Is That So?
"Speaking of 'rocks in the
head, said my marine biolo
gist friend, John E. Fitch.
looking at me rather sharply,
"they're not generally consid
ered to be much of an asset to
a man. But in fish. Gene, it's
another matter. You'd be sur
prised if you knew what those
little earstones will tell you.
Because these otoliths, or
earstones, are made of much
the same material as clam
shells, they are extremely
hard. Usually, they are the
last part of a fish to decom-
pose when it dies and sinks
to the bottom of the sea or
when it is eaten and digested
by another creature. As a re
suit of this long-lasting qual
ity some have lasted 300,'
000,000 years scientists esti-
IS TmTVi
mate they are extremely im
portant to many people
Nearly every kind of fish,
said Fitch, has earbones which
are distinctively his and his
alone, thus telling the scien
list whether the bones he
finds came from a halibut,
say, or a mackerel, cod, her
ring or some other fish. And
no other. Stranger yet, the
earbones reveal whether or
not a certain flatfish was
"right-or left-handed."
As for the many uses:
The scientist who studies
ancient fossils and frequently
uncovers these hard long-last
ing otoliths in deposits of sedi
mentary rock or earth gets
help in placing relative time
during which certain geologi
cal events took place.
The geologist on the prowl
for oil who encounters these
ancient earbones can often re-
late one type of formation to
another " in time and space
and thus perhaps gain valu
able clues as to new oil de
posits. The scientist who studies
man's past often finds these
earbones in the remains of
prehistoric man's campsites.
By determining from what
fish the earbones came from,
he immediately knows some
thing about the diet and
habits of these early humans.
As yet little exploited but
potentially important is the
fascinating use these earbones
may be put to in making wom
Eagerness To Prime
Economic Pump Gets
Share of Criticism
BfELMER'C. WALZER
United Press Financial Editor
New York (IP) The eager
ness ' to prime the economic
through many old de
vices of credit
and spending
is coming in
for some crit
icism from
market ex
perts an econ
omists. Those who
argue against
turning the
Elmer Waizer tide before it
has had its flow holdthat the
future will suffer from the ac
tion. Also, they point out, that
injection of zip into the econ
omy through wild spending,
budget deficits, and other de
vices make for return of in
flation which has been fought
for the past two years by the
Federal Reserve Board.
L. O. Hooper, analyst for
W. E. Hutton & Co., warns
against placing too much con
fidence in what .Washington
will do do to prevent the cy
cle from running its course.
Hooper believes that the
glowing predictions on the
1960s are legitimate although
he finds some of the estimates
often "cut it too fine" so far
as details are concerned.
"The trouble is," he says,
"that economic man still sins
in spite of all the regulative
paternalism with which he
has been surrounded. And
when he sins, he must make
retribution.
"If the economy makes full
pennance now, the probabil
ity of great things in the
'60s is measurably increased.
If this turns out to be a half
way adjustment, 'on the other
hand, the prosperity of the
1960s may not be as great."
Market men also recall the
situation of the early 1930s
when the government used
all sorts of artificial methods
to stem the depression by sav
ing a lot of businesses that
should have been junked. The
process, they assert, prolong
ed that depression by several
years, and it took a war to
bring a recovery.
But the Market experts
agree on the current stock
pump
By EUGENE BURNS
Ranger-Naturalitt
en's jewelry. The large size of
the paired bones, the variety
of their shapes, their hard
ness, their pure white color
and delicate beauty particu
larly those taken from such
fish as the croakers make
them a valuable addition to
any woman's earring collec
tion, charm bracelet, or neck
lace. Earstones Are Headache
To one profession I know
of, these earstones are a head
ache. Catfood processors find
fish earbones a most undesir
able ingredient in their pro
duct, particularly when the
pet food has been made from
fish of the croaker family
which have the largest oto
liths. "T h e greatest practical
value of these earstones as
far as I'm concerned," stated
Fitch who is a fisheries' ex
pert with the California Fish
and Game department, "is
that from them we can de
termine the fish's age, the
season of year it was killed,
the food habits of carnivorous
fishes, marine animals, and
fish-eating birds. (By the way,
some of you trout anglers
may have observed these
stones atop rocks or along
side streams in mink or
otter droppings.)
"As well, the earstones
prove useful in identifying
stomach contents of many va
rieties of fish, sea lions, seals,
porpoises and ocean-going
birds."
"This is all very fine," I
pointed out, "but would you
mind telling us, of what use
these earstones to the fish
themselves?"
