Abergavenny Chronicle

THE FIRE AT SALONIKA. I The Secretary of the War Office announcee that, various inquiriea having been received with regard to supposed c"ualtiea due to the recent 6re in Salonika, the General Officer Comma-nding-in-Chief the Salonika Army states that the British Army in that theatre suffered no casualties from this cause.

GERMAN DIVISIONS PASS THROUGH THE FURNACE. Mr. H. Wamer Alien, the British corre. spondent with the French Armies, says that the Battle of the Ladies' Way in 1917 must rank with the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The magniiicent effort of our Allies in this costly and heroic struggle has not been fully appreciated by the public. The general imagination was more deeply moved by the Verdun light with the famous fortress as its prize and with the march on Paris a possible menace behind it. The Ladies' Way with ita views is a lees dehnite objective than Ver. dun, and the march on Paris has vanished even from the Crown Prince's speeches. Yet between May 5 and August 20, 1917, more German divisions were worn away by the French resistance and attacks on the Ladies' Way than was the case before Verdun during the same period last year. The com- parison is a fair one, since in either case the battle after a period of very violent on- slaughts settled down to a long-drawn-out conflict in which either side sought to wear down the enemy's forces. The front at Verdun was about the same length as that of the Ladies' Way, say, thirty kilometres, or nineteen miles; the front was held at Verdun by twelve divisions on May 5, 1916, and on the Ladies' Way on May 5, 1917, by fourteen divisions. In the periods under consideration the Germans engaged twenty-five divisions on the Verdun front, while above the Aisne on the Ladles' Way they brought into line no fewer than forty-nine. From these divisions the French made 5,863 prisoners at Verdun and 8,552 prisoners above the Aisne. It may be estimated, therefore, that the fighting during these months on the Ladies' Way cost the enemy nearly twice as many casual- ties as the lighting last year at Verdun after May 5. It should be remembered that the capture of Vaux Fort and the great German onslaught on Scuville Fort, which failed at enormous cost, are included in the Verdun period. On the Ladies' Way a division rever remained in line more than ten or twelve days as against a month for comparatively calm sectors, and during the three months we aje discussing only one division, the 46th Reserve Division, returned a second time to the Aisne battle front. All the rest had been too severely tried to be thrown into the fur- nace again, and after a. spell of rest were sent to easier sectors. At the end of June the enemy appears to have had between 450 and 500 batteries on the Aisne front: at Verdun at the moment of the greatest concentration he had 600 batteries. In both cases the proportion of heavy artillery was very considerable, being about 40 per cent. of the whole on the Aisne. The greatest concentration observed at the end of June at any part of the Aisne front amounted to about fourteen batteries to the thousand metres. I BATTLE ON A KNTFE-EDGE. The full meaning of this concentration of metal can only be understood by an ex- amination of the position. Troops have never fought in more trying circumstances than on the Ladies' Way. The prize for which the battle was fought was a strip of ground like a knife-edge, the crest of a hogs back often less than 200 yards across. In the struggle there could be no ninching, no drawing back to return to the charge with renewed strength. At Verdun the defenders had a certain amount of space behind them, and could fall back a few hundred yards or so when the pressure became intolerable without fatal reunite. On the Ladies' Way there could be no falling back. Its value waa ite views, and if the French were driven back only a few yarda they could no longer see over the valley of the Ailette, and the enemy would have recovered the advantage of the position. The effects of hundreds of gune concentrated on eo narrow a target can be imagined. There were no trenches, no shelters. Th<- French had to lie in shell- holes in the hell of the German bombard- ment. Sometimes, alas! there would come no news from the front line, and an omcer would be sent forward to see what had hap- pened, only to find that the silence of the heroes who were holding the Ladies' Way was the silence of death. In such circumstances the Qermans, adopted the tactics of opening an attack with a short and terrific preparation of ar- tillery. Then their troops would rush forward, almost in the line of their own barrage. The defenders—those of them who were left —would struggle to their feet in their shell- holes, brmig up the machine-guns that had escaped, and hurl back the Germans in a deaperatc hand-to-hand combat. The enemy had not.hilg to Jea r from a French defen- sive barrage. 'I'he further slopw of the Ladies' Way are so steep that they &M 'ith dimculty swept by the French grms. Yef after three months of hard fighting' our Allies etill hold the plateaus above Cracnne, and the enemy has been unable to dislodge them from their observation posta that over' look the valley of the Ailette. ¥- I

