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The Clinton News Record, 1919-4-17, Page 6Its Richness ln9 aallty. gives Tea -Pot :t u44S all�a;�b,aaRthq Teas of ale alp wher e 947 Black a Qreen o Mixed :: Sealed Packet Only. Oitl y'■ Flowers in the Country Home. Water thoroughly, keep shaded from The desire "to start something, the direct rays of the sun for a few growing" is one of the signs that,days, and do not water again until the spring is sit heed. Satisfy this de - soil begins to dry on the surface. Tho sire by growing new plants for' cuttings will "take hold" in the pots sp ing and summer from those which in a few days, -and are then oared for met have kept through the winter.; as any other small plants. If it is Ycu will find, too, that old plants, difficult to keep the little pots from whicli are cut or pruned back severe -',drying out, place them in a flat or ly now will put forth new shoots and shallow box, -with moss or fine coal tl rive vigorously. ashes packed in around them. Plants that are easy to increase (or If started now, the plants may be propagate, as the florists say) are expected to be in condition for the eraniums, begonias, heliotropes, garden when the time comes for out- ichsias, white or "Paris" daisies, door planting. An oversupply of Ivies, lemon verbenas and petunias. plants might be disposed of to other Some of these can be grown from flower lovers, Snaking the work re- seed, bent cuttings will produce ex- munerative, espeoiallty in neighbor- hoods in which no professional florist is established. actly the same flowers as the parent plants, while seedlings sometimes vary. The equipment needed for growing new plants in the house is very simple. It consists of a warm sunny window, such as that in which your plants are kept; a small supply of clean, medium -coarse sand and of greenhouse soil composed of loam, leaf -mold and a little sand; . some small flower pots—two and one-half and three-inch; a shallow box with a few holes bored in the bottom or a large bulb or seed pan about three inches deep. The pots and seed pan, which is just a very shallow flower pot, can be procured at any hard- ware store. Probably you have rooted "slips" of geraniums or other plants in your garden, A "cutting" is just the same as a "slip,' except that for the lat- ter a whole shoot or branch is often taken, while the "cutting" of the professional plant grower is seldom more than two or three inches long. Even though you want but a few cuttings of each kind it is a disad- vantage to make them large. The important thing is to get them in just the night condition—neither too hard and tough nor too soft and watery. To tell whether the shoot or branch from which the cutting is to be taken is just tight, bend it between the fingers and thumb. If it will snap off like a fresh, brittle string bean, it The kitchen stove should have as is in the proper condition to root. little nickel work as possible about If it doubles up without breaking. it it to save time, is either too old and stringy or too young and soft; try another branch. A. small filing cabinet like alib- A .few inches from the tips of new rary card index is the best thing to shoots, that have not been forced to keep recipes in. A 'cupful' of grated carrot can be safely added to almost any recipe for steamed suet pudding. Hints to Housewives. Hominy with raisins or dates makes a tasty cereal. Never soak clothes in. hot water— it will set the stains. Accompany boiled beef or ham with string beans in white sauce. Delicious soups are made from your store of dried peas or beans. Those who find cracked wheat or grits ,irritating will enjoy farina. Unless it be a vegetable, never serve the same dish twice a week. Tuesday is for many reasons a bet- ter washing day than Monday. Hot cornmeal mush can be improv- ed by a grating of cheese over. it. A' fire screen of black • enameled metal will charm all open -fire lovers. Never stir rice, as it causes it to fall to the bottom of the vessel and burn. Corn oysters are served with pow- dered sugar, honey, syrup or chili sauce. Face veil% can be stiffened with gum arabic water, if they have be- come limp. A kitchen alarm clock should keep good time. Be sure your can -opener has a sharp point. Pastry bakes best' on a perforated tin Pie plate. snake too rapid growth, will gener- ally make the best cuttings. Take the cuttings off clean, avoid- A good sandwich is made of rye ling ragged edges. Remove all the bread with cottage cheese and te- lowee leaves, and trim back the mato catsup filling. largest of the remaining leaves to A