Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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THE STONEHAM HIGH SCHOOL AUTHENTIC for inspiration. At last his work is completed. An immense niche, thirty- two feet, nine inches high, is hollowed out of solid rock — there the colossal lion, carved from native granite, over- looks the lake of the Four Cantons. An indefinable look of pain, mingled with defiance and patience in his eyes, with broken spear-shaft in his side, he lies upon the royal escutcheon of France, still maintaining a hold. The little lake at the foot of the cliff prevents too near approach, while the seams of strata give a realistic touch. The grand simplicity of the subject with that soul- ful human quality perpetuates forever the masterpiece of Thorwaldsen. Carlyle says: “Let the traveler as he passes through Lucerne, turn aside to look at the monumental lion, not for Thorwaldsen’s sake alone. Hewn out of living rock, the figure rests there by the still lake waters, in lullaby of tink- ling ranz des vaches, the granite moun- tain dumbly keeping watch all around, and though inanimate, speaks.” Anna Dewhurst, ’24. Frequently we are awakened by the telephone ringing. We arise, jump in- to slippers, and placing a receiver, made of rubber, to our ears, answer the ring. If it is dark, we press the elec- tric button, having hard rubber as a switch handle. While washing, we may use a rubber plug to keep the water in the wash bowl. If it is raining, we must have our rubbers and raincoat before going out. We jot a few notes on paper with our newest fountain pen made of hard, pure rubber. Going to the garage, we usually make sure that our tires are not soft. We enter and leisurely sit upon a soft cushion seat of imitation leather, which in reality is nothing more than a rubber composi- tion called “fabricoid.” In this short period of time rubber has played a very important part in our lives. It is one of those conven- iences to which little attention is paid, yet without which we would feel at a loss to replace. Warily has rubber crept into the routine of civilization and has so imbedded itself, that we may omit rubber only at a loss to our personal comfort. Eubber is produced from the latex of the Havea Braziliensis which is na- tive to Brazil, Paraguay and Uraguay. This latex is sort of thick, milky look- ing sap coming from between the in- ner and outer bark, containing pores, which, when tapped, bleed profusely. The tapping is done usually in what is known as the herring-bone system : that is, slight cuts are made in the bark which meet in a main channel through which the sap from all the cuts run and finally is collected by means of a faucet cup. The Havea is only one of the many milk producing plants which grow wild native, amongst which are the Manihot Glaziovii, Castilloa, Cerra, Ficus Elastica Landolphia Kir- kii. The rubber industry is a compara- tively recent one, and there are now two methods in vogue for obtaining the raw product. The old method by which the so-called natural rubber was obtained from South American coun- tries; and a recent method, (inaugu- rated abouc 1902) known as the plan- tation method, used mostly in Ceyion, Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. The old method in use prior to 1902, was altogether different than that of today. The capital invested mostly in the United States had no real connec- tion with the industry until the rub- ber reached United States ports. There was almost no connection between the producer and the capitalist. Today, the large rubber concerns own and maintain their own plantations andar( in direct contact with the source at all times. Just picture the innermost recesses of the Amazon river — a tepid, torrid region, overgrown with luxurious veg- etation — and unused to contact with modern civilization. Also imagine a constant temperature of 90-115 degrees F. and you can easily convey to your minds the characteristics of the first source of rubber. The port of Manoas, situated some two or three hundred miles along the interior, is the hub around which the rubber production revolves, whereas the port of Para from which we de- rive our name of Para rubber was the port of exportation as it still is today. In obtaining the rubber under the old method, eight or ten natives enter the jungle under the guidance and di- rection of an assistant superintendent, 8

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STONEHAM HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY TEAM