Heat, Pearls Mr. W. H. Jones who lives 5,000 And Oil Che of the hottest places on miles away from the war zone in
earth, Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, writes to the "Listener" that Bahrein is ruled by Sir Hamid bin isa al Khalifa, who is an independent sovereign with whom we have treaty relations. He owns all the pearl fields. Bahrein pearls are famous; tradition holds that the Queen of Sheba came to Bahrein for her pearls; and pearl fishing is still an important industry. The diver works from a dhow, and with a clip fastened to his nose, iron plates on his feet, and carrying a small wicker basket, over the side he goes, down a rope, sinking like a stone, and after what seems to be minutes up he comes with the spoil which is heaped up on the deck. After a short rest, down he goes again. Then, under the eagle eye of the captain, the shells are opened. Nine years ago petroleum was discovered in Bahrein and the export of oil is now much more important than that of pearls. Where once was nothing but arid desert, now appears a forest of derricks or drilling rigs. Night and day the drill bits cut into the rock formations down into the earth for thousands of feet in search of that pool of oil known with scientific precision to be there. The large refinery with every modern appliance that has been devised, churns along day after day, converting this black gold into crystal clear petrol and the very valuable high octane gasolene. Three hundred of us who are employees of the oil company live in a modern town in the middle of the islands. A complete town for 300 people, about 200 British and 100 Americans. And we feel very near in thought to all that is happening. Apart from the oil that we are producing and refining, we are training our own defence corps, and learning how to handle rifles and machineguns in our spare time.
Origin of the The naval correspondent of Destroyer Horse and Hound" writes:—the continued activity of the Navy brings to the fore the extreme usefulness of the destroyer. This type of ship was originally called a torpedo-boat destroyer, and they came to be built as a counter to the actual torpedo-boat. It was in the early eighties that the deadly torpedo came into general use, and it certainly "put the wind up" Naval circles. Some could see "in it the deathblow to the battleships. The idea was that small craft would creep close to a big ship under cover of night or fog and discharge a torpedo at close range with deadly effect. The antidote was found in building a craft similar to the torpedo-boat, but twice the size and several knots faster.
Armed with quick-üring guns she could then deal with the smaller and unarmed craft. This was quite effective until someone suggested putting torpedo tubes in this new type of ship so that she could both use a defensive and an offensive attack, Today the typical destroyer about 1,850 tons and is armed with eight or ten 4.7 inch guns. In addition, she carries ten torpedoes, and has a speed of 40 knots, One slightly larger one is called the flotilla leader, and carries the Captain (D), who commands the flotilla, Many of our most brilliant officers spent their early days at sea in command of one of the destroyers. The life aboard is ardu-cus, and conditions are very different from life on big ships, but it is greatly to the liking of those of an adventurous spirit. Of course, there is some compensation in the "hardlying" money that is given to each officer and man for the wear and tear of clothes and gear, but you will find that the real spirit of the Navy, is embodied in the men who serve in these ships. Disciplinary niceties are relaxed to some extent, for quarters are cramped, cooking rough arid sanitation negligible, but the ships company love the life, and there is no lack of applicants for duty in these speedy, uncomfortable little ships.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.