Abergavenny Chronicle

ROUNDiNG-UP SCATTERED ENEMY I I FORCES. War Office. J East Africa.—In the northern area the ] convergent advance of British and Belgian troops from the direction of Iringa, and oi a Belgian force from Kilossa [on the railway near Mrogoro], has cleared the country be- tween the liuaha and Kilombero (or Ulanga) rivers, and driven all the German detach- ments in that area to the south of the Ulanga. [The Kilombero is a tributary of the Rufiji, flowing between Iringa and Ma- hengo. ] After several unsuccessful attempts I the enemy force reported in the communique of August 25 to be invested at Mpepo's [65 miles south-west of Mahenge] broke out in small parties during the night of August Z7, and made for Mahenge, after sustaining heavy losses. Our troops are pursuing. In the southern area, Tunduru [50 miles N. of Portuguese frontier] was occupied by our troops on August 23 as the result of an advance through Portuguese territory from Fort Johnston [at the Southern end of Lake Nyasa], in the course of which the enemy forces in the Lujenda and Luchulingo Val- leys were driven north across the Portu- guese border. In the Lindi area [near the coast] the enemy forces on the Lindi-Masasi road have been strengthened. There is no change in the other areas, in which our columns maintain their pressure on the enemy detachments opposed to them.

SUGAR CARDS. I As there seems to be considerable misap- prehension, the Ministry of Food point out that there is no advantage whatsoever in consumers registering at the present time with retailers in order to get their supplies of sugar under the new scheme. Between September 15 and September 29 they will receive at their house or be able to obtain at any post office a form of application for a sugar, registration card, and after having returned this to their Local Food Office they will in due course receive, through the post, a sugar registration card.. Every consumer will be at liberty to de- posit this card with any retailer that he cares to choose, and the retailer with whom he deposits it will, in due course, re- ceive an allowance of sugar in respect of each card deposited with him. There is no advantage in depositing with one grocer more than another. The smallest retailer will have just as good a chance of getting supplies for each card deposited with him as the largest retailer.

I "THE GERMANS ARE HERE I" I At Bow-street Police-court, Edward Griffin was fined 40s. for falsely spreading a report that an air raid was taking place on August 16. It was stated that at half-past ten on the night in question, when the searchlights were at work and the anti-aircraft guns were practising, the defendant was seen to leave his house and then knock at several doors in the street, at the same time shout- ing out at the top of his voice: "Come on; the Germans are here! The noise is not guns; it's bombs." This caused a large number of women and children to leave their beds and seek shelter. A police officer told the defendant there was no raid, but he replied, "There is a raid," and ran away in the direction of the Underground station followed by a crowd.

I NO "JEWISH" REGIMENT. I A deputation which waited on Lord Derby with reference to the use of the word "Jewish" for the battalions now in course of formation under the convention with Russia has been informed that the bat- talions will be given numerals as their titles. ITTlie battalions will wear the general ser- vice badge now in use," says Lord Derby, "and the conditions of service in them will be identical with those of the rest of the British forces." ♦ ■■■

I CHAPLAIN KILLED IN ACTION. I Captain the Rev. Herbert Green, M.C., chaplain to the forces, a Wesleyan, of Lin- ton, Cambridgeshire, has been killed at the Front at the age of twenty-eight. He was training at the Theological College, Rich- mond, when war broke out, and joined the Naval Division. He was transferred to the Chaplain's Department last year, and won the M.C. at the second battle of Arras for devotion to duty and care of the wounded under heavy fire.

RESCUES BY SOLDIERS. I Arthur Hedger, a Canadian soldier, swam out to the rescno of a bather in difficulties at Bexhill, and brought him safely to shore. A lady bather at Mundesley, who was a good swimmer, but had been carried out by the current, was saved by two Welsh soldiers, Private Stannay and Private Roche. All were in a distressed state when they reached safety.