l FOOD CONTROL COMMIES. t Lord Rhondda is asking local authorities to report to him details of the membership of the Food Control Committees and <sub- committees which they have appointed. The report will give the occupation of every member and will show how many women and representatives of Labour each com- mittee includes. In the case of women and Labour representatives the name of the association, if any, by which they have been nominated is also asked for. The following letter has been addressed by Lord Rhondda's direction to a local autho- rity which had appointed a preponderance of traders on its Food Control Committee:— Sir,—I am directed by Lord Rhondda to inform you that representatioM have been received in this Department to the effect that the Food Control Committee ap- pointed by your council includes a majo- rity of traders engaged in the business of food supply. Lord Rhondda feeTe sure that the coun- cil would not have appointed to this com- mittee any member whose personal disin- terestedness was not above question. He feels, however, that the presence of an undue number of traders on any com- mittee may in iteelf cause a lack of conn- dence among the consumers whose inte- rests they are to protect. He wishes, therefore, to ask the coun- cil, if the facts are as represented to him, to consider the desirability of a change in the proposed constitution of the com- mittee, to ensure that it begins its work with the full oonHdence of the public.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, AtfBitD BUTT. j

MAN STUNG TO DEATH. WiMiam BaIIeman, a faTm l&bourer, agoo i fift\"thrC< has been kined by WMps whi!3 haivesting on Bridge Foot Farm, Eelvedon, Essex. He accidentally cut through a wasps' Met. The angry insects swarmed all over him, an" he was stung so badly that he feU to the ground and died three minutes after.

PAUPERS' FOOD REVOLT. 'Mie inmates of the Strood Workhouse. Kent, have beeq on strike against maize a. en article of food, and have always left it on their plates untouched. The Guardians have decided to sell taeir etock of maize, which cost them &30.

RAILWAY BRIDGE BURNT. a- A railway-bridge near Clacton-on-Sea has been destroyed by fire, and the town's rail- way service suspended. A service of motor- 'buaea has been instituted between the town and a junction four miles distant. go

Five per cent. of the consignment of Argentine ox-tongues, wh)ch arrived last year at the London Central Markets, wer< tested by the sanitary oSciaJs, and out of r: total of 308,390 the rejections numbered 6,309. Mr. William Eweos, aeoior reporter fot many years at Bow-street Police-court, died at hia residence" Carver-road, Herne Hill. &ged sixty-one.

