'Alice' author had enigmatic existence
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is certainly one of the classic children's books, and has been since it was published in 1865. Its author, however, is one of the most enigmatic literary figures who ever lived. This month we will take a closer look at both the man and the books he wrote, especially "Alice."
Charles Dodgson (1832-1898) was born the son of a clergyman, who had seven daughters and three sons. Charles went to Christ Church College Oxford and eventually became a quite renowned teacher of mathematics there.
From this point we will use the name by which Dodgson is most referred to today: Lewis Carroll. He used this pseudonym when he authored his many children's books.
The favorite people in Carroll's life were young girls. When he spoke with adults, Carroll had quite a stuttering problem, but none when he spoke with young children. Alice Liddell and her two sisters were the daughters of the dean of Oxford. In July of 1862 Carroll was given permission to take the young girls on a picnic, and while rowing on the Thames river he made up the story that was to become his most famous work.
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" was published in 1865, but the illustrations were not satisfactory to Carroll, and most of the copies were destroyed. A copy of this edition, along with some original drawings by the artist, John Tenniel, sold at auction in 1998 for $1.4 million. A copy of the 1866 edition for sale on the Internet is priced at some $32,000.
Over the years there have been over 100 artists illustrating the various editions of "Alice," including such luminaries as Arthur Rackham, Peter Newell, Bessie Pease Gutman and even Salvador Dali. Some of these later editions can run to several hundred dollars apiece, but could make a fascinating collection.
Carroll, who never married, would not have been tolerated in today's society. As mentioned, he was abnormally attracted to little girls, mostly 12 years of age and under. He would invite them to afternoon parties, sometimes alone and sometimes with others. He of course would have to obtain permission from parents, but his standing was such at the college that few objected.
Lewis Carroll was one of the pioneers in children's photography in the 19th century, and as might be expected, his expertise was in photographs of young girls. He would have them dress in all kinds of costumes, and many of his pictures were excellent. However, his photography came to a sudden end in 1880. One doesn't know the exact reason, but it may have stemmed from objections to the many nude photographs of little girls that he was taking. Only four of these photos have survived.
Carroll, as mentioned, was excellent at mathematics, and he published many books on the subject, some for children. One of these was entitled "The Game of Logic," and was published in 1886. He wrote books of nonsense poetry, including "Phantasmagoria and Other Poems" (1869) and "The Hunting of the Snark" in 1876. This latter volume was his most original creation besides the "Alice" books. A nice copy would bring $2,000 and more today.
"Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There" was published in 1872. This of course was the sequel to "Alice's Adventures," but was never as popular as the original.
Much as been made of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" over the years. It seems as if everyone has seen some sort to symbolism in it. In the 1960s Alice and her friends were poster children for the drug scene. What was the significance of the caterpillar and the mushroom? Why was Alice growing smaller and larger and taking potions of one kind and another? Even today when one goes into a shop selling drug paraphernalia, the "Alice" posters abound. A strange book by Thomas Fensch, "Alice in Acidland," appeared in 1970. An original copy is priced at several hundred dollars today.
Many critics have claimed that "Alice" is a record of repressed sexuality: the rabbit hole, the emphasis on eating and drinking, and Alice's changing size, to name but a few. There is no doubt that Lewis Carroll was troubled by a guilty conscience. He records often in his diary how he regrets his sinful desires. And yet even in his old age he continued taking young ladies on summer excursions, sometimes for days at a time. He excused this by saying that his "grandfatherly" image would preclude any objections. As with many people with genius ability, Lewis Carroll poured his fantasies and secret desires into his imaginative work. As with many geniuses, also, he was a frustrated loner.
Children and adults alike, however, have been entertained by many of Carroll's works over the years, the best of which is the immortal "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
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Simple steps will keep Halloween safe
We live in spooky times. With access to affordable health care a national debate and obesity menacing life's quality, keeping Halloween fun and safe seems a very small peril. So let's keep it that way. Safe Halloweening is easy and fun.
On the practical side make sure costumes are weather appropriate, and easy to move in. Costumes that impede movement, especially walking, or limit vision are unsafe. Make sure children are wearing some form of reflective tape or clothing if they will be out after dark. Parental supervision is based on age. Choose safe neighborhoods and accompany younger children. Know and approve the routes that older children will take if they are going with friends. Always have a safety plan. Make sure both you and your children are clear when they should be expected back.
