Show iss milkweed pickers wanted silk Is LNe needed eded for war this fall school children can help directly in winning the war and saving lives by picking milkweed pods for the light buoyant floss that must go into the making of life jackets and aviators suits because the japanese cut off the nations kapok fiber s supply from the dutch east indies the armed services are asking for very every e pound of milkweed floss that can possibly be collected this coming september and october by the first week of school most teachers and pupils in the northeastern quarter of the united states will have instructions on picking drying and shipping pods and information on obtaining bags tree free of charge the boy scouts girl scouts 4 11 club leaders county agricultural agents war boards and local soil conservation service offices 0 f will also be furnished with full this section of the country is getting most of the attention for it is here that most milkweed grows the heaviest known stands are fountin found in the northwestern corner of lower peninsula around petoskey every county however from maine to virginia and from missouri to minnesota as well as many counties in other states have some plants it is eel V an air force man demonstrates the buoyancy of the mae west life jacket which is stuffed with fiber rom milkweed pods these life jackets are standard equipment in the navy and merchant marine fliers who range over the ocean soldiers and marines engaged in amphibious warfare and all other servicemen who face danger of death abath by drowning depend on these we ilife jackets to keep them afloat until help comes up to the boys and girls of every community to harvest all milkweed pods in their neighborhood so that not a single life will be lost for lack of buoyant life jackets buying of pods will be handled at petoskey mich by the milkweed floss division of war hemp industries inc a private corporation rhe commodity credit corporation df a the U S department of agrical ure assisted by the U S soil conservation service will direct the program ro gram the petoskey office will send trucks out to pick up bags of pods in other sections at least pods must be collected to supply one pound of floss fifty pound open mesh onion bags were supplied pickers during last years harvest each bag holding a bushel or from to pods and the open mesh permitting rapid drying the high moisture content of milkweed pods presents a serious hazard of heating and spoiling unless handled properly troops schools 4 H clubs or other organizations may be designated as the authorized buying agent and advanced money by war hemp industries inc to pay for the pods as soon as picked and to handle them for ultimate collection by a representative of 0 war hemp industries inc the organization authorized would be allowed a small fee per bag for keeping the necessary records for this drying service last year an additional 5 cents per bag was paid besides the 15 cents for picking the same rates will probably prevail this fall after the pods are picked they must be handled properly in order to make the highest quality of floss it is very important that the bags be hung bung on a fence clearing the ground by at least 12 inches to get the full benefit of sun and wind within 24 hours after picking A ball park school or fairgrounds fence or some other convenient and adequate location may be chosen someone must be on duty to check out empty bags and receive pay for and hangus hang up full bags of pods every eve ry evening and katurd saturday ay during the collection co 1 season also it is necessary alsta to any baes aes which fall down retie any that have been opened and especially after wet weather to shake each bag to fluff it up and help drying dow dew rain or snow do not hurt the pods it if the bags are hung up properly after two to six weeks the thoroughly dried bags are put indoors to await pickup the floss of the milkweed plant is a very elusive substance As the plant approaches seasonal maturity the leaves drop the stem gradually ceases to function and while the pods cling tenaciously to the stem they lose moisture and shrivel until they split and release floss and seed deed all children are urged to wat watch achl for the purplish flowers and fat green pods of milkweed making notes on locations where they are to be found and on the areas where they are most abundant then in early fall when the seed within the pods begin to turn brown the picking can get under way immediately in those marked locations picking starts about the middle of september knowledge of the natural distribution of milkweed within the united states indicates that it is possible to obtain from one to two million pounds of floss annually |