Awake!, December 22, 1979

Download: PDF — Awake!, December 22, 1979

Awake! — December 22, 1979

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

Does Xmas Promote Greed?

For Your Child . . . You Are the Greatest Gift!

Respecting Others’ Individuality

The Case of the Missing Sardines—An Unsolved Mystery

“The Key”

Why Not Try Tunnel Farming?

A Most Unusual Friendship

Iguassu—Those Fabulous Falls!

Hurricane David—An Ill Wind That Blew No Good

Disco—Is There Reason to Beware?

Cheating Students Following Society’s Examples

A Conference for the Common Wealth?

Jesus Had Time for Children

Watching the World

Index to Volume 60 of “Awake!”

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

Page Two

3 DOES XMAS PROMOTE GREED?

Santa Claus, huckster for business and tutor of greed for millions of children

5 FOR YOUR CHILD . . . YOU ARE THE GREATEST GIFT!

Be cautious about saying, “There’s no time”

20 DISCO—IS THERE REASON TO BEWARE?

Readers respond to information presented in an earlier issue

Does Xmas Promote Greed?

Jesus taught that it’s better to give than to get. The Santa Claus myth teaches that getting takes first place: if you’re good you’ll get, if you’re bad you won’t

A FEW years ago the assistant managing editor of the U.S. Catholic magazine wrote:

“Whereas the true lesson of Christmas is a message of divine mercy and sacrifice, Santa is the front man for greedy corporations, and the tutor in greed for millions of American children. He is the saint of gimme. . . . He has become a total sellout to materialism and greed. He is in the pay of the big toy manufacturers and department stores. . . . A greedy child is never appeased. A spoiled child appreciates nothing. An overindulged child is convinced that the major figure of Christmas is not Christ, but himself.”

This editor thought that Santa should have been left at the North Pole. Actually, the entire Christmas celebration should have been left in pagan Rome. Christ was not born on December 25, but it was the day on which the Romans worshiped the sun-god. Their December festival, the Saturnalia, featured gift giving and wild parties. A few centuries after Christ the Catholic Church incorporated the day and the festival into apostate Christianity, and called it “mass of Christ,” or Christmas.

Appropriate to its origin, the Christmas celebration is observed in many non-Christian nations today. For example, the Daily Yomiuri of Japan said last year at Christmastime:

“Whipped cream cakes with ‘Merry Christmas’ written across the top in English are a must for every family that has children. The cakes, complete with miniature ‘Santa Ojisan’—that’s Santa Claus—go for about $7.70 each. Many households have a small Christmas tree topped with foam snow. This borrowed holiday has become big business in Japan.

“‘We Japanese are Christmas Christians,’ said Yukio Nomura, interviewed while purchasing a $233 remote-controlled toy car for his 11-year-old son. Nomura, an employee of a large trading company, said he is not Christian but nevertheless celebrates the holiday—‘because it’s an excuse to eat and drink.’

“The Christmas period is also a time when many companies hold their ‘bonenkai’—year-end parties—often followed by night-long binges at a string of bars. Extra police patrol the entertainment districts to guide home merrymakers.”

Weeks of shopping in preparation for Christmas is nerve-racking. Cooking for the family dinners is exhausting. The family budget has been ruined. The obese overeat, the alcoholics overdrink, and even the moderates may put on a few pounds and suffer some hangovers. The poor feel their poverty more acutely, and the lonely feel their loneliness more keenly. Many children are unhappy. Some did not get what they wanted, some did not get as much as they wanted, and still others received little or nothing.

Dr. John Donnelly, chief psychiatrist of the world-famous Institute of Living, says you have lots of company if you are depressed on Christmas day. He thinks that Christmas was a happier time 45 years ago, when people were less affluent and took joy in little things.

Christmas giving caters to the flesh, stuffs the flesh. Could it be that the spirit is starved, and because of that suffers depression?

“We have Christmas,” one five-year-old boy explained, “because parents celebrate and children have to celebrate too. It’s so children can get some toys and adults can get some clothes for themselves. We don’t go to church.”

A six-year-old girl said: “My favorite Christmas song is: When Santa got stuck up the chimney, he began to shout: You girls and boys won’t get any toys, if you don’t pull me out.”

This 10-year-old boy has the financial end of it figured out: “I have an allowance. I have $25 to spend on Christmas. I think my parents should spend $42 on me.”

Jesus said: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” (Acts 20:35) If the giving is done out of a heart filled with love, that is true. If it is done out of a sense of obligation, much of the happiness is lost. Concerning the giving at Christmastime, Science Digest magazine said: “Most of us say (and think that we believe) that ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ But when we talk about ‘exchanging gifts,’ we betray the fact that we do expect a little something to be given in return.”

This is not the kind of giving that Jesus had in mind, for he also said: “When you spread a dinner or evening meal, do not call your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. Perhaps sometime they might also invite you in return and it would become a repayment to you. But when you spread a feast, invite poor people, crippled, lame, blind; and you will be happy, because they have nothing with which to repay you.”—Luke 14:12-14.

This is not to say there will not be a return, but the giving is not done with any return in mind. “Practice giving,” Jesus said, “and people will give to you.” If you give to the poor, you still reap a return: “He that is showing favor to the lowly one is lending to Jehovah, and his treatment He will repay to him.”—Luke 6:38; Prov. 19:17.

Christmastime is characterized by material giving, the exchanging of gifts, a great outpouring of toys upon the children of many nations. There is a much greater gift that all children need, and need not once or a few times a year, but every day of their lives.

[Blurb on page 4]

When people had less, they were happier with less.

For Your Child . . . You Are the Greatest Gift!

A SMALL boy is excited, waiting impatiently for Saturday to come. His father is taking him to the zoo! All week long he has lived the day in his mind—he’s watched the seals streak through the water, he’s dropped peanuts into the trunks of the huge elephants towering above him, he’s thrilled to the roars of the lions as the keeper comes to feed them. He can’t wait!

Time drags, but Saturday finally does come. Then his father says to him: “Something’s come up. There’s no time to go to the zoo.” The boy sits in a roomful of expensive toys, heartbroken, tearful, feeling abandoned.

