THIS WORLD OF PLENTY

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22769, 22 July 1939, Page 19

THIS WORLD OF PLENTY

UT ’YE refurnished the sitting- | room from top to bottom!” said Miss Crake. “That’s why it’s a little crowded out here in the hall. Mind the chesterfield! And the corner of that cabinet—the corner of that cabinet is very sharp!” “It is rather,” I agreed. “So important that money should circulate!” said Miss Crake. “I saved for two years to do all this. Here you are, you see!” nice,” I commented, the covers and the cushions ana the curtains are in cotton! So important that everyone should use cotton if the industry is to be saved! My nephew is in the trade, you know! It’s really wonderful how they’re expanding the use of cotton! .“Quite,” I said. ‘And all new furfixture, too, I see.” “All new—and stuffed with cot|on! All except that old chair of father’s that he made for himself 20 years ago! Wake up, father! Mwe into this nice new chair!”

(specially written foe the PRtss.) [By ZENOBIA.]

“Eh?” shouted Captain Crake, waking with a start. “Move into this nice new chair, Father!” “Got one!” shouted Captain Crake. “Yes, but this is a nice new one!” Captain Crake went to sleep again. “So odd!” said Miss Crake. “Shall we have tea? And do you mind if we have milk? So nutritious, and so imperative that we should all drink more milk for the sake of the dairying industry! My brother is a dairy farmer, you know. Father and I always drink milk instead of tea now.” “Not at all,” I said. “I like milk. And how is your nephew in Burma?’ “I’m afraid he isn’t flourishing! So unfortunate for my sister!” “Ah well,” I said. “I believe they’re doing great things to increase the consumption of tea!” * * . • * “You don’t mind our having no cakes, but just some nice toast?” said Miss Crake, when we went into the kitchen to get the tea. “Father and I are eating more bread. That’s

our slogan now: ‘Eat more bread!’ Helping the wheat industry, you know, so necessary!” “No,” I said. “I like toast. Do you remember Mabel?” “Of course! Such a dear person, Mabel! SucJ? a hard struggle—never knew how to help her!” “Mabel has gone into cdke-mak-ing,” I said. “She has a small shop just round the corner.” “I would go and buy some from her one day,” said Miss Crake, looking worried. “Except that we are eating nothing but bread now!” While the kettle boiled Miss Crake ate an apple—to help the fruitgrowers, she said—and then we went down to the mail box. She looked rather pained as she opened the box, and .1 asked her politely what was wrong. “My teeth!”' said Miss Crake, apologetically. “On edge! . . . Ah. just one little letter!” she added. “From my sister.' Will you excuse me? ... Oh, dear, ves, how nice! All about my younger nephew Harold. He has a job at last. . . . With a firm of rayon manufacturers. . . . So splendid for my sister!” “Rayon,” I said. “I understand they’re spending millions to extend the use of ravon fabrics.” “Are they?” Miss Crake looked anxious. “You’ll haye to throw out the cotton now,” I said. “And support rayon.” “Really?” said Miss Crake. “Do you think I should?”

“And there’s another thing,” I said. “Wool! They’re spending thousands on improving wool and getting it used in place of cotton and rayon. We’ve got to use wool to help the wool industry.” “I did think of .it,” said Miss Crake. “I did think of wool!” “There’s no doubt about it,” I said. “You should have bought wool. We' have to support the wool industry here/in New Zealand!” “Of course!” cried -Miss Crake. “I must get wool curtains at once! Wool covers, wool carpets !” We hastened back tq the house. She opened the sitting-room door, and we stopped dead. The sitting-room was almost empty, and through the French windows we could see Miss Crake’s new furniture, her • chairs, bric-a-brac, cotton cushions, curtains, and covers littered about the lawn. Alone in the bare room Captain Crake sat by the fire on the chair he had made for himself 20 years ago. “Father!” cried Miss CrakeHe wakened up. “Too much stuff- in here!” he shouted. “Throw it all out!” 0 “But, father !” “Don’t want anv of it!” shouted Captain Crake. “Shut the door!” Miss Crake shut it, looking worried. , “So odd!” she said. I looked sympathetic. “But one thing at least,” she said. “Father always wears wool underwear!”

Believe It or Not Stone’s Canterbury, Nelson, Westland and Marlborough-Directory, the latest edition of which has recently been published, is generally recognised as a very useful book, but, possibly, for general reading, rather dry. Not at all. It contains eight Beers, 11 Stouts, three Ports, 47 Porters, three Sherries, and two Gins. And not only is it not a dry book; it is a colourful one. For as well as having whole pages devoted to Blacks and Whites it has some 600 Browns, 160 Greens, and five Blues. It is, we must admit, a fruity book, with 14 Peaches, 13 Cherries, four Plums, 11 Lemons, seven Oranges, and 36 Orchards. Romantic, too, but disappointingly so, with but one Marriage to 20 Loves- Its religious tone might be indicated by its one Angel and 20 Churches, but perhaps we should pause here and leave the reader to explore the, possibilities of its being a guide to animals and plants, a cookery book, and an index of strange trades. However, there is one curious thing about it, from which we can only conclude that it is a mystical book: while it has 1402 pages it has only 98 Pages.