Bilobed

Sir:

TIME is so darned helpful. I had no idea what a virgula in virgulate cercariae was until I read the note that it is a bilobed [organ] near the buccal cavity of styleted xiphidiocercariae [TIME, Jan. 12]; then I understood it perfectly.

CASS CULLIS

Bryan, Ohio

P: Don't mention it.--ED.

Manners & Morals

Sir:

My most sincere congratulations for the discriminating use of quotation marks in discussing the "loves" and "marriages" of the Topping-Turner set [TIME, Jan. 12]. . . .

JOHN L. PETERS

West Haven, Conn.

Sir:

. . . Articles like yours may eventually convince such celebrities that the publicity they thrive on runs more to the tune of "Married five years," not "Married five times!" . . .

VIRGINIA M. RAHMLOW

Leonia, N.J.

Sir:

I am pasting the column in my copy of Decline of the West.

ALAN SNYDER

Los Angeles, Calif.

Snow What?

Sir:

You state that there were 99 million tons of snow that cost $6,000,000 to remove [TIME, Jan. 5]; LIFE says 18 million tons and $3,000,000. Which is right?

OSCAR PAYNE

Vallejo, Calif.

P: TIME--and so was LIFE except for the first million copies of its run; as soon as the official New York City figures were revised from 18 million to 99 million tons, LIFE replated.--ED.

Sir:

. . . You reported that "Fifth Avenue was as white and vacant as the frozen Yukon. . . ."

On the day of New York's blizzard, most of the Yukon was enjoying crisp, sunny weather, and an inch or two of dry powdered snow merely lent a seasonable Christmas decor to the streets of Whitehorse and Dawson. The town thermometer outside the famous Whitehorse Inn has rarely dropped below zero this winter. . . .

ARTHUR M. LIPMAN

Vancouver, B.C.

Old Lady Sprague

Sir:

In your issue of Dec. 29 is a little squib about Standard Oil's famous oldtimer, Sprague.

Folks down here don't consider her--the biggest vessel on the river and bigger than many ocean-going cargo steamers--a "tugboat." She is a "towboat." An old lady of such poise, size and age should not be tagged with "tugboat."

She is not on the banks "waiting for the wrecker." Though it has been rumored for some time that she would be before long, she is apparently reluctant to give up just yet. I saw her go by (downstream) yesterday with a large tow. . . .

HOWARD B. PEABODY JR.

Natchez, Miss.

P: After setting TIME (and its Standard Oil source) right, Reader Peabody might have added that a lot of people along the river are sick & tired of the Sprague; she makes the biggest waves of any of the sternwheelers and rocks the houseboats along the banks something terrible.--ED.

Green Grass

Sir:

THERE WAS NO PAINT OR OTHER ARTIFICIAL COLORING ON THE GRASS OF THE ROSE BOWL NEW YEAR'S DAY OR ANY OTHER DAY [TIME, JAN. 12]. YOUR ARTICLE UNFAIR, UNTRUE AND NOT SPORTING. DON'T SHOOT THOSE DUCKS UNTIL THEY STOP SWIMMING.

ROBERT M. McCRUDY Ass't City Manager

Pasadena, Calif.

P: For failing to check his misinformation about the Rose Bowl's naturally green rye grass, TIME'S Los Angeles correspondent now has an unnaturally red face.--ED.

Nettles

Sir:

Physiologists Emmelin & Feldberg, who describe the nettle as "one of nature's meanest masterpieces" [TIME, Dec. 29], omit to mention one curious characteristic of this labora-torial vegetable: it only stings if touched lightly. Remember?--

Tender-handed stroke a nettle, And it stings you for your pains; Grasp it like a man of mettle And it soft as silk remains! . . .

LUCIUS O'B. CONOLLY Lieutenant-Colonel

British Commonwealth Occupation Force

Eta Jima, Japan

Sir:

. . . When stung, stand still and look: the antidote is always found with it, namely the leaf of the yellow dock. The cure is instant.

A. C. RICHARDS

Shelton, Wash.

Confidence Game

Sir:

. . . Due to your item under the head of Hosenselbstaendigkeitsgefuehl [TIME, Jan. 5] . . . I have been delegated . . . to express admiration for the writer who understands the security of pants (Hosenselbstaendigkeit) and who deals with the subject with such deftness; but, on a vote taken, there was a protest against the writer's translation of the crisp word. We believe that it is better rendered as Confidence-in-your-pants-remaining-in-position -without -further-worry. A minority would substitute "panties" for "pants."

CARL S. CARLSMITH

Hilo, Hawaii

Time Flies

Sir:

Yes, Time does fly but not that quickly. . . .

Nice to learn [TIME, Jan. 12] that Dale Evans, who married Roy Rogers, is only 29 years old, although she has a 20-year-old son. . . .

EDYTHE BELL

Montreal

P: Dale Evans married her first husband at 14, and is now 35 (chronological age). But her "professional age" is still 29.--ED.

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