Years pass. The boy is grown, married, has a son of his own. He’s going to take his boy to the zoo, but when the day comes he says to his son: “Something’s come up. There’s no time to go to the zoo.” As he leaves the house he makes a mental note to buy his son a toy, then gives his mind over to the serious business at hand.

More years pass. Now he is old, living alone and lonely. But today his grown son is coming to visit him! His eyes glow with anticipation. Then the phone rings, and his son tells him: “Something’s come up. There’s no time to visit you.” Slowly the old man returns the phone to its cradle, the light gone from his eyes. He picks up a newspaper and holds it out in front of him, but his eyes are moist and see nothing. His mind travels back over the years, remembering other times long ago, and he hears the words out of the past: “Something’s come up. There’s no time.”

Parents must make time for their children. The giving of material things is not enough. Toys can be a delight, but they get broken, or children tire of them. The more they get the more they want, and a materialistic view of life develops. The real need of the child is for love, and the best proof of your love is giving yourself.

In some countries cars have plastered on their rear bumpers the question, “Have you hugged your kid today?” A psychiatrist in Florida adds: “A child who does not get enough hugging or cuddling may grow up to be withdrawn, detached or aloof. . . . Physical body contact between parent and child is so essential in child rearing that in some cases children who were not hugged or cuddled during the first year of their lives did not survive.”

In a business seminar, the report was given of a hospital ward filled with orphaned babies. In a long row of beds babies became ill and some of them died, except in the last bed in the row. In that bed the babies always did well. The doctor in charge could not figure it out. Nurses cared for all of them equally. All were fed, bathed, kept warm—no difference in their care. Yet all babies had health problems and some died—except the one in the last bed. As months passed and new babies were brought in, the story was always the same.

Finally the doctor, after checking everything he could think of, concealed himself to watch all night. Nurses came in, the babies were fed on time, all were cared for equally. About midnight the cleaning woman came in. On hands and knees she scrubbed the floor, from one end of the ward to the other. At the end she stood up, stretched and rubbed her tired back, and walked over to the last bed. She bent over, picked up the baby, and walked around the floor talking to it, stroking it, cuddling it and rocking it in her arms. Finally she put it back in its bed and moved on in her work.

This did not seem significant to the doctor; she just happened to stop at that bed. Nevertheless, he watched the next night, and the same thing happened. And the next night. And the next. Every night the scrubwoman stretched at the same spot, and every night it was the baby in the last bed that got talked to, stroked, cuddled and loved. And it thrived.

War orphans brought to the United States for adoption suffered from many different diseases, but they suffered the most from privations of the heart. The report on this said:

“The solemn children of war touch and grasp and cling. They love to be held. They are suffering the ‘Orphans’ Syndrome.’ . . . Even some older children were carried like babies off the buses that brought them here Tuesday from Travis Air Force Base. They stared and wrapped their thin arms and legs around volunteers. ‘It’s a fairly profound need and can’t be satisfied by being patted on the head or dandled on a knee,’ Stalcup [physician in charge] said. ‘It’s a fact that in order to grow, children need love, not just food and water.’”

And if they don’t grow emotionally they may become withdrawn, hostile, delinquent, and possibly murderers, even of their own parents. Failure to receive gifts of toys will not do this, but failure to receive love can cause it.

Dr. James Dobson wrote not only of the need for love, but also of the need for that controversial activity, discipline. He said:

“It is my firm conviction that the most healthy home environment for children involves a careful balance between two essential ingredients: love and control. When these are properly implemented, each child knows he is loved beyond measure and that his parents value him infinitely as a human being. But he also learns that their love compels them to teach him and guide him and lead him—and perhaps discipline him when he refuses to obey. . . .

“The views I’ve expressed in this statement are not experimental or speculative, nor can I even claim them as uniquely my own. They represent an approach to child management which has existed for 2,000 years within the Judeo-Christian heritage. They are not based on abstruse theoretical assumptions, but rather on practical consequences. As Jack London has stated, ‘The best measurement of anything should be: does it work?’ When properly applied, loving adult leadership works!”

Long before Jack London declared this precept, Jesus Christ announced it: “Wisdom is proved righteous by its works.” (Matt. 11:19) Commenting on the modern trend of some psychologists to advocate the abdication of parental authority and follow the course of permissiveness with children, Dr. Dobson concludes his article: “I hope Americans will not abandon their rich heritage of values to follow the pied pipers of behavioral nonsense, particularly with reference to our children.”

Withhold the giving of yourself to your child, and it senses that it is unwanted. All the toys in the world are no substitute for a loving parent, one who, along with material provisions and gifts, gives himself. For the child’s spiritual development the family circle is vital. This fact was well understood in ancient Israel. The child was an integral part of the family. He was schooled at home, taught a trade by working with parents, and recreation was available within the extended family.

Today in the present system in many parts of the world the tendency is to supply the child’s needs outside the family. He is sent away to school, sent away to Sunday school, sent away to summer camp, sent away to the movies, sent away to work. Or when the parents go away he may be left behind with a baby-sitter. Thrust out of the family nucleus, circling in orbit at a distance as it were, he comes to feel, if only subconsciously, that he does not really belong. He feels neglected, unwanted, unloved, surrounded by a hostile world of grown-ups.

Such children understandably become bitter and attempt to take out their frustration either upon the individuals they feel have neglected to give them the love they deserve, or upon society in general. They lose respect for their parents and, oftentimes, adults in general. The generation gap takes root and grows. They may run away from home and end up in big cities confronted with crime, drugs, prostitution and other problems they are woefully incapable of coping with.

The key to solving the problem is love within the family, from the child’s birth onward. If all adults lived by the principles set forth in the Bible, the problems with children would be greatly reduced.

Where would all the victimized children of broken homes, caused by divorces and separations, be if all married couples would follow the advice of the Bible at 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11?—“To the married people I give instructions . . . that a wife should not depart from her husband . . . and a husband should not leave his wife.”

Where would all the neglected and mistreated children of drunken fathers and mothers be if parents would follow the advice of the Bible at Ephesians 5:18 and Romans 13:13?—“Do not be getting drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery.” “Let us walk decently, not in revelries and drunken bouts, not in illicit intercourse and loose conduct, not in strife and jealousy.”

