GENERAL WAR HEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16020, 11 September 1915, Page 3 (Supplement)

GENERAL WAR HEWS.

TRENCH NEWSPAPERS. - gVEXTY-sBVEX papers are published lii 1 the "trenches with some regularity by P French soldiers, six or seven by British, and one by the Belgians. __ AN ENTENTE ORCHID. The interest felt by botanists in the dis- * ' covery in Northern France a few weeks L -ago of a rare lizard .orchid (orchis . * hircina) has been intensified by a similar discovery on land adjoining Lord Kitchener's estate near Canterbury. Lord ' lAvflbury saw one near Wye, Kent, in 1899. . SOUND OF CANNON. The sound of cannonading carries much farther than that of thunder. The limit * of the carrying power of thunder is about 15 miles, "while twice that number of -miles is not considered any great distance for the sounds of battle to travel, ' while some authorities credit them with ]traveiling infinitely greater distances. tife- ? ASS AS OBJECT LESSON. '\ The Kioylii, a small Turkish provincial paper published in Smyrna, in an account o?the bombardment of Tcheshmeh by an 'English warship, speaks of a shot which shaved off both ears of a donkey belonging • to Halil Effendi. collector of Customs. The ass is now the sight of the town, and 'its owner is making a rich harvest from the townspeople, who pay a small fee to ' tee the effects of the shot. NO SHORTAGE OP BULLETS. ' The* necessary supplies of antimony which is an essential constituent of ballets, and of which enormous quantities are required in connection with shrapnel orders,-are assured. The Metal Bulletin -states that arrangements have been made between the authorities and the antimony refiners, • whereby the national require- • ments have been secured for several : H;months. , . . , A VERY LONG WAR. Speaking at the Wesleyan Methodist Conference .at Birmingham, Mr. Arthur ' Henderson, M.P., said —" I am not divul- ' - gjjjg Cabinet secrets, but I think you will have another conference very long before this terrible crisis is over. That being so, ; Ido fiot think we should talk about doing tilings for -war purposes for any definite period,' as we may lead the whole Church to think that there is a possibility of this "■ - war terjMJnat-iug within five or six months." %-<* : — • STROKED THE LIONS. 'A remarkable scene occurred at a Bish-1 *"jar 3 recraiting meeting, when Sergeant I • Ftuler, V.C., entered a cage containing 1 wo African lions-attached to a- menagerie. ; Fuller, was telling the. men that if they j were noti fit to die, they were-not fit to j , live. When challenged to enter the lions' j den, Fuller threw up his cap and calmly 1 ■ entered- the cage and stroked the lions, amidst tremendous excitement. The prop T rioters awarded Fuller a gold medal as a memento." Many enlisted as a result of ' the incident. > * r ■ ';--?■-.. - < ■ . i " " -:■;. ... XT j .: SCO TIN FOR GERMANY. .:-. Relatives and friends 4 have been ref . '-. cues-.d not to send tin to ✓prisoners of war in Germany. This applies equally to tr.3 containing food, and to tin boxes, . ' biscuit tins, etc., used as the outer covering for parcels. Parcels for prisoners of war may be packed in strong wooden, or , double cardboard or strawboard boxes, or ■•'in several folds of strong. packing paper. If pager or linen or canvas is used for tte otter wrapping a duplicate addressed •sheet of paper or other material and a • KiF*, string should be enclosed in>•<v. i ; THE ENEMY'S* FABLES. - Tie Swedish organs, in reports from Berlin correspondents, state that owing •-;, . to- their enormous losses in the Bukovroa , »nd on the Dniester, the Russians were compelled to ask the Austrians for a fourhoars' armistice, to gather the dead and ,V wounded, which was granted. It is added I - mat during the armistice the Austrians wejfe able to. note the alleged enormous ; Icsks of the Russians, losses which, it is said, , fqreed them'to retire for several falometres, says an official statement. communication is totally untrue iherehave never been any overtures in toe Dniester or Bukovina regions for an -v anaistice.to gather the dead and wounded. •it S ;: IK ? cr felt the need of such ar- . • mistice. --' ■ -~L-____ ■' SUSPICIOUS CONDUCT. .At Liverpool Police Court Leslie Joseph 2S il 63 ? °- age ' « charged on remand .with having,, while ' acting as '" nndersteward on . board the steamship i£J? *7 done an act likelv to cause W?^ 6 $*P or its destruction. It - ifvj tfaat the Prisoner, contrary to orders, had opened one of the ship's per? "U d he wa » trying to make Sm tJ? ead, ' : ' He - was ' however, looking »*>m the wrong side of the ship. SubISK^ ***** * S-Jgh: 'SKfif ? m °? er fitted the offence, ■Kgil"^ a a 8 done «w«gh thoughtkssW&hs WaS ient to prison for -two ' — —~ iSIBUTE TO TERRITORIALS. IpMf °™ 3 ° "ie snleodid work of the 'fe ML™ and Jhe ttSil^-^ 611 t° them by the (BBggl§?&&:-» eorresnondent, I h«ar 5 ?^ 11 *¥ 6th Manchester 3lalta )- that, a story of a handsome con? officer whfJi; v SS g *1' h , ls a brieadierS^aT"*** 1 - '\ Thes * territorials it!" d l d ' s n *' simply splendid! Thev 2iireS e - al »T i to **£ that T °ff #K&:: « c ak % 1* ff? exclaimed kood lord, man, I wish ~.«« nave i on my collar!" • • - WATER' BULLETS. Sitefe a , hnmi i. ?birdwith th * *««11»offfif t^ >jt ' mAd f >■ out of the question, fiSS&^i* eeds of ' ad would 1 destroy '*«£l ™,'r Wd ra - n be ca Ftured for comW to shoot him with a Pd* "*?, a blowun or a fine S ? a11 6yrin « e - Skilfully wHS-Ss^:- I**1 **' and belore he r€C °^ r » jar Tb;. 3 ,8 1 su l s P end€d over a cyanide »Km^.- *T st done quickly, for if ''S&f o h » "««es before the'cyanide WliSnS ° Ut h , ! • life h6 is mn ruin n h,S 8 * ra 8?l« to escape. itlMS bmls . 7?" y m size fr( ™ speci■•'2«ttK? P8 aIt u as lar^e M a *P a »ow « ll>ose scarcely bigger than a bee. USES OF SANDBAGS. • >espolldenfc write from the front Cental gS . ar , e of COurse absolutely indis- , r"«We.ont here, nor is there any limit £ their uses. T You must have them for wUT c }\ l su pp oße about eight °10 S SSn ° f trencil in aIK You "* them earb2f Papering your dug-out and for Kra ■. he same. You make your bed C™ y . ou . an get an >'- Mselt " ] tim« i. a stretch which I use for tin "'•i** *U* • en m boot are dirty I put RUdnS m , a£andba S- 0n muddv daj ■» excel gaiters. At night B-BS^^f??? up in a sandbag, and the coriain ; , lves in has ot a sandbag "■iSSrt Whp , here is a aste- pa pet i^:-Sioolfe e '.V'hicli is of course ' a £andfc^§ 'Wn»! see how far even a thousand go -Set\ n^ W and then pe °P le get litth »SSS ; ■*i°- and °° sent ont, all hem C,1 M , BWt , of blue ribbons to tit -Si he - v probably end in be ■ «i.f o l,.S ,rt^-c °S2^^mman

