WINTER IN GERMANY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21949, 5 November 1934, Page 6

WINTER IN GERMANY

EXPECTED FOOD SHORTAGE VARIOUS SUBSTITUTES OATMEAL IN CHOCOLATE The first signs of the expected wint shortage in Germany were already U ginning to show themselves in the l a week in September, in the use of « k stitute ingredients in the necessities f everyday life. • ' Following the introduction of licence for the manufacture of soap, man u f a( ! turers are now required to use a p ro . | portion of animal fat instead of vetrg. table oils, which have to be imported The new product has already reached the housewife, who notes that the resuiting soap is softer and does not last bo long. In consequence old stocks are being rapidly bought up.

Oatmeal is now being out into choco, late and cocoa to reduce the proportion of cacao beans which supply the char, acteristic flavour.

Substitute materials were rnakin» their first appearance in the wholesale trade, though they had not yet reached the retail shops. The chief of these ij a mixture of wool and cellulose. I{ looks and feels like wool, and when creased resumes its former shape in the same way as genuine material. It will not, however, stand the test of rain. When allowed to dry after being wet, boils appear, and if handled be. fore it is dry it goes into holes.

A special formnla has been devised to meet the inquiries of anxious customers When asked whether a given product is genuine or not, the shopkeeper will in future reply, "This is the best qualit.y permitted under the official regulations now in force."

Imports of fruit are likely to be severely curtailed, if not entirely forbidden, during the winter. Curiously enough, the chief exception is likely to be oranges grown by Jewish cultivators in Palestine.

The reason for this departure froin anti-Semitic policy is to be found in barter arrangements which have been concluded between Germany and Palestine. it is understood that the planworked out by a Jewish bank—for assuring a winter supply of oranges froa Jaffa was in Germany with open arms.

The result of all these measures has been a renewed tendency to hoarding aa during the war. Purchasers are showing great anxiety to obtain foreign products of good quality, and in consequence prices have risen. It has been found necessary to issue an order forbidding the sale of foreign products at prices above those ruling for similar products 011 the world market, plus a percentage for cost of transport and reasonable profit. Heavy penalties are threatened for shopkeepers who transgress these new regulations.