Where would all the mistreated, beaten and battered children be if parents would follow the advice given at Colossians 3:21 and Titus 2:4?—“You fathers, do not be exasperating your children, so that they do not become downhearted.” “Recall the young women to their senses to love their husbands, to love their children.”

Where would all the children who feel that grown-ups are not interested in them be if parents would follow the advice of Deuteronomy 11:19?—“You must also teach them [divine principles] to your sons, so as to speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.”

In short, where would all the unwanted and unloved children be if adults copied Jesus’ example at Mark 10:14, 16?—“‘Let the young children come to me; do not try to stop them’ . . . And he took the children into his arms and began blessing them.”

For that matter, where would all the world be if it followed the rule Christ Jesus set forth at Matthew 7:12?—“All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.”

Jehovah God proved his love for mankind: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16.

Jesus proved his love by giving his life: “The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”—Matt. 20:28.

When the resurrected Jesus Christ ascended into heaven he gave to the Christian congregation “gifts in men.”—Eph. 4:8.

Jehovah God gave his only-begotten Son. Jesus gave himself. He also gave men as gifts to serve his congregation. Moreover, as busy as Jesus was, as important as his mission was, he always gave time to children.a Parents, copy these examples of giving. Give of yourselves to your children. Give your love. Give your time. Be cautious about saying, “There’s no time.” If you sow these words, you may end up reaping them. It is important to make time. Not just on the one day of the year set aside by the world as gift-giving time, but every day.

Remember, you are the most important gift you can give to your child!

[Footnotes]

See the article on pages 27, 28.

[Blurb on page 6]

“The solemn children of war touch and grasp and cling.”

[Blurb on page 7]

“Wisdom is proved righteous by its works.”

[Blurb on page 8]

“Do not be exasperating your children, so that they do not become downhearted.”

[Blurb on page 8]

“Be cautious about saying, ‘There’s no time.’”

Respecting Others’ Individuality

In his book You Are Extraordinary, Roger J. Williams, professor of biochemistry, discusses the many ways in which each human is a unique individual and states: “People are sometimes prone to accept and take for granted their own individuality, but are blind to the individuality of others—a blindness that cannot persist if we are to live together. We must use common sense and consideration in expressing our own individuality. If any one of us becomes too much intoxicated with his own individuality, it will be a good antidote for him to know that others possess a high degree of individuality, too.”

The Case of the Missing Sardines—An Unsolved Mystery

By “Awake!” correspondent in South Africa

“SARDINE Frenzy Hits South Coast.” So read the caption of a report in The Star of Johannesburg, July 26, 1978. The account said: “Hundreds of people armed with buckets, crates and bags, waded into the sea at Marina Beach just south of Margate to catch sardines from the large shoal which beached there early today. The beach is crowded and everyone is in a frenzy, rushing waist-deep into the waters.” The annual “sardine run” was on.

Shoals of sardines or pilchards—the two terms are to an extent interchangeable—appear regularly off the east coast of southern Africa during the southern winter each year, about July. The shoals are first spotted near the port of East London, at the southern tip of Africa. From land, the sight of thousands of seabirds wheeling and dipping into the sea at a certain spot locates a shoal. Sometimes before the main shoal appears “pilot” shoals are seen swimming ahead. The main shoals are enormous, often being several square miles in extent—countless millions of fish!

What an opportunity for fish-loving predators! In addition to the voracious seabirds and the hungry humans, the sardines are the prey of marine predators—dolphins, sharks and other large fish. They gather at the lavish feast in their hundreds. However, their attacks are limited to the outside of the shoal. The very density of the shoal prevents these piscivorous monsters from penetrating the massed millions of sardines. For larger fish to do so would result in the clogging of their gills.

Nevertheless, at times, so say the experts, the voracity and activity of the predators goad the shoal into the shore. They may also be affected by winds or the circulation of the water. Whatever the reasons or causes, part of the phenomenon of the sardine run is, at times, a spectacular stranding of shoals on the beaches. It is claimed that it is not unusual for the fish to pile up on the beach to a height of three feet (1 m). They are usually accompanied by marine “hunters,” the larger fish, who dash about excitedly in the shallow water and are caught in great numbers by local anglers.

Heading north, the giant shoals eventually pass Durban. Then an amazing thing happens. They just disappear!

Before we examine the reasons for this phenomenal sardine run and its mysterious conclusion, let us learn more about these small but prolific fish.

“Sardinops Ocellata”

This is the scientific name of the sardine or pilchard (young pilchards are usually called sardines) that forms the famous “run.” It is the most abundant of all fish of South African coastal areas. It grows to a length of 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm). It has a graceful shape, is coloured light and dark blue or light and dark green, is a fast swimmer and extremely sensitive to variations in the temperature and density of water.

Huge shoals are found off the coast of Namibia (South-West Africa), particularly around Walvis Bay. It is a surface-swimming fish, living in the cold waters upwelling on the west coast. From this area, apparently, some shoals move southward, around the Cape and then head north to form the Natal sardine run.

The Sardinops ocellata, of South African waters, has many relatives in other parts of the world. Notable is the Sardina pilchardus of Europe—main source of the well-known tinned sardines. North America too has its sardine, Sardinops caerulea, known as the “California sardine.” All of these belong to the herring or Clupeidae family of fish.

But why do these myriads of fish make the long, slow trip around Africa’s extremity? Why or how do they disappear so mysteriously? Is it to spawn?

Spawning?

To a certain extent, the sardine spawns over most of the year. But the main period is believed to be from September to February. This spawning is prolific. It is estimated that a single female can lay about 95,000 eggs! These float in the upper waters, then in a few days hatch into larvae and eventually metamorphose into minute fish.

The main spawning of the South African pilchard occurs within a temperature range of 13.8° to 16° C (56.8° to 60.8° F) off the west coast of South Africa. A mean temperature of 15° C (59° F) gives the most favourable conditions for intensive spawning. From sea-surface charts issued by the Maritime Weather Office, Youngsfield, Cape Town, it was established that the temperature of the Natal or east coast seldom drops below about 19° C (66° F). This is above the range for any extensive spawning. Considering this factor and the degree of sexual maturity of sardine-run pilchards, it seems unlikely that the motivation of the run is spawning.