SEPARATION ALLOWANCE FRAUD. At Old-street Police-court, Elizabeth Wood was sentenced to six months' im- prisonment for obtaining 958 8s. lOd. sepa- ration allowance by fraud. For aiding and abetting the offence, Richard Win. Asser, her brother, was sentenced tO three months' hard labour, and the woman's husband, Wm. Wood, one month. For the Director of Public Prosecutions it was stated that the woman had been posing as her brother's wife since the latter's Sath, two years ago.

AIR RAIDS CAUSE SUICIDE. I At a Stepney inquest a juryman said that a number of people were going about now who were strange in their manner owing to th. air raids. The inquiry concerned a man whose body had been taken from Limehouse Cut, and whose wife said that since the raids her husband had been strange in his manner. "Suicide while temporarily in- sane was the verdict returned.

85 YEARS IN ONE HOUSE. I An octogenarian widower named George Crouch, who has died at Perry-street, Chat- ham, was born in the house in which he expired. When his parents passed away he con- tinued to live in the same house, and biY,v;h.t up a family there. He had never changed his residence during the" whole of his eighty-five years.

EXCEEDED ALLOWANCES. I The Café Monico, Piccadilly, London, W., was fined £ 7 and.£3 costs, at Marl borough- street Police-court, for a breach of the Public Meals Order by exceeding the meat allowance. Joseph Tisserant, Emile Restau- rant, Wardour-street, London, W., was fined JPO on six summonses for using more sugar than he was permitted to do.

FROST PROTECTOR. 1 Soaking in a solution of sodium sulphate and allowing to dry, is given as an effective test of the resistance of building stones to frost. The pressure from the expansion of the crystals as they form in the rock pores is gpeater than that from freezing water, and only stones very resistant to frost fail to scale off badly. Under this test it is stated as the results of experience, a good granite should not lose more than eight to ten parto by weight in 10,000; sandstone not more than fifty tp sixty parts; and nSH&rble, •firer fifteen to twenty.

