U. S. Army Air Forces Stab at Aleutian Isles Making life as miserable as possible for the Jap invaders of the Aleutians at their Kiska and Attu island bases is the continuing task of the Eleventh United States Air Force. Working from the Andreanof islands, under weather condi tions literally the worst in the world, hazardous missions over Arctic seas and desolate islands are the routine of these fliers. These pictures show how one of these missions is undertaken. Below: Pilots stream out of alert shark. In picture at left, combat pilots are shown planning the route for a Kiska raid. Below: Lieut. John J. Brahan re members a close call as he examines a shrapnel hole in his B-24. I Loa ding bombs in plane. This is part of the ground crews’ con tribution to the job. Sgt. Clark E. Hillard of Min turn. Colo., cleans up the empty shells from the bombardier's compartment after a raid, begin n ng routine following mission. Maj. Gen. William O. Butler, commanding 11th V. S. Air Force, auards the air medal to Capt. Morgan Griffin '‘someuhere in the Andrcanofs These men are putting a B-25 to bed by covering the wings. This precaution is very necessary for protection of the big planes. Waiting pilots eagerly scan the skies for their returning “buddies" South American Jungles Throb With New Rubber Boom; Scientific Methods Are Used to Protect Native Harvesters Old Industry Revived in Neighboring Tropics; Transportation Biggest Problem a« Countries Lack Rails and Roads; (J. S. Grows Rubber in Miami. In this crucial year of 1943, Latin America will have con tributed more than 50,000 tons of natural rubber to the United States war industry stockpile, according to estimates com piled from official sources. In 1944, natural rubber produc tion south of the Rio Grande will have doubled, or perhaps exceed 100,000 tons. At the same time U. S. horticulturists announced success in growing the Hevea rubber tree in the experimental station at Miami, Fla. Fourteen American republics, besides British Guiana and Trinidad, have signed agreements with the United States, calling for a substantial increase in the cultivation and col lection of natural rubber. These nations are Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. In Brazil alone, about 50,000 workers have been recruited for the purpose of extracting the milky sap from wild rubber trees. In order to get natural rubber out* of trackless jungles and remote places, new transportation systems making use of donkeys, canoes, steamboats, airplanes, human car riers, etc., have been organized. Medical stations along the routes have lessened, but not eliminated, the hazards which threaten every man who works in the jungles. The natural rubber needed by United States tanks, airplanes, jeeps, artillery, etc., must be ex tracted from wild and cultivated trees scattered over an area en compassing hundreds of thousands of square miles. In order to protect rubber har vesters against fevers, animals, and Insects, the Latin American coun tries, aided by United States govern ment health officials, have created modern sanitary centers, where pre ventive medicine is taught and treat ment given to rubber collectors and their families. Once Rubber Center. Brazil forests, of course, yield most of this hemisphere's present supply of natural rubber. There, in the Amazon valley, natives first found the gummy substance that plays such an important part in modern war. Before seedlings of "Hevea Braziliensis” had been ex ported from Brazil and exploited commercially in the Dutch East In dies and the British Malay Straits Settlements, the Brazilian industry enjoyed a heyday. In order to mar ket their natural rubber, Brazilian promoters had built the costliest railroad in the world. When rubber was a Brazilian monopoly, it fetched as high as three dollars per pound. HowevSr, not even in its balmy days did Brazil produce as much rubber (42.400 tons) as it is con tributing in 1943 to a United Na tions victory. According to the co ordinator of Brazilian economy, Joao Alberto Lins de Barros, Brazil in 1943 will produce 45.000 tons of natural rubber; and 1944’s estimates call for 75,000 tons. The future holds even greater j promise for rubber from South America’s largest country. That is because commercial plantations, similar to those in the Orient, are well on their way to production, and it is anticipated that by 1945 these plantations will yield more rubber than the millions of wild rubber trees in the Amazon valley produce at present. Some Brazilian rubber is trans ported by airplane from jungle de pots to the Atlantic port of Belem, whence it is shipped northward. With the exception of eight or ten thousand tons which Brazil requires for domestic industry, the entire production is exported to the United States. Among South American rubber producing nations, Ecuador ranks second. The figures of 1942 pro duction have not been announced, i but in 1941, when Brazil produced 17,500 tons, Ecuador yielded 1,500 tons. Indians Want Beads. The Yumbo Indians, a source of rubber workers in the Ecuadorian forest, are not attracted by money in any form. On the other hand, they covet colored beads and ma chetes. The Ecuadorean Develop ment corporation understands native tastes and is now supplying the Yumbos with trinkets and useful ar ticles, like scissors, razors, salt, mir rors, and even rifles. Colombian forests