Migration?

Are the countless myriads of the sardine run migrating to find better feeding grounds?

Stomach samples from the shoals showed that 75 percent of the fish were empty while the other 25 percent revealed contents of 7.7 percent phytoplankton and 8.3 percent zooplankton (minute plant and animal organisms that float in the sea). The crop of plankton on the east coast is relatively low in comparison with that of the west coast.

During July 1959 and 1960, in 69 blanket hauls off the east coast it was found that there was a total absence of young pilchards. So there is no sign of the existence of a nursery ground in Natal waters. Hence, it is improbable that the huge sardine run is a feeding migration.

Why, then, do they follow that course? One possibility could well be their reaction to currents in the seas. The view is widely held that currents play a large part in directing the movements of fish. In his book Fish Migration, Harden Jones shows that fish might use a current and countercurrent system for migration. However, he also explains that fish may be carried passively, or drift, over great distances by currents, and “what may be not more than a dispersal could then have all the appearance of a true migration.”

Their Mysterious Disappearance

This has been investigated. But attempts to tag enough pilchards during the sardine run were unsuccessful. During 1959, only 69 pilchards were tagged with internal metal tags, but none were ever recovered. However, in 1960 a report from a local fisherman suggests a possible clue. In previous years he had observed large shoals moving south during the southern spring, about September. In 1958 he caught some of these pilchards and said they “are thin, without oil, and decompose rapidly after being caught.”

Do the pilchards return to the Atlantic by means of a current flowing southwestward (the Agulhas)? This is only a possibility with, so far, no factual confirmation.

Food Value

Although the motivation and the conclusion of the “sardine run” are still shrouded in mystery, it is an indisputable fact that sardines are a tremendous source of food for both men and animals. These small fish weigh only about three ounces (85 gm) on the average, but yield 175 calories, 20 gm of protein and nine gm of fat. Those delicious sardines canned in oil or tomato sauce are very nutritious!

The variety of sea life is truly astounding. It reflects a Creator who not only is bountiful but also loves variety. Why, in southern African sea areas alone, a 1953 report shows there are 1,325 species of fish! There is still so much to learn about all this marine life. And this includes the answer to the question, “Why do the South African sardines make their famous, phenomenal run and then disappear?”

It is still a mystery!

[Map/Picture on page 9]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

South Africa

Durban

East London

Port Elizabeth

Cape Town

“The Key”

Some years ago the New York “Sunday News” published an interview with veteran television personality Art Linkletter, in which he discussed the tragic death of his daughter, Diane, in a suicide plunge blamed on LSD. Though fads in drugs change over the years, a principle that was highlighted in the interview is still valid. And that relates to the matter of safeguarding children by supervising their association: “Where I made my biggest mistake, I think, was this: I could see that some of Diane’s friends were pretty weird-looking people, but then I told myself that a lot of young people are weird-looking, especially in Hollywood.” Learning from the experience, he declared: “The hardest thing to tell parents is that the key to what’s going to happen to their kid is who the kids are seeing, their friends. That’s the first thing I say now when people call me in a panic and say, ‘I think my kid is on something.’ I say, ‘Well, look at her friends. What kind of people are they? Where do they go? What do they talk about? Do you know?’ Because that has more force and power than anything else.”

It is too bad when parents have to find out in a tragic way the importance of supervising their children’s association. But the key has been available to Bible readers all along: “Bad associations spoil useful habits.”—1 Cor. 15:33.

Why Not Try Tunnel Farming?

By “Awake!” correspondent in South Africa

“WRAP yourself up warmly,” our guide suggested. “The outside temperature is six degrees Celsius below freezing [21 degrees F], but fortunately there is not much wind at this time of the year.” We stepped outside, leaving behind a warm, luxuriant natural hothouse atmosphere, where tons of ripening tomatoes hung on their vines, ready for the pickers.

The dramatic change in temperature, along with the high altitude of 1,800 m (6,000 ft.), caused us to gasp and to clutch our coats more tightly about ourselves as our guide closed the large gates behind us.

We had just seen the evidence of man’s ingenuity in working closely with “nature” to produce vegetables, including delicious tomatoes, in huge aboveground plastic tunnels. This was done in the depths of winter by special soilless culture methods. Incidentally, each tunnel is about 51 m (167 ft.) long by 3 m (10 ft.) high and 7.5 m (25 ft.) wide.

Back in the farm office, our guide told us:

“So popular has this method become in the Republic of South Africa that it is not unusual to ride along country highways, and even city streets, and see the bright glint of these plastic tunnels in gardens and small agricultural holdings.

“Not only is this popular as a hobby for many housewives and busy executives who need relaxation at the end of the day, but it is also most profitable, giving net returns, after capital depreciation, of between 60 and 70 percent.”a

As we listened, our guide explained that in past decades many thousands of householders in the northern hemisphere erected and enjoyed working in glass hothouses, raising flowers, ferns, potted plants and a few vegetables. In the sunny southern hemisphere there seemed to be little need for such hothouses because there was plenty of sunshine and virgin soil. Also, with relatively little attention, the ground produced all that the people needed.

“But,” our guide said, “with current rocketing land prices, high labor rates, increasing costs of electricity and fuels, plus the worldwide population explosion, the situation has undergone a drastic change.”

From Hydroponics to Soilless Culture

The theory and practice of hydroponics (cultivation of plants in water) has been known for a long time. It had been developed considerably but suffered many setbacks. For instance, the need for brick-lined canals and the high costs of delivered river stone, crushed rock and sand materials used for filtration purposes made hydroponics too expensive as a hobby for the average wage earner.

At this point, we asked: “What caused the swing to this extension of the farming method?”

Our guide replied: “Probably the more important reasons are the increasing demand for good-quality fruit, linked with a worldwide swing in eating habits to higher fresh-salad intake per capita. Additionally, because the returns are so good, it is possible for the average wage earner to invest in this new concept.”

The guide then showed us the thousands of healthy tomatoes already neatly packed in cartons and ready for delivery to the stores of the Witwatersrand. Certainly the size and shape were uniform. A housewife would not have to finger each tomato to select what she needed. The healthy, consistent shape and appearance meant she was assured of the best results on the table.

