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Science Spotlight
Scientists see end of drouth
By PATRICK A. MAI ONE

Farm
WASHINGTON (AP) The Agriculture Department says Americans are more red meat per person than 'they have in.four years and one of Its agencies is urging consumers to buy more. At the same time; a Connecticut congressman. Democratic Rep. William R. . Cotter, says USDA is. ignoring In Its view of the livestock and meat situation "strong indications that the consumer will have to pay unacceptably high meat prices during the second half of 1977 and through 1978." Cotter, in q letter Monday to Secrei tary Earl L. Bun, emphasized the feed-price side of the meat equation. The department, estimating official' ly that food prices through June, 1977, may go 3 to 4 per cent higher than the first half of 1976. has emphasized increased consumer demand as the major force keeping both farm and retail prices reasonably stable in a year of heavy supplies. , ONE OF THE periodic "food-marketIng alerts" published this week by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service stressed beef among its good buys right now. Supplies are plentiful, it said, be.cause of the increased production of 3 to 5 percent above 1975 and 10 per cent' above the 1973-75 overage. _ The alerts ore directed mainly to _ "volume buyers." *' Sharp gains in competing pork and poultry supplies In the next several weeks are expected to temper any significant gains In retail beef prices, the alert said. The latest American Notional Cattlemen's Association price check of five beef cuts in 19 U.S. cities showed prices up Sept. 9 by o penny a pound from $1.36 on- Aug. 12, but that average was '26c a pound below a year ago. ECONOMIC Research Service market analysts say consumers are jumping right into those price and production currents. First-quarter 1976 red meat consumption nationally was up to 48 pounds per person, the largest since the summer of 1971, and running near 46 pounds a person in the second quarter. Together, ERS specialists said, that's the highest level since 1972, the year before the major boycott of beef by consumer organizations. By year's end, USDA expects an annual consumption level per person of slightly more than 151 pounds of meat 91 pounds of beef, up 6 per cent; 55'/* pounds of pork, up 3 per cent; 3 pounds of veal, down 14 per cent, and 1.69 pounds of lamb, down 6 per cent. On an annual basie, that's just a pound less meat than in 1974. It expects prices throughout the rest of 1976 to average below 1975 levels for the same months.
; eating

SJjf Dallas jKornlnrj JTrtep

54 D Sunday, September 26,1976

Meat consumption higjh

Current low prices seen climbing next year
? Next year, top economists admit in unofficial speculation, a smaller expansion of meat production than USDA expected three months ago probably will mean over-all food prices will rise by on average of 4 to 5 per cent instead of 3 to 4 per cent because of the slightly costlier beef. THE DEPARTMENT'S forecasters have rigorously declined to predict food prices past June, 1977, but Cotter said that's a political stance for the election year. USDA seldom mokes such predictions until its annual midNovember outlook conferences. Rather than-Just a moderate expansion of livestock herds, Cotter said, the drought-reduced volume of still-record corn and other feed grain crops could easily mean no expansion after the present herd-trimming slaughter stops glutting the meat counters. Cotter said some cattlemen, who he did not Identify, are predicting retail meat price 50 per cent higher in IS months, or two feed grain harvests from now. The (USDA) specialists say that stability of supplies and the same rate of Increase in consumer demand as the market is now experiencing are needed to get average prices for Choicegrade steers bock into the range of S44 to $46 per 100 pounds. The average price in mid-August forsteers and heifers was $35.30.