OUR CHILDREN'S CORKER BY UKCLE RALPH. THE BIRDS AND THEIR KING. "I feel sure that I shall be made king!" aaid the Water Ousel, stopping to look at himself in the stream. "Oh, no, you won't! I shall! said the Pigeon, as be flew by. "Everyone likes me-F' "I am the wisest and known most!" said the Owl. "But I eiug the best!" eaid the Nightin- gale. "But no bird has such a 6ne led breast ae I have!" said the Robin, "You don't lay eggs for people's break- fast," eaid the Hen. *'Caw! caw! Who,;e feathers are as black and ahiny a6 mine, I'd like to know? caw<)d Rook. "Nonsenee! Black feathers, indeed'* BIttck and white are much better!" said the Mag-pie. They were all talking as fast as they could, for they thought that they ought to have a king, and they had met to settle who it was to be. The Sparrows all thought that a Sparred should be chosen, but they could not decide which one. The Tits were quite sure that the king ought to be a Tit, but they oouM not agree as to which of them was the beSt., There was suoh a twittering and nutteriag' going on that no one noticed Sambo, the big black cat, creeping along the wall. All at once. just a& the Owl was Myiag (for the twentieth tim.c) that he knew every- thing and ought to be made king at once, Sambo made a. spring! But he was too la.te! Not one of the birds stopped a moment to settle about the king, they were all gone in an instant, and Sambo was left &lo!ne. Next day. the Water Ousel was looking a.t himself in the water again. "Well," he said to himself, "I shan't bother about a. king at all! We've very well off as we are!" OVER THE GARDEN WALL. Over the pardon wall A girl a.nd a. pussy-cat am&U, They have such fun As they play in the sum, Over the garden wall. Over the garden wall, The game they like best of <JI Is a. curious thing With a cork and a stnBLg, Over the garden wall. OveT the garden wall, Till the shades of evening fall: They have such fun A9 they play in the sum, A girl a.nd a ptÏf;¡,;y-cat small. WHAT HE BOUGHT. Christopher had a penny. He had more, than that in his money-box on the nursery mantel-piece, but he had a whole penny in- his pocket, and he was going to spend it on something—what was it to bet First of all, he had wanted to buy & rock- ing-horse, and then a gold watch and chain, like Daddy's, and then. a real engine, and then a pony, and then a sailing' ship. But he. found that all of these things would cost more than a penny. Besides, when Uncle Sam gave him the penny, he said, "Now, if I were you, I should buy something useful! Now, chocolate drops weren't exactly ne&- ful, excepting when you gave them to Joey to keep him quiet, and Ethel said she didn't think a. trumpet was useful either. So Christopher didn't know what to do' with his penny. But at taot he thought of something. Only that morning he had wanted to draw pic- tures of lions and tigers and things, and he could not nnd any paper at all, so when he aaw the little book in the shop, he thought that would do very well. And it was juiat one penny. When Uncle Sam saw Christopher again,, he said: "Well, Christopher, was it useful? And Christopher pulled it out of hie. pocket and showed it to Uncle Sam. And, of course, when he saw all the pic- tures of lions and tigera and things, Uncle, iSam said it waa most useful. ? ,<#.tt THE SLACK DARE.. Motber said Peggy, "arenJt you afraid of the Mack dark?" "Whv, rno, Peggy!" said Mother. "Why should I be?" "Oh. I don't know why," said Peggy, "but I think I am! I don t think I should ever be able to get out of bed by myself i the black dark "Oh, you never know," said Mother. "An<?. the black da,rk doean't hurt you, you know!- Peggy didn't igay any more. Now, you must know that Peggy had <t\ real live canary: it lived in the nursery_ and she had to be very careful to shut the nursery doer every night for fear that Jim- biber-the big eat—should get in and eat up the canary. In the middle of the night, Peggy woke up an at once and sat up in bed. She suddenly remembered that ahe had not shut the nur- sery door; she had said she would, but she had been <o busy that she had forgotten all about it. Well, Nurse must have shut it, she thought. Then she thought, "What if Nurae didn't? Supposing it's left open-and my canary is. there—and Jimbiber may be oonnng upstairs this very minute! Then, although jt was quite "Mack dark," she jumped out of bed and ran aferoan the landing and shut the nursery door. As ehe fumed to go back again, what did she see but Jimbiber's two eyes! He was creeping upstairs. Peggy "ehooed" him away and went back to bed. "Dear me!" she 6&id to herself, ae ebe. settled down again. "The black dark waen't so bad after all' I LANGDCN'S GARDEN. His name was Lacgdon, sad he hat! a garden. His cousin's name was Isabella, avid she was coming to see Langdon's garden. That was why Langdon was eo busy. He got the spade and the great big water- ing-can, and there was digging away as hard aa ever he couM. PhiiHpe watched out of the window. What r could he be doing? Every now and then he would stoop down and pick up something from a KtHe heap and put it in the ground and then pour a little water from the can, and then start digging again. It was too far off for Phillips to eee what the little heap was, but at last Langdon had nn!ahed and he came in. "There!" he said. "When Isabella cornea to see my garden to-morrow she will find euch a tot of nowers m it!" "But, Langdon," said PhiHips, *'y<M' haven't got any, and it isn't the right tIme of the year, and——" "Oh/' said Langdon, "I've just been planting Borne!" "WheM did you get them?" a&M Pbillipe. "Oh, I cut them out of my scraps," said Langdon. Oh, how PhiIIips laughed, and when Isa- betia eaw the paper nowers, how she laughed too!