We asked our guide: “Can one grow only tomatoes in the plastic tunnels? And, how is it possible to achieve such results without using soil at all and when outdoor temperatures are below freezing?”

He remarked: “Not only tomatoes, but really any vine crop, can be successfully cultivated in the plastic tunnels. In these, we also grow cucumbers, green peppers, beans, strawberries and sweet melons, as well as white and yellow maize. Some of these crops, however, are not profitable because of the high foliage volume. Probably the most profitable crops to date have been tomatoes, followed by strawberries, green peppers and cucumbers.”

“Answering the second part of your question,” he continued, “we have found that during winter daytime we can actually leave the tunnel gates open, provided that we place over the entrance a special wind net with about 40 to 50 percent shade value. This tends to control both the inward flow of cold air and the loss of trapped sun and plant heat. The midday tunnel temperatures are in the region of 25 degrees C [77 degrees F]. So, if we close the gates about 4 p.m., the ‘sealed-in’ warmth will carry the plants through the cold night without loss of plant growth.”

“Of course,” he added, “in colder climates, higher altitudes and lower sunshine value zones, internal heating would be needed. We are experimenting with solar-heated water, piped underground and running the full length of each tunnel. Although the capital investment in solar panels is high, there is no other expense, no oil to pay for; nor is there any coal smoke and air pollution.”

Plants Grown Above the Ground

What we had seen in the giant tunnels certainly had been enlightening. Each tunnel contained 1,200 robust, thriving tomato plants, potted in vermiculite (exploded mica) and fed nutrient water from micro tubes set in a 50-mm (2-in.) main plastic supply pipe.

Each plant was individually housed in a plastic pocket filled three quarters full with vermiculite. One micro tube per plant allows sufficient drip-fed nutrient water to nourish the roots for 24 hours. Beneath the plastic pockets, laid out on a perfectly level sand or earth floor, a black plastic sheet in wide strip form acts as a mulch, keeping weeds under control and insulating the containers from the cooler earth temperatures beneath. In this manner, root systems are also totally protected from the disease known as eel-worm.

Outside each tunnel, a 1,893-L (500-gal.) galvanized water tank on a brick stand acts as a ‘header tank’ to the main flow and micro tubes. A single tankful, with powder nutrients mixed directly in the water, provides nearly two L (1/2 gal.) of water, carrying all the essential elements, to each plant daily. In order to prevent wastage, this is fed into the main plastic pipeline through a single gate valve.

Each plastic pocket has holes punched at a one-L level. As soon as liquid begins to dribble from these holes, the gate valve is closed off. Watering is done twice a day, taking a total of only 10 minutes daily—certainly a great labor saver in itself.

Minimum Labor Required

The simplicity of the arrangement was stunning, but we had to know more. So we asked our patient guide, who also owned the farming unit: “How many people are needed to work in these tunnels?”

“To answer that,” he replied, “we should consider what does not need to be done. For instance, we have no weeds to contend with because of our black plastic mulch. Another factor is that water pipes are permanently anchored in position. So we do not have to move irrigation equipment from point to point. We just turn the tap on.

“On the other hand, what we have as daily routine is, first, a quick inspection of plants for leaf curl, rust or damage, followed by a nipping out of unwanted growth to permit good fruiting and ventilation. Thereafter, we pick ripe fruits and take them to the pack house.

“The water and nutrient mix is then made in each outside tank, followed by the first watering for the day. Then the doors are opened and the nets dropped, if necessary. Oh, we may also need to ventilate the sides on really hot summer days. This is done merely by opening the roof at the plastic lap-overs, or, in the more sophisticated tunnel models, by rolling the bottom edges upward on mechanical roller shutters. So you can see how one person can easily care for two large tunnels without being overworked.”

With respect to the profitability of tunnel farming, our guide was not in doubt. He pointed out that, while the capital investment was high, the relative cost of buying suitable farming land, fencing, implements and insecticides, as well as road-building expense, was far higher than tunnel cost per ton produced. In any case, most of the soil would have to be heavily fertilized and treated before planting.

Tunnels can be erected on level ground of any type and texture. All one needs is a firm floor surface on which to place the plastic packets and the water piping.

Because of the bow-shaped design of the tunnels, their tubular structure absorbs winds of up to 120 km/hr (75 mph) without damage to the tunnel or the plants. When a tunnel is erected with gates facing north and south, the sun’s rays are all absorbed into the structure from sunrise to sunset.

Profitable as a Hobby—or a Business

Since tunnel farming is possible near the big population centers, transport costs and losses from devaluation of fruit in transit are reduced.

Apart from the consistent quality and low loss factors, through tunnel farming it is possible to give attention to methods of increasing fruit yield per plant, as well as mass yield per individual fruit. For instance, under normal growth conditions and with average attention, the yield per plant may vary between five and eight kg (11 and 18 lbs.) per plant. By judicious thinning and restriction to 10 fruits per truss, plus a limitation of 10 fruit trusses per plant, the yield can be increased to as high as 12 kg (26 lbs.)! Additionally, the fruit quality and flesh mass improve.

Tunnel farming enables housewives, doctors, business executives and children to acquire a new outlook. There is pleasure and satisfaction in being close to plant life, which flourished so abundantly in the original paradise garden that God made for mankind. (Gen. 2:8) As one doctor remarked: “After a day spent attending to sick, diseased, maimed and depressed patients, I come back to my tunnel plants and see joy and sparkling life. Why, I can actually ‘see’ the Creator in the plants around me!”

We had yet another question for our guide: “If we wanted to set up a tunnel and work it as a family, on what sort of expenditure should we plan?”

“To answer that,” he said, “we should view matters from one specific type of crop—tomatoes, for instance. The gross earnings per kg may be expected to average 35c [40c, U.S.]. Working on the basis of two yearly crops of 1,200 plants each and six kg of fruit per plant, earnings would amount to a substantial sum.