OTHER MEN'S MINDS. England is particularly the enemy to Be I struck down.—THE KAISER. IN THE CABINET. I Taking my place in the Cabinet was one of I the most odious duties ever imposed upon I me.—MR. BARNES. UNDER THE HARROW. I We are all toads under the harrow—the I harrow being a well-meaning Government- MR- DE GREY. THE MOST POWERFUL IDEAS. I A candid reading of history suggests a strong suspicion that in all ages of the world the most powerful ideas are precisely those that are being least talked about.- DR. L. P. JACKS. PARLIAMENT OUR FRIEND. I Parliament is still our best friend, because the only alternatives to Parliament are our worst enemies, the rule of the purse or the rule of the machine-gun.-PuoFEssoR GIL- DERT MURRAY. 7 LOCAL FOOD COMMITTEES. I No person should be appointed to local food control committees to represent any trade or business in relation to food supply. -MR. J. R. CLYNZS, M.P. AN EIGHT-HOUR DAY. I It is impossible, under war conditions, to I give railwaymen an eight-hour day.SiB I ALBEBT STANLEY. I MORE SHIPS. I We must enormously increase our output I of ships if ye are to fight successfully the II U-boat menace.—MR. JOHN HILL. I IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE. I It is impossible not to recognise that a new sense of the vital importance of agricul- ture has begun to dawn on the urban popu- lation, but, of course, in these matters we are at the mercy of the urban voter. If he does not realise the importance of agricul- ture to him the cause is logt.-VISCOUNT MILNEB. I THAT PAIN. I Men have complained of stomachache after j the first few days of Army rations. It is due I to the good food supplied.—LIEUT.-GENBRAI» CODRINGTON. I IN THE MINES. I From 160,000 to 170,000 persons have en- tered the mines during the last three years to fill the places of men who have gone on active service.-MR. ROBERT SMILLIK. I THE PUZZLED SCHOOLBOY. I A schoolboy finds a bewildering disparity between the words and acts of those who profess religious views, implanting or strengthening the suspicion that religious belief involves hypocrisy.-Mu. FRANK ROSCOE. I DECORATED LABOUR LEADERS. I Labour leaders are being decorated with honours, so that one of these days it will be a distinction to have no decoration.-Ma. W. C. ANDERSON, M.P. < I UNITY IS STRENGTH. I The experience' of the w:ar has clearly proved that unless labour is united labour will go under.-MR. J. H. THOMAS, M:P. I THE NATIONS LIFE-BLOOD. I The merchant navy is our life-blood, and the misfortune is that at present that fact is not generally io&cognised.-MR. ARCHI- BALD HURD. I THE LABOURER'S WAGE. I Just as, in the case of the farmer, a mini- mum price was fixed for his produce because we wanted to grain his confidence, so in e case of the labourer, thqre was a strong argument for securing his peace of mind by guaranteeing him a minimum rate of wages. —VISCOUNT MILNER. I INCOMPETENT FARMING. I There is a strange amount of incompetence I both in farming and estate management in I this country, arising from personal idiosyn- |J crasies.—EARL or SELBORNB. I I AN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEM. I Everyone realises the elementary fact that some children if they are only given an opportunity will profit most through modern languages and history, others by a scientific and technical education, and others again are destined by their natural turn of mind to profit most from an education based largely on the study of classical antiquity.— MR. H. A. L. FISHER. I EDUCATION AND THE NATION. I We used to look down on education, but during the last two years the great majority- of all classes have come to realise that the intellectual power which only comes from arduous and prolonged mental training is a necessary factor in the national progress and I well-being.-MR,. ACLAND, M.P. I THE DEVELOPING CHURCH. 1 The Church is a developing organism im- mersed in the cosmic process. Her doc- trines, therefore, are subject to the laws of development.-Bisirop MERCER. I PLEASURES OF EDUCATION. I I notice that a new way of thinking about education has sprung up among many of the more neglected members of our industrial army. They do not want education in order that they may become better technical work- men and earn higher wages; they do not want it in order that they may rise out of their own class. They want it because they know that in the treasures of the mind they can find an aid to good citizenship, a source of pure enjoyment, and a refuge from the necessary hardships of a life spent in the midst of the clanging machinery of our hideous cities of toil.—TMR. H. A. L. FISHBB. I STATUS OF THE WORKER. I The industrial battles of the future will not be for advances of wages, but for a recognition of the status of the worker, to decide whether he is to be a mere gleaner in the harvest or take his proper share of the produce.—MR. W. C. ANPBRSON, M.P. I FAMINE PROBÅB. I There is going to be a world shortage in r iw material, and the country will have to up and produce. Twenty million men Lave been taken from production to engage in destructi. n, and no amount of inter- national boi Lowing or pawning will replace tho loss. Famine will probably take place, and all the nations must agree that there must be an equitable distribution of their- exportable surpluses to those other coun- tries needing them. There must be no priority, either in class or country. It must be a case of nobody having cake till every- body has bread.—MB. SIDNEY WEBB.

To meet the greatly increased cost of pro- duction, Hammersmith Borough Council proposes to increase the charge for elec- tricity by 12t per cent. Sergeant-Major J. T. Moriarty, of the Canadian Railway Construction Battalion, raid his sister, Alice Moriarty, were each fined < £ 20 and five guineas costs at West- minster Police-court for obtaining separa- tion allowance by false pretences. Mr. R. Patmere, Registrar of Births and Deaths at Dover, and his brother, Mr. E. l'iit!nore, have both recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Captain Seymour Barne, M.C., 20th Hus- sars, who was killed in France on April 23, left £50 to the officer commanding the regi- ment for a prize for a periodical competi- tion among non-commissioned officers and men of the regiment for the encouragement of the training of young horsea.