mrSSIC AOtDSHRLLS. The Russian Atrocities Commission ha; larded the-employment by the German, 81b to 101b, and filled with prussic acid.

> . THE .m&?. HEObjtD. cord * French papers claim the war record for * family named Courts, of TheS, ? f* of Marne 21 S haVe had 2° children,^and o«* w tae song have been wounded.

GERMAN WIFE SHOT. be! toSft eUgine f v »amed Barfaier has murdeH {? ** Lyons feumuraoimg hi s wife, by birth Selkof 2 e u # t the out mwk oi.the war, Jlme. Barbter • who refi»alv lU ± nd S ****? «SS£ and fiJX S « a " d S I>atliofcic and finally, after a,quarrel in which she her wit aggressive, he shot mLK £L5E«*Wj The court unanimously acquitted him. - -..-.- ' ■ .' . : -vRUSSIA'S NATIONAL DRINK. ■to! liii* 9 *? dvink U \ e health, * our KuV sun allies, why not i drink it in kva=s Kvass has been the national drink of Rubo n-irf Sen l ra^ s , before yodka came, was from I,'X? abo } ,sh . ed - II is-manufacUred S- nd' and glves nourishment. It is" practically tree from alcohol, being slightly ess intoMcant- than ginger beer. A a ds made to simulate almost anything from champagne to water. v S * nym ©KRMAN TACTICS.