“On the other hand, the tunnel is an expensive unit, costing R3,000 [$3,400, U.S.] complete, including all piping, plastic, pockets, nutrient and vermiculite. Depreciation of 15 percent a year, plus plastic replacement cost, as well as the purchase of seed, pesticides, extra nutrients and vermiculite, in addition to water, packaging and transporting costs would raise the outlay considerably.

“If you are going to work the tunnel as a family, you may or may not charge yourself for labor. But if you were to hire one part-time laborer, this could raise your costs to about R2,000 [$2,300, U.S.] a year. After your initial outlay, that leaves you a handsome profit, especially if you want to be independent of a ‘boss’ or your present job.”

Our guide’s practical and reassuring answers to all our questions left us in no doubt that tunnel farming has come to stay. Financially, physically and, yes, mentally too, tunnel farming can be highly rewarding for anyone.

[Footnotes]

This seems to be an exceptional case. One expert considers net returns of between 30 and 40 percent to be more likely.

A Most Unusual Friendship

AS REPORTED in the “Sunday Times” of Johannesburg, almost every morning Dr. Arthur Wright of Durban dons mask, snorkel and flippers and dives into the sea.

One day he set up a most unusual friendship with an octopus, whom he called Okkie. His own description follows, as quoted in the “Sunday Times”:

“I came across Okkie one late summer afternoon about four years ago. He was lazing outside his rock home. My first thought was to bring him back alive for the Durban Oceanarium. . . .

“Okkie immediately began waving his tentacles, as if in greeting, then to my great surprise he reached for a newly-cleaned arabica shell and extended it in my direction with one of those incredible feelers of his. I was delighted. And of course, completely disarmed. I decided to leave Okkie where he was.

“During the days that followed I thought quite a lot about Okkie. So I called again. Sure enough, I got the same happy greeting. And the same gift of a shell. The next time I passed by, Okkie was more generous. There were two shells. Over the months I built up quite a large collection from Okkie.

“Then one day I happened along and, to my sorrow, there was no Okkie. I called back several times. But still no Okkie. I felt very sad. What could have happened to him? Maybe he had grown too large for his home. Maybe some predator had taken him. Or maybe he, too, had been fired with adventure, seeking new waterways. Who can say? I only know I was conscious of a great loss.”

Iguassu—Those Fabulous Falls!

By “Awake!” correspondent in Brazil

THE tourist bus enters the National Park, travels several minutes through dense tropical rain forest, and screeches to a halt in a clearing. From the depths of the canyon a mighty roar booms up to us. Then we see the masses of water plunging 66 m (217 ft.) onto the rocks below—the first of a series of 300 thundering falls comprising the famous Iguassu Falls in South America.

Picture the setting and the array of colors: the blue sky, the dazzling white of tumbling waters, the dark-brown basalt rocks of the cliffs, and all of this framed by the luxuriant green of the immense rain forest stretching out toward the horizon.

A descending pathway on the Brazilian side takes us deeper and deeper into the gorge. Notice the way some of the shrubs and grass patches cling to small ridges on the cliffs right next to the turbulent waters. And look at the bright sunlight illuminating the white spray that billows up from the bottom of the gorge. Suddenly, we see rainbows all along the northern rim, on the Argentinian side.

Closer and closer we get to the main part of this intricate system of major and minor cascades—the famous Garganta do Diabo (“Devil’s Throat”). There are several surrounding cataracts, all of which are in the latter part of the horseshoe-shaped canyon. They receive most of the water coming down the Iguassu River, which is nearly four km (2.5 mi.) wide at this point.

Back up the pathway to the street, we walk on a few hundred meters and see for the first time the source of all these abundant waters, the “Great Water,” or Iguassu in the language of the Guarani Indians. From here we may take a “Devil’s Throat Tour,” described this way in a tourist folder: “Subject to favorable weather conditions, this tour is a canoe ride to the edge of the biggest waterfall—Devil’s Throat—which is 300 feet high!”

The next morning we go to the Argentinian side and start a two-and-a-half-km (1.6-mi.) hike along the edge of the precipice. While from the Brazilian side we got the panoramic, overall view, here on the Argentinian side we can admire each drop individually. For most of the way we are crossing over from one island to the next by means of concrete walkways.

Something we had not noticed so much the day before are butterflies of all sizes and colors. One variety is hovering over shallow water in huge yellow clouds. Noisy flocks of colorful parrots pass by in sweeping flight. Brown swallows do not seem to tire of darting into clouds of spray that shoot up from the precipice like jets, only to reappear a few seconds later.

Our guide tells us that the forest still teems with jaguars, wildcats, monkeys and snakes. But do not worry. All the tourist usually sees are little gray lizards on the rocks!

By now we stand face to face with the roaring waters of the “Devil’s Throat,” much closer than on the previous day, so close that we can feel the vacuum created by the waters plunging all around us. An average of 2,000 cubic m (70,632 cubic ft.) of water fall here each second! What a mighty demonstration of dynamic energy in Jehovah God’s creation!

In 1940 the Brazilian government reserved 205,000 ha (506,500 acres) of jungle next to the falls as a national park. A few years earlier a similar arrangement had been made on the Argentinian side. Today modern roads and airports connect this resort area of breathtaking beauty with the rest of the world.

If you ever come to South America, do not fail to come to see the amazing Iguassu Falls!

Hurricane David—An Ill Wind That Blew No Good

The darkest day in Dominica’s history, according to the island’s president, Jenner Armour. The day was August 29, when for eight hours the devastating winds of Hurricane David pounded the island. The “Awake!” correspondent there submits this report.

FEW of Dominica’s 70,000 inhabitants took Hurricane David seriously when it was lurking miles eastward out in the Atlantic. Even with hurricane warnings throughout the Windward Islands, few believed David would actually strike Dominica. The day began routinely, but by midmorning gusts of wind were snapping tall coconut trees like matchsticks. Dominica, as well as other Caribbean Islands, was not to escape the 150-mile (240-km) winds of this killer.

In the vicinity of Grand Bay six persons died as David ripped at buildings and damaged 90 percent of the houses. There a father of nine was getting ready for work.

“I was upstairs. I heard a loud shrieking of the wind. It was getting louder and louder. It was frightening—the sound of it. It came from all directions. The north first, then east and west. I saw my south wall in the dining room start moving and swaying. Somehow I managed to hold it and nail it. Then the other side began shifting.”