double boiler should have a good half their size. The cutting will look large base so that the water will not skimpy, but the trimming is import- boll away quickly, ant because too much leaf surface When making sauces put the flay- -will cause the cuttings to wilt and oring extract in last and less extract probably to be lost. After making will bo necessary. the cuttings they should be allowed Remove the white spots on floors to lie for a few hours before being with a cloth moistened with water placed in the sand, so that the fresh and a few drops of ammonia. Finish cuts may became slightly calloused. with oil. over. However'', they should be: planted before they have had time to SILK FROM WILD INSECTS. wilt. _ The purpose of the sand in which Secured by the people of India for the cuttings are placed, is merely to Their Home le of y. furnish then with a constant and even supply of moisture, _Neither In a recent address at the Royal fertilize.%.•, manure nor soil should be Institution, London, • Professor H. M. used with it; in fact, if the sand is Lefroy said that the British Empire act, perfectly clean it should be made had never realized the possibilities of so by putting it in a pail and letting the silk industry, and that it existed water run into bhe pail until it over- only in India, and dated from before flows, carrying off the impurities. British occupation. The French, on Perfect drainage is necessary to keep the other hand, had developed it in the cuttings from decaying; there- many of their colonies. None the less, :Core, the bottom of the box ar pan there were a million people engaged should bo covered with sphagnum In the production of silk in India, and moss or coal cinders before it is filled it was almost entirely a lionie industry, With sand. Papp' the sand down firm- The caterpillars and moths,of "mul- ' X03, water 40 thoroughly and allow it berry" silk were entirely domesticated to drain out, Then insert the cut- creatures, now unknown in the wild tings with the fingers. Leave a half condition, but there were three kinds to two-thirds of the cutting above which were the produce of insects still trite surface; and plaoe"the cuttings so' living wholly or partly in theforests. that they do not touch each other. The "reser," or "tussore" silk import - Place the box or an in a warns od to this country came chiefly from place; it is not necessary to have China and Japan, but in -India there ' full sunlight for the first two or were 100,000 collectors, 20,000 women three weeks. If there is heat under twistersj�11.•nd 00,000 weave's producing :the box it will greatlyher the root- It fol' Talon consumption. The adult p insects lived in the hill forests of ing process. Do riotwateragain northwest indite 'Phe cocoons spun { "until the sand internee slightly dry, lhut sprilildr. the tops of the cuttings by the caterpillars were collected and lightly occasionally, if needed, to allowed to hatch, tha males wore scop them from wilting. A glass liberated, and the females were pegged cover can be fitted over the cutting' cart on thatch, Where they were visit - ;box, het it should not be tight, for od by the males, and in due course the plants need air. laid eggs, tete aaterpillare.from which All the caro needed fur the nextwore roared on trees. "}ttigo" silk Vithree nr four weeks is to 4,0 that was produced chiefly 111 Arssm, The lle sand is never allowed to dry out, cocoons ware bought from rollectars and to remove promptly and careful- aid ntt^.char to sticks anti! they Laid 1 any cutting showing the least eggs '.f11,. c"'I'U pilin: , wit" largo sign of decay. If conditions aro ezlougli, were put on trees to feed, fright, na ' leaves will start to de - cloth .0. tree was stripped, a puce of melon, olid examinatio will allow a cloth was hung to else of thq branches, and the eatorpillers coil -doted on it goad healthy calloue Duet the ends were then moved to a new tree. "Drs" t)f, the e tings, The now roots will 01111 C017108 010111 caterpillars which at push ea for two weeks or more, pond pn the castor oil plena. It is of Watch a I• full, when the do start fl. y Y t and o, ppa slants before the roots, groat value ill Iliclla, because it is the tt pot the 1 r , hoe; silk which can b0 Slilnt front co - of t. e from a naffs to 1 ha f ob q C00115 ivltho killing llv tl o 1 insects c s", g s eta in Q 0 ] long, 1 n �. the cocoons, Ur e ai acts' 011 them about C etl and is therefore the oral y s i I ,c h en tell 1' •' 1 silk that (:0.11,110 wont by a strictlove] full 0f the too soil, insert the l hide, aaotecl cutting, pretty Well up to the That loavoe, and mala; the soil firm by ringing the pot.down a imply aiptinst "Dulco et decorum est pro petiole •alie bench nr table, Tarte should leave • mors" means "Sweet and pleasant it soil well below the rift of the pot, l is to die for oto'%; country," ry.