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES. THE RURAL HOUSING PROBLEM. At the present moment (writes Waltel Wallas, in the "Cornhill-") it would probably be true to say that the bulk of the agricul- tural labourers with the Colours intend to go back to the land—on conditions. A guarantee of wages up to 1922 and of a wages board afterwards is a very great step towards re- assuring them, but the question of the cot- tage is just as important, for very many of them will want to marry at once after the war. If there are no cottag'es by the time these men are demobilised, they will inevit- ably drift into the towns and be lost for ever to the land. There is no question of the moment more important to the farmer than this-yet he is neglecting it and is waiting for automatic economic presssure to give him plentiful labour as before. The wage is worthless without the house. TOMMY'S ODDS AND ENDS. I Sundries 1 In commercial circles this term is generally employed in its most inconclu- sive sense, and as indicating a mass of odds and ends considered too trivial to receive indi- vidual mention. But in the military world it assumes a far more significant import. From an article by Mr. F. A. Talbot, in "The World's Work," we learn that it not only embraces an imposing array of miscellaneous articles which in the aggregate represent a telling proportion of the 30,000 odd items figuring in the fitting out of an army and all that this term implies, but many of the individual articles possess a prominence which is every whit as spectacular as more fami- liar items, to wit, clothing and boot-s. Under this heading are grouped some 4,000 different articles of infinite variety, ranging from tooth brushes to drugs, cutlery to tent pegs, telegraph poles to shell baskets. Many thousand industries are affected, and while some are certainly co-related, there are many which are as distinctive and isolated, as the weaving of khaki or the tanning of leather. Consequently one is able to form some idea of the intricacy and difficulties which have been, and still are, associated with the work of tracking down each affected handi- craft and completing arrangements for the production of this, that, or some other appar- ently insignificant article in sufficient quan- tities to satisfy the military. There has been many a long stern chase from Land's End to John o' Groats, especially when the industry in question belonged essentially to the country- side, only to be found here and there, and then often in a state of more or less suspended animation. The humble hay rake is a case in point. It used to be a speciality of the village wood- worker; but when the War authorittes decided that it was preferable in the Army to the modern iron implement, no one can imagine what a wild goose chase was necessary throughout the country to find surviving hay ndre makers and put them to work. Like- wise, the Army prefer the old-fashioned wooden corn crushers; but these were not diffi- cult to find. Mr. Talbot's article tells of the rejuvenation by war of the British cutlery industry—the making of razors by the million, knives, forks, and spoons for the Army, and thousands of clasp knives every week. It also goes into the question of wooden ware, from aeroplane frames to t-ent poles, floors, and pegs. Three hundred thousand chairs a year are used by the Army; and a million helves for digging and cutting tools. The world has been scoured for suitable woods for making field beds and stretchers, dough troughs and bakers' shovels, telegraph poles and wooden drums on which to wind the wires. BEYOND DEATH. I I dreamed that I had done with death And life too; in waste lands and far I passed, upon a chill wind's breath, Through clouds which never saw a star. I shunned the shining fields, tho gate, The alien glories shining through, Careless of heaven's high pomp and state, And home-sick for the world I knew. Yet I drew near and knocked—to be Awed by a Presence strange and new? Surely there opened unto me No Angel of the Lord, but you! So learnt I then how grace contrives For each the heaven, the hope he soucht, And there withal how love