State Agri
culture Director J. F. Short said
today a commodity commission
for Oregon ladino clover grow
ers is desirable on the basis of
hearings held recently in major,
growing areas.
Short said times and places
for a growers' referendum on
whether or not to form a clover
commission will be announced
later.
Hearings were held last
month in Madras and Medford.
Most of the ladino clover acre
age in Oregon is in Jefferson
county, with smaller acreage in
Josephine and Jackson coun
ties and in the Willamette val
ley. Growers said a commission
was desirable to organize adver
tising and promotion programs,
promote research and study fed
eral and state legislation which
have an effect on the clover in
dustry in Oregon.
Only Doing Duly,
NeubergerSays
Washington (U.R) Sen. Rich
ard L. Neuberger (D-Ore.) said
today that he and Sen. Wayne
Morse D-Ore.) were only doing
their duty in asking for an in-(
vestigation of the proposed mer
ger of Long-Bell Lumber Co.
and International Paper Co.
Neuberger said he regretted
the recent attack on the two sen
ators by the Portland Chamber
of Commerce which said the
Morse-Neuberger action would
not be appreciated by workers
who would find employment in
mills to be built by the merged
firms.
The senator said "I should
like to state in reply that it has
been the policy of the federal
government for over 50 years
to inquire into any situation
where monopoly might restrain
competition."
He added that "compliance
with federal anti-trust statutes
should not present a barrier to
Oregon industrial growth."
Neuberger challenged the
chamber to "inquire into the
wisdom" of its stand in favor of
partnership power which Neu
berger claimed would drive in
dustry out of the state because
of its higher cost .
Hearing Held on
UnemploymentClaims
Fifteen women who were de
nied unemployment compensa
tion claims at the Medford of
fice of the Oregon State Employ
ment service appeared Tuesday
at a hearing before representa
tives of the service from Salem.
They were represented by Med
ford Attorney Stanley C. Jones
Jr.
Although the claims involved
only a "very small amount,'
Jones said the, results pf the
hearings would be significant
because of a new state law pro
viding that seasonal employees
no longer be considered "sea
sonal." The state office is expected to
act on the hearings within 10
days to two weeks, Jones said.
SCIENCE AT WORK
By OEtOS SMITH
United Preu Science Editor
Japanese Construction
Leaders To Visit U.S.
Tokyo U.R) Thirteen repre
sentatives of Japan's building
construction industry leave for
the United States Thursday for
a 6-week study tour, the U.S.
Embassy announced today.
The group will visit San Fran
cisco, Phoenix, Ariz., Kansas
City, Chicago, Washington and
New York to observe construc
tion methods, management and
labor administration.
Canadian Clams Harvested
By 'Conservation' Machine
Washington (U.R) Clam dig
ging, long synonymous with
back-breaking labor, is being
mechanized in Canada's Mar
itime Provinces.
Elimination of human toil,
however, is not the principle ob
ject at present of the labor-saving
device. The machine is expected
to reduce the toll of young clams
that results from hand digging.
The digger is about 90 per
cent efficient in taking small
clams but less so in gathering
large ones. Made for the Ca
nadian Department of Fisheries,
it is being tested as a device for
removing smaller specimens
from poor growing areas into
places where breeding methods
can be scientifically studied.
Made Indian Money
The salt-water clam has been
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an important food source for
centuries. Indians of the North
Atlantic coast gave the name
quahog to one edible hard-shell
variety. Belts from quahog shells
were respected treaty symbols.
Shell fragments, polished and
rounded, were strung into or
namental beads, and shells were
passed as money by the tribes.
Another popular variety, the
pismo clam, is found on sandy
beaches of the West Coast. Com
mercial digging has greatly re
duced their numbers. They
require from four to seven years
to reach marketables age.
Razor clams are widely fa
vored for their flavor. Found in
shallow sand banks between tide
marks, they are dug for family
and commercial use. Living ver
tically in the sand, the knife
shaped clams feed with part of
the shell thrust above the sur
face. Many are found along
North America's Pacific coast.
Shallow, muddy bottoms are
preferred by soft-shell clams.
Tasty and popular, they are also
known as steamer clams arid
long clams. They have been in
troduced into the San Francisco
Bay area. The variety is abun
dant along the Atlantic Coast.
Clams are attractive to fish
and gulls as well as to people.
Fishes crush the shells with their
jaws and swallow smaller clams
whole. Gulls, after seizing a
clam, ascend 50 to 100 feet and
drop the shellfish. Striking the
beach, the shell usually breaks,
particularly if it lands sidewise.
A fatal instinct of the clam aids
its enemies. When alarmed, it
contracts the muscles so strongly
that a strain is imposed on the
shell, leaving it vulnerable even
to a slight blow.