"Oh," said Fitch, "I almost
forgot the fish uses them
for hearing, keeping his bal
ance, and maintaining muscle
tone . . ."
So now, we have muscle
tone in fish . . .
(Copyright 1958,
by Eugene Burns)
(Released by McClure
Newspaper Syndicate)
Free: Bv sDecial arrange
ment with the editors of the
Encyclopedia Americana, my
nanel of judges will award
each week to the reader who
sends me the best true-life
nature observation, or the
best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-vol-ume
set of this world-famous
reference work in a handsome
Sealcraft binding. Each week
new submissions will be con
sidered. Sorry, I simply can't
answer your many friendly
letters. Please address your
letter to: Is That So! care Med-
ford Mail Tribune, Box 575,
Sausalito, Calif.
market which they hold is in
no way to be compared with
that of 1929-1939.
"It is unlike most bear mar
kets," says Hooper, "in that
many real investment port
folios still are held a profit
rather than at a loss, in that
most people own their stocks
outright rather than on mar
gin, in that government spend
ing contributes much more to
the ecotiomy, in that labor
costs are inflexible, and on ac
coun' ' of the big institutional
interest in equities."
Incidentally, Hooper also
notes that bear markets pro
vide many bargains, and he
wonders why investors should
consider bargain sales to be
deplored. 'He notes shrewd
women shoppers gloat over
January sales.
Court Records
MUNICIPAL COURT
Raymond Roberts Hubbard, im
proper passing, $10.
Arthur Nemeyer Purnell. allow
ing an unlicensed driver to oper
ate his vehicle. $10.
Ralph Kenneth Snow, operating
a vehicle with no Oregon license.
S10.
Edrd J. RoseCrans, violation of
basic rule. $10.
Melvin Leland Anhorn, violation
of basic rule. $10.
Glenna Marie Knorr, disobeyed
traffic signal, $5.
Jane Vivian Anders, violation of
basic rule, S10.
Bob Ownby, disobeyed stop
sign, $5; no Oregon driver's license,
$10
Kenneth LaVern Bakshas, viola
tion of basic rule, $15.
Richard Arthur Sorenson, viola
tion of basic rule, $10.
James Arthur Rose, disobeyed
stop sign, $5.
Richard Elywn Hart, defective
equipment, S2.50.
Bill Emory Backers, disobeyed
stop sign, $5.
Robert Walter Castle, failure to
obtain Oregon operator's license,
$2.50.
Clarence Edward Sutton, viola
tion of basic rule, $10.
DISTRICT COURT
Herchel George Rainey, operating
motor vehicle while driver's li
cense suspended, $105.
Will Thomas Fehely, defective
muffler. $6.
Albert James Volk, .failure to
stop at stop sign, $10.
Richard Larson, failure to stop
at stop sign, $10. bail.
David Don Legg. improper head
light. $10; overweight. $15.
George Lawrence Minter. failure
to operate on right side of high
way. S15.
Merlin Lewis Dewey, violation
basic rule. $15.
Carrie Rex Yoakley, failure to
stop at stop sign, $10.
Francis William Terry, no clear
ance light, $6.
CIRCUIT COURT
. Hazel McCoy MrDaniel v Ray
A. AIcDaniel. divorce complaint.
52nd
M
EDF0RD
Second Section
TESTIFYING ON NEED FOR MORE" SPEED in the bal
listics missile race with Russia are James H. Kindelberger,
North American Aviation Corp., left; and William A. Allen,
Boeing Aircraft, - before Senate committee in Wash
ington, D. C. (International Soundp koto)
Ultrasonic Waves
Fail To Scare Off
Ducks and Sea Gulls
By DELOS SMITH
United Press Science Editor
New York (IP) It is the
stern duty of this science re
porter to report a scientific
failure in the
field of weap
ons develop
ment. The weapon
was for use
against wild
ducks and sea
gulls to
scare the day
licrht c rmt nf
Deios smith them, rather
than hurt them. But it turned
out that science doesn't yet
know enough about those
birds.
This is no joke, understand.
Wild ducks cost Canadian
farmers large sums annually,
by helping themselves in
grain fields. Sea gulls mess
up air traffic by squatting in
hundreds on the runways of
some coastal airports.
Weapon Wanted
So any weapon which could
scare them away and keep
them away from places where
they're not wanted, would be
a Godsend. So. G. J. Thiessen
and E. A. G. Shaw of the Ca
n a d i a n National Research
Council turned to ultrasonics.
They're sound waves of
such high frequency human
ears don't hear them, but
when they're high enough
and intense enough, they can
irritate ear drums and even
damage them.