survives, When life is null and death is nought. —S. Gertrude Ford, in "The Woman at Home." CAT AND FOX CUBS. I Writing in the "Quiver" on foxes, Mr. Frank Bonnett tells of two cubs that were brought up by a cat. They were found, when but a day or two old, lying in a thick hedge- row with no protection but the tangled under- gronvth They were blind and heljfiess, for,- like puppies, fox cubs cannot see till some days after birth. What had become of their mother nobody knew. Perhaps she had met with an accident,' for it seemed strange that she did not return to her family if still able to do so. At any rate, she did not appear, and, fearing that the cubs might, starve or that some harm mi-L,t come to them in so public and expose d a situation, the finder of theee two baby foxes took them home in the hope that he might be able to rear then The problem of feeding the youngsters seemed rather a eerious one. A baby's bottle was suggested, but the idea was abandoned in preference to a foster-mother of some sort if such could be found. Inquiries were made for a bitch with puppies, but in the limited time to spare none could be found. At length a cat, whose kittens had only been taken away that morning, was discovered, and the baby foxes were forthwith introduced to her tender care. Whether she really believed the fox cubs to be her own family restored to her, or whether in her bereavement she was glad to adopt a family of any description, cannot be said, but the cat at once took to the little strangers and appeared to be delighted with them. The cubs, too—grateful to find again someone who wouM look after them and provide for their wants, nestled up to the cat as if, she had been their own mother, and made themselves quite at home. Cat and cubs were placed in a box in a warm stable, and from the first all went well with the strangely assorted family. The cubs grew up to be fine, strong, healthy foxes, and at six weeks old were given a "ken- nel in the open air in the decayed hollow of a large oak. Here they were fed for some time longer with various tit-bits such as foxes love, their diet consisting principally of chicken giblets, rabbits, mice, and rats. And at length, being quite able to fend for them- P.c,lve.s, the now almost full-grown foxes'were allowed to wander off into a neighbouring wood to lead the life of their wild-bred companions. A SINISTER GERMAN PLOT. I Long before the present war Germany was plotting to bring about trouble between Britain and Russia. In "CasselFs Magazine," Mr. A. H. Fletcher, the well-known journalist, de- clares that what is known as the Dogger Bank incident was the outcome of a sinister Ger- man plot. He says: When Rozhdestvensky, who was a brave leader of men and not a comic figure in history, fired into the British fishing fleet on the Dogger Bank, he was not suffering from nerves. I was in Petrograd at the time, and received inf<,rmation to the effect that what is known as the Dogger Bank incident was the outcome of a carefully pre- Sared and diabolical plot to bring Great Britain into the field against Russia, and pos- sibly France. The latter Power could not have avoided war had the British fleet destroyed the Russian squadron, as the interests of France and Russia were in those days almost as closely knit together as they are now. What had occurred to cause the Russian admiral to open fire in the North Sea upon peaceful trawlers? The German Admiralty conveyed the information to the Russian naval authorities that Japanese torpedo-boats were present in the British fishing fleet off the Dogger Bank, and unfortunately Rozhdeetven- eky fell into the trap and created a situation that almost brought Britain and Russia into open conflict. The information given by the German naval authorities was pure invention. and was conveyed with the sole purpose of weakening Britain, France? and Russia, the dmfI nations who are now in close alliance 7ainrst all that is Teutonic in the world. [t is possible that the knowledge of the plot j •vliich I expose d in a visit to Sir (then Mr.) Cecil Spring Rice, had! a share in the frustra. tion of the devilish plans of Wilhelm and his Junkers.

