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Show Lactuca Pickers Wanted: Silk Is Needed for War This fall, school children can help directly in winning the war and saving sav-ing lives by picking milkweed pods or the light buoyant floss that must go into the making of life jackets and aviators' suits. Because the Japanese cut off the Dation's kapok fiber supply from the Dutch East Indies, the armed services serv-ices are asking for every 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 free of charge. The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H club leaders, county agricultural agents, war boards and local soil conservation service offices of-fices will also be furnished with full information. This section of the country is getting most of the attention at-tention for it is here that most milkweed milk-weed grows. The heaviest known stands are found in the northwestern corner of Michigan's lower peninsula, penin-sula, around Petoskey. Every county, coun-ty, however, from Maine to Virginia Vir-ginia and from Missouri to Minnesota, Minne-sota, as well as many counties in other states, have some plants. It is down, retie any that have been opened and, especially after wet weather, to shake each bag to fluff it up and help drying. Dew, rain or snow do not hurt the pods 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. All children are urged to watch for the purplish flowers and fat green pods of milkweed (Ascle-pias), (Ascle-pias), making notes on locations where they are to be found and on the areas where they are most abundant. abun-dant. 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 milk-weed within the United States indicates indi-cates that it is possible to obtain from one to two million pounds of floss annually. f , " "x ' t , An air force man demonstrates the buoyancy of the "Mae West" life jacket, which is stuffed with fiber from 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 by drowning depend on these life jackets to keep them afloat until help comes. ap 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, Indus-tries, Inc., a private corporation. The Commodity Credit corporation of the TJ. S. department of agriculture agricul-ture assisted by the U. S. soil conservation service will direct the program. The Petoskey office will send trucks out to pick up bags of pods in other sections. At least 800 pods must be collected col-lected to supply one pound of floss. Fifty-pound open mesh onion bags were supplied pickers during last year's harvest, each bag holding a bushel or from 600 to 800 pods and the open mesh permitting rapid drying. dry-ing. (The high moisture content of milkweed pods presents a serious hazard of heating and spoiling unless un-less handled properly.) Scout troops, schools, 4-H clubs or other organizations may be designated desig-nated 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 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 on a fence, clearing the ground by at least 12 inches, to get the full benefit of sun and wind, within with-in 24 hours after picking. A ballpark, ball-park, school or fairgrounds fence, or some other convenient and adequate ade-quate location may be chosen. Someone Some-one must be on duty to check out empty bags and receive, pay for, and hang up full bags of pods every evening and Saturday during the collection col-lection season. Also, it ''is necessary neces-sary to rehang any bags which fall |