Kelly's busy haijdling dogs

By MARCH WALKER Kelly Browning won the Terrier Group with her Wire Fox Terrier at the State 4-1! Dog Show when she was 10. In the five years since, she has trained two dogs In obedience, competes in junior showmanship and has put 10 points on her Belgian Sheepdog. She has remained active in 4-11 and last year her Samoyed won't he state dog show In Houston. Her routine at a dog show is most demanding; at TKC last Sunday she earned a second leg on CDX with her Sheltie and took second in Novice Senior Class, Junior showmanship. Her Belgian was 3rd in open dog. Timing all of her entries and getting to each ring keeps her as busy as a professional. A student at Skyline High School, Kelly Is studying man and his environment, psychology and animal behavior. She has considered becoming a veterinarian, but has doubts that she could give shots and perform surgery. She loves all animals and is especially fond of horses and dogs. She also breeds unusual guppies. KELLY IS A modest young lady who credits a long list of people who have helped and encouraged her interest in dogs. Ann Harper was her first inspiration, and others who have influenced her Include Lucille Tufty, Carole Vender Muellen, Rose Callahan, Marilyn Pierce and Lulu and Hugh Hlggins. She is a charter junior member of the Dog Training Club of Dallas County in Oak Cliff. She Is interested in breed clubs but has not become a member because of her many other commitments. , Kelly's parents, Sally and Orval Browning, support her interest In dogs. She and Sally make the shows together, sometimes accompanied by her brother, ' Randy, and her father. Animal Health Tip The tapeworm is a parasitic worm found in the intestines of dogs and cats. It consists of a bead (scolex) attached to the lining of the intestine, and a long body made up of segments called proglottids. The segments may be shed and passed in the feces, leaving the bead still attached to produce new segments. Tapeworm infection may not be noticeable or it can produce digestive upsets, variation in appetite, poor hair coat and skin, weight loss and vague signs of abdominal discomfort. DIAGNOSIS OF tape worms is made by finding segments in your pet's feces, in his bed or clinging to hair around the anal area. Unlike most other worms, the eggs are not generally found in a microscopic examination of the feces. When first passed, segments will be yellowish to white, about one-quarter of an inch long, and may expand and contract When dry, segments resemble cucumber seeds or grains of rice. Tapeworms are not passed directly from pet to pet, but require another animal called an intermediate host in which to develop^ Common intermediate hosts are fleas and small rodents such as mice, rats, squirrels and rabbits. In some areas, fish are the intermediate host for one type of tapeworm.. Treatment must destroy the tapeworms already infecting your pet and control reinfection by eliminating or reducing contact with the intermediate hosts. Several treatments may be necessary to eliminate tapeworms. Your veterinarian may treat your.pet on either an Inpatient or outpatient basis, depending on his professional Judgment
BrST IN SHOW at the T Kennel Club last Sunday a i t h e K*"y Blue Terrier. Ch MorblruSiurHUninan.onwJt>y L Myers. Santa Aria. California, and handled by Ray rvrry Croup ~ l n ner ~ere: Srortin.;. Kr.Klnh v-urr, Cii Mindy on.j i .SiMtr l u n w n d try Ray and fur Care Parsons. El Paso; Hcunu< Alxr.en.Ch, Khayama Ares, ownad by Welter Creene. Houston and handled by Carl Senders. _j__i WorklM. M m . 5 b p W c b - V a n Mrirs Shenandoah. t D . pwnad by Mr InO firV j W UchST.t and handled by Boy Murray; Toy, Italian Greyhound. Ch. Beyond tit* PnMH Dl My MM, ~"ri<>f Die vf Robin ToniintAustin: Non-Sporting. Keesnood. Ch. W.lodtill > Md. nita Love, owned and handled by Joanna Sanford Reed. Canyon CounHlglwU scoring obedience d o g w a i the German Sherherd Dog. Duse "l WedgwooJ 111, owned byTonita Scott. Fort Worth, scorini MTV,.' Pirn place junior showmanship winners were; Candy Ptnwarii. Oklahoma City and her Iriah Setter; Brad Jarrett. Richardson, and his Lhasa Apsix Shannon Roberts. Irving, and her Lhasa Afux I P. McNaney, San Antonio and biaGreal Dana. ( CROUP F1-ACF.MF.NT3 from lha area Included Engllih Spring Span, lei Ch. Otivan'a Galliano ol Tantreanar, owned by Bill Evana and Blltio "Slaleaon. group third; Whippet, Shtldegren Utile fed Fox. owned by Gilbert McCsleb and Scott Henderson, group third. Bessie U J ineni Mitey-Cate Boner ja, owned by GarretT-R. Crijf men. group fourth; Doberman Pinscher. Ch. Florowill Patch of Holli. owned by. Ed and Florence Williams, group second. Schipperke. Ch. Skipalong a Pretty Poira.owned by Helen and KarliJunsson.group fourth. ...,..-.. Branbeen of the Morninj Mist. Gordon Setter, owned by Linda and Leonard Robertson was best of breed at TKC Balconnes Royal Scois Dragoon, owned by Cynthtn Cook* and Sua Summera was best opposiM I Hound, owned by Mr. and Ch. dentil's Downrlte Spade King, I Mrs Don Heiromnius. was best of breed. _...,. i . . Ch. Pattona Red Rock Skillet. American Staffordshire Terrier owned by Walter H. Patton, M D, was best of breed and Ch Patton Texas Bel la Lucy. Staff, owned by Walter H. Patton. Jr. wai best oppoaita