As compensation for damage don' e in the I rebellion, Dublin Corporation 1)94 fect&i £ 4,568.

Mr. A. H. Collinson, Director of Inspec- tion in Munition Areas, has been appointed Controller of Inspection in place of six Sothern Holland. A bequest -of £ 500, payable on tfed death of his wife, was left to St. Dunstaa'e Hostel for Blind Soldiers and Sailors by Mr. T. B. jhaitfe,. of Ferriby, Hull.

GORGEOUS BUT SERVICEABLE. I c, Á useful plant is the sunflower," com. taented a botanist. "It was first cultivated in Madrid, having been brought from America by the early Spanish explorers. In Russia the seeds are eaten in immense quantities, raw or roasted, as we eat chest- nuts (and, indeed, good sunflower seeds are equal. to many nuts in flavour), while the oil obtained by pressing the seeds is an impor- tant article of diet. The best seeds yield an oil which compares favourably with olive- oil for table purposes. The stalks and dried leaves are highly prized for fuel, being in some parts of Russia almost the only avail- able substitute for wood. An acre of sun- flowers will yield a tremendous quantity of good faggots. Of late years purified sun- flower oil him been used quite extensively to adulterate olive-oil, which it greitly re- sembles. It is of a pale yellowish colour, and ""decidedly palatable. In a crude state it is used by painters to some extent. In addi- tion to the oil from the seede, the stalks, when green, and the oil-cake make excellent fodder, for cattle. The fibre of the stalks, which is. fine, silky, and very strong, also has a value. In China it is woven into beauts fal fabrics."

