266 
MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY ESTABLISHMENTS; ETC. 
are respected only on traditional grounds apparently. They are :— 
1. The serge coat of a gunner must have a red collar. 
2. Belts must be of buff leather. 
3. Boots; and sword-bayonet scabbards must be of black leather; 
though a mountain gunner's gaiters and gun store pockets 
worn on the person may be of brown leather. 
The Indian authorities insist on all the equipments of a mountain 
gunner (that is his boots; belts; gaiters; sword-scabbard and store 
pockets) being of one uniform brown leather. 
Not forgetting the conventionalities referred to, we could surely as¬ 
similate the dress of our Mountain Batteries at home and the colonies 
to that of India more than we do, and secure some uniformity in those 
respects in this manner; viz. :—• 
The serge coat to be of exactly the same pattern as the Indian; but 
with red collar; to be changed under battery arrangements to blue ; when 
the recruit joins his battery in India. 
A buff leather shoulder-belt to be made of same pattern as the Indian 
pattern shoulder-belts with frog; enabling weight of sword to be borne 
by the shoulder instead of by the waist. 
The present Martini-Henry sword-bayonet; utterly useless (to a 
Mountain Artilleryman), to be replaced by the Indian Mountain Bat¬ 
tery sword, equally useful as an entrenching tool (in clearing away the 
brushwood, &c., that so frequently obscures the front of guns with a 
low command), as for personal defence. The gaiters to be of similar 
pattern to the Indian pattern. 
The mounted men to be dressed and equipped similarly to those of 
the batteries in India. This is the same as the dismounted men, with 
these exceptions :— 
The knickerbockers are, under battery arrangements, made up simi¬ 
larly to the officers' breeches. Short sword slings are worn instead of 
a frog for the sword, and when mounted only, special pattern spurs, 
with short neck, instep straps, and foot chains are worn. 
This would imply the abolition in the batteries out of India of 
cavalry swords, jack boots, and tight pantaloons, in which it is utterly 
impossible to walk with any comfort over the most ordinary hilly or 
rough ground. 
Cobs equipped with Mountain Battery pattern saddlery should be 
substituted for horses and cavalry saddlery, as more suited to the nature 
of the service and the appearance of the men who have not, when 
young recruits been taught to ride, and whose physique is not usually 
that which we associate with a cavalry soldier. 
I now come to the dress of the officers. 
At present the officers of the home and colonial establishments have 
many distinctions in dress from those of the officers of Indian estab¬ 
lishments, which thereby causes a lack of uniformity, and an expense 
to an officer changing from one establishment to the other. The 
differences consist in the pattern of the following :—Norfolk jacket, 
gaiters, boots, gloves, sword-knot, spurs, mode of carrying binoculars, 
and saddlery. 