COLUMBIA. Mo. (UPI) Scientists who study the shifting cycles of weather believe the drouth which has hurt grain crops in the Great Plains states the past three years may be ending. ~",'", But they warn that the stable weather patterns which American farmers enjoyed In the 1950s and 1960s also may be gone. The predictions are based on cltmatological records which have been gathered and analzyed at the Center for Climatic and Environmental Assessment at Columbia, a sister agency of the National Weather Service. Severe drouth in the Great Plains states hove occurred once every 20 to 22 years since modern weather record-keeping began and usually .last three to five years. Scientists are studying several possible causes of the drouth cycle, including sunspot activity and changes in ocean temperatures. THE DROUTH which we have now in the Upper Great Plains Is one that really started In Texas two years ago and worked Its way into Kansas last year and was centered in the Dakotas this year," said. Dr. Norton Strommen, supervisory meteorologist at the center. "I would have to say we're nearlng the end of the highly unfavorable weather that we've experienced the last two to three years, and we should,look for somewhat better conditions over much of the area, based on cltmatological records," he said. A similar prediction was phrased more cautiously by Dr. Louis M. Thompson, associate dean of .agriculture at Iowa State University. "1 would not be at all surprised to see the next year as a near-normal year. I'm not predicting that the drouth will continue," said Thompson^ who has studied the relationship of sunspots todrouth.. Every 11 years the spots which flare on the sun's surface become quiet and scientists have noticed that alternate periods of low sunspot activity correspond roughly with a severe drouth; Such coincidences occurred in 1934,1954 and again this year. BUT THOMPSON cautions: "while there is. some correlation, there is no known cause-and-effect relationship and It may just be coincidence. The worst drouths have come when we've had the least solar activity, but yet the drouths have persisted after the period of low solar activity. So it is still a rather controversial question." A imllar correlation has been noticed .between temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean and drouth in the Great Plains, according to Strommen. In addition, the European drouth this year wa associated with warmr water temperatures in the. northern Atlantic Ocean west of the Scandinavian countries and colder temperatures in the Bering Sea, ..'," But again, he said, there is little conclusive evidence to explain whther It is just a coincidence or what the cause-and-effect connection might be, _. "There are many theories out, but nobody has been able to really concretely tie down this,relationship between changes in ocean water temperatures to precipitation changes/'Strommen said. Whatever is the cause of the weather changes, the United States is a better geographic condition to cope with drouths than other countries such as the Soviet Union.

Photo by Murray Co*.

Zach Taylor, mayor of Troupe, Texas, and president of the East Texas Farm and Ranch Club, Is one of the East Texas Fair's strongest boosters. The club sponsors t h e Junior Livestock Show, one feature of the fair which begins its 64th week-long run Monday in Tyler.

On the Farm

><rv

Sun exposure"^ and skin cancer

ByALROSSITERJR.

Farmers ponder Carter nominee to succeed Butz

East Texas Fair opens 64th edition

In recent years there have been stew cook-offs in at least three counties, Hopkins, Red River and Lamar. If there are others, ET Fair officials would like to know of them. In 1977 they hope to have entries from counties anywhere in Texas. TOMORROW MORNING at 8 O'clock they will set up their 10-gallon cast iron pots over oak-log fires and begin cooking the stew. They tell me that it is a sight to behold and produces an aroma that is out of this world. Robert Renshaw and Thomas Pippin, two Sulphur Springs^ veterans who have1 been cooking stew for five decades, boast that their recipe dates back more than a century. Squirrels, coons and rabbits were used by pioneers for stew-meat because beef was not available much of the year. Sometimes, even, they used armadillo. Renshaw says that his recipe today calls for 22 pounds of boned beef, IS pounds of Irish potatoes, 10 big yellow onions, 12 cans of corn, 8 cans of tomatoes, 4 cans of tomato juice, 1 pound of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 ounces of chill powder, one can of black pepper, 1 red pepper, paprika and table salt as needed. He cooks it three hours. The entreats, Hopkins County Champion DarrellSeale and daughter Emma, Red River County Champion Mrs. Claudle Allen, and Lamar County Champion James Hart are not divulging their recipes. > Just before noon the judges will decide the winner and beautiful trophies will be presented. And I intend to be right there among the spec tutors to get a sample of the results. Gosh, I love that East Texas Stew. " ..; V J

