The Stratford Evening Post. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24th, 1913. MISSING EXPLORERS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 47, 24 February 1913, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24th, 1913. MISSING EXPLORERS.

Referring to the German Arctic exploring expedition the “Manchester Guardian” remarked on January 10th that it was at that time impossible to discover an adequate explanation oi the misfortune which has befallen the German exploring expedition in Spitsbergen. This expedition, which left Norway in the Herzog Ernst last summer, was part of an attempt that was to take place this year to make once more the North-east passage. About tho middle of August, Lieutenant Schroder-Stranz, the loader, left tho ship, then on tho north coast of Spitsbergen, with some of his companions on a sleighing expedition, and less than a month later the captain of tho Herzog Ernst and the rest of the expedition abandoned the ship and set out southwards. Only the captain lias reached a point of safety; his companions were abandoned or turned back, and all that is known of them is that they had provisions “till January.” Of tho sleighing expedition nothing at all is known. Tho story is full of questions which at present it is impossible to answer. Especially, why did the captain decide to abandon tho ship? It can scarcely have been for lack of stores, since the ship must have carried nearly a year’s supplies. But the captain says that some of tho party were in the last stages of scurvy, and it may therefore he that tho trouble has been due to tno expedition’s almost complete lack of experience of Polar work. A cable message of February 19th, states that a relief expedition had been organised. EXPERIMENTAL TURNIP CROP, As there is great diversity of opinion among Taranaki farmers as to what are the best turnips to sow and what are the most suitable manures, the Stratford Racing Club, at the request of Mr G. do S. Baylis, the Fields Instructor for the North Island, has undertaken to grow a trial aero on the Club’s property, and results will be notified biter. Hie experiment is under the supervision of Mr S. Pitt, a member of the Cl nil’s Farm Committee, and should be of interest to local farmers. Owing to tho ground being required during the

race meeting, ploughing was not started until January 7th, and the turnips were not drilled until January 11th. The crop can therefore best he

conned a very lato one, as tlie most favoured date for sowing in this locality is about December '2oth. -Notwithstanding this, tlie crop has com o' on very well, although, the Turnip My was responsible for a good deal odamage while the young plants were in the two-leaf stage. Mlie plot * divided into four breaks of I of an acre each, and the seed sown is;--Xo. I—Sutton’s “Crimson King”; -No. 2 —Sutton's “Best of All” ; No. 3 i Sutton’s “Magnum Bonum” ; No. -1— Gallon's “Superlative”. The manure as supplied by the Department, which was drilled on the acre consisted of If cwt. bonemeal, 1 cwt. stiperphospate, f cwt. slag, and 11 lbs potash. The remaining six acres in the same paddock was sown tilth Hurst’s “Monarch,” and 2f cwt. ol Borthwick’s Turnip Manure to the acre. The quantity of seed sown to the acre in all cases was twelve ounces. | UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING. “It is often said,” writes Lord Boberts in a letter to the London “Spectator,” “that universal military training would foster what is called militarism —in other words, and aggressive spirit. I. cannot imagine anything further from the truth or further from experience. It is easy for those who have no personal responsibility to urge others into an unnecessary war, but it would be a very different matter to cast a vote ioi| war if it were known that there "as: scarcely a family in the land u hichj would not bo liable to send out a member to stand his chance in the wean '| and tear and risks of a campaign. In, 1 the present circumstances a man whoi does his duty is at a disadvantage in the struggle for commercial success as against one who does hot, and an employer who patriotically sets his employees free to do their annual training in the Territorial Force is at a disadvantage as against his less patriotic rival. Surely lam justified in saying that this is an undemocratic and unbusinesslike' system.” Lord Huberts is confident national military service, as he so strongly advocates, is making progress, and that the lessons of the Balkan War have opened many people’s eyes to Britain’s need of a strong citizen army.