PATER'S CHATS WITH TUB SOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3610, 22 May 1923, Page 60

PATER'S CHATS WITH TUB SOYS.

THE CALL. The road's call and the bird’s call and the wild, clear call of the sea, I hear them in the city ways —they will not let me be ; And 1 long for the sound of the spray s fall and the roaring wind in the sail, And the running stream by' the wayside, and the bleating sheep in the dale. I hate the roar of the town life, the worry and bustle and hum— Give mo the woods in the moonlight, where the elves and fairies come; Give me the ever new life, the true life and free, The life they live in the country, the life they live at sea. Give me a ship with a white sail anchored fast in the bay, And leave to take her and sail in her around the world away', And when the winds are blowing and . swell is on the sea, I shall know at last the joy that life can give to me. * * * * * STEEL PEN CENTENARY. In spite of the -development of the fo mtain pen with its gold nib, the steel p i is still manufactured in enormous quantities. It is almost exactly one hundred y'ears ago that the steel pen trade was first established in its home in Birmingham, England. The earliest steel pens were first made in quantities by a Birmingham manufacturer of knife blades ami other metal goods, and the original price charged was 56s per gross. Before that time steel pens were hardly known. Shortly afterwards the same manufacturer introduced the use of press tools which reduced the price of steel pens to less than Is 6d per gross. Now there are 11 factories in Birmingham producing steel pens. For a long time Birmingham had the absolute monopoly of this manufacture, but more recently imitators have sprung up on the Continent and different parts of the world. Birmingham, nevertheless, remains pre-eminently the pen centre. ***** WONDERFUL WOLF-DOGS. The Schafer-hund, or Alsatian wolf-dog, to give him his English name, has become such a favourite in Great Britain that he has ceased to be looked upon as an enemy alien. A hook which should tell us all about him was therefore bound to come, and here it it. Major Beddoes, a British officer who has served three years in Germany since ‘.he armistice and has devoted much attention to the breeding and training of these dogs, has translated and edited the classical work on the subject, written by Iteptain Stephanitz. and “The German Shepherd Dog” (published at 4s, Lambeth Palace road, S.E.) tells us, with the profuse aid of 6uo admirable illustrations, all we want to know. The Germans, who think of everything, had learnt long before the war the value of the Schafer-hund for police purposes, but it was during the war that he came info his own. They mobilised their Alsatian wolf-dogs as thev mobilised everything, from copper candle-sticks to draught oxen, and the Schafer-hund was “called up’’ for service on the front. He was detailed to search for wounded, to carry messages, to transport small-arm ammunition, to act as a ration party to outlying posts cut off by' barrage or machine-gun fire, to do sentrv duty, and to run out field telephone cable. In peace time he is equally useful. It is quite common on small lonely farms ir southern Germany to find the peasant and his wife far away at work in the fields while the dog is left at home to “mind the baby'.” And admirably does he do it. Major Beddces tells us that he never locked his rooms in his hotel, hut, if a friend happened to call, the master would return to find the friend standing in the hall unable either to advance or retreat, with the dog lying quietly' in front of him, ears cocked and eyes alert. Everything was quite all right so long as the visitor did not move, but if he did a premonitory growl advised him that it was better to remain where he was. The dog conveyed a plain intimation that the hall was the place for visitors to wait. Indeed, one of the most charming characteristics of these dogs is the way thev learn for themselves. The writer has a dog which had not been with him many day's before, one evening as he began to unlace his boots, the dog suddenly trotted off to his dressing-room. In a second or two he was back and laid his master’s slippers at his feet. *He had never been taught to do this. A good nurse, he makes an excellent valet. Much, of course, depends on training. The wolf-dogs on view at the Kennel Club Show were disappointing not ber'"™ M quality but on account of their training. major B -ddoes declares that he has never seen a case of harsh treatment at the numerous training schools he has attended in Germany. Shyness or cringing in the show ring is alone sufficient to disoualifv a dog in that country. The author of this book, Captain Steobanitz who is the premier judge at> German shows, states that when he had at a championship show, to judge three doge of equal merit he caused a revolver to --'I close behind them. He disoualified two for being shy. The third dog looked sharply to see where the report came from and prepared to attack the firer. He won the prize. It is somewhat surprising (adds an English writer), that the Sdhafer-hund, although very popular in this country, has not been taken up by the police. In Germany the dogs are in universal use for police purposes in lonelv districts.