Clams Move Slowly
The clam has feeble powers
of locomotion. They move over
sand or mud by extending and
contracting foot muscles, caus
ing the single foot to act as a
spring. Some species can leap
12 inches in this manner.
Long attrition has depleted
supplies of clams, affecting
particularly beds of New Eng
land and Long Island. Predatory
green crabs have made in
cursions into the clam beds off
Maine and caused some destruc
tion. Fences are being erected to
keep out the intruders.
The U.S. uses about one-half
the world supply of tin.
New York-OJ.R) Dr. Charles i
G. Carpenter, who is a scientific
authority on this subject, thinks
most people wonder how boy
garter snakes find girl garter
snakes (and vice versa) when
spring comes.
Being snakes, they are very
close to the ground. There's a lot
of vegetation around, forming
obstructions to direct vision. In
this low-down world, the snakes
just can't meet by seeing one
another first.
Yet, Dr. Carpenter figured, ap
proximately 65 per cent of fe
male garter snakes encounter
the males every spring. The fig
ure isn't as high as it is for other
creatures, but, considering the
handicaps, it's good. Here's how
garter snakes do it, according to
the scientist:
"Garter snake populations are
much larger than would be sus
pected, exceeding 10 individuals
per acre in suitable habits. Hi
bernating snakes tend to congre
gate in favorable areas, and
when they emerge in the spring,
ready to mate, they are already
in close proximity.
Summsr Hatching
"Of primary importance is the
ability of the male to follow the
trail of scent left by the female
in the spring. I have watched
males follow the exact path
taken by previously released fe
males, making right-angle turns
at the proper points."
The male garter snake courts
the female, when he overtakes
her, by rubbing the under side of
his chin over her back. But mat
ing does not always occur in the
spring; sometimes it is in the fall
just before hibernation. In that
case, there are no young until
spring nature miraculously
holds the process in a state of
chemical suspension.
The young resulting from
spring mating are hatched in late
summer, and there is a record of
one garter snake a very large
one becoming the mother of 80
at the same time. Dr. Carpenter
said, however that the average
litter js about 18. In common
with the water snakes and the
rattlesnake, the female garter
snake retains her eggs in her
body until they hatch.
"Newborn garter snakes," con
tinued Dr. Carpenter are com
pletely independent and begin to
scatter soon after birth, perhaps
Night Bus Service In Salem May End
never again to come in contact
with their mother. Juveniles
look and behave like miniatures
of their parents tongues flicker
and eyes are alert." And they
grow very rapidly, doubling
their length in a year;
But garter snakes never wan
der very far from the place
where they were hatched. Dr.
Carpenter caught and marked
more than 1,500 of themf so he'd
recongnize individuals each time
he caught them again. They
lived out their lives in areas of
no more than two or three acres.
In this particular locale of 48
acres, he calculated the garter
snake population at 10 per acre:
But there were enough snakes
of other kinds to raise the total
shake population to 20 an acre.
"One does not usually see
snakes in this abundance," he
said. "As a matter of fact an ex
perienced "observer searching
this area for an entire day would
probably be fortunate to find 20
or 30 snakes. Most of the popula
tion either would be inactive and
well hidden or would find cover
before being noticed."
The American Association for
the Advancement of Science
published Dir. Carpenter's in
timate facts concerning garter
snakes because it is the best
known of American snakes. He
is assistant professor of zoology
and curator of reptiles and mam
mals at the University of Oklahoma.
Salem (U.R) Carl Wendt,
manager of Salem's city transit
lines, said today it "was probable
that night bus service would
end in the city April 1.
He said that despite publicity
given to the line's financial
plight, patronage fell off at an
increased rate during Febru
ary. The city council is scheduled
to take action next Monday on
a bill to permit the line to dis
continue most night bus runs.
Councilmen called off a pro
posed city-wide questionnaire
on transit problems and asked
instead that citizens with views
on the subject write city haU.
Salem Chamber of Commerce
officials favor a subsidy to keep
the night buses rolling.
One-third of the earth's origt
nal forests have been destroyed
by man.
Kefauver Campaigns
For Montana Votes
Great Falls, Mont. (U.R)
Sen. Estes Kefauver arrived here
today fresh from a presidential
preference primary victory in
Minnesota to bid for Montana's
16 Democratic National Conven
tion votes.
The Tennessee Democrat said
he believed one of the most sig
nificant results of his showing
in Minnesota's primary ws that
"I polled more votes than Presi
dent Eisenhower."
Kefauver addresses a Demo
crater dinner tonight and then
leaves for San Francisco where
he will spend five days in Cali
fornia in an effort to get Cali
fornia's Democratic National
Convention votes.
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