It was a day-long ordeal, but the house was saved in spite of heavy damage to the roof.

One man was in his brother-in-law’s home in Roseau.

“I put on a pot and started eating. But the others wouldn’t touch a thing—kept asking how I could eat at a time like this. I was laughing at them because they were afraid. Then I felt the whole house moving and shaking like it was in an earthquake. I got up and tried to hold the door. The winds got worse and the roof began to lift. At one time I looked outside, and my little pickup truck was actually suspended in midair! I put my brother-in-law’s wife and baby behind a door and stood in front of it to protect them. We knew that if the roof went we would have to run somewhere else for protection.”

Another experience is that of two elderly missionaries, one 74 and the other 80. They were alone in their home on the second floor of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in Roseau. One of them reports:

“Water was gushing under the dining-room door. I retreated into a nearby bedroom and called Gust to come in there also. He had braced himself against the bulging door to keep it from giving way. Out of the window I could see things flying around in the air. I went into the closet to get protection on all sides, but there was a terrible explosion from my bedroom. The window of my room had blown out. I remained in the closet until the roof blew away, then got in the shower stall, as this would afford protection from all sides. The roof was gone from it and a broken rafter from the roof was banging about wildly. I glimpsed Gust standing in a corner atop the sink counter with a yellow plastic washtub over his head. He had taken up this position for protection after the door he was holding collapsed and threw him to the floor. He said that against the dark sky outside sheets of galvanized iron from roofs were flying around in the air like giant buzzards.

“Near midday the winds let up briefly and we went downstairs into the Kingdom Hall. That night over 30 persons took refuge there.”

Throughout the day the fierce winds drove people from place to place. As part of a dwelling collapsed those inside would dash to another for refuge. There they would spend the remainder of the day in the company of other wet and shivering victims of the storm. In fleeing, some would see their intended place of refuge destroyed even as they were struggling to reach it. Others were still less fortunate. At La Plaine, on the east coast, a young man gave this account:

“We could see that the waves of the sea were very high. After a while there was thunder rolling, and next it was like an earthquake. My mother and I were holding the door. My sister panicked and pushed at me and screamed that the world was ending. She ran outside. I saw the house shifting, drifting, and she was running alongside. I saw the house coming down on her. We tried to get the house off her, but couldn’t. Then she cried out, ‘Oh, God! Mama, I die!’”

Immediately after the hurricane, Dominica was cut off from the outside world for 24 hours. Two weeks earlier a six-month-old general strike had ended, which had curtailed importation of sorely needed foodstuffs. The streets of Roseau were piled high with rubbish. And shortly before the general strike had started, rival political factions had overthrown the administration of the first premier of the six-month-old republic. So the situation was crucial for Dominica’s 70,000 people. Particularly so as now the entire agricultural system lay barren with little prospects of any substantial produce before 1980.

Several countries began airlifting a great variety of supplies into Melville Hall Airport, at the north end of the island. With the piling up of relief supplies another problem developed—a wave of looting commenced. Perhaps born of anxiety and despair, nevertheless it was as if some evil force took over many of the populace. One observer reports:

“By afternoon persons in all sorts of vehicles invaded the airport and began looting in the presence of police. I saw a minister of a local church struggling to lift a bag into his van. I called out to him and asked what he had in that bag, but he would not answer.”

At J. Astophan Co., Ltd., one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who works there told what it was like two days after Hurricane David:

“The road was literally blocked. People were all over the place. I never saw anything like it in my life. Persons carting and hauling away lumber, cement, freezers—anything they could get their hands on. It was amazing to me. What are you going to do with a fridge or television without electricity on the island? They carted off 100 new refrigerators. The first day they carried them on their heads and carts. A few days later in trucks and cars. I saw people sitting by the roadside with fridges waiting for a ride to the country.

“Actually the looting went on at the warehouses for over a week, all day and night. All the new cars were either stolen or stripped. They took engines out of them and removed tires.

“All of the spare parts, over a million dollars in goods left over from the hurricane, were cleaned out. Thousands of feet of lumber, steel rods and cement were taken. Tons of frozen foods also were hauled away in cars and by hand in broad daylight. Other company warehouses in the area were looted in the same way.”

The chairwoman of the Marigot Village Council, who witnessed people carting off bales of blankets and items, said she could not sleep for some time after seeing persons she knew and respected change suddenly before her eyes into thieves.

The storm really brought out the worst in some people, while, thankfully, there were those who showed courage and concern for the safety and welfare of others. But before all the population of this lovely island and others lay the difficult task of rebuilding their ravaged homes and lands.

As for Hurricane David itself, in its wake on Dominica lay 42 dead, hundreds injured and over 60,000 homeless. Moving northwestward it struck the Dominican Republic killing 1,000 more people there.

One young witness in Los Alcarrizos related:

“We watched from the veranda as sheets of zinc ripped loose from houses and flew through the air. When one came a bit too close we moved inside, but there the banging of our own zincs made us even more nervous. We looked outside, saw two houses in the block across from us collapse. Then one after the other, seven more. We couldn’t believe it! A moment before there had been a block of houses; now there was just a pile of rubble!

In Bani the missionary home of Jehovah’s Witnesses sheltered 40 people, plus dogs, cats and a parrot. Unfortunately, not all shelters provided safety. Five persons died when the Catholic church in Guaybin collapsed. In Malpaéz, near San Cristobal, 100 persons sought shelter in a church that collapsed, killing 16 and wounding 50. In Villa de Ocoa another Catholic church collapsed and buried 400 persons in its ruins.

The word “hurricane” comes from an Indian word meaning “evil spirit.” Surely the people of Dominica will agree that Hurricane David was an ill wind that blew no good.

Disco—Is There Reason to Beware?

readers respond to information presented in these columns on Disco

IN ITS March 22, 1979, issue, Awake! warned its readers to beware of disco. The essence, the soul, of disco was shown to be free, “liberated” sexual expression.

Yet, is there really reason to beware of disco and its sexually free life-style? Some who read the Awake! articles don’t think so.

“I am a born again Christian,” wrote one. “I do not feel discos are as bad as you make them sound!”