Gummy snacks glued to braces and sugar-induced hypoglycemia are less serious hazards. But what to do when kids come home weighed down under a pillowcase loaded with candy plunder? I once cleaned under the bed of one of my kids in April to find a respectable stash of leftover Halloween candy. He was still working on it! Putting some of the less-liked candy in the freezer, in a communal bowl or simply throwing it out can keep it under control. I learned to clean under the beds more frequently!
Parents can influence the "flavor" of Halloween by a few simple tips. When gathering the treats you will offer this year think about possible low-calorie, higher-nutrient options. Instead of candy try sugar-free gum, cheese sticks, juice box packages, small packages of nuts or raisins, a package of instant cocoa mix or peanuts in the shell.
You can also consider giving some non-food treats such as stickers, balloons, crayons, pencils, colored chalk, erasers, whistles, baseball cards, rubber spiders or worms. It may be less expensive to give out dimes nowadays than to give candy.
Make sure children eat a meal or snack before going trick-or-treating so they will be less tempted to dig into their bag of goodies before they get home. Once home, check the treats and keep only unopened packages. Accept fruits and homemade goods only from people you trust.
You can limit the neighborhood rounds by spending more time in a Halloween party. This also allows you to control the quality of the treats. Some nutritious treats could include popcorn, apples, grapes, bananas, unshelled peanuts, and pumpkin pie. Kids could help with making treats like "Pizza Faces." Let kids arrange sliced olives, green peppers and mushrooms on toasted English muffins brushed with tomato sauce. Top with grated cheese for "hair" and heat in the microwave. Bake low fat pumpkin pie filling in cupcake tins and let the kids decorate with colored, canned vanilla frosting. Put a dollop of the frosting in a baggy and snip the corner for easy, child-size dispensers.
Have a safe Halloween.
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Apple growers
modernize orchards
More crops harvested per acre means higher return to farmers. High-density apple orchards trained to the Tall Spindle system can produce six times more apples than older style orchards during the first five years and produce almost double the yield when the orchard is mature.
The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program and New York Farm Viability Institute are funding research to evaluate the opportunity for regional apple growers to modernize their orchards with this high-density orchard system.
"Modern high-density orchard planting systems will help growers modernize their orchards to improve production efficiency, yield and fruit quality as well as grow new varieties to be remain competitive in the world apple market," said project leader Terence L. Robinson, a horticultural sciences professor with the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva.
Robinson is working with three Clinton County apple growers: Everett Orchards and Forrence Orchards in Peru and Chazy Orchards in Chazy. The research is being conducted in collaboration with Cornell University and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Northeastern New York Commercial Fruit Program.
The research is evaluating pre-plant site and variety selection, land preparation, rootstock spacing, training systems, fertilization, irrigation, pruning, and thinning using five different orchard systems: Central Leader, Slender Pyramid, Vertical Axis, Solaxe and Tall Spindle.
Densities in the systems range from 218 trees per acre to 1,307 trees per acre.
The research results will provide growers with data on opportunities to reduce labor costs through mechanization and increase yield and profit.
The project is also developing cost data for capital and equipment requirements for the five different orchard systems.
"The manner in which a grower pieces together the many decisions that form his orchard system often defines his economic success," Robinson said. "Successful replanting of old orchards with popular new varieties in high density orchard systems will help the long-term viability of the Northern New York fruit industry."
This Northern New York research project also involves:
■ Researchers and growers evaluating new rootstocks for winter hardiness. The severe winter cold in 2002 killed more than 20,000 trees of the M.7 rootstock in Champlain Valley orchards. The new rootstocks at the participating orchards include 17 bred by the Cornell Geneva apple rootstock breeding program; some from Germany, England, Russia, Canada, and Poland; and 16 of the leading dwarfing rootstocks for Northern New York.
■ An annual thinning and return bloom management trial for the biennial but premium apple variety, Honeycrisp.
■ Annual pre-harvest drop control trials for the main variety grown in Northern New York: the McIntosh apple.
"The Honeycrisp is an extremely high quality apple and one of the best tasting apples around, but it is proving to be difficult to manage for annual production," Robinson said. "Improved thinning strategies are essential to result in annual bloom and the long-term successful production of this variety."
"With the McIntosh," he said, "we hope to optimize the use of stop-drop spray treatments to reduce the pre-harvest dropping of apples, and to spread out the harvest using fewer pickers while still maintaining fruit quality. In some years, twenty to fifty percent of the apples can fall before harvest. That requires a very large labor force to pick the apples before they fall. Our improved drop control treatments will mean more apples will be harvested and sold with fewer pickers required. That reduces costs for the Northern New York apple growers."
Learn more about north country agriculture at www.nnyagdev.org.