IN LIGHTER VEIN I NY THOMAS JAY. I ILLUSTRATED BY J. B. LUNN. I I would not say a word to dissuade folk from any sense of importance they may feel from a knowledge of their bumps. The duration of our lives is essentially depen- dent upon circumstances and environment, and so it might be useful to you and me if I -? PHRENOLOGY. it were t possiu le to boast that we had no lumps on our heads at all worth bothering the phreno- logist with. Think of the case of the poor fellow who at a police- court the other day stated that his wife struck him over the head with a poker because he had spent h a If a crown at the phrenolo- gist's. With his battered crown due to his irate wife he might have waited and taken a whole though battered crown to be phrenologised for half-a-crown, and had better value for his money, one of the lumps being described undoubtedly as the Bump of Affection. You will have noticed from the newspaper which you purloined from the club that cer- tain steamers which saunter round the coast are only now permitted to go on pleasure trips on condition that they catch fish to increase the food supply. It would have been more reasonable to say "try to catch fish," but there the fact remains—or there it was when I last saw it-that fish must be caught, and people are also asked to catch fresh-water fish, which make good food. But, of course, the fly in the ointment which is likely to break the camel's back is how these fish may be caught, and here I may throw out a few hints in the hope that they will be caught and given a good home. With the possible exception of dodging clouds, such as a tax-collector crossing the lawn, 'bus-dodging, and refusing passports to pacifists, fishing is our most popular hobby. It is also one of our most ancient sports, and was much in vogue long before Sir Francis Drake played bowls on Plymouth Hoe. In the first place, all that is necessary for fishing is a rod, a line, a hook, a cast- iron back with a hinge in the middle, and a day off. A rod is a long piece of timber cut into four and then put together again. They charge you about a guinea for doing this. With this outfit there is nothing to stop a man from keeping on fishing until he has worn a hole in the river. Fishing is essentially an outdoor occupa- tion, few drawing-rooms being large enough to permit of a full-sized river or trout stream without overcrowding. The hooks arc not what one might call dangerous within the meaning of the act, but they have a habit of entering one's hand by the early door and making their exit under the left ear. Under such circumstances even a clergyman may be permitted to say "bother," or words to that effect. When you have fixed up your rod and removed the line from a neighbouring tree for the third time, you take the hook, which will probably be found deeply embedded in your coat, and attach it to the line. You then take from your bait tin a young and healthy worm, known to the elite as The Crirn.on Rambler, and then you spend a lot of time trying to thread a half-inch worm on an inch hook, at the same time rolling back your coat-sleeves to show that you have nothing concealed therein. You proceed to remove any obstacles in the way on .the stream, such as boats, boat- houses, trees, and other anglers, and throw in your line. You then sit down and wait for a fish to bite, an expectation whici might last for hours and hours, if not weeks. One tnmg to De gua r d e d against 16 the catching of eels. Eels are playful little things which are easier to catch than to uncatch. One can catch an eel in two minutes, but it will take hours to uncatch it, be- cause of its appa- rent desire to swallow h Qok, line, rod, angler's hat, lunch, basket, and even, THE FISHING SEASON. I J.1.1 6CVU1« \,j(:1..t." the angler himself. If you fish all day and catch nothing, you may, of course, bale out the stream with a bucket, or pack your catch in the basket and plod homewards, making a few complimentary additions to the vocabulary en route. It was, you remember, the great Bard who once said there was a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Well, I must have missed the steamer. Misfortunes not only stare me in the face, but are making ugly grimaces at me. I have no objection to my friends sending me little presents. In fact, it shows a proper appreciation on the part of the people at home. who are embedded in the mud of rural England. I am pleased to note that the public are requested not to send things like eggs to soldiers. I have a painful memory of such an act on the part of Murphy's relatives, who had sent him four obsolete and obviously worn-out eggs. He had hardly bitten the end off one, wished it good morning, and called out the guard. before he was ordered by the corporal in the interests of humanity to wring the necks of all the four eggs. Two days later Murphy received another parcel, containing a cake, which had been delayed in transit, and it was only after Murphy had plunged his teeth into it, and thus necessitated an early visit to stores for a further ration of teeth, that he discovered that his people had forgotten to faka the tin off. As Murphy puts it, they might have sent the tin-opener with it. Another foolish present is a gramophone with only one record. Such an one has been telling uS every hour of the day and night for six- teen days, with a matinee on Sundays, that Tipperary is still a very remote place. Our serwant-major has overcome that trouble now. He has hurled the machine into a field and got the R.E. to build wire en- tanglements around it. t Then Monty's Aunt Angelina forwarded to her nephew the tabby cat's latest brood of kittens to the number of eight. That was where something went snap in our brains, or as the psychologists put it in their novels, "That baliy well tore it." Of course I'm working up to that cheese that was sent to me, which is still loose about the hut. I have often fancied trying to dream of a winner for the Windsor, and I ate a good deal of that cheese, but. the nearest I got to a horse in my dreams was a seven-legged elephant with three trunks. Such things ought to be warned off by the Jockey Club. What I want to say is that you have to sound your horn a bit before sending presents to soldiers. As the Army has already hung on to the soldier a valise, sixty-seven buckles and straps, a great coat, a billy can, a mug, a steel helmet, a rifle, a bayonet, a tired look, and a few other articles of furniture, he has enough to occupy his mind.