-. r _ _mr--- nor II. :x'llftn 00, arr.., Publxslled by special eont Tios4itniton,ltit Toronto 'Houghton RoadOCnr P V [®� V1 • di II MAMMA Y. --(.Contin The grocer's Pips twitched again, "Br—y-yes, only we send a bll for the entire month." "And he pays it? Oh, I see. That's ,gust grand! And he'd like it all right, wouldn't he? --+because off course. he'd have to pay soma time, anyhow, And Ibis way lie wouldn't have to have mo bothering' him so much all the time asking for money.' Oh, thank You, You're very kind. i. think I will do that way if you don't mind." "We shall be glad to have you, Mrs, Denby, So we'll call that set- tled. And now' you can begin right away this morning." "And can I get those canned peaches and pears and plums, and the grape jelly that I first looked at?" "Certainly—if you decide you want 'ens" mumbled the grgeer, throwing the last six words as a sop to 1110 conscience .which was beginning to stir unpleasantly, 0h, yes, I want 'em," averred Helen, her eager eyes sweeping the alluringly laden shelves before her. "I wanted them all the time, you know, only I didn't have enough money to pay for then. Now it'll be all eight because Burke'll pay—I mean, Mr, Denby," she corrected with a conscious blush, suddenly re- membering what her husband had laid the night before about her call- ing him "Burke" so much to strang- ers. 33elen found she wanted not only fruits and jelly, but several other cans of soups, meats, and vegetables. And it was such a comfort, for once, to select evhat she wanted, and not have to count up the money in her purse! Sho was radiantly happy when she went home from market that morning (instead of being tired and worried as was usually the case); and the glow on her face lasted all through the day and into the evening —so much so that even Burke must have noticed it, .for he told her lie did not know when he had seen her looking so pretty, And he gave her an extra kiss or two when he greeted her. The second month of housekeeping proved to be a great improvement over the first. It was early in the month that Helen learned the joy and comfort of --having "an account" at her grocer's. And she soon dis- covered that not yet had she probed this delight to its depths, for not only the grocer, but the fishman and the butcher were equally kind, and allow- ed her to open accounts with them.. Coincident with this came the dis- covery that there were such insti- tutions as bakeries and delicatessen shops, which seemed to have been designed especially to meet the needs of just such harrassed little' martyr housewives as she herself was; for in them one might buy bread and cakes and pies and even salads and cold meats, and fish balls. One plight, indeed, with these delectable organ- izations at hand, snap one's fingers at all the cookbooks in the world— eoolcbooks that so miserably failed to cook! The baker and the little Dutch delicatessen man, too (when ' they found out who she Was), expressed themselves as delighted to open an account; and with the disagreeable necessity eliminated of paying on the spot for what one ordered, and with so great an assortment of ready -to - eat foods to select from, Helen found her meal -getting that second month a much simpler matter. • Then, too, Helen was much hap- pier now that she did not have to ask her husband for money. She ac- cepted what he gave her, and thank- ed him; but she said nothing about her new method of finance, "I'm going to keep it secret till the stores send him the bills," said. Helen to herself, "Then I'll show him what a lot I've saved from what he has given me, and he'll be so glad to pay things all at once without be- ing bothered with my everlasting teasing!" She only smiled, therefore, enig- matically, when he said one day, as he passed over the money:— "Jove, girl( I quite forgot. You must be getting low. But I'm glad you didn't have to ask me for it, anyhow!" Ask him for it, indeed! How pleased he would be when he found out that she was never going to ask him for money again! Helen was meaning to be very economical these days. When she went to market she always saw sev- eral things she would have liked, that she did not get, for of course she wanted to make the bills as small as she could. 