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Hokitika Guardian, 24 July 1918, Page 2

I A fAi:u:n accomd of one of the recentCanadian raids on the West front mentions that “the Canadians say they prefer the- bayonet- to the bomb, because it makes ‘a cleaner job.’ A returned New Zealand officer, referring to this point, said that the Canadians were, mn alone in their preference. As a matter ! of fact the bomb was no longer regard-

ed with the special favor bestowed upon it in the days of rigid trench warfare. The bomb lost; its place when the Germans abandoned the old style of trench fighting,’’ saicl ‘the officer. “During 1915 and 1916, when the trench lines were continuous and well defined, and the methods of fighting had become almost stereotyped, the bomb was a most important weapon. Bombers were trained in considerable numbers, anil were regarded as absolutely essential members of any raiding or attacking party. Bomb tactics wore developed to a fine point, and there wore officers who attached almost more importance to tho bomb than to'the rifle. The situation changed when the Germans abandoned the deep, firmly held, continuous trench in favor of the ‘pillbox’ system of defence. The bomber could not attack a concrete machinegun shelter effectively, under ordinary conditions, without exposing himself fully to machine-gun and rifle fire. The ‘pill-box’ had to be reduced by artillery before the infantry advanced. ’Plie* comparatively light German trenches connecting the strong points would be so far destroyed by this fire that they provided very little shelter for the enemy’s riflemen. There was no deep trench to throw the bomb into, and consequently the bomb became a danger to the troops that wore using it, since it- exploded only tliirt-y or forty yards ahead of the advancing infantry and scattered its fragments in all directions. These and other factors have accounted for the decline of the bomb. The number of men assigned to bombing is much smaller than it used to he, and our troops place no great reliance on the bomb when they are attacking trenches and other f'ortified positions. Of course there will always be work for bombers in clearing out dug-outs and so forth. 1 should mention that the rifle grenade is used more freely than ever. There are various types of rifle grenade. Some of them are effective up to 300 yards, and they carry n. heavier explosive charge than the ordinary Mills bomb.’’

In the course of a. paper read at the meeting of the. Council of Agriculture by Mr A. H. Cockayne, biologist at Wernroa Demonstration Farm, oil “The Crowing of ltoot Crops Moods,” he stated, “for the first time in the history of New Zealand, an insufficient supply of various brnssica seeds, notably those of turnip and Swede is available to fulfil our ordinary requirements.. Roughly, 160 tons of turnips and l-lo tons of swedes seeds are sown each year. In certain seasons our requirements may exceed 300 tons, anil in others it falls short of the figure as the area under turnips fluctuates. The reasons for the present shortage are due to complete absence of any Continental supplies, the reduced acreage in brnssica seed crops in Great Britain, and the poor crops during 1916-1917 in that country. There will be available for 1918 sowing in New Zealand, enough seed for about 440,000 acres, This will represent about the minimum acreage in turnips and suedes during the past, ten years. Any shortage can easily be made up by an extension of autumn-sown winter feed crops, such as Italian ryegrass and cereals. Mangolds, again, with great advantage show an increase, and enough seed to very considerably extend our normal acreage is available. Personally, I do not. anticipate any serious effects, so far as crops that are. to lie fed off in the autumn and winter of 1919 air. concerned. The position, however, with regard to turnip and swede seed supplies for the spring sowing of 1919 is quite problematical. Next, autumn will see the total exhaustion of all our present available supplies. That is, there will be no carry-over, except, perhaps in some varieties, such as Pomeranian White and Mhi to fit one. Stubble. As a usual rule our carry-over from season to season is quite large; in. fact, our present fairly satisfactory position is duo to the amount of seed held over from last season. itli no carry-over it will be necessary to import next season, at least 300 tons of turnip and swede seed in order to put spring 1919 sowings on a safe footing. The question that naturally arises is whether Great Britain will be able to allot this amount or not. As the position | has been satisfactory up to the present, j one is apt to consider that it is sure to remain so. The great trouble, how- ' ever, is that Great Britain herself has very little carry-over this year, and the position will be regulated eutirei\ bv the amount of seed produced during the summer in Great Britain. Many of the contract crops that should have been harvested next August have been ploughed under and replaced by one of a more direct food-producing nature Certain British merchants are confident that they can supply the necessary seed, but others again anticipate grave difficulties. This uncertainty with regard to our future supplies has led to a. great deal of consideration being given to local production of turnip seed. A considerable acreage will probably be held over for seed, but the uncertain prospects of available labour have been a considerable drawback in this connection.”

The first of a'further scries of articles on “The New Era’’ appear on on our first page to-day.

