Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-11
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL KENNEDY.

coming the watchword OF the present
administration. With the President far
famed as q great organizer and CO.
ordinator, the Federal departments,
under his official advisers, are develop
ing system OF cooperative effort for
the public veal.
The method Of fireproofing the tips
Of cigarettes Is an illustration. One Of
the specialists under Secretary Hyde of
the Department OF Agriculture is
Associate Forester e. A. Sherman. who
has figured out that the property loss
on forest FIRE damages amounted to
more than $4,000. 900 last year due to
cigarette butts carelessly thrown aside,
and this does not include the heavy
loss from grain field fires started by
careless smokers. In addition to this
the Bureau OF Standards, under Secre-
tary Lamont of the Department Of
Commerce, has compiled statistics
which show q property loss OF $45.-
O0O, 900 q year attributable to smoking.
Associate Forester Sherman, spurred
on by these startling figures, has had
some interesting tests made with q
forest patrol plane from the Spokane
airport. Lighted cigars and plain
tipped cigarettes of brands commonly
In use were dropped from attitudes OF
approximately 500 feet and 900 feet
above ground. The temperature was
about rs degrees, relative humidity 81
per cent and the wind movement about
miles an hour.
OF six cigarettes recovered four were
still burning when picked up from the
field and all five cigars recovered were
still burning Increasing the height of
the fall from 500 to ] 900 feet did not
appear to make much, II any, differ
ence.
So the Forest Service feels it had
demonstrated conclusively that forest
fires may be started by lighted ciga-
rettes or burning cigars carelessly
dropped from an airplane. With the
growth Of commercial aviation 1t seems
decidedly important to adopt measures
to prevent the throwing of lighted butts
from airplanes and to provide suitable
receptacles for them in the cabins OF
planes. In addition, warning Is being
broadcast by the Forest Service.
Here also steps in the cooperating
Bureau Of Standards Of the Depart
ment of Commerce. Its investigations
on possible methods Of flreproofing the
tips of cigarettes are receiving manu-
facturers' attention. so that, in turn,
the cigarette manufacturers are becom-
ing a party to the interdepartmental
campaign to reduced fire losses from
cigarettes, not only in forest fires and
grainfleld fires. but in awning fires and
wsste-bssket fires and the myriad
chances OF starting q confiagration in
q densely populated office building or
factory from a cigarette carelessly
thrown aside.
Similarly the automobile manufac-
turers have been advised that they
should cooperate through equipping
with Ash/receivers both front and back
seats of automobiles, as many fires are
caused by burning tobacco or matches
thrown from cars along the roadside.
Smokers, beware!
To the relief of the Fat Phalanx" of
corpulent pulchritude in these United
States comes one of the women's spe-
cial agencies in the Federal Government
the Bureau Of Home Economics. where
experts and specialists in many lines
spend their working hours in a research
that has been made the principal aim in
their lives, to afford help to their home
making sisters throughout the States.
Now that popular interest has been
aroused in a good diet, and especially
since the recent emphasis on the i'm
portance of vitamins in our food has
led certain dealers to make claims re-
garding reducing menus that cannot al
ways be sAbstantiating. this agency Of
woman's service has mounted guard to
protect the thinning line OF woman
hood from disheartening receptions.
Green tea is not satisfactory as q
source Of vitamin c. declares one OF
the important pronunciamentos OF this
agency, Of which DR.. Louise Stanley
Is not only chief but specialist in charge
Of food and nutrition work. To prove
this statement DR.. Stanley and her CO.
workers have conducted experiments
continuing over several months on some
IA guinea pigs. In terms Of green tea
and orange Juice here is the equation
as it worked out to get the "vitamin G"
answer:
Two cubic centimeters Of orange Juice
furnished enough vitamin to very
nearly meet the requirements for nor
NAL growth OF the guinea pigs. while
IS cubic centimeters OF the green tea
infusion did not furnish enough of
this factor to prevent decline and death
before the expiration of the 90-dsy
period. This evidence, DR.. Stanley says.
tends to show that the claims made that
this Japan tea is rich in vitamin c.
are not substantiated.
Now. isn't that perfectly clear as to
Just how much green tea each OF the
"dieters' should drink?
Note the advertisement for home
grown California and Florida oranges as
opposed TO the imported tea from
Japan.
Here's another one of the bright Sum
rner stories that Uncle Sans specialists
have written in flowers.
When the ardent young swain desires
to say to his awaiting and expectant
sweetheart in July whatever it is that
young lovers say In the language oil
flowers. and needs chrysanthsnsun
and nothing else to express his mes
saee-what must he do, wait until they
bloom in October?
Perish the thought. says DR.. william
A. Taylor chief of the Bureau OF Plant
Industry, who several years ago felt the
surge OF Dan Cupids elixir and con-
tributed one OF the touching romances
of the Department Of Agriculture.
So he set some Of his warm-hearted
experts to work with the result that
now chrysanthemums have been induceo
to bloom In July instead OF October,
through study by these scientists on the
effect Of daylight exposures on plants
at the United States Department OF
Agriculture testing plots. Then tney
forgot all about the young lovers ano
contributed a freak to the plant circus
NOT only off-season florescence. but
towering Of a part OF the plant on
July IS and the remainder blooming
three months later.
''The plants themselves shall answer,
said Or. n. A. Allard when asked about
this apparent phenomenon. "Unques-
tionabiy many plants have definite tenn
perature requirements to thrive with
foliage and flowers" he pointed out.
The chrysanthemum, however, is not
awaiting cooler temperatures. as 1t
would seem, but shortening days. In
exnerjments by the Bureau Of Plant
Industry cuttings OF late variety made
in Winter were grown to bushy plants
in May. Then these were exposed to
only 10 hours of daylight, from $50
= - ,,of;l 2.2n n m when theV were