'Naturally Burke would wish her to do that, She tried to save, too, a good deal of the money Burke gave her; but that was not al- ways possible, for there were her own personal expenses. True, she did not need many clothes -but shq was able -to pick up a few bargains in bows and collars (One always need- ed fresh neckwear, of :Meese); and she found some lovely silk stockings, too, that were very cheap, so she bought several pairs—to sere money. And of course, there were always car fares and a soda now and then, or a little candy. There were the "movies" too, She load fallen into the way of going rn- then• frectaently,to the Empire with her neighbor on the same floor. It dal her good, and got her Out of 1ir- scif. (Sho had read only recently how every wife should have some rr.- creation; it was a duty she owed herself and her htisbancl—to keep herself youthful and, attractive.) She at lonesome end nervous, sitting at imme all day; rand now that she had systematized her housekcoping so beautiruily by buying' almost overy- thing all cooked, she had plenty of leisure. Of course she would have preferred to go ' to the Olympia Theatre, They had tt stock com an there and real plays, llut thole cheapest seats Were •twenty-five cents, while she might go .to the 'Cm- piro for ten. So very bravely she put aside her expensive longings, and chose the better >art--- co 1 o Wool and the movies, llesfeles, Mrs. Jones the neighbor on the same boor, gala that, for her part, sho l,ikod the n'ior. les the best,—you got "such a power- ful lot more for your dough," M's. Jo es always had something bright and original lino that to say —Helen e e n likik d bar very nmrhi Ihcleed, r, Jones was almost as good as a movie show herself. Burke, however, did net seem to care for Mrs, Jones. For that matter, he did not care for the movies, either, No matter where Helen went in the afternoon, she was always very cerefel to be home before Burke. She hoped she knew what pertained to being a perfect Wife better then t0 be careless about matters like that! Mrs. Jones was not always 00 particular in regard to her husband —which only served to give Helen a pleasant, warm little • feeling of superiority at the difference, Perhaps Mrs. Jones detected the superiority,. for sometimes she laugh, ed and sac.- - "All right, we'll go if you must; but you'll soon get over it. This lovey- dovey-I'm-right-hero-hubby business is all very well for a little while, but --Yen wait!" "All right, I'm waiting, But—you see!" Helen always laughed back, bridling prettily, Hurrying home from shopping or the theatre, therefore, Helen always stopped and got her potato salad and cold meat, or,whatever else aha need- ed. And the meal was invariably on the table before Burke's key sounded in the lock. Helen was, ,indeed, feeling. quite as if she were beginning to realize her vision now. Was she not each night the loving, daintily gowned wife wel- coming her husbandto a tell -order- ed,, attractive home? There quite frequently a bouquet crs on the dinner table. Somewhere she had read that flowers always added much to a meal; and since then she had bought them when she felt that she could afford them. And in the market there were almost al- ways some cheap ones, onl faded. Of course, she nev the fresh, expensive ones. After dinner there was evening together. Sometimes they went to walk, after the dishes were clone—Burke had loathed to es beautifully. More often cd at home and played read—Burke was ahvays road. Sometimes they just talked, laying wonderful plans about the fine new house they were goin Now that Helen did not have to ask Burke for money, there did not seem to be so many occasions wh fretful and nervous; and much happier together. All things (considered, therefore, Helen felt, indeed, before and month of housekeeping was over, that she had now "got things nicely to \running." (To be continued.) f was even of flow - y a little sr bought the long dry dish - they stay - games, or wanting to g to build, en he was they were this sec- Helen GREAT BRITAIN THE BULWARK. Against the Spread of Bolshevism, Says the New York Times. Whatever may happen in other coun- tries of Europe, we are assured Great Britain will never succumb to Bolshe- vism, says the New Yoork Times. A5 she was the defender of civilization by her navy against the barbarism of German undersea warrare, so she Is now the chief bulwark against the spread of tularchistic doctrines. With an empire stretching over the world she is the most democratic of nations, and her laboring men are pursuing a constitutional course to obtain their share of the benefits arising from the general advance in wages. Thera is not