correspondent >of the Manchester Guaidmn says the German arguments to making R ll3 a a the chief objelt of attack feLlfHf stren Sthened by the Austrian defeat, the uncertainty of 'what. the Bab i^th^A* ° U n d d0 V a,Hi the operations xn the Dardanelles, which threatened Germany on her t ? 110£t sensitive side-Austria. ♦£ J* a i ? trou E?rtV in German* for ™ w? w xatlon of Belgium, but nothing could reconcile her for the fall of Con?' stantinople. , *;.-. BLIND J OARSMAN. An interesting programme of races took place recently tor a four representing Worcester j College for the Higher" Education of the .Blind. The- introduction of serious row|3*as an exercise for the blind due to Mr. G. C. r Brown, the headmaster of the! ! college. ~ The first rice against an old boys four was rowed at Worcester, and &%$ fours, against Kings School, Worcester, 2nd four. The latter race was the first on record in which a blind crew has competed in.a Hieing tie, and the first between crews iefci*se&tuj* a sighted; and a Wind pnblic school. "SKUNKS AND COWARDS.'' . Riotous scenes were witnessed at a meeting in the Queen's Hali;,London, arranged by the Socialist National Defence Committee. Ilie remarks of the chairman, Mr John -Hodge, M.P., and other speakers were frequently interrupted, and soldiers m khaki lent a hand in the ejection of some of the dissentients. Mr. Ben Tillett administered a very stinging rebuke to the interrupters, and did hot mince his Words. j You cowards, you rotters,' he said,' "i don want to appease you, I want to hurt you. There ; are 50,000 transport workers at the front, and •very one of them is worth more than the whole bunch of you skunks and cowards." \~. ' "?; OUTWITTED - THE $ GERMANS: ;— | Mr. H. J W. .:■ Cox, : engineer of the steamer Southport; was at Cardiff lately presented the Government with a piece of,-plate, ,in recbenition of .the; courage, resolution, and r skill he r displayed when he -restored the ship's engines, disabled by the crew*of the : German cruiser :Geier'at" Kusiac, in : the Carolme Islands: s- The enemy took some coal i from the Southport and : left ; her, intending to return for the remainder. Meanwhile, bv an? ingenious makeshift; Sir. • Cox was ■ able- to get the engines going sufficient... to steam ahead. The vessel was warped out of the narrow harbour with some 1 difficulty, and steamed away ;to J Brisbane; 2000 > miles distant, which she reached in safety. ,f: r .'•:%\-^

A GERMAN'S WAR WAISTCOAT. A manufacturer in ' Hamburg, > who had: been (tremendously busy from the very beginning of the war putting on .the market all sorts of possible. and\ impossible* contrivances for the use of the active' defenders of the Fatherland, lately sent to the proper '■' military experts in Berlin a model of a ; bullet-proof waistcoat, out of which he .hoped to . make; a, fortune../ The War Office's 7 Department rof Tests «- turned' the model with the following communication :— Your alleged bullet-proof waistcoat was submitted to proof under musketry fire. We recommend that you use your best efforts to place a supply of these waistcoats abroad in one or mope of; the countries now at war wi%h Germany."

; REMEDIES EOS THIRST. A -surgeon on active service, writing in the Hospital, says that smokers suffer more from thirst that any other details, arid smoking i should therefore be discouraged when water supplies are scarce or polluted. . Cold weak tea carried in the water-bottles is perhaps the best thirst quencher, but training is undoubtedly the best prophylactic. A man can be trained to go for several hours without water, or to content himself with occasional wetttng of the lips and palate. Where water is suspicious or unobtainable, limejuice lozenges or gum jujubes flavoured with some sour-tasting fruit juice are the best preventive of thirst. These should be" handed out to th« men on the march, with* instructions to chew one occasionally when the thirst becomes severe. - * A SAXDMARTXN'S MISHAP. An angler on the Teviot noticed what, in the fading light, looked like «a bunch of feathers suspended from a line of barbed wire stretched across the river. Wading to the place, in mid-stream, where the supposed " feathers" were fluttering, he found a live sandmartin dangling* from the wire. ' Some horsehair floating down the water, or carried by the wind from the bank, had become entangled in the wire, and the bird, in passing beneath the barrier, had been caught by the floating strands, which were ilrmly fastened round the flight feathers of one of its wings. The little prisoner was in a limp and feeble condition, and over its eyes an. ominous glaze was creeping, but on being freed from its toils and warmed in the hands of its deliverer it rose slowly into the air, somewhat after the manner of a lark, as if to make trial of its strength, and then being satisfied with the test, passed swiftly down the valley. FIGHTERS WHO NEVER SEE A BATTLE. During a sea fight the engine-room men tend the great engines of a battleship with all the care that they would bestow upon the same delicate yet mighty mechanism in time of peace, roaming listlessly, yet with a definite purpose, around the engine-room with oilcans in hand, bestowing drops of lubricant here and there as required. Theirs and the stokers' is almost— quite— hardest part of the whole grim drama of a naval battle, for they are absolutely cut off from the fight, and are only cognisant of it by the quivering of then- ship as the great turrets over their heads fire, or as the enemy's shells thud against the armour, or when some stray shot finds its way through the steel wall and the bunkers to the boilers. Such an event blends a whole stokehold in one frenzied orgv of deathdeath by exploding shell and scattering fragments of steel; death by awful ■wounds from flying, burning coals, or death by scalding, hissing, blinding steam as the water tubes-burst all around them.