James Hastle, a stoker, was fined .£5, or twentv-five days, at Berwick Police-court, for leaving Berwick Gas Works without permjp- sion, thus endangering the town's lighting. William Kropp, the son of a German cap- W-illiam Kropp, 'fightl' n4 In the German tain at present fighting in the German army, was charged at West London Polico- conrt as a deserter, and was handed over to an escort. During the recent gale sheaves ,of wheat at Yaverland, Isle of Wight, woe caught up by the wind and blown over the cliff into the eea. ¿

A FOOD FOR HORSES. The Food Controller having restricted the use of oats for horses, it has become neces- sary to decide what substitute can be em- ployed in the place of such an excellent and favourite food for horses. The reason for this drastic measure is the great scarcity of the grain and the large quantities required f for human consumption. It is suggested by, the Board of Agriculture that the following mixed food can be used in the proportions stated to replace oats: 101b. oats may be replaced by 141b. bran, 101b. pollards, 121b. dried grains, 71b. maize. 91b. beans or peas, or 81b. linseed cake. No single one of these focxl3 should be used as a substitute for oata. It T3 much safer to use a mixture. Farm hordes at grass should not get more than the equivalent of 61b. or 71b. of oats a day, and this quantity should be reduced when they are doing no work. Idle horses should get no dry food. There is a wide difference in the efficiency of horses in utilising feed. There is an "individuality" in work horses as well as in other farm animals. Horses that are notably hard to keep in good con- dition should be replaced by ones that may be maintained at less cost. BUTTER-MAKING HINTS. A. new churn should always be thoroughly soaked with boiling water and soda before using, changing the water several times in order to remove all colour and flavour from the new wood. No trace of soda must re- main in the churn, otherwise it will prevent the cream from churning. The soda can usually be got rid of by washing first with cold water, thn with buttermilk, first with with cold water. Wooden utensils and vessels used in dairying should be kept scrupulously clean (says "Farm, Field, and Fireside"). Although best dried in the air, care must be taken not to expose them to [ hot sun, as this would dry them too much, thus causing the wood to shrink and crack. j When preparing cream for churning see that it is of the proper consistency, and, if need be, thin it down by adding pure. cold water until it runs freely off the stirrer. If not sufficiently thin, it is liable to hang up in the churn, or, as it is more commonly ex- pressed, "go to sleep." The correct tem- perature at which to churn cream is most important, and will vary according to the temperature of the room in which churning is performed. Generally the churning tem- perature varies from 58 to 62 deg. F. in winter. If the temperature is very high- say, SO deg. F.—then the churning tempera- ture should be very low—say, 52 deg. F. On the other hand, should the room tem- perature be exceedingly low—say, 50 deg. F. —then the churning temperature should be as high as 62 deg. F. ADVICE TO SHEEP FARMERS. cheep are specially valuable just now, not merely in the monetary sense to their owners, but as part of the national resources with which we are waging wax. It ie there- fore even more desirable than usual this year that farmers should do their best to keep their flocks thriving (save "The Agri- cultural Gazette."). From May until Octo- ber the sheep maggot fly is busy, and, un- less preventive measures are taken or cura- tive treatment is prompt, the evil not only discolours the wool but causes a rapid lose of condition in the animal. A good deal of unskilled labour is being employed among sheep this season, and it may be advisable therefore to inform those who are not aware of the fact that where sheep are seen to be continually jerking their tails or rubbing or biting themselves, an immediate examina- tion for maggots is desirable. Moist, wanna, muggy weather or warm sunshine following showers is favourable to the development of the sheep-maggot fly. Attacks are usually worse on lambs than en old sheep. OBSERVE CLEANLINESS, Death is not infrequent as a result of neglect to take speedy measures of treat- ment. The flies are attracted by dirt, and sheep suffering from diarrhoea are usually the 'first to be attacked. The hindquarters of all sheep should be kept as clean as pos- sible when they are badly soiled it is a good plan to clip the wool of the tail and between the hind legs. The fly does not like sulphur, and this should form an element in all preventive dips. But it must be borne in mind that the eltect of a dip seldom lasts more than a fortnioht-carbolic dips are quite useless, by the way, for this purpose. Wounds should be dressed with a paste made of some kind of oil or grease and flowers of sulphur or spirits of tar to keep away the fly. Maggots when found should be picked or rubbed off, or the wool can be shorn a little around the affected spot, which may then be dressed with a mixture of equal portions of turpentine and rape oil, or with diluted paraffin oil, a dusting of sulphur being given afterwards. The fly breeds on the carcasses of dead animals and birds, and these should always be promptly buried or burnt. VEGETABLES. Onions for spring and early summer use may still be sown, lecting an open situa- tion and treading the ground after digging it (says "Farm Life"). Suitable varieties are Ailsa Craig, Giant Rocca, and White Lisbon. The latter is a very useful variety for pulling grven in spring, because it soon forme a bulb.' When large enough they should be thinned to stand singly in the rows, not in clusters. Lettuces may be sown to stand the winter in the open. When large enough, the thinnings may be trans- planted to the foot of a wall facing south or west, where they will get shelter from the severity of the weather. The remainder may be left in the seed bed to be trans- planted in spring. Cabbages in the seed bed; will require thinning if the seedlings have come up too thickly. If all are likely to be wanted, the thinnings may be dibbled into a spare piece of ground, where they will make a fine lot of fibrous roots, and trans- plant without check later on. Water the ground a few hours before transplanting, if the weather should be dry at the time. Tomatoes that set after this time in the open air are not likely to ripen. The leading shoot may, therefore, be stopped, to concen- trate the energies of the plants on the ripen- 'ing of those fruits already swelling. It will be necessary to look over the plants at in- tervals to stop other growths which will push out. Radishes and mustard and cress should still be sown at intervals to give a supplv for salads, etc. It will be easier now to get these things to grow freely, though it may be necessary to water the seed beds to get good germination. LOUSINESS IN PIGS. As with other animals similarly affected, pigs which are attacked by this blood-suck- ing parasite are restless, and will be ob- served to be continually rubbing themselves (says "Farm, Field, and Fireside"). This state of irritation is anything but conducive to the laying on of fat, and must be imme- diately dealt with. There are many simple and effective remedies for eradicating these pests; and it will be necessary, as in all other insect attack, to cleanse the sty. This will necessitate the removal of the occupants to some temporary shed. The sides of the sty should be sprayed with paraffin, and then whitewashed or tarred, whichever is deemed most advisable. All loose litter must be cleared out and burnt, and the floor, which may be of chalk or wood, will require a thorough cleansing. The vermin will be effectually destroyed if the pigs are rubbed over with train oil prior to their removal into temporary quarters. Dressings with lard or other forms of fat or grease are equallv effective, inasmuch" as they prevent the breathing organs of the insect from con- tinuing their work of respiration.