By MURRAY COX The big . , . and I do mean BIG . . . East Texas Fair opens tomorrow morning in Tyler. It is their 61st annual,, but the 100th anniversary of first WASHINGTON (AP) Speculation alsoFair that was held in Tylerthe 1876. ET in about the person Jimmy Carter would Very colncidentally, someone dug up name secretary of agriculture can get complicated, considering the candi- Ihe records to prove this. It lends impetus to the Bicentennial celebration in date's background and those of East Texas. advisers. They are boasting 408 head of breed' Speculators among farmers may find it Interesting that the candidate-pea- ing beef cattle entered in the Open Show and 520 head in the the Junior nut grower has installed as his "transition team" man in charge of agricul- Livestock Show. It is interesting to note that the ET Fair does not have a Junior tur, the environment, energy and natural resources, Joe Browder, for- Steer Show. This is because East Texas Is not cattle feeding country. There mer director of the Environmental Policy Center, notes the Community will be a fine Junior Dairy Show, an exhibit of "New Breeds" of beef cattle, Nutrition Institute. ,.CNI says that the transition team a Shetland pony show, a rabbit show, a Project Fair, Show, which would go into full scale plan- agricultural a Farm Shop Project Buildexhibits, Womens ning for a change of power if Carter ing exhibits, and the usual educational wins against President Ford in Novem- displays. beralso includes Harrison Wellford, most former legislative aide to Sen. Philip bePerhaps the of 221colorful event will a showing head of big BrahHartDMlch. man cattle in one area of competition. Wellford worked on the Ralph Nader I learned recently, in a telephone project investigating the Agriculture Department that'resulted In the book, conversation with Fair Manager Bob "Sowing the Wind: Food Safety and the Murdoch, that something really new and different will create great exciteChemical Harvest." : The team member with principal re- ment at the fair this year. It Is the first sponsibility for welfare and income Texas State Stew Cookoff. As Bob enmaintenance which would include thusiastically says, "This year it is the food stamps is Joe Levin, former State Championship, next year it will legal dlrctor of the Southern Poverty be the national, and in 1978 the 'World.' "They have high hopes. Center in Montgomery, Ala. ,. la the late 1960s, Wellford also au1 WANTED A first hand report so I thored a study demonstrating how drove to Tyler this week to get i t I also changes In agricultural technology in wanted to learn the facts on the fair. I the Mississippi Delta caused, according was greeted in Bob's office by an old to him, increased poverty and hunger friend, Zach Taylor, mayor of Troup In the area. , and president of the East Texas Farm Transition teams traditionally work and Ranch Club, Prank Bronougb, requietly behind the scenes, finding tired manager of the famous Tyler candidates for the hundreds of second- Rose Festival and Bob. In about two level political-appointee positions and hours they filled my.head with ET Fair arranging briefings. propoganda. Perhaps more influential advisers Incidentally} their big Junior Liveon the {op USDA job might range from. stock Show is sponsored by the ET. running-mate Sen. Walter F. Mondale, Farm and Ranch Club. Zacb is running D-Mlnn., with his strong allegiances to full speed now getting ready to enterthe Democrat-Farm-Labor party and tain the youngsters. former Secretary Orville Freeman, to About the Cookoff. Long ago, In, East fellow Georgtan Herman E. Talmadge, Texas, the popular art of cooking stew whose Senate Agriculture Committee became serious business. I. guess most Would have the first and only substan- famous of all is known as "Hopkins tial crack at the nominee in the confir- County Stew." The bonJ>r for making jnation process. th* hait Is reallvereat. ^

Burleson, was best ot breed at lh Boxer Specialty last Saturday.

