The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-03-17
SOLDIERS FOND OF KNITTING.
Other Ways in Which Men in Foreign
 Service Amuse Themselves.

tuner ways in Which Men Tn Foreign
 Service Amuse Themselves.
 Soldiers abroad (especially in India), cut off from all the sources of enjoy ment obtainable at home, are forced to devise means of passing their hours of idleness. The elementary stage in hob bies is knitting socks, hardly the work In which one would expect soldiers to engage, but hobby which is extremely popular. That this Is so the following will show:
 In a recent issue of a service paper a man of the Cheshire Regiment, says London Tit Bits, threw out a challenge to knit any man in southern India for the championship and stake of 300 rupees (920). Men often purchase new socks from the regimental stores, sim ply for the pleasure of pulling them to pieces and reknitting them.
 From socks the natural transition is to Berlin wool work. This mostly takes the form of waist belts and slippers, land me with good eye for the taste- full blending of colors find it an extreme ly profitable hobby, their productions finding a ready sale among comrades.
 A man of my acquaintance, who ev- olved very pretty design in for-me- nots, was inundated with orders for ladies slippers, the majority of which found their way home to sweethearts and sisters, being in many cases repres ented as the handiwork of the sender.
 Another man was veritable artist in Berlin wool, and his reproduction of that famous picture, "The Huguenots, besides taking the first prize ot the Poona Industrial Exhibition, sold for a30,
 Hearth rugs, quilts and table covers also occupy the time of many men, be- made of pieces of military cloth of var ious colors. The number of pieces re- quired for, the amount of sewing in volved in, the production of a quilt or table cover of this description is simply surprising, These mostly find their way home as presents to parents or relatives.
 Fly dodgers" are the men who de- vote themselves to securing the country in pursuit of. the myriad varieties of fly and beetle to be found in the tropics thereby becoming acquainted with the beauties of nature and keeping them- selves in good health. Fly dodgers go in for snakes, scorpions centipedes, lizards, and, familiarity breeding con- tempt, occasionally life is lost by careless handling of a venomous snake. Gt,raoref,1I A,r alo oJt command money, either by supplying dealers or setting up and selling their own cases of flies, Sc.
 Parrots and minas affor never fail- ing eource of occupation to those gift led with sufficient patience to under take the task of teaching these birds to speak A favorite method with bird trainers is to lower the cage down a well, and, seated on the edge of the coping, to pour forth a couple of hours nightly monotonous repetition of Pretty Polly" &c.S Others seek the seclusion of dark room for the reason
 Various places lend themselves to particular hobbies. Ih the Andaman Islands mother of pearlis plentiful and everybody goes in either for polishing shells or making ringsa and bracelets from them. &s}
 Gibraltar has it's staple hobby in rock ornaments made from a beautifully veined stone which aliounds is easily worked, and takes high polish. This Is a very profitable hobby, as brooches, crosses, paper weights, Bible and pray boo markers, and other knickknacks find ready sale among tourists.
 In Burma, the land of teak, the car rying of elaborately decorated photo frames enables many a man to while away hours that would otherwise be dfeary. And at Bhama pleasure may be combined with profit in fashioning ornaments of serpentine.
 In India soldiers recovering from serious illness are usually sent to hill stations to complete their cure, and can find plenty of wood to whittle Into walking sticks. For one of these sticks which the writer has an offer of R2 los was made. It's actual value as a stick might be about one shilling, but it is covered with most elaborate carvings of birds and flowers, and represents four months work.