The heavy frosts have played havoc with a number of iron water pipes, quite a lot of burst pipes being report -

A final reminder is given of the entertainment- in St. Mary’s Club to night. Don’t forget that there is a euchre, tournament, supper and dance for Is Id, and an excellent- concert thrown in. Tournament begins at eight.—Advt. The funeral of the.late Mrs Borkin, of Binui, took place tin Monday afternoon, and was attended by a fair number of mourners. The services at St. Mary’s Church and the graveside were conducted by the Rev. Father Clancy.

Tho weather yesterday morning was fine and frosty. Last night was a perfect" night, the full moon being very bright and clear. This morning there was another heavy frost but in the clear atmosphere the sun was beautifully warm at midday.

The Ladies of All Saints’ Church have decided to hold their annual sale of work on lltli September. There will be Produce, Fancy, Lollic and Surprise Stalls, and values will bo as good ns ever at all of them. A musical programme is being arranged for theevening, to which a .charge of 6d will be made for admission.

News was received last evening of the death at Christchurch of Mr Carl Blank, of Oxford. Deceased had been a. resident of that district- for over 45 years. His wife predeceased him some 27 years ago. He leaver a grown-up •family of seven sons and six daughters and was about 75 years of age. Two sons are resident on the Coast-, Mr G. H. Blank, of Hokitika, and Mr Frank Blank, of Aha urn. (the latter having recently returned from the front), while Mr William Blank, who recently sold out his farm at Kopnra and has now settled in Christchurch, was another son. Tho relatives will have the sympathy of a wide circle of friends in their bereavement.

A fire broke out in the. Clyde (Otago) Presbyterian Church on Sunday afternoon week during divide service. Shortly after the opening devotional exercises the minister (the Rev. T. Standring) and the congregation were startled by a sudden outburst of smoke anti flame from around the stove and pipe passing •through the wall. The building being of wood, the fire soon spread and for a time it looked serious. Willing helpers from the congregation set to work, and while one party of them tore down the piping and removed the stove, another party applied water, which fortunately was near at hand, and the fire was ultimately got under. After the danger and excitement had .subsided the service was resumed. Investigation proved that the fire was caused by rubbish from birds’ nests falling down from the eaves be tween the outer wall and the" inside lining on to the stove piping passing through. The body of a big dead whale almost white with decomposition stranded on Thursday morning on the “western ledge’’ at the entrance to Wellington harbour. The deceased cetacean was evidently the object. resembling a capsized vessel which was sighted adrift in Cook Strait on tho previous day and for which the Government steamer Janie Seddon searched fruitlessly. This is believed to be the same dead whale which was adrift off Palliser Bay nearly a mouth ago. The Janie Seddon went out on that occasion to search for what was believed to be a capsized craft. She returned to port without discovering any signs of a derelict vessel, or even a dead whale. The whale, now at the entrance, may yet become a greater annoyance by drifting up into the harbour accompanied by its smells.

The rabbit pest was exhaustively discussed at. the annual conference of the Council of Agriculture. Mr J. A. Young, M.P., (Waikato) gave some interesting figures in this respect, ns showing the devastation of rabbits. Talcing an area of 70,000 acres, for example, said Mr Young, at a conversntive estimate, this would hold on an average of five rabbits to the acre—a total of 350,000 rabits to the whole area. Ton rabbits, at a moderate estimate, would eat and destroy grass, en ough for one sheep, showing that the rabbits distributed over the area iu question would eat and destroy as much nt 35.000 sheep. The profit from sheep in the Waikato is estimated to be from 15s to 25s per sheep per year. Taking the lowest figure, the losses of the farmers through the rabbits on such an area amounts of £26.250. Mr Young strongly urged the farmers to take immediate steps to secure an amendment in the Act, which at present was defective, in keeping down the rabbit nest.

There was some difference of opinion at the conference of the New Zealand Council of Agriculture, as to the value or otherwise of opossums. Sir Walter Buchanan brought, forward a remit giving it ns the opinion of the conference that the protection of opossums is not in the interests of the Dominion. Sir Walter said that through the action of some misguided individuals in bringing opossums into tho country, fruit farmers , were suffering heavily, through the partiality of the opossums for fruit. Tho majority o*' the delegates had exactly opposite opinions about opossums. One speaker said that in Otago there were the finest opossums in the world. Another delegate read a telegram from, the Otago •Acclimatization Society pointing out that the passing of such a remit as proposed would he a big mistake. Tho opossum was a national asset. In his reply Sir Walter persisted that tho opossum was a menace to the fruit industry. He hoped that the remit would bo carried without a single dissentient. The remit was lost. It is oleasinc to see so many thrifty housewives pavimr snot cash for a large nncket of “NO REBPTNO” Laundry Hein. “NO RUBBING” has banish.vl washboard slavery. Paterson Michel and Co

Baby won’t cry with pain or cold if von n”l him down with a North British Hot Water Rottle. But look for the “Unione” Stomw. It ensures you again leaks. All chemists.

Have ron tried WOLFE’S SCHNAPPS for- nilment.