Norwich bulletin., 1915-02-18
THE WAR PRIMER
By National Geographic sociaty

fYpres beaten back from the zenith which it attained around the year 1900, ever dropping lower in the scale Of importance, is today apparently facing the last few scenes Df it's tragic decline For weeks Ypres has figured prominently in the war dis patches, as Germans and Allies have rolled in alternate destructive waves over it's site"
 -Ypres was formerly the capital of West Flanders. Ii is situated 5 miles south of 0stend on the Eperlee. The town lies in the midst Of fruitful region. which is drained swamp and marsh land. Since the flooding of the country as war measure. the swamp land is today as it was in the Mid dIe Ages.
 Tn the 14th century. Ypres rivaled Bruses and Ghent. Ii was one of Fl.,ope's great cloth weaving ceuteTs, 8 citv of vast wealth. and one known everywhere through the excellence and popularity of it's products In it's prime t was q, city of 100000. Prior to the war, it's population numbered 17.00Q
 :The cloth making industry of lp1'es Gates back to 1o13. As this industry grew. and sllillfuI weaTers. dYers and ffnishars were gathered to the city, Ypres came to occupy in the woolen and mixeG-fabriC world much the same place that, today Nottingham takes for tbe manufacture of lace cur tains or Lyons for manufacture of silk. It is said that by the first guar teI. Of the 18th century. Ypres had 4,000 looms going constantly. 'On July 1J, 1902. it was their red i coated contingent that turned vic ! tory to the banners of the F1eminSs in l their battle with the French under | the walls of CouItrai r miles east tof Ypres. The Flemish army num- 1 bered 20 600 citizens of Cfllent, Bruges. and Ypres, and the French. 1000 1 knights and 4e,000 foot soldiers. Several popular risin2s, the fear 1 ful plague of f347. and then . wild l aacchanaI Of wars bIiEhted the hopeS of Ypres sapped it's strength. destroy cd it's industry, killed off and scared away it's people. r1Iined it's homes and l establishment of an independent Bel gium found 1t h0Delessly beaten in ! the struggle for porsperity and pres tige.
 s'Cottoa. linen and woolen cloths i and laces are still manutactured--oT' 1 were before the war-in Ypres, but it is now just one of a multitude of tex 1 tile towns. and the world today will take little notice of the manner of its passing
 Disc River Among those European frivers which have proved so success ful in the present. war in checking the drives of great armies against one an other. the Disc. along whose course the thunder of artillery and the crack of rifles has been continuous fol months, is now entering the season when it's modest normal flow becomes a turbulent yellow rush from its source to it's junction with the Seine It will then be a, still more difhculi barrier, entirely cutting off the north rNF sraGN' ya.a f1 statement given oUt today by the Ma tionaI Geographic Society:
 "The Disc. 1s7 miles long, rises 1T Belgium, , miles southeast of Chimay in the Province of NanluT, flows l south west in an irregular land and the French departments o1 Aisne Disc and Seine-et Disc, anC
 unites with the Seine 3S miles below Paris. The river Aisue is it's principa
 tributary. The Oisse is canalized fol more than 60 miles from it's mouth
 and is an important commercial hnl
 in the wonderful web of natural arti-
 fcial waterways of northern France.
 All along it's uper coudse. it's val.
 ley is narrow and Well-wooded, while it's shores are rocky. bordered ofteE
 by cliffs and fringed with droopinE
 willows. It runs through chalk hills thence through dense forest land, and finally, through an open grazing coun try and through larger cities. TheN
 are miles Of high reeds in it's shor' waters, and beginning with late win ter';s thaw, the Disc suolnerges then in ijs ]feadl0ng flight.
 E'T3cI.3:Ee ca teg hsaawaters, one il
 can5i1l.-ail.y tl.rr2iel:sec~ l..e2pected corner ar& cc.>.3E2.s 1i3,ss1 il1a mills which th =. ac 5:sss.ez,. CT uL1ez1 the funny bob
 s.l-.cr 47o&tE7, where {. towns washer ',sc..laa are bl:s= 1ro;li gray Tzlol-Iin: Ia:a at AEt.. cleaniGs. clothes zn tf streams : EttYr. liter f-a. 1'ere IS pa-sset
 | and the Ais-1a has joined it's coa-rs rot far below. the Ciso flows thTcU9l a dairy land which has given to th world some of it's best varieties 0
 cheese"