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Tiptoe While Helping The Hungry

Tulips-those egg-shaped flowers that have beautified our yards and inspired painters for years-aren't just waving in the breeze, looking gorgeous. These days they're helping to end world hunger. That doesn't mean you should spend your summer harvesting and freezing them. What you should do is buy an Ivory Floradale Tulip from Burpee Seeds-profits from the sale go directly to farming programs in struggling countries. The Cooperative of American Relief Everywhere, or CARE, a world-relief and development organization, runs the program and is working with Burpee on the Somalian hunger problem at the moment. Seeds for onions, tomatoes, watermelons, peppers, carrots, lettuce, beets, and cabbage are already on the way to Somalia, in time for the spring planting season. Described as an "attractive and hearty flower," the Ivory Floradale Tulip grows strong and comes back full force every spring. With most other tulips, only a few of the original number you planted will grow back, says Chela Kleiber of Burpee. Folks can order the flower from Burpee's catalog, which is due out in June. To order, call 800/283-5159.

Post It With Plastic

Four miles north of Churchville, Virginia, stands Roger Pitsenbarger's 40-acre picturesque farm, partially enclosed in milk cartons, plastic soda bottles, and cable television wires. It was Ralph Kirtland of Staunton, Virginia, who figured out a way to recycle the plastic discardables into fence posts-74 of them to be exact. Kirtland came up with the idea while working at Brass Ring Enterprises Inc., a company he operates with his father. Together they recycle scrap cable TV wire. Until recently the plastic had simply been thrown out-then Kirtland found out that dumping it in a landfill was costing his company $1,300 per month. So he came up with the creative idea of making plastic posts. Each one is six inches in diameter and black (due to the black wire). Although he can't tell us how he makes them yet (he's waiting for a patent), he promises to share his secrets with us as soon as he gets one. In the meantime, Pitsenbarger plans to replace the rest of his fence posts with the plastic. "I like them," he says. "They always look like they've been freshly painted."

Editor's Note: Send your interesting news items to "Bits and Pieces,"

MOTHER EARTH NEWS

, P. O. Box 129, Arden, NC 28794.

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