Herald & Lantern 6 April '83

35

County Library by Kathleen Dully

* Of every 100 households in America 42 grow vegetables, 22 grow fruit and 38 grow flowers. About half of the vegetable growers have a garden of 750 square feet or more and the average garden yielded $386 worth of produce in 1979, saving the family $367. Tomatoes are the most popular crop, and about three of every four gardeners freeze or can some of their produce All this comes from a Gallup survey which concluded that gardening is "by far the most productive sparetime pursuit of the American public.” If you have never been a gardener, or if you would like to expand your garden ing knowledge the Cape May County Library has gardening information which run the gamut — from the basic to the esoteric. U.S. Gardening Guide: Everything You Need to Know About How to Make Things Grow 1635 U). The Vegetable Booh How to Grow and Cooh Your Own Vegetables (635 04 C) and Basic Organic Gardening (635.04 H) are just a sampling of the beginners books SOME GARDENING books are slanted toward a particular lifestyle such as the Lazy Gardener (635.932) or Gardening With Kids (635.04 M) if you plan for weeding help in advance. Some gardening books take on a philosophical aspect as in Common Sense Gardening (635.04 B) or A Landscape You Can Eat (634.5). Locale is also an important focus as shown by titles such as Gardening By The Sea (635.9091) and the Com plete Book of Patio Gardening (635.96). Some of the specialty books in our col lection include Victorian Gardens (635.9) and even Biblical Gardens: Plants of the Bible and How to Grow Them (635 S). So for information guaranteed to add growth to your garden and your mind come to the County Library. NEED ENTERTAINMENT for a birthday par ty? Were you elected to provide the entertainment section of a meeting for a civic or social club? In terested in an inexpensive evening’s entertainment for family and friends' 7

Then check out the free film service available at the County Library. Any person (18 years or older) who holds a library card from a public library in the state of New Jersey has access to this film service. What kind of films? Children's films, sports films, feature films, old time comedies, nature films, social issues, travel films, art and music films, crafts films and experimental films are all available — a total of over 18,000 SELECTION AND advance booking of the films are made at the County Library at least two weeks before the intended show date for a limit of five films or 90 minutes. Due to the popularity of many of the films, it is recommended that reservations be made several weeks in advance. The films are free for a 24-hour period and a 16mm projector is also available for a $1 fee if needed The only prohibition on use of the films state that they may not be shown where an admission is charged, a donation requested, a fund raising activity or for any course for credit. By merely filling out the Film Loan agreement, use of the film service at the County Library will help solve some of those entertainment problems. Checkoff Aids Wildlife Fund TRENTON - Line 36Bo( the New Jersey Income Tax form is very important to the state's endangered species. , Through this fine a $2, $5, or $10 donation can be made towards the protection of 25 endangered species like the Bald Eagle and Pine Barrens Treefrog and 400 other kinds of wildlife like songbirds, hawks, turtles and frogs. All contributions go into a dedicated fund to be used only by the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program. This is the only means of funding for this program. Donations on Line 36B of the State Income Tax form will either decrease the amount of your Refund or increase your tax payment.

Cape May School Board (From Page 34) educational facilities for recreational and community purposes, for the benefit of the general community The interrelationship of community and school was never more fundamental to the general good of the community than it is today FOR THE ABOVE cited reasons. I sincerely urge the citizens of Cape May to consider seriously the candidates for school board in the Election on Tuesday. April 12 (polls open for all Cape May voting districts from 5 p m. to 9 p.m. in the Cape May Elementary School Auditorium on Lafayette Street). I would urge you to think of those whose reputations suggest that they would make quality board members I would ask you to cast your vote for the following: Three-year term: Joanne Reagan, Maggie Fenton, and Josie Davids. One-year unexpired term, Mitze Blomkvest In the annual Cape May City Elementary School Board Newsletter to Taxpayers, the board president stated in his cover letter that "This is the year the Cape May City Elementary School Board did everything right " I think that perhaps it might be more accurate to say that, as far as the Cape May City Elementary School is concerned, unless four new members are elected to the school board on April 12, there won't be anything left

TOM LEVIN Woodbine (ED NOTE Levin is a fifth grade teacher at Cape May Elementary School.)

