--TAGE TWELVE SOMME IN GRIP OF GREY WINTER "Strafing" is Now on Conde Only By "Dead Reckoning." OBSERVATION IMPOSSIBLE MAP AND COMPASSES USED FOR FIRING. lLow-hanging, Damp, Leaden Skies Make Alrplanes Useless--Battle in Fog a Weirdly, Mysterious and Uncanny Affair, With the British Army in France, Dee. 3 (via London, Dec. 6.).-- (From a staff correspondent of the - Associated Press) -- Winter, cold, grey and bleak, has held the west- ern battle fronts in its icy grasp for more than a week now, and has tem- porarily . checked any attempt on either side at operations on a large scale, There has been the usual daily 'strafing," or exchange of ar- tillery fire, but the shelling has véen) largely done by what mariners would call "dead reckoning." Low-hanging, damp, leaden skies have shrouded the land in gloomy darkness and obsérvation 'has been almost wholly impossible, For the past seven days there has been a thick mist, while on two occasions the war zone has been completely curtained in by a mantle of heavy fog. But through this grey murk the guns kept hammering away-- firing at the unseen enemy---haras- sing post roads and rail heads or any other "registered" place where he was likely to be busy with the multi- tudious affairs of war behind the lines. A battle in the fog---and nearly every detached engagement in this struggle on the Somme could be classed as a battle by ordinary stan- dards--is a weirdly mysterious and uncanny affair. A roar, a flash of red flame, and out into the leaden mist shrieks a shell on its well-intended mission of death and destruction. "Where it Should Fall." "This is. where it should fall," re- marks the guaner as he points to a =the pure. wholesome table with he. deitghtful flavor. 'Spread it it on bread, hot biscuits and griddle cakes--have it on baked apples and Blanc Mange--use it for making all sorts of homemade candies. In these 3 pound glass fars, and 2, 8, 10 and 20 pound tins--at all grocers. Write Montreal Office for our new recipe book "Desserts and Candies," THE CANADA STARCH CO. LIMITER, 230 MONTREAL, BRANTFORD, FORT WILLIAM. A A A AAA will put another just over here," and bang goes the gun again. In the deepness of the fog the battery seems | to shoot into a little drab world all its own. The Germans, however, have been bombarding one of their recently lost positions. It is a favorite occupation of the German gunners--this shelling a position they know so well after they have been driven from it. And such "trafing" calls for a reply, even if the enveloping fog permits one to see scarcely beyond the grim muzzle of the giant gun itself. Such fighting as tnfs makes war seem intensely Imperial, and in the colorless language of the official com- munique may appear something like this: "There was considerable hostile | was the bombardment at one time, | under the tutelage of an experienced n th ee sameteabis gloom overhead {told its own story. The daily shell. , had begun. one only casually acquainted with the noises of a battlefield there lis alwavs a bewilderment at first as which are the "friendly" shells ing over towards the enemy, and h are the very unfriendly visit- ors coming over to burst in a wild | destroying fury. In the mystic grey- ness of the dripping fog the bewild- ment Was accentuated, the ordinary histle and "cramp" of the vari- calibred shells translated into a veri- table witches' chorus. 8o intense with the shells rushing im opposite directions overhead, that the mingled gounds became like the sighing of storm winds. Each calibre shell has its own par- ticular plaint, sometimes sadly me- lancholly in the distance, and again ! gpitefully firece in its nearness. It {is a great source of satisfaction when, officer, one comes to distinguish for oneself the difference between the outgoing of the friendly shells and the incoming. Visitors to the British front are always impressed by the absolute in- difference of the British, Canadian and Australian soldiers to the indis- criminate shelling so frequently jin- dulged in by the Germans. Unper- turbed in the slighest degree they "carry on" as if there were no such things in all the world. rer MEDICAL INSPECTION OF THE HOSPITALS Toronto Telegram (Con.) Every battalion medical officer should recognize the solemnity of his responsibility, Fathers and mothers and wives have given the most pre- cious treasures of their hearts and homes into the keeping of medical officers, The rank of medical officer shelling to-day against our front on both sides of the Ancre. Our retalia- tion was prompt and effective.' One knew that if the British shells were truly searching their way through the opaque -mist to their charted destination the reply must be all that the communique claimed. Peace in Beaumont- Hamel. Under the protecting. canopy of fog the Associated Press correspon- dent sought to explore the pulverized ruins of what was oné¢e the thriving little French village. of Beaumont- Hamel. Officers