the slightest demand for pronounced social changes, Wil- liam G. Shepherd, a former labor member of Parliament, states in an interesting interview published in the Evening Post. On the whole, the aver- age English workplan has quite as much liberty as the ordinary laborer here. No self-sufficient moralists there presume -to dictate what he should eat or drink, and the Govern- ment is actually spending $7,000,000 a week in pensioning the deserving un- employed. This may seem a little startling to old-time theorists who believe that the individual should take care of himself without Government paternalism, and their theory is correct, too, provided equal opportunities exist for all. But the war has so disturbed all economic factors that such opportunities have been interfered with, and the British Government is determined an afford- ing this relief untli peace is declared, giving facility for a11• easy return to normal conditions, The British Industrial Conference, appointed last month at the instance of Prettier Lloyd George, is working in the sante direction, The return of soldiers from the war is to be in part provided for by the discouragement of overtime, which' the shortage of men has made necessary, and with a maxi- mum working week of forty -Dight hours It 1s calculat.ed that a congestiot of idle labor will be obviated. State development of now,.iuclnstries is urged to do the rest, together with raking the age of child vro'ko's. These are some of tho'solutions that night be cmtcldered in this country. 1?itttot•lIy Noise. • Trow many know that bntterflies can and do moire noises? When the "whip" butterfly is sur- prised, it opens and shuts its wings l css in quick suceien and makes a liaise 1 like the snap of a 1111:11. Some hiber-1 Hating butterflies, when disturbed, make a faint hissing sound by slowly depressing and rhising their wings, Tho noise produced in, that way re- sembles theesound that you make when you blow slowly through closed teeth,. Other sounds that biittertlies produce 1:00omble the friction of sand- paper. A large number f• ca torpillars o t it ata p make sound by stiil,.in • their heads against the leaf on which they are resting or by swinging their heads from side to side and catching the mandibles in the roughness of the leaf or on the silken threads spun upon it. It is said that a certain ]rind of chrysalis when disturbed emits a she told Burke ono dtly that 14Irs, slight, sharp chirp or eliclging noise. 'HOW THINGS LOOK ON THE MOON LACK QP A1110SPHEIJ1I WOUlf PRQI)UCE Novr;L EFFPCTs • Some .of the Sensations a Human Being Would Experience If It Were Possible to Visit Moon. How would you Pike to be on the moon for about five minutes, jutirto rook around? Of course, you would have to take a supply of air with you. There is none of it en the mo011. This, -,lack of atma$phere, however, would give yon sortie novel and even 'spectacular sheets. Owleg to it, the sky, as you viewed it, would be black and the sun blue. The blueness of the sky, as we are accustomed to see pit, and the yellow, redness of the sun are optical effects, due to interference by the ear'th's atmosphere, In realitythe, sun ',is a very bril- liant blue in color. And, as seen from the moon, the stars (which them- salves are suns) would be of manly hues—some of them green. From the moon the stars would have a wonderful brilliancy in the black sky --Sirius, for example, show- ing. an almost dazzling radiance. The heavens would seem literally ablaze along the pathway of the Milky Way. Bombarded by Meteorites. Nothing ever happens on the moon. For countless millions of years no- thing has happened there. Not even a pebble has moved. It is a dead orb. Not even a pebble? Well, there is this to be said- The moon (like the earth) is incessantly bombarded by multitudes of meteorites—frag- ments of star -dust falling upon it out of space. Some of them might kick up quite a few pebbles. All of the void of space seems to be filled with such star -dust. In every twenty-four hours, it is estimated, 400,000,000 meteorites enter the I earth's atmosphere. All but a few very big ones are burned up by fric- tion with the air before they reach the surface of our planet. Upon the moon millions of them I must arrive daily without any such interference. It may be presumed, ; then, that the surface of our satellite lis thickly sprinkled with star -dust, big and little. On the moon, no matter how excel- lent your hearing, you could never ,perceive a sound. If a thousand tone of TNT were exploded there in your near neighborhood—supposing such a thing possible—it