Teachers’ Aid Asked For Hawk , Watch

CAPE MAY POINT - The New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory has received a $25,000 grant from the Geraldine R Foundation to fund and coordinate an autumn hawk watch a( selected high schools throughout the state and is now soliciting response from interested science teachers. By incorporating the observation of the annual hawk migration into the present science cur riculum. the project aims to foster appreciation of the natural environment Working in conjunction with interested science teachers, Cape May Bird Observatory's fieldwork coordinator will help students develop skills in fundamental research principles and techniques

STUDENTS WILL learn to identify birds of prey, collect, analyze, and present observations and data in report form, and later, in a conference of student peers and experienced hawk watchers, discuss their findings New Jcrse> is perhaps the best spot in North America for observing migrating hawks, with Cape May Point being site of the largest autumn hawk flight in the nation Eigh teen species of raptors pass through this state annually, including the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, both endangered species WHILE THE migration of raptors through New

Rx

Health Watch

by Dr Kubrrl C Batman

Altering our diets so as to reduce our risk of cancer is one of the most promising fields in preventive medicine Today we will discuss the recomjnenda lions of the National Academy of Sciences ter changes in the American diet to^nrevent cancer These are changes I, too, - have chosen to make in my. family's diet. However, itshould be noted that we do not have definitive proof that these recommendations will work Ours is the first generation to adopt these measures; only the future can tell if they will work HOW WERE the recom mendations developed' 7 Three principal approaches were used. First, studies have been done of people who grew up in foreign countries and then moved to America and changed to our diet habits Scientists checked to see if these immigrants would be more likely to get certain types of cancers The second type of research involved interviewing Amencaas with cancer to see if they had certain diet patterns in common. The third type was to see if certain groups of people had a lower rate of cancer than the general population and then to check if their diet differed from the standard American diet WHAT WE have learned from all this research has led to the powerful sugges lions of the Academy One example of the type of data they compiled is from the Seventh Day Adventists This group instructs its members not to smoke tobacco, drink alcohol, tea, and not to eat condiments or spices. About half of all Adventists are up to 50 percent less likely to die of cancer than the rest of us. The meat-avoiding Adventists had a dramatically lower rate of colon cancer than the half that eat meat THE ACADEMY review ed thousands of studies of different groups of people to come up with their

recommendations as follows DKeep foods high in saturated and unsaturated fats to 30 percent or less of daily calories. Such foods include whold milk dairy products, cooking oils and fats, and fatty meats Cancer of the breast, large bowel and prostate have been linked to these fats. 2) Salt-cured, smoked and salt-pickled foods have been associated with cancers of the esophagus (swallowing tube), and stomach when frequently consumed This meaas we should reduce our con sumption of foods like smoked sausages, smoked fish and ham. bacon, bologna and hot dogs 3) EAT FOODS high in vitamins A and C, high fiber foods including vegetables, fruits, and whole grain cereal products These may help pro vent cancers of the bladder, large bowdl, skin, stomach and esophagus The theory behind the association of high fiber diet and reduced rates of colorectcl cancer is that the fiber bindslip the "carcinogens" i cancer-causing substances) and carries them out of the body swiftly before they can cause cells to mutate (change) to cancer 4) Alcohol, particularly in associat-ion with cigarette smoking, appears to increase the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, respiratory tract, liver, and possibly the colon and rectum In conclusion, we must keep in mind the need for gradual diet change No one should decide to radically change their diet Gradually phase in and out the substances you choose to control. You will lie bet ter able to tolerate and stick with your decisions, and it will be easier to safe ly stop a diet which might disagree with your constitution. Whatever ‘you decide, discuss your deci sion with yoite family doc tor to make sure it will not be harmful to your par ticular situation.