In trying to board his train when it wa.* moving at King's Cross, WaKer EIHs twenty-one, a tube railway guard, who bae, been wounded in the war, fell on to the Hoc and waa killed. The City of London's resent popn!atioB is 15,531. The birth-rate in 1916 was 81 per 1,000. The death-rate decreased from 17.4 to 15 per 1,000. Nottinghamshire miners ha.vimg contri- buted eubeta.BtiaJiy to the miHtary forces the County Association ha8 now expressed approval of the amended scheme for comb ing out aH men in coal minea between tm< agee of eighteen and twenty-Bre.

SUCCESS AT GAZA. I BRITISH ADVANCE ON 800 YARDS I FRONT. The following communique with regard to the operations In Palestine has been issued by the Secretary of the War OSice: We advanced our line last (Thursday) night south-west of Gaza on a front of 800 yards, in spite of considerable hostile artil- lery and machine-gun fire. Our losses were ioetgniScant. On August 28 and 29 our airplanes, flying at a low altitude, carried out successful operations in the Maan district. Eight direct hits were observed on the engine snMs at Maan, while noticeable damage was caused to a field artillery battery and to other hostile troops. All our airplanes re- turned safely. Maan is on the railway between Damascus and Medina. The War Ofnee recently an- nounced that Arab forces, under the King ef the Hedjaz, had inflicted a heavy defeat on the Turks in the Maan district, the enemy losing 700 killed, while a similar cumber were taken prisoner

BLANKETS FOR THE SERVICES. I War OMce. Owing to the necessity of organising the Manket-making machinery of the country for the production of the type of blanket required by the Army and Navy, it is prob- able that the numerous voluntary organisa- tions will be unable to obtain their sup- plies in the usual manner by placing direct ccders with manufacturers and merchants. To meet this dimculty, the War Omce Dotify that they have concluded a.rra.nge- menta by which their assistance 'Will be given in supplying all such organisations with the required number of blankets of an Army pattern, size 60in. by 90in., weight 4tlb. All applications should be made in the nrst instance to the Director-General of Voluntary Organisations, Scotland Rouse, Victoria Embankment, S.W. 1. The applica- tions should necessarily be for strictly mode- rate quantities.

WARNING TO POTATO GROWERS, j At Walsall Police-court, a railwayman was charged with failing to notify wart dis- eaae among potatoes on his allotment. The defendant said he was not well up in gatdening. and did not know that he had to notify the authorities. As it was the first case of the kind in Walsall the magTstrate only inflicted a fine of 58. The defendant contended that the person summoned ought to have been the shop- keeper from whom he obtained the seed potatoes.

jMYOR TO JOIN V.T.C. I The Mayo? of Dav<'ntry, Mr. A. F. Stanley, who was granted exemption <m the condit-ion that. he joined the Volunteers, says in a letter to the local tribunal:— "Without any disrespect to the tribunal or the Volunteer Regiment, I cannot join the! latter until I ceaao being mayor and chief magisrate on Novemher 9 next. "I am already domg my full share of duty to the country. I am inclined to think that ( in Daventry the position of mayor is not looked upon with respect, otherwise I should not be subjected to this annoyance and in- sult." The tribunal haa decided that Mr. Stanley must attend to enrol in the Volunteer Regi. ment, or his exemption will be reviewed 'with a view to its withdrawal.

