Read it Again: Week of March 22, 2001

80 years ago this week.

An Illinois farmer who had been feeding mussel meat to his hogs, found a pearl between the toes of a porker. He sold the gem for $800.

Geauga County farmers are reporting that sap from maple trees is not so sweet this year and it is taking much more to make a gallon of syrup. In some camps, a barrel of sap makes a gallon of syrup; a Claridon man reports making but 10 gallons from 18 barrels.

50 years ago this week.

Much literature has been circulated concerning the measures you should take in case we have an atomic attack. Much of this is long-winded and therefore goes unread. So in a nutshell here are six things that should be done to survive an atomic attack. Try to get shielded. Go to the basement or seek shelter alongside a building or jump in a ditch. Drop flat on the ground or floor. Bury your face in your arms. Don’t rush outside right after a bombing. Don’t take chances with food or water in open containers. Don’t start rumors.

25 years ago this week.

Cattle and calves on U.S. farms and ranches numbered 127,976,000 head on Jan. 1, the USDA reported in its annual inventory of the cattle population. The figure is 3 percent lower than the 131,826,000 estimated on Jan. 1, 1975, and 9 percent below the July 1, 1975, count.

The decline, the first in total cattle numbers since 1967, is the result of an increased cow slaughter that reached record proportions in 1975. Cow slaughter last year topped the 11.5 million mark.