The scientists began their
work by finding out how high
and intense these waves had
to be in order to "irritate"
Peking ducks. Those ducks
are domesticated and can be
worked with. But the family
was developed out of the wild
mallard duck and the pre
sumption would be that what
irritates the former would
also irritate the latter.
Knowing the "irritation
thresholds" of the Peking, the
scientists moved their ultra
sound generators to farming
areas. They discovered they
could lift clouds of wild ducks
into the air by irradiating
their marshy resting places.
MO
NOW IN
100 PROOF
AS WELL
AS 80
' Specify Smirnoff
when ordering vodka drinks.
It's the Vodka of Vodkas
mirnoff
THE GREATEST NAME IN
80 AND 100 PROOF. DISTILLED FROM GRAIN. STE. PIERRE
SMIRNOFF FLS. (DIV. OF HEUBLEIN), HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
Year
MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1958
The ducks were scared all
right, but the trouble was,
they didn't stay scared. They
came right back.
Experimented With Captives
They got their "irritation
thresholds" for gulls by expe
rimenting with H which had
been taken captive as fledg
ings. When they tried out
these thresholds on wild run
way squatters at a Montreal
airport, the results were
"quite erratic," they said in
a report to the Acoustical So
ciety of America.
Ducks shake' their heads,
twitch their tails, open their
mouths. Gulls seem to cringe,
and their tails dip. With the
gulls, there is a sudden and
drastic increase in heart rate.
But the rate quickly drops
back to normal even while
the ultrasonics continues.
Professor lo Meet
With Local Groups
Dr. R. N. Lowe, associate
professor of education at the
University of Oregon, Eugene,
will be in Medford, Jan.,. 23,
to meet with leaders of com
munity groups sponsoring
parent-education programs.
Dr. Lowe, who conducts
classes at the university in
child development, . counsel
ing and guidance, has served
as a chairman of family-life
education for the Oregon
Congress of Parents and Tea
chers, the Montana 'Congress
of Parents and Teachers, and
as a consultant in this field
to the National Congress of
Parents and Teachers.
He will confer with dis
cussion group leaders in of
fice rooms of the Jackson
county school superintendent
in the courthouse between
1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
Dr. Lowe will meet at noon
with the Mental Health com
mittee, a group studying the
need of family counseling for
Jackson county.
Oilmen have developed a
floating offshore oil drilling
platform that can operate in
water to 600 feet deep.
VODKA
PN
McKay Doesn't Take
Neuberger's Critical
By A. ROBERT SMITH
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Washington Douglas Mc
Kay, who is seeking a way
out of the impasse with Can
ada over dam
building o n
the upper Co
lumbia, didn't
exactly take
kindly to the
lambasting ar
ticle by Sen.
Richard L.
Neuberger in
last month's
A. Bobt. Smith tl a r p e T S,
which termed McKay "an
even more conspicuous sym
bol of hostility to federal
power" than Len Jordan.
"I was working on federal
development when he was a
boy in college," humphed Mc
Kay. "I was chairman of the
Willamette valley project (for
developing a flood control
program). Served for 14 years.
So I know a little about
water."
After his unsuccessful bid
for the Senate in 1956, McKay
succeeded Jordan as chairman
of the International Joint
Commission. Neuberger
claims the IJC hasn't pressed
Canada for a solution because
the Eisenhower administra
tion, with its "private-utility
bias against the expansion of
federal power plants," doesn't
really care.
, McKay dismissed Neuberg
er's arguments as "political"
and declared:
"These left-wingers talk
like I'm a tool of the private
utilities. Why, when I was
mayor of Salem I was presi
dent of the public ownership
league."
He explained that the issue
was whether the city should
take over the water works,
which McKay favored and
which was done.
"And I don't own a share
of private utility stock," said
This big luxurious
IS
Tribune
McKay, although he did own
some years ago. Then, with a
grin and a twinkle of puckish
humor, McKay adds his
clincher:
"But I do own some public
power bonds, in Priest Rapids
dam."
More flags fly from the
main staff of the U.S. Capitol
probably than anywhere else
in the world, sometimes sev
eral different flags each day.
And one of them is all set to
be run up and brought down
again February 14, on Ore-
Investigation of
Mine Blast Starts
Price, Utah. OP) A full
scale investigation was begun
today into the cave-in, explos
ion and fire which claimed
lives of four miners trapped
deep inside the Spring Can
yon Coal Co. mine near here
Friday.
