ON THE FAIR FIELDS OF FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2875, 13 September 1916, Page 3

ON THE FAIR FIELDS OF FRANCE

HARVESTING WITHIN SOUND OF THE GUNS. In tho course of an interesting letter to a Wellington resident, Lieut. Alex. Craig, of Wellington, gives a capital impression of harvest-time in Franco, behind the firing line. He writes on July 16 as follows: —

"They have still kept me at the same old Base Depot. Wo have been here just seven weeks to-night, and iu those seven weeks what a change has come over the countryside I When we first came the, fields of Franco were a mass of glorious colour —red, blue, yellow, and green, in splendid profusion. Paddocks, clearly defined, wero covered with green wheat, or red clover ; or yellow mustard plant, poppies—in fact, everything in nature that made for colour. One can hardly imagine tho variety of beautiful and • glowing colours that bedeck tho'fields of Franco. Now what a change I A large number of the soldiers of France obtained leave ,to help with the harvest. In fields where we had been used to seeing only old men and women, and boys and girls, there appeared .large numbers of young men —all soldiers on leavo. Now the crops are all cut, and as far as the eye can see there aro nothing but golden stooks. Tho soldiers have now returned to the lino again, and the very old and young aro carrying them away from the fields.

. . . We aro enjoying our stay in La Bello France very much. We aro treated with great kindness wherever wo go. The French people simply cannot do enough for us. They say that tho New Zealanders aro 'trcs hon.'

. .. A, large number of the llths have now reached the line, whilst tho remainder are getting very fit with their drill and route marching; a zest being added to their work by tho good roads and pleasant country we are located in. We are always followed by quite a number of French girls, who carry baskets of fruit and sweets to sell to our boys on tho march. They (the girls) must bo getting very fit, too, because they are able to keep pace with us during tlie whole of the march. Of course tljev are naturally hardy, being mostly the offspring of fisher-folk who make up tho bulk of the population of the town near the camp. If, perchance, a girl's basket becomes too heavy for her, the boys are never backward in helning them. A favourite place for a march is to ■ , a very modern town, on the sea, which will in time become a great resort. To reach it we liavs to march through a beautiful forest. 11l peace times, and in the season it was a very gay littlo clace. In the woods it has two beautiful casinos—amusement and gamhling nalaces, now used as military hospitals. I liavo been un to the place where our 1 boys are fighting twice now, on each occasion to conduct a draft nf_ reinforcements. Since my first visit tho enemy, had shelled the town and destroyed some very fine buildings."