Structural improvement:) are being made &t the Royal Naval College, Osborne, where the number of cadets will be reduced from 600 to 300. A"J>8ty of prominent Englishmen haa arrl4Q at an Atlantic port to join Lord Northcline and assist hrm in purchasing war 8UPÍ4!@. Seventy Miousand Frenchwomen and women of other nationalities are serving with the French armies a3 Red Cross Yorkers.

AIR RAID ON KENT. I AEROPLANES TAKE ADVANTAGE OX MOON. Press Bureau, Monday, 1.30 a.m. The following communication was issued by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief of the Home Forces at 11.50 p.m., Septem- ber 2:— Hostile aeroplanes crossed the East Eent coaot at about 11.15 p.m. to-night, and new seawards a few minutes later. A few bombs were dropped. There is no detailed information as re- gards casualties, but they are believed to be small. BOMBS ON DOVER. Lord French on Monday issued ?0 follow- ing report:— L<ast night's raid waif carried out by only one enemy aeroplane, which bombed Dover at a few minutes after 11 p.m. Seven bombs were dropped. One man was MIed and four women MM! two children slightly injured.

NAVAL SCRAP OFF JUTLAND. FOUR ENEMY MINE-SWEEPERS SUNK. Admiralty, Saturday. Our ligoh t forces operating off the OOaÆlt of Jutland this (Saturday) morning de- stroyed four enuuy mine-sweeping vessels.

GIRLS WANTED FOR THE LAND. Educated girls between the ages of eighteen and twenty are wanted for potato harvc&ting, late fruit picking, and various kinds of temporary unskilled agricultural work in Berkshire, Hereford"hire, and other counties. Workers must be strong and active. The pay iz; at the local piece rates, and the accommodation is inspected by the Board of Agriculture. Volunteers should apply to the Women's National Land Service Corps, 50, Upper Baker-stre-et, N.W.I.

WHY MATCHES ARE SCARCE. "In July we imported 94,264,272 boxea of matches fewer than in July 1915," says the "Cigar and Tobacco World." "This means that in one month the matches at our disposal for pipe lighting, domestic purposes, etc., were fewer by over 6,000,000,000 than two years ago. "During 1914 we brought in 10,142,657 gross boxes; in 1915, 11,918,342 gross boxes; and in 1916 only 6.457,826 gross boxes—a decrease of nearly five and a half million gross boxee."

DROWNED WHILE PADDLING. Connie Otter, the twelve-year-old adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Steller, of Doncaster, waa drowned at Scarborough on Sunday under very tragic circumstances. The gdrl was paddling in the eea with other children, when a heavy wave knocked one of h<;i companions off her feet. Connie plucki!y rescued her. A moment later she herself was knocked over by another wave, carried seawards and drowned,

MISS MURIEL WILSON MARRIED. M' M At Aniaby, Yorks, on Saturday, Miss Muriel Wilson, of Tranby Croft, was married to Captain R. E. Wardf, M.C., of the Scots Guards. The bride, who is a well.known iigurc in society, and used to take a, promi- nent part in amateur dramatic perform- ances at Chatsworth House, met her httB- baiid when she was acting as a V,A.D. iLt Dorchester Rouse, London, which her sister, Lady Holford, had turned into an oinceta' hospitaL

ENEMY AERODROME BOMBED, j Admiralty, Saturday. A. bombing raid by the Royal Naval Air Service was carried out last night on Ghis- tellea Aerodrome (near Ostend). Several direct hits were made on the sheds in the south-west corner of the aerodrome, in which vicinity a fire was started. Bombs '\tere also seen to explode on the adjoining Ostende—Thourout railway line. Many tons df explosivea were dropped. All machinds returned safely.

STOLEN B&ONZE. I At Tower Bridge Police-court on Saturday, John Sullivan, forty-seven, watchman, was sentenced to four months, and William Jamea Avey, thirty-eight, fitter, to three months' impriaonment for stealing and -re- ceiving 54lb. of Admiralty bionze, the pro- perty of the employers of Sullivan.