would make not the slightest noise. Sound is con- veyed by air; and, as above remarked, there is no air on the moon. The sunshine ,in the daytime would be unbelievably intense. But would it warm you? Probably not—though some authorities insist otherwise. At night you would experience a cold not far from the zero of space, and you would freeze to death in a minute. The "Craters" of the Moon. Some astronomers are of the opin- ion that the moon was once upon a time part of the earth, and that, while the latter was in a plastic state our satelite was thrown out from it. They point to the Pacific Ocean as the gash from which it was so rude- ly rent. Maybe so. But nobody knows why the surface of the moon (of which we never see such more than half) is covered with so-called "craters" that bear no likeness to anything on the earth. They are bowl -shaped, usually circular, and rimmed by elites 5,000 to 10,000 feet high. There are at least 25,000 of them visible to the telescope, the biggest being 800 miles in diameter. ' The late Professor Pickering was convinced that the moon has a little moon of its own, a few hundred yards in diameter, which can be seen only when the earth passes between the sun and the lunar orb, throwing the latter into its shadow. a— FEELING WORRIED, Then Read This—And Think the Mat- ter Over Again. A wise man once said that at home be looked at his children's faults and also at his wife's—if she had any— through the big end of the telescope, and all their virtues through the thin end. The effect was that their faults were minimised and their virtues mag- nified, I ]snow an astronomer who has a good many worrying things to ppt'up with. He said to rate: "I' lose them all whets I get my eyes on the stars." My word! That was a splendid thing to say. Ho lived above hie troubles. What a lot of mere -and wo- nteit find solace in good literature. When a friend of mics is feeling mopish ho roads Wordsworth's "Oda to Adversity," and it bucks him like a tonic. That's a good kind of stat gaz- in'k not keeping Ono'S oyes so fixed on little things as to forget the big ones that really natter. Do you remember the man with the muck -rake ill "The, Pilgrim's Pro- gress?" Only a genius could have thought of Mort. Yet he is quite a com- mon typo. He is in rags and tatters, end has a rake la his stand With which he is scraping together the :Alerts and stones anal mud oe earth, whilst, if he would but raise his eyes, he would see. a radiant angel above Vim with a o•own in his hands, Bunyan 11100110 10 in a religious sense; but there are lots of muck -rakers who aro missing all sorts of good things Goethe sake Of getiing worthless 01105, They use their microscope for the high things incl their telescope for the low things, Through the tnaguifying lona of a microscope a shilling would look like the moms Through the trni 1 b1 actino s nett the sen Itself� 1 t; 011 fl be invisible, Gellerel }5ixt von Arnim, 00nlinnm der of the German artily in Flambee i during a largo part of the war, lana been beaten to death ay•pcnsante at Asch, Bohemia, 1 r SPECIAM4B OF GI1 N103E 1115114011 Some Terata I'&kelt Promthu "Laugh -HN TOMMY QUITS FRANCE' ing hook," Printed at t'oidn, The Chinese are very fond of a Publication, printed at Pekin, which is called the I3siaolin K.aas#g, or "Laughing Book," The jests from tills esteemed work, a number 00 which have been translated, seem to boar ,a. certain family resemblance to anecdotes the world over, just as some of the most frequently recount- ed jokes of modern times are to bo found in the works of ancient Greeks, who, perhaps, stole them from, still earlier jesters, Here are some of the Chinese jokes; 1 Two men, Chunk and Kung, aye warming themselves before an open stove, Chunk, who i$ remarkable for his coolness and audacity, says to Kung, who is an exceedingly hot- headed person: "My dear Kang, there is something that I should like very much to say to you. It,reletes to a circumstance I have observed for a little time past, and have desired to mention to you. But, bearing in mind the somewhat fiety and quarrelsome disposition that is commonly attributed to you, I have hesitated to express myself. However, I have at last resolved that, if I do not mention the matter to you, I shall do wrong, and, therefore, I have determined to ask your permis- sign to speak to you about it." "Well, what 18 it?" "Your coat, my dear Kung," says Chung quietly, "is on fire." "For pity's sake!" exclaimed Kung, angrily, jumping up and finding his coat nearly burned off. "Why in the world didn't you tell me before?" "There it