are already yielding two tons of rubber daily, all trans-shipped by the same air planes which supply the workers with their needs In Colombia, rubber exploitation Is supervised by a committee made up of representatives of the Colom bian government, the United States embassy, and the Rubber Reserve corporation. A service of floating hospitals and dispensaries has been organized to look after the rubber workers in the Colombian jungles. This is in co operation with the Institute of Inter American Affairs in Washington which aids local authorities in the work of hygiene and sanitation. The same procedure has been followed in other countries. Last February an agreement be tween the United States and Peru provided that South American re public with an airway system for transporting rubber from the forests to river and seaports. By the end of 1944 it is expected that Haiti will be producing 10,000 tons of natural rubber per annum, which will be marketed by SHADA (Societe Haitiano-Americaine de De veloppement Agricole), an organiza tion set up by the governments of the United States and Haiti. One hundred thousand acres have been sown with “cryptostegia,” a rubber producing plant that grows very rapidly. Thousands of Haitians have Proof that progress has been j made was demonstrated recently by the Bureau of Standards in Washing ton, D. C., which produced a pair of rubber heels from the latex of "Hevea Brasiliensis" trees growing in Florida. The experiment cost the department of agriculture 17 years of research and thousands of dollars but government chemists re ported the quality of the latex com pared favorably with East Indian. In this promising test tube rubber plantation are growing more than 1 2,000 Hevea from Haiti, Puerto Rico, j Mexico and the East Indies. It is the only rubber project on planta- j tion scale ever attempted outside the tropics. Some of the trees are 35 feet high and ten inches in di ameter. Tree Survives Florida Clime. For a tree whose natural habitat is in the region of the equator, the Hevea's endurance and adaptabili ty to temperate climate has amazed scientists. Periodic measurements have shown that its early growth has been as rapid in Miami as in Haiti and Mexico. Its resistance to cold weather has been incredible, sur viving temperatures as low as 28 degrees. Like many northern trees it has been found to shed its leaves in winter, reducing frost danger and making it particularly well-suited to Florida cultivation. The entire rubber reserve has sprung from seeds, many of which were sown nearly two decades ago. After sprouting from seedbeds the young trees were transplanted into deep depressions near the water-ta ble so the tap roots could find per manent moisture. The creamy, white latex tapped recently was a welcome sight to the botanists who had cared for them so long. Experts have found that trees Workers tap the Hevea rubber tree at the U. 8. agricultural experi mental station at Miami, Fla. The U. S. has experimented with 2,000 species, and satisfactory results have been obtained. been engaged to attend the planta tions. Combat Leaf Blight. Dr. E. W. Brandes of the U. S. department of agriculture is enthu siastic about the progress made by the Americas in combating rubber plant diseases. The South American leaf blight, he said, is being con quered by development of disease resistant trees. These hardy trees in turn are being crossed by hand pollination with high-yielding Orien tal rubber trees further to improve yields. Victory over the leaf disease is a great forward step in the hemi sphere’s rubber expansion program, said Dr. Brandes. On one of the Ford plantations in Brazil, a million trees fell victim to its ravages, but it was observed that a few full, leafy canopies of healthy trees stood out sharply against a background of pest-ridden neighbors. This meant that the blight, carried from tree to tree by wind-blown spores, had not infected them. They were immune. Scientists then bud-grafted the im mune tops to other trunks and pro duced a high-yielding, disease-resist ant plant. The work of developing the resistant tree by the system of cross pollination is an arduous task, but it is ultimately the best solution to the problem. It is being done on a large scale in Brazil, where lies the hemisphere’s greatest potential supply of latex. Meanwhile horticulturists at the Federal Plant Introduction Garden, Miami. Fla., have been experiment ing with “home-grown” rubber trees. grown from selected East Indian seeds in the Florida garden has pro duced a higher yield of latex in general than miscellaneous Hevea from other tropical lands. Experi ments in hand pollination have been tried with marked success to deter mine its possibilities. Two methods of tapping have been tried—the half spiral every other day. and the full spiral, every three or four days. The half spiral has proved most desirable, enabling workers to retap over the old scars every seventh year. As in most rubber trees a purer and slightly in creased flow of latex is found to ward the lower trunk. Technicians do the tapping here. Two grooves are cut into the tree with a regulation tapping knife—an oblique cut to start the flow of la tex and a vertical channel cut to guide it to the spout which empties into a glass receptacle held to the tree by a wire holder. In the well equipped laboratory of the Introduc tion