The body of the fourth min
er was found just before noon
Sunday, nearly 60 hours after
an earthquake-like "bounce"
started the tons of coal and
rock falling inside the mine.
The investigation was being
made by state and federal
mine inspectors and represen
tatives of the company and
United Mine Workers.
The body of the fourth
miner, Russell Dean Nielsen,
29, was found under tons of
coal and debris which clogged
a portion of the mine. Bodies
of the other three were re
covered Friday and Saturday.
Officials indicated the ex
plosion following the cave-in
probably was caused when
short circuited power lines
created sparks that set off coal
dust and started small fires.
mm
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Article
gon's birthday, especially for
the coming centennial.
Rep. Edith Green has ob
tained a brand new 5 by 8
foot emblem which, according
to prevailing practice, can be
flown over the Capitol briefly
and then sent to the Centen
nial Commission to be flown
over the centennial grounds
next year.
Harris Ellsworth and
Charles O. Porter, Republi
can and Democratic oppon
ents for the 4th congressional
district the last two elections,
keep bumping into one an
other in Washington these
days, to the discomfort of
both.
. Ellsworth won the first
time but Porter unseated him
the second try, after which
Ellsworth was appointed
chairman of the Civil Service
commission. Porter is on the
House Post Office and Civil
Service committee.
At a dinner the other night
put on by the American Le
gion, both men were among
the invited. When someone
turned to Porter and men
tioned the high post his de
feated rival had been given,
Porter wisecracked:
"Hah, I made him what he
is today."
Congressman Walter Nor
blad was tickled with a terse
letter to the editor of The
Oregonian the other day com
plimenting him for sending
out a questionnaire to get the
views of the voters instead of
sending out copies of speeches
expressing his own views.
Not only did this sound
like an unfavorable refer
ence to some of his colleagues
who do make speeches and
send them out, but it fit in
with Norblad's practice of not
making speeches on the
House floor.
"That was worth six front
page headlines," said the
hard running Norblad.
TO
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More passenger room Inside
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Satellite Launching Set
By California Tech Men
Pasadena, Calif. 0P1 A
20 - pound cylinder stuffed
with delicate instruments
within the next five weeks
may become the first success
ful satellite to be launched
by the United States, accord
ing to a copyrighted story ap
pearing in the Pasadena, Cal.,
Independent.
The newspaper made the
prediction as a result of re
marks made this week by Dr.
Lee A. Dubridge, President of
Cal Tech, in a speech at the
University club here.
Cal Tech Ready
Dubridge said he had told
the Army two months ago
Cal Tech could put up a sat
ellite up within 12 weeks if
it were provided with rock
ets. He pointed out there are
five weeks remaining.
The copyrighted story said
it was announced last Nov.
15 that Cal Tech's jet propul
sion laboratory had been giv
en the responsibility for pay
load "in high speed propul
sion stages" of the U. S. ef
fort to launch a satellite.
According to the Inde
pendent, Dr. William H. Pick
ering, laboratory director, has
revealed a satellite of the type
to be prepared. It was describ
ed as a clyinderical object a
foot long and five inches in
diameter, jammed with tiny
Cub Scouts
Pack 8, Den 10
Den 10 of Pack 8, Jackson
school, recently made a tour
through Gilman's dairy farm.
Methods of milking, bot
tling and care of milk and
its products were explained.
Making the tour were Cubs
Jack Rice, Bill Bennett, Dale
Durkee, Tom Courtright, Bob
Longen, Jim Dodge and Lance
Stanley. Accompanying the
boys were Den Mother Mrs.
D. J. Durkee and Mrs. Carl
Bennett.
ANT LAUNCHING RESET
Pensacola, Fla. (IP)
George Gaines, 15, said today
he'll try again to launch a
homemade rocket that got
only two feet off the ground
in its first test firing. Al
though the missile had a crew
of five, George doesn't plan
to reduce the number to save
weight next time. The crew
are ants.
I
1MDI
instruments to record meteor
ic impacts, temperatures and
cosmic rays.
Second of Series
The instrument was term
ed as the second of a four
package series and one destin
ed fo- the next U. S. launch
ing attempt.
The "made in Pasadena"
satellite, according to the In
dependent, will be lofted at
Cape Canaveral, Fla., and, if
successful, be placed in an
orbit around the earth from
which it will broadcast the
information of vital import
ance about outer space. The
cylinder would ride behind a
blunt cone mounted atop a
60-foot multi-stage Jupiter C.
rocket, one of the Army's
entries in the world intercon
tinental ballistics missile
race.
ft,. Iswtm
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