WALLPAPER FACTORY ABLAZE. I Early Sunday morning a fire broke oat &t the factory of Messrs. John Linea and Son, wallpaper manufacturers, near SouthaH. It burnt throughout the day, and was not finally extinguished unt!l six o'clock at night, when only the skeleton of the big building remained. a

SALVAGING A COTHA. I Salvage operations on the Gotl* aeroplane which fell in the sea off Margate during the last raid have resulted in the recovery of a portion of the machine and its :ar t. It is beticTed that the bodies of the two avia- tors have alao been fouttd.

GIRL BURGLAR. I Annie Hall, a young girl, was at WHm- etow qent to an industrial school until she attains the age of sixteen. She Broke into residences at AIderley and stole jewellery and I money. In one case she walked upstairs, and, when surprised, a&id htfe waa "looking for mother." It was stated that she used to sleep cut at nights, and also fobbed gardens.

TARPAULIN FACTORY BURNT. I A disastrous ore broke o<tt ht'the tar- paulin factory of Messra. Adama and Co., Copperfield-road, Mile End-road, London, and in an nour the .main buildings, which contained quantities of tar and other com- bustibles, were gutted. Some forty enginea and 250 firemen were at work trying to ex- tinguish the blaze. The damage is esti* mated at E'25,000.

FOUR BROOMS KILLER. I Alfred Hawking, a aingia man, aced twenty-two, told the Egham tribunal that he bad lost Mur btotners in the war, and was now the sole support 6f his invalid mother and father, and his brother's two children. The military representative agreed to exemption on the condition that Hawkins undertook munition work. —————

Without a permit from the Food Control- ler, buying or eellmg of hopa grown in the United Kingdom in the years 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917 is fprbidd<,n. While dccoratinc the cetUng of t)1.<1 matre Royal. Áldersliot., á fMlmhr. JiilmM Baggs, of Kingston (Surrey), fell from a tadder upon the staHa and was seriously injured.

BRESS OF THE DAY. I I A SMART LITTLE FROCK< j Quite one of the most useful and desirable possessions in the autumn wardrobe is a perfectly simple but smartly made frock of nivy serge, the sort of frock that will serve for regular afternoon wear right through the autumn and the coming winter. An ideal frock of the sort is shown in our sketch, an admirable model that has its origin in one of the beat known ateliers in Paris. This frock is carried out in the finest and softest of navy serges. The front of the corsage forma a sort of plastron which widens out from the shoulders to a point just below the armholee and narrows in again a little towards the waist, extending below the waist in the form of a short panel. This plastron I [Refer to X 819.] is cut out in a rounded point at the neck. All the edges are outlined by a couple of rows of black silk soutache. A tiny vest of plain ecru net partially fills the opening at the neck. In each comer of the p!a6tron, both above and below the waist, conies a little motif of embroidery worked in black silk and brightened by a little beige and Indian red silk. This motif is worked directly on to the serge, and is enclosed by a couple of rows of the black soutache. The sleeves are cut in one with the sides of the bodice. They arc clooo-fittiand very long, coming well down over the hands, and are ornamented at the back of the arm by a little embroidered motif surrounded by the black soutane. The skirt is perfectly plain, is garéd all Toimd the waist, and is cut to reach the ankles, about six inches from the ground, to be exact. The finishing touch is given to this delightful frock by a belt of ) black satin which Ketens in front beneath an ornament made of embroidered serge and outlined by two rows of the soutache. I NEW BLOUSES. ? The coatee blouse fully holds its own among the new models shown for autumn wear. A lovely model, typical of the newest modes, is carried out in Joffre-blue crepe Georgette, and fits quite loosely, the watst beings merely indicated by a slight shaping in of the blouse, which o&mes low enough to half cover the hips. There is no belt at all. I FOR A LITTLE BOY. ) Our illustration below shows two garmenta for a Httle b6y vhich can be easily made at home. A r'CTnper suit, such as that shown on the right, is simply invaluable for boys who delight in making mud-pica, digging trenches in Mie garden, and getting "beauti- fully d!rty." It is cruelty to put a sma!! boy into "a jSuit and t?l! him he must not [Refer to X 820.] I play about and mess himself up, and a romper suit such as this can be made out of ono and a-half yards of 40-inch material for a ch,ild of two to four years quite easily. Aa for the wee man's out-of-doors .coat, which it is always as well to have at hand in case of bad -'weathèr, allow one and fiv"ightho yards of 44-inch wide fabric for a boy of two to four years, and one and three-quarter yards for size four to six years. NEW HATS. The new hats shown for autumn wear vary enormously in size, as well as in shape, colour, and price. Two topical examples of the fashionable extremes in size were re- gently shown side by side in a famous West* End showroom. OTM was an enormous, literally enormous, hai., entirely carried out in amethyst. The inuCenaely wide brim WM made of exquisitely soft velours. and was of, the type one associates with tlle old- fashioned Leghorn, nat, and Inclined t< droop. The very high crown was made of )t eort of panne, waa --quite full, aTtd waa gauged several ti&es round t&e .}mae, just where the crown met thj brim. there waa no trimming. Immediately against this huge model came a close-'ntting toque of ,duM satin in a beautiful shatde of j"àvet).'a wing blue. This had a soft, draped ci6wn, atightly suggestive of a Titiii- o-Shafiter crown, which was swathed, rather than gathered, into t flat band-like brim which came well down upon the head. AgMn no trimming, Mve for two huge hat-pms in dark blue enamet, with just a touch of Indian red and a line of tarnished silver. Paper patterna can be supplied, pr;ce 6K When ordering, pleaee g?ote nwabM, ea' eloeo remittantDe, <tmd tg %so LMt<< 8, La Bel!o Sauvag'e, lzit&n, C -—