Garden the chemist coagulates the latex with ascetic acid. It is then rolled, washed and dried, and the samples sent to Washington for study. Operation of the station at Miami has been generally overshadowed by other steps taken to relieve the rub ber shortage in the United States. Much publicity has been given to the effort to bring the guayule shrub into cultivation in the Southwest. A variety of chemical compositions have been exploited for their rub bery characteristics. And, of course, there is the government's vast syn thetic rubber program, utilizing oil and grain. Gardener Should Only Cultivate to Kill Weeds Some of the grief in gardening can De escaped if the gardener realizes that cultivation is needed only to kill weeds, break soil crusts, and to permit water to enter the soil. If the garden is cultivated or hoed often enough to kill the weeds, the other two factors will be automati cally accomplished. The weeding job can be done with less labor if cultivation begins when ; the weeds are small. The ground | should he disturbed little near the plant rows, but the cultivation may go deeper between rows where tramping is likely to pack the soil. Pulling a garden rake lightly across plant rows will help eliminate weeds but some hand work will be required to get all of them. The frequency of cultivation re quired is determined by the rate of weed growth. In periods of frequent rains end in warm weather, more cultivation is needed. No result oth er than exercise is obtained from stirring dry, weedless soil. Cultiva tion should not begin too soon after a rain because moisture will evapo rate faster, and lack of water often is a limiting factor in plant growth. Any one of several types of hoes is satisfactory for garden work, and, sometimes it is an advantage to have more than one type. Heavy hoes are best for chopping weeds out of heavy soil, and the pointed hoes are better adapted for opening fur rows for planting seed. SEWIN6 CIRCLE ■ u ajs 17751 10-20 I g 1762 11-19 Perfect Date Dress THRILLING as graduation itself will be, just imagine how much more exciting this dress in white will make it seem. Down to the tiniest details, it is one of the love liest creations ever designd. Per fect, too, as a date dress for spring. The charming bodice, slim midriff and dirndl skirt are de lightfully young and so smart. * • • Barbara Bell Pattern No. 17G2-B Is de signed for sizes 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19. Cor responding bust measurements 29, 31, 33, 35 and 37. Size 13 (31) requires 4'/4 yards 39-inch material. Versatile Suit VERSATILE costume . . . with jacket, a good-looking casual suit ready for everything . . . without jacket, first rate for ev ery active sport. • * • Barbara Bell Pattern No. 1775-B, de signed for sizes 10, 12. 14, 19. 18 and 20. Corresponding bust measurements 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 Size 12 (30) ensemble requires 4V* yards 39-inch material. Radios Plane Trouble A new device automatically ra dios the performance of 70 dif ferent parts of a plane during a test flight to a ground machine which records the data on sound film and disks, and then makes graphs for visual study in a mat ter of seconds, says Collier’s. Thus it not only enables the ground men to warn pilots of incipient trouble, but its records check and supplement those of the pilot and are not lost in case of a crackup. Paul Runyan in Wood Hewn from a huge Sequoia log, a statue of Paul Bunyan, mythi cal giant of the woods, stands at the roadside near Three Rivers, Sequoia Park, Calif. The figure of the legendary lumberjack is be lieved the largest sculpture ever made from a single piece. Due to an unusually large demand and current war conditions, slightly mom time is required in filling orders for a fas* of the most popular pattern number*. Send your order to: SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT. 530 South Wells St. Chicago. Room 195* Enclose 20 cents in coins for each pattern desired. Pattern No. Size.. Name . Address .. The gaily enameled unit insignia you see on a soldier’s lapels and overseas cap are reproductions of his regimental shield displayed in the center of the eagle on his reg^ imental flag. It’s a part of U. S. Army tradition. Traditional, too,1 is the Army man’s preference for Camel cigarettes. (Based on actual sales records from service men’i own stores.) It’s a gift from tha folks back home, that always rates cheers. And though there ars Post Office restrictions on pack* ages to overseas Army men, you can still send Camels to soldiers in the U. S., and to men in tha Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard wherever they are.—Adv. Camels in Southwest 1 Camels were introduced in the Southwestern United States 90 years ago for transportation, but the animals proved unpopular and were sold at auction. Quick application of comforting Rosinol' gives prompt relief from Aery throbbing. I Its oily base soothes parched skin. RESINOL !piiii,IT1i|p!'fTi|»''i»irniif[(jnii||ifW|i]y| s.^liET RICH! I Sensational New Edition -just sat. | ran solve v onr fintmrial problems and | tearh von in simple language bow In M DEMAND and CKT I roar than of thm riehn of thio »orid. g UET VOI R CORY TODAY, P ks~ i« nun aauaaa-■* - i B k JOHN ZIMMERMAN F 1 P. O. BV Niacin and Iron CORN FLAKES - 7#i# 0*tfinal_ — Mufy? — • •• .. «••••«• HMlI •••••!*«