IN TRENTHAM TOWN.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 July 1915, Page 9 (Supplement)

IN TRENTHAM TOWN.

THK (OOKHOI'SK CALL. OI.IMI'SKS OK ('AMI' JFK. When tin- soldiers at. Trentham camp have lici'ii dismissed from evening parade and have hung tip their rifles and shed their hats and other parade gear, their thoughts turn immediatelv tn the •jiu-Mioii of food. The mess 'orderlies I'm- the diiv dare n,,t, linger a moment alter tin cookhouse eall has blown. There are thn doilies for every li! men. two being for the wet rations, that is, the rooked foods, and the other tor the drv rations, such as hread and luitter.

I From every hntrnent, when the bugle j eiilleil, theso'orderlios eatne running. The I wet rations men dashed to their bat I La linn eookhoiise. eaeh of which cooks 1 for over lIIIMI men. while the third man I sprinted to the drv stores' Cent. Long queues of waiting orderlies soon gathj ered at the cookhouse. Tlicv stood in [ double ranks and the speed 'with which tliev were served was marvellous. Inside the cookhouse, half a. dozen conks and assistants were Working before three huge stoves' that had great ovens. The lloor of the cookhouse. Was of concrete and very clean. From the : roaring tires a red glow sliune upon it. I The gloom was only partly dispelled by |a smoking acetylene gas'jet. On the ! counter stood it pile of empty tin meat I dishes. Further along were many small cans, like milk cans, called dixies. With lighting speed two cooks seized a di.di cacs. and held it, while another man lifted a lump of roast meat front a large baking dish, containing many portions, of conked meat, and laid it on the dish, j At the same moment, a «oz.cn potatoes, ! boiled in their jackets, were added and the dish swung round and banged on tin- counter. Without an instant's del.'ty an orderly seized it and dash'd iiwav to his hutment. The two cooks' l :ates worked so well together that ths dishes invariably struck the counter and vcre seized by the alert orderlies in fairs. The dixies, containing enough tea for ! P. men. were being handled with no less celerity. One by one. in vapid succea- , slon, they were hoisted up to the courtier, to disappear in the gathering {.'loom, as the prize of an energetic orderly. The dixie orderlies did not even look at their burdens before dashing '■ away. 'They knew it was tea: it could not matter much what sort of tea it 1 was. as long as it had milk and sugar i'" it.

TKKMPTLVO KAUK PROVIDED. Hut not so the meat and potato men. Many of them, ere beginning their reekless careering across muddy roads and tfooded ditches, looked critically at the contents of the dish. Perhaps these were a loin of mutton and 12 large potatoes, perhaps a leg of mutton and IS smaller potatoes, or roast ribs of beef and a mixed lot of potatoes. For a second or two a man's eyes seemed to mentally measure the food. Then a elmrade would dash past him. and. awakened to the urgency for speed, lest lie incurred the displeasure of his wait. i»g ' fades, lie dashed away, holding t l ie dish in both hand and miraculously craping collision with other sprinters similarly engaged.

It was a strange sight to see thous'liitls of men speeding to and fro in the n-loatiling, that was lit here and I'lere by candlelieains from hutmenl windows and made warm by the glow from the tires beyond the' cookhouse, where hot water for swashing up was heiiiL' boiled in open tanks. The red glare shone on the dixies and lighted the eager faces as the men flitted past. TOAST AT THK C.VMP FIRES.

The work of the dry-rations orderly i as simpler. He carried all Ins food .-applies for the meal in a butter-bo.v, and they included bread, butter, cheese, j mi. salt, and other condiments. The men with the butter-boxes made the I'istest running of all. lit fact, they i'tiv expected to be back before the tlble wash set, and that meant a short, t-iue-iimit, since the tables were set by tic simple process of each man bringing his knife, spoon, fork, pannikin, and plate, ami laying them on the table. .'s soon as the dry rations arrived Viii. tiitjir bearer panting .they were

s ■i.-cii upon, rot roughlv nor greedily. I it wit!-, ,i suggestion 'that time was [.ri.v'.ous and lite short. Slices of bread »■■•'.-'• im. Some' of the men too-; n duple of slices'and, with their forks ;'- toasting-forks, made toast at the em hers if the fires, smouldering between enclosed bricks, upon which the teakettle- had bee;, boiled. The smell of toast tilled the an. liie red glow lit up the healthy, grinning faces, and the sound of \c-ices and laughter was lr-iv-l on all s'ues.

NO LACK OK RATIONS. Presently a voice hn.led some of thej twisters with. -Dinner now on in the i.'ining-car." It was the signal for a hurried gathering together of toast and bread and a I tpid move for the hutmoi*, where the long tables were lighted by tall candle-. There will be. electric light in Treuthaiu camp very soon. In the mean time the candles tight valiantly with the "loom, and, at icast, where the the find is set out. succeed fairly well. For every party of P2, one man acted as carver and all waited, if not silently, :*t least in an orderly way. for their turns. All knew that there was no need to rush. There was enough food far all. Moreoier, they knew that if by any misjudgment, there was a shortage at any ti it was only necessary tn send to the cookhouse for more. Fur the evening meal at Trentham the food ii as described;., breakfast consists of porridge, stew, tea and bread; lunch, iff bread, butter, cheese, jam and tea. If the men are still hungry there is the cunteen and an oyster saloon, where, a iiixpence spent produces excellent remits. A stranger in the camp might be misled as to the quantity of food sunplied tn each man as rations if he saw a soldier, immediately alter dinner, wall; round to the' oyster saloon an 1 purchase sixpenny worth of ovsters. But the mail does this as others might drink a liqiier: in fact, as lie might ''''ink a liqiier if 1 ould get one. As i( '- I"' '•' t. so he lias a plate of oyster, t„ -to-oll'" his dinner. Then a smoke, and the world goes well.