and Tommies coming from that direction' gave every as- surance that all was quiet within; and so the motor car roceede blithely along until a ghostly whine map with a pair of compasses. "We --~------ Was Right This wise old man of science when treat- ing on the daily diet, and speakin. Race, athletically built tally, said: * "They will feed on barley and wheat, of an Ideal and wholesome men- | baking the wheat and kneading the flour, ofs ia, more. and more becom the favorite food r Canadians. ing of whole wheat sid d | country a yeay ago. Let Hon. A. E. | described as "distinctly 'western in is' no place for a physician or surgeon who thinks more of swaggering ardund in khaki uniform and of drawing pay and allowances than of safe-guarding health and life in the ranks of the boys committed to his charge. Recruiting is not aided by the stories about battalon medical officers and about military hospitals that go back to the villages of On- tario from the camps on this side of the sea, The conditions that Col. Bruce condemned in his comments on hospital and medical work in England are not as bad as the con- ditions that could have been dis- covered among too many medical officers and military hospitals in this Kemp order § searching investigat- ion and publiqd report on the work of battalion medical officers and mili- tary hospitals in this country, and see how far conditions have impros- LAND SETTLEMENT IN N.B, an Interview in the Daily Chronicle. London, Dec. 8.---New Bruns- wick's scheme Tor land ~ settlement forms "the subject of an interview given by Hon. James A Murray, min- ister of agriculture for the province, to the Daily Chronicle. The inter- viewer iy Saxon Mills, a former South African editor, who warns Great Britain of the danger of immigration from the United States to Canada. The C.P.R. Annotated Guide. . No publication issued by the Can- adian Pacific Railway is better known all over the world than the "Annotat- ed Guide," describing every station along the line. Issued originally at the suggestion of Sir William Van, Horne, it has passed through many editions and fs now a fair-sized book owing to the great increase in the ex- tent of the railway system. It is in- téresting to look over the early issues to see how Canada has pro- gressed. In 1888, for instance, Win- nipeg had a population of only 25,- 000, Fort William 1,400, Regina 800, Calgary 2,400, Lake Louise had not been discovered, and Vancouver was proud of its 5,200. Indian Head was famous for the Bell Farm, of which the "Annotated ide" remarks: "The furrows on the farm are usually ploughed four miles long, and to ylough one furrow outward and an- other returning is a half day's work for a man ahd team. The work is done with an almost military organ- ization, ploughing by brigades and reaping by divisions." Toronto is Subject its activity and energy." Poland 'Also Forced. Parts, Det. 8.---Evidence that the inhabitants of Russian Poland have An $8.00 Gift! § No Christmas present can be of more real value than one that will lighten the burdens of your wife and family. q An extension telephone, placed anywhere upstairs, and connected with your main instru- ment below, will abolish stair-climbing--there will always be a telephone between you and the stairs, whether vou are up or down. q No charge is made for installation; rental is pay able quarterly. ( Order to-day, and we will have it installed for Christmas. Bell Telephone Fr. a5? Co. of Canada | The Prize Packet in the Millions of bars supplied every month to the Army and Navy. Every bar means more power to our forces -- -- at home and abroad. Send some in every letter and parcel to the Front. Small in cost, but big in benefit. 600DS ! for Christmas were a little late arriv- ing this fall, but are all here now. We would advise early buying, as stocks in some lines are limited New Sultana Raisins New Seeded Raisins New Seedless Raisins New Table Raisins New Currants New Lemon Peel New Orange Peel New Citron Peel New Dates New Prunes New Calarab New Spanish New Coo Figs New Shelled Almonds New Shelled Walnuts Creme de Menthe Cherries Overseas Boxes We are still packing boxes for the boys at the front, and are always glad to offer assistance and sugges- tions. We have the latest boxes for filling in two sizes--10c and 15¢. The following are always appreci- ated: Milk Chocolate Sweet Chocolate Nut Chocolate Oxo Cubes Sterno Stoves ! Chocolatta Coffee, Milk and Sugar Cocoa, Milk and Sugar Washington Coffee in To Sharp' > Kreemy Toffee Everton Toffee Turkish Delight Marshmall ow Figs in packages Dates in es Biscuits in es Toilet Soa Colgate's Tooth Paste Colgate's Talcum Powder MacLaren's Cream Cheese Sardines Potted Meats Gum Candles New Table Raisins We would like to call special atten- tion to Chocalatta The read; use tains Choco - Milk Chacginte porn pared instantly 'by adding wa- ter only. Nutritious, Delicious, Digestible-25c and 50c tins. Tom Smith's