A JAPANESE BAY. Two natural phenomena, of quite recTtTM spring recurrence, have given unique fame to the Japanese Bay of Toyama. The lightning cuttIe-Sah is a.,rather tiny speciew that emits a Wonderful phosphoTescenco when aroused, and, while the fish is not coa- Sned to the locality, it swarma along the I coast in April and May. As the nshermen seek them with special nets, the alarmed creatures gl,w with exceptional brilliance. The second visitation is the shinkiro or mirage. The mirage, seen along the shore,. begina as a faint mist, and Mien develops into a panorama of foreata, caatlee, bridgee, and marching men and horsemen.

HUMOUR OF THE WEEK. ON LEAVE. Our soldiers on leave give a new meaning to the busman'a holiday idea (says the "Daily Chronicle"); they go back to their old jobs; on the vans of laundries, grocers, butchers, carriers, even singing songs of exultation high placed upon chariots of coal. We recently noticed a great improvement in the grocer's tum-out, and found the former driver on leave and in charge. "Nah then," he said on the last day to his substitute, "you put a bit more elber-grease into his 'ide, and a bit more ehine on 'is 'arness or you'll git a thick ear when I 'ave my next leave." BTOPE DEFERRED. "If the enemy navy can be induced* to show themselves again, we wiji do the Test," says the Berlin Anzeiger." It must be awfully discouraging for the German Navy to go out hunting in the Eiet Canal day ?ft.r day and never nnd the enemy.—"San Francisco Daily News." THAT WAR BREAD. The baker who said the sale of twelve* hour-old bread has caused much "heart- barn" in the trade meant "heart-burnings," but he wasn't so far wrong (saya the "Star"). "THEIR AISNH." From the "Orient Weekly, iasued at Salonika:— A< a Scottish soldier said the other day, the French are getting a bit of their Aisne back." MBATE ON WIVES? The Chancellor of the Exchequer, I see, ta meditating an income-tax rebate on wives- no income-tax payer to be allowed a rebate for more than one, of course (says the "Daily Sketch"). It looks as though Mr. Law had got it into his head that what a once lively but now defunct misogynist used to call "the sponse-trap" would be none the worse for a little re-baiting. EBB-FAVOURED "1 understand that the Government wi!! apportion a quantity of sugar for the autumn and winter feeding of bees," said Mr. Herrod Hempsall, secretary of the British Bee Keepers' Association. How doth the little busy bee Improve the shining hour, By tucking in indulgently Into his sugary dower. No surly grocer says him nay—- As happens to poor bards! And, oh, in Bee-land they've a way Of dodging sugar-cards! —"Cassetl's Saturday Jouma! THE ONLY THING. Nearly every country has now adopted the Daylight Saving scheme. Aa a matter of fact daylight is about the only thing we can save nowttdays. p TITE VERY MAN. Sergeant (bringing in a candidate): "You wanted a young man for the onlcers' mess, sir." OfHeer: "Yes, sergeant; has he had any ex 'n P" Sergeant: "Yes, sir. He was a platelayer before he joined up." THE OLD WAY. "Physical culture is delightful," said it girl enthusiast. "To develop the arms I ?ra?n this rod by one end and move it slowly thua from left to rij?ht." "Well, well!" exclaimed the father. "What will