Charcoal filter saves boy with liver failure

WASHINGTON" (UPI) An experimental charcoal blood filter serving as an artificial liver rescued a 13year-old boy from the brink of death, Georgetown University doctors have reported. Dr. Michael c. Gelfand said it was the first successful use of the device for a liver patient reported in the United States although it has been used successfully in England for some time. The youngster, Carlton Parker of Washington, suffered liver and kidney failure from apparent medication toxicity. Standard methods of treatment failed and be lapsed Into the deep stage of a coma seven months ago. "We passed the patient's blood through a cylinder packed with specially treated charcoal which absorbs toxins," Gelfand said. "The procedure provided him . with a temporary but crucial lifeline. Very rarely Is a patient brought back from a deep coma.*' Parker Is now healthy and weighs 140 pounds. He weighed 85 when he was ill. The device has been used successfully here and elsewhere in the United States to treat victims of drug overdoses, and Gelfand said the liver success indicates the device may be useful for tiding oyer paUents whose liver can recover after an acute crisis. T h e charcoal perfusion does not cure underlying disease, but it can provide a temporary artificial liver for liver failure patients In much the same way the artificial kidney supports prospective kidney transplant patients," Gelfand said. ... .* Gelfand and Dr. Paul Sandler reported the case at a Georgetown symposium.

Butz says policies' aided farm income

WASHINGTON (AP) Agriculture Secretary Earl Butt has told a Washington meeting of the National Conference of Farm Credit Directors that the Ford administration's policy of promoting full .production by farmcrs^has gone a long way toward Incrcsing the net income of farthers to-its current $22-bullon level.

WASHINGTON (UPI) It has long been known that sun exposure can cause common, but rarely fatal forms of skin cancer. Now a Harvard doctor says increasing evidence suggests sunlight has a role In causing much more serious malignant moles. It is this uncommon, but often fatal form of skin cancer, called malignant melanoma, that most concerned the scientists who assessed possible health effects of a weakened ozone radiation shield caused by some spray can gases. i The scientists emphasized, however, that changing life styles during the past three decades leading to increased exposure to the sun probably has .a.bigger role In the development of skin cancer than-a.weakened ozone barrier would. Dr. Thomas B. Fitzpatrlck, a member of the National Academy of Sciences panel that feporjed,'i)n the ozone situation, said skin cancer once was a disease of old people who worked outdoors. %>.-< "NOW SKIN CANCER,especially melanoma;-is a disease of middle-aged people working indoors'but playing outdoors," be said. ." ,-"'.' Fitzpatrlck said common skin cancer, which develops in an estimated 300,000 Americans annually; is easily diagnosed and treated and is primarily an economic burden to the patient ''" ' Malignant melanoma, on the other hand, strikes 8,400 Americans a year and kills about a third of them In five years because it spreads to other parts of the body. Most of its victims are whites who are most susceptible to sun burns. The academy panel estimated the fluorocarbon gases released by aerosol products night'destroy 7 per cent of the ozone layer late In the next century if they continued to be released at the rate reached in 1973. The committee said this might eventually.be responsible for a few hundred melanoma deaths per year. Unlike common skin cancer, Fitzpatrlck told -the role of sunlight in causing melanoma is probably very complex. lie said it is possible that sclar.radiation may act as a trigger for a virus, which, could_.be present In skin pigment. " TRYING TO PUT the pieces of this jigsaw-puzzle together to make a clear picture has been a;diffl*cult one," he said. "And there are missing pieces.'But we can see a clear enough linage to alert us to the role of sunlight as a probable factor in the development' of malignant melanoma and to take some sort of-public health measures Immediately." Despite the outcome of the ozone issue, Firxpatrick said a campaign should/be undertaken to identify those persons most susceptible to melanoma and to alert them to the benefits of the use of sun- lotions that screen out harmful radiation. 4,_. _ Fitzpatrlck also called for a program to teach people bow to examine themselves for signs of malignant taoles in order to discover them when they can be treated by surgery before they spread to other organs. "One has only to examine moles carefully, noting whether the mole's edges are rough and contain a notch or the color is speckled and containsred._wh)te or particularly blue," the committee said lntispxbne report "If either,1 of these conditions are found, examination by a specialist is urgent" " * '*. *'