goes! What a frightful temper!" Chung murmured, as he moved away. "Folk told me quite right about you." The following suggests ,Chinese subtlety and suggests that some of our vaudevillains must have drawn upon this ba'o1c: A 'man who load stolen a cow was subjected to torture. A passer-by, observing his sad state, asked him: "What did you do?" "Oh, nothing. I just found an old piece of rope on the road and picked it up." "And is it possible that they have punished you in this way for simply picking up an old piece of rope?" "Yes; only they found a cow at the end of the rope." A courier, beating important dis- patches, was given a horse and told to make all possible speed toward his destination, Some time after- wards he was found in the road, walking and pushing his horse before him. "Why in the world are you doing that?" be was asked. "Oh," he said, "I reflected, and I came to the conclusion that we should make more speed on six feet than we possibly could on four." PUSSY DID ITER "BIT" Half a Million Cats Were Sent to War Zone—Used as Gas Detectors. Since the British Wax Office dis- covered that cats could be mobilized for service on the battlefront, pussy has made a distinct advance toward rehabilitation in popular esteem. As a pet she never lacked favor, and to- day, many centuries after the Egypt- ians firilt gave her shelter, few homes are regarded as complete without a cat. But outside domestic precincts the feline still has need of all her "nine lives." Stoned by urchins, hunted by dogs, or snapped up by S. P. C. officers to be "humanely destroyed,', the house - less cat has but a precarious exis- tence. Even as a member of the family she is suspected with preda- tory habits, with the result that every now and then the cry goes up that she mast be licensed, collared and la- beled.' Our very proverbs disparage her, and the cartoonist loves to pic- ture her what Shakespeare called the "harmless necessary cat" as belliger- ent by naturea very fury of the ani- mal world, with raised back, fur on end and widely distended eyes. Who would believe, without the evidence of chapter and book, that such a creature would be useful in war, and that in the war just closed an army of 500,000 cats helped to defeat the Hun? We have read of dogs and pigeons being employed on the western front as messengers; what could a cat do, except with teeth and claws, likely to make any con- tribution to success in human combat? Two years ago the War Office was 1 informed that this animal is pecu-I liarly sensitive to poison gas and' notices its presence in the atmos-' phere long before the senses of hu- than beings are affected. On the test; being made pussy struck an attitude of protest and whined her displeasure so unmistakably Shot the War Office immediately accepted her as a re- cruit. In all the newspapers appeared the advertisement, "Wanted, common cats—any number." At once the country was scoured for cater, and they literally rained in upon the Bethnal -green bird dealer who had been appointed to receive and dis- patch them. Life of the War Hot'ee. The army wastage of horses was believed to be immense, It has, in fact, ,proved less than that experi- enced by commercial firms before the tear. That is due to -the very great care taken of the horses and to the conditions under which they have been evorkieg. There are Cs -mo- que -eters of a million ]torsos with the armies abroad. If all these were brought home we should have ;such a glut: of horses in the country 115 has never been kntwn, Whitt ft is intended to do is to bring hack as many sound 1 herlies as have been (mantra die - pose from the o ut�r and to ii ti , v n remainder abroad. I i nos% of file rant. is tt n o. t s interesting to 1:now that the motor ear had not clrivea i.lto Mere° out even for purpose.% of transport. Will the hal'm hold its own again in civ - lien work 7 Plainly, the authorities believe it will, but if it did not it would be necessary to give state one :0115oerncnt to horse breedipg. 