TROOPS TROUBLED BY RATS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16169, 4 March 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

TROOPS TROUBLED BY RATS.

CORPS KILL 8000 IN FORTNIGHT. There has recently been some controversy in the French press as to the,precautions that have been taken to protect the men in the trenches from the discomforts of 'lie winter, writes Mr. H. Warner Allen. Last fear the hardships of the trenches were * unspeakable, but. this : year mjieh has been done to make the existence of the men who are holding back the Barbarian more tolerable. Of the smaller trench annoyances few are more worrying .than the plague of rats. In ■ one case they drove a French officer out of a .commodious and comfortable dfug-jut into a damp and melancholy shelter, which was to, some extent protected' from them by sheets of corrugated iron., There were many cases of rats actually biting men who were chasing them down the trenches. Terriers have proved of considerable assistance. Trains full of of dogs have been despatched to the front, and poison lias been fairly effective. Lately a reward has been offered for every dead rat Drought in by men in the trenches, and regular battues have been organised. In a single fortnight one army corps alone disposed of 9000 rats. /At a halfpenny a rat this has involved an expense of £16, and it was certainly money well spent. More Exciting Sport. . The sport of rat-catching on such very advantageous terms have proved very popular among the men, who now suggest that the standing reward offered for the more dangerous and more exciting form of sport envolved in the capture of a German machine-gun should be raised to a higher figure. The real enemy of the troops in the trendies is notf so much the cold as water, From the cold they are guaranteed by plenty of warm clothes, which havj been served out since September 15. A rou',h, but very serviceable, garment for trench ÜBe lias been contrived—from ordinary sheepskins. They are not. a graceful form of clothing, as they are simply made with ii nolo. in the midle, through which" the head is thrust, and they arc tied round the waist with a piece of string. Trench boots have now been provided for all the men in the French first trendies. Unfortunately, they wear out quickly. Most of the dug-outs are now provided with stoves, which give "Tin excellent heat Best Trenches in Alsace. But every time it rains, do what one may, parapets are soaked away and the sides of the trenches collapse. The only palliative is a good supply of electric Sumps and plenty of watertight boots. ut the French, at any rate, have the consolation of knowing that they are better off in this respect than the enemy, and the greater number of the deserters who reach the French lines admit that it is the misery of mud and water that has driven them to desert, The most comfortable trenches that 1 have seen are in Alsace where the slope of the hills carries off the water. The sides of these trenches are held up with hurdles, and wooden gratings raised well above the mud .make it possible to walk dryshoa.