science discover next? If that rod had bristles at the other end you'd be sweeping." PICKINGS FROM "PUNCH." MHch sympathy is felt in Germany for Admiral von Tirpitz, whose proposed cure in Switzerland is ofF. His medical offior has advised him to take a long sea voyage, but failed to couple with the advice a few par- ticulars on how to carry it out. Patrons of the royal theatres in Germany who t pay iu gold can now obtain two scats for the price of one. This is not the induce- meat it Blight seem to be. The German who used to buy one ticket and occupy two veats is almost extinct. People living next door to a poat-omce 'where burglars blew open the safe thought it was an air raid and went into the cellar. A suggestion that signals, clearly distin- guishable from those used in air raids, should be used on these occasions, is under consideration in the right quarter. "Wanted, Upper Housemaid of two; wages .830; 5 maide; two ladies in family; quiet country place.—Daily Paper. Who said our upper classes Me not feeling the War? If A conference of the Ministers of depart- ments concerned will take place in London to arrange measures for their execution. "Daily Chronicle." I Anticipated comment from "The Morning Toast": "And quite time, too." letter sent by a soldier's wife to the Army Pay Department:— "I am sending you my marage eertincate and six children there were seven but won died. Yoa only sent six back her name was fanny and waa baptised on a half sheet of paper by the reverend Thomas." QUIPS FROM "LONDON OPINION." Germany has sneered from a bad drought. And still more from a bad reign. Hindcnburg, in his "masterly retreat," is turlng the Allies to Berlin. Perhaps he wishes to compel them to live there and starve as the Germans are doing. Many old burglars are eaid to have re- turned to work, making a specialiity of drapers' shops. Of course, it means more work for the junior bar when Bill Sikea takes silk. Tte Home 'Secretary's treatment of the cab whistle was quite homtcopathic. He abolished it at a blow. Lord Rhondda -saya we aha!! aoon see the end of the pronteer. Meanwhile, we see too much of his divid-end. The L.C.C. Medical 6fficer eays that boya are more subject than girts to defective speech. But look how much tees talking practice they get! According to the Natfbnal Flint and GIassmakers' Report, Germany, before the L war, supplied most of our stained glass. But few of us saw through her designs.

LAND -OF THE BUFFALO. I The largest herd of buffalo m the world is now ownoo by Canada. They form a pictur. esque t.,roup as they roam over the new national reserve set apart for them near Wa-inwright, Saskatchewan. Canadians recognised the need of action if the buffalo w,ere to be preserved, and purchased practl- cally an entire herd of 600 or 700 from Mon- tana. The herd was transported across the international boundary line by train from the Pablo ranch. The rounding up of these untamed animals and their young was no light task, and 150 of the most unruly had eventually to be left behind. An effort will t<e made to ship these later. In addition" 75 buffalo now connRed in the National Park at Banff will be sent to the Wainwright re- serve. The natural increase of the herd haa brought up the number to nearly 1,000.