Jersey s most dramatic hawk watch sites has been well studied, the state as a whole has never been monitored Students par ticipating in the project will be conducting field research at their respec tive schools which will aid in understanding an annual migration phenomenon 10,IKK) years old. tape Ma> Bird Obser vatory is a research and education unit of the New Jersey Audubon Society, the state's oldest conserva (ion education organization TEN TO FIFTEEN high schools will be selected for

the pilot program, schedul ed to begin its organiza tional stages this March Selection will be based on level of interest of responding schools and faculty, and location, since the pro ject aims to have a school network truly representative of New Jersey’s geographicand topographic diversity. Interested high school science teachers from all parts of New. Jersey are urged to contact Debbie Keller, Program Coor dinator, (ape May Bird Observatory. PO Box 3. Cape May Point. New Jersey 08212 1609 ) 884 2736

P

Good Reading ,

A RtVlt\\ by Owen Murphy

The Measure of My Days By Florida Scott Maxwell Alfred A Knoph. 1968 S5 95 (All of the boohs reviewed in this column are available at the Cape May County Library.) . Most people love the tales that brave explorers h^ve written of their adventures in far and undiscovered! countries. Even in,. 1983. it's possible to gel lott in the accounts of Mar co Polo. Sir Richard Bur ton, Hernando Cortes, or Robert Falcon Scott — to name just a few. But with most of the world mapped and charted, the possibilities these days for an individual, noncomputerized. there-and back kind of expedition are rather slim THERE REMAIN, however, not only the largely uncharted depths of our own minds, but two other "countries” from which reports are starting to filter back: Childhood, a Neverland that all adults lived in at one time but have almost completely forgotten, and Old Age, a province or outpost that everyone is aware of but where few want to live. Of all the people who have sent back reports from the far country of Old Age, none, to my mind, sur passes the account of Florida Scott Maxwell Mrs Maxwell — author, actress, feminist, clinical psychologist - was 82 when her journal. Th<> Measure of My Days, was published in 1968 She never intended it for eyes other than her own but was finally persuaded to share her thoughts with the ■ world We can be thankful she did All of us are better prepared for that in evitable adventure because Florida Scott’ Maxwell went ahead The quotations which follow are from The Measkre of My Days When a new disability arrives, I look about me to see if death has come, and I call quietly, "Death, is that you? Are you there 9 ” So far the disability has answered, "Don't be silly, it’s just me "

"Is this age yet* 7 How far must I go' 7 ” For age can be dreaded more than death How many years of vacuity? To what degree* of deterioration must I advance? Feeling at variance with the limes must be the essence of age and it is confusing. wounding We who are old know that age is more than a disabili ty. It is an intense and varied experience, almost beyond our capacity at times, but something to Ik* carried high If it is a long defeat it is also a victory, meaningful for the initiates of time, if not for those who have come less far. There are days when emptiness is spacious and non-existence elevating. When old. one has only one’s soul as company There are times when you can feel it crying, you do not ask why Your eyes are dry, but heavy, hot tears drop on your heart The woman who has a gift for old age is the woman who delights in comfort If warmth is known as the blessing it is, if your bed, your bath, your best liked food and drink are regarded as fresh delights, then you know how to thrive when old. If you get the things you like on the simplest possible terms, serve yourself light ly. efficiently and calmly, all is almost well. I could use the beauty and dignity of a cat hut. denied that. I try for her quiet Age puzzles me. I thought it was a quiet time My seventies were interestirig and fairly serene, but my,eighties are pas sionate.' I grow more intense With age To my own surprise. I burst out with hot conviction. I must calm down I am too frail to indulge in moral fervour Who knows, it may mat ter deeply how we end so mysterious a thing as living

I am uncertain whether it is a sad thing or a solace to be past change. I don't like to write this down, yet it is much in the minds of the old. We wonder how much older we have to become, and what degree of decay we may have to endure We keep whispering to ourselves.

I want to tell people ap preaching and perhaps fearing age that it is a time of discovery If they say, "of what' 7 ” I can only answer, "We must find out for ourselves, otherwise it Wouldn't be discovery ” If, at the end of life, you have only yourself, it is much Look, you will find