1 LAST S,TAGF, OF ARMY LIFE IN A FOREIf1N LAND, GritlSh Soldler pescribee His Pine! Ablutions and All the A'ttondant Processes In Efficient system, The business. at bathing is the last thing whioli happens toe soldier be- fore he reeves ]l'raneo, 13Very mean arrives at the Embarkation Camp with a eertiiicate froln the nnedloai officer oe his unit, certifying that he-ls "free from vermin, infection and scabies." But the people there are superior to such things: "We don't Dare if you've gat tloltets signed by all the doctors In France. Yoa meet go through aur bath." They are proud of their bath, This is what happens; You are shown into a marquee, and are bidden to deposit your equipment and belongings, retaining only your valuables. You decide to take your Pay -book, watch, and money, and car- ry out a further instruction to plat your puttees and cap into the pockets of your .overcoat. Then you take to place in the queue. You and Your Boots. In due course you come to a ticket. office, and are given a number. You are no longer "Snaith, 134370,' but "Number 101." Two wooden identity - discs and a linen bag, each bearing this number, are given to you. You pass through a door, and are shows to a seat marked "101." You disrobe, attended by legions of German prisoners, who wait upon you hand and foot. Your khaki clothing is turned inside out and hung upon a rack. This is taken away. You re- move your underclothing, and be- fore you realize your destitution, this, too, has gone, and YOU are left with your "valuables" and your boots, to which you havo attached one of the identity discs. You wander round with these things in your hands, a "nominal roll"—which in the excitements I had forgotten to mention—between your teeth, and the other identitydise suspended to your neck. - In your wanderings you meet a doe- tor. logtor. Ile surveys you at a glance, and, being inoffensive to him, you are per- mitted to leave your valuables at the property -office. A few yards away there are pigeon -holes, and an attend- ant to direct you to the one bearing your number. Into this you put your boots, and pass on to the bath, where you stand under a spray, and wait till the party numbers twenty. You have just grabbed a bit of soap, when a whistle blows, and the hot water showers. The Only Occupant, The attendant frantically shoots: "Only three minutes." Thus spurred, you scrub as though the Day of Judg- ment were imminent. True to his threat, the attendant again blows the whistle, the water stops by magic, and you are left with an eye full of soap. In this plight your first business—and you mast work strictly to the program —15 to recover your boots from the pigeou hole, Then you take a towel, and.pass to the drying -room. From here you go to true dressing -room, receive a bundle of new underclothing, and take a seat bearing your number. Being garbed in the new set of "undies," you remove a clean, bright blue dressing -gown from the peg behind you, and wait luxuriously, In a moment a German prisoner em tors and shouts "Vim hondredtun5 van!" "Isere you are, Fritz!" yon bawl, and up he comes, smiling, with your 110501, warns from its baking. You put it ou, and feel, for the first time for years, that you are the only living thing in • it. In exchange foe your identity: discs you claim your valuables at the pro- perty-ofllce. So eilicient is this system that 400 then pass through the bath and its at tettdant processes every horn', THE FIEND OF THE DESERT Treacherous Mirage Was Serious Handicap to British in East. The British forces in the Darden. elles and in Mesopotamia were fie/l- onely handicapped by the treacherous mirage, which turned everything topsy-turvy, and often distorted the very object of their gunfire, or,wy t1 was worse, confused the position e' their own men and that of the emerg 50 that shells intended for the Turks landed on their own forces. In his recent book, To Bngda•! tail the British, Mr, Arthur T1Pot ;n,. Clark cites two incidents in which the illusion upset calculation:. There was heavy fighting on the way tr Amara, 00 says, but it was disturbed by the beastly mirage. Suddenlf a maven behind appeared to bo walk- ing in the air. Mud village,, of the Arabs Pose and fell as if on a rill!ng sea. A Winery lance appeared !11 the distance—only to disappear or grarJ- ually move away. In the advance to Basra in the some campaign the Turks were rout- ed. The boats on the river increased the speed of the rout by dropping sells in from the side. But the men on the gunboats soon foiled that their guns were the only ore; in action. They thought it strange that the lend batteries should stop when there wag such a good horvest,fn store for their spells! The explanation, trade clear at last, was that, although the enemy was plainly visible from the high decks of the boats, the rcirentiug Turks weee completely co er:10d from the eyes of the British on Inn.1 hy the 0 infragr, that fiend of the desert The 1taints seemed to bo growing in the ah' and to rise mei l fall like the sides of a greet bellows, As for the Turlcs, they ,teither reed nor fell. They wore nowhere. To iremovo scales quickly and ea5' ly soak fish int waren water ift•at.