Another wrote: “Disco dancing, music and going out disco hopping from one place to another can be good clean fun and nothing like the garbage that was printed in Awake!”

Still another said: “I just finished reading your magazine on discos, and I think the things you say are . . . very judgmental. You say discos mean sex, fornication, abuse—you’re crazy! Discos have good atmospheres.”

That is the way a number have expressed themselves. Yet do they have matters clearly in perspective? In the first place, the Awake! articles were not condemning everything called “disco.” Secondly, there are important factors that none of us should overlook.

Think about it. According to the Bible, Satan the Devil is “the ruler of this world.” He is “the god of this system of things.” (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4) Since true Christians recognize that Satan is manipulating this world for his own purposes, shouldn’t we expect that he would also use the world’s entertainment in his efforts to turn people from true worship?

Appreciative of the Warning

By far the majority of those who wrote indicated that they have this Bible understanding of matters. They expressed thanks for the Awake! articles. Young ones and old alike said that they appreciated being alerted to the potential dangers of frequenting discos and seeing disco movies such as “Saturday Night Fever.” A sampling of these letters follows:

A 21-year-old from Illinois says:

“I am writing to you to thank you very much for the sound Scriptural counsel given in the March 22 ‘Awake!’ dealing with discos. The information given about ‘Saturday Night Fever’ shocked me.

“I have to admit that, while I had no desire to attend discos, I did enjoy some of the dancing and music. I definitely agree that they promote a ‘look at me’ attitude. I never thought it was that important of a thing. Now, however, I realize how corruptive such an attitude can be.”

Another 21-year-old, this person from Dallas, Texas, wrote:

“After reading the disco ‘Awake!’ I learned many things. I can see how it can be compared to that ‘other’ music that Moses referred to when he came down that mountain. [Ex. 32:17-19] It really does bring out animalistic tendencies. Even ‘older’ folks can get carried away with its hypnotic beat.

“Thank you so much for bringing out its origins and how it is involved with the ‘gay’ population. It really is something we young people need to stay away from. I am trying to readjust my thinking on it and realize how much Jehovah dislikes it. . . .

“I hope our young Christian brothers and sisters will take it to heart so they can hear the best music of all in Jehovah’s new system!”

From Portland, Oregon, came this short note:

“I just want to thank you for the information in the March 22 ‘Awake!’ on disco. Before that time I was going downhill spiritually. But when I read Hebrews 11:24-26 it recharged my batteries and changed my attitude about life. None of the temporary enjoyments of sin can ever compare to what we will reap in Jehovah’s kingdom. Again thank you for bringing this interesting point to my attention.”

The following are excerpts from a letter from a young person in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

“At a time when I doubted my recreational activities and habits, the article came out and cleared the ‘gray’ area, for me at least. But it didn’t stop there, as if youth had nothing to look forward to. . . .

“There is nothing ‘restrictive’ about wanting to serve God his way, even if it means ridicule from people that think ‘we are going too far.’ What it did for me was free me from doubts or hesitation about what I choose as entertainment. I am truly thankful for this enlightening material.”

A straightforward letter was received from a youth in California. He wrote, in part:

‘I am 17 and was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was first introduced to disco by my cousin, who was a very good dancer. I really loved disco. I went to see “Saturday Night Fever,” and, in time, learned all the steps. I could do them just as good as Travolta. I began sneaking away to go to school dances, and won first place awards in disco dances. Everywhere I went I would clear the floor with my dancing, and it felt good to know people were looking in awe at my dancing. I soon had a Witness girlfriend in a different congregation who could dance like I could, but that was all we had in common. That soon ended and I was still dancing.

‘Then you wrote the articles on disco and it crushed me. I mean I love Bible truth, but I hated to give up my only hobby or anything that made me happy. I slowed down, but I didn’t stop. Then came the circuit assembly where disco was discussed and the talk about discos on one of our meetings. The speaker said that the reason for the magazine articles and parts on the assembly about disco was because somebody was not getting the point, and I knew it was me. So I really cut down on disco. Then I went to the movie “Hurricane,” and saw a tribal rite performed. It was exactly like what I was doing. When I saw it, it made me sick. So I quit disco.

‘I had heard reports of people committing fornication on the dance floor, and I came close to it myself. I am so glad that I am through with that way of life. I think we have a good group of youths who honestly love Jehovah. We all need encouragement from time to time so that is why I sent this letter. Thank you again.’

A high-school student from Michigan explained how much she personally benefited from the articles, and then explained:

“The ‘Awake!’ also served as a very good witnessing instrument in school. It is hard to find young people who think about God or even the problems in the world today. They live for today and not a care for tomorrow. So, the disco magazine fit in perfectly.

“Many young people remarked on the quote from a psychologist on the movie ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ and they also agreed the movie was sick as far as language and morals are concerned. They were also surprised to learn all that is involved in disco, and they appreciated the reasonableness in staying away from the harmful lights and sound levels that can cause physical damage.

“So, dear brothers, I wanted you to know how very much we appreciated the information on disco. We are very thankful Jehovah keeps feeding us at the proper time and keeping us spiritually as well as physically healthy.

“I hope, if Jehovah wills, you will publish more of these most interesting articles. For they not only help and guide us as Christians, but they are also attracting many young people to see the importance of living a clean life now, and the wonderful hope of living forever in peace.”

Emphasizing the Dangers

Some readers included experiences and news reports in their letters that highlight the unchristian conduct that is so prevalent at many discos. For example, a California reader sent along a clipping from the May 6, 1979, Parade. It says under the heading “Dangerous Dance”:

“Police say the ‘Freak,’ which is sweeping the nation’s discos, is the most dangerous new dance in a long time. Some call it ‘the dance of death’ or ‘the sex dance,’ others ‘the dance of jealousy’ or ‘the trouble dance.’

“When Jim Moore performed the Freak in Detroit with his girlfriend, an incensed young man named Jimmie Rogers allegedly shot him in the chest three times. Rogers has been charged with first-degree murder.

“In the same city, Oscar Ross is accused of shooting his young wife Sharon after watching her do the Freak at a neighbor’s house.

…

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Awake!, December 22, 1979