October 31, 1914 
LAND AND WATER 
CHOOSING KIT 
(Continued from page 57) 
shown me the other day — a gauntlet cuff of rubber, lined 
with fleece, completely covered in the coat cuff, and this 
rubber was continued up the back of the glove to the finger 
tips. The palm and the insides of the fingers, where the hard 
wear would come, were of very soft and flexible kid, and the 
glove was fleece-lined throughout. For ordinary field service 
such a glove as this would not stand a week's wear, but for 
motoring — if kept solely for that purpose — it is ideal, for the 
rubber of the glove where all the wind pressure comes is 
sufficiently non-conducting of heat to afford perfect warmth, 
while the kid of the palm and inside the fingers assures 
flexibility ; and the lining affords sufficient warmth even for 
motor cycling. It struck me as just the very tiling for 
dispatch riders and airmen. 
HeaJgear 
Yet another item, scarcely coming under the head of 
camp equipment, was a tightly-fitting cap of oiled silk, 
lined with thin yet warm material, with fur covering for the 
ears and the back of the neck, designed to fit under a peaked 
field-service cap. This again looked just the thing for the 
use of airmen and motorists, while at the same time it would 
be of good service for mounted men, and for infantry as well 
in the winter months. The field-service cap affords practically 
no protection from rain in its normal state, but gets soggy and 
heavy after very little wet weather, while, even when a 
waterproof cover is fitted, it leaves the rain to trickle down 
the back of the neck in most uncomfortable fashion. This 
under-cap of oiled silk does away with all the difficulties, 
affording both warmth and thorough protection frcm wet, 
while it will also come in as a sleeping cap for winter use. 
For such as have either no opportunity or not sufficient 
inclination to wear such a thing there is a waterproof cover 
to fit the field-service cap, made of oiled silk, and so light and 
small that it can be crumpled up in a wisp and placed in a 
vest pocket without damage either to pocket or cover, when 
the latter is not in use. 
Sleeping in the- Open 
With regard to sleeping out in a sleeping bag, without 
the comfort of a camp bedstead, 1 have heard amateur 
campaigners declare they could never get a comfortable 
sleep on the ground. Personally, I have found the reverse 
to be the case, and have never slept better than when directly 
under the stars — or the rain clouds — with something water- 
proof over and under me, and a hole to fit my hip-bone. It 
is always possible to find that hole, with a little trouble, for 
a very small depression in the ground suffices for comfort ; 
and after a night or two, to grow accustorred to the change 
from spring mattresses and similar luxuries, sleep in the 
open is far healthier and sounder than sleep in a bedroom, 
no matter how well ventilated the latter may be. One 
wakens more fresh and fit, and is more ready to face the 
day after a night's sleep in the open. 
Air Pillows 
An air pillow, though a luxury, is one worth having. It 
can be inflated without apparatus — simply by blowing into it, 
and is very little trouble to deflate. It can be deflated in a 
second or two and thrown inside the sleeping bag in the 
morning, when it takes up practically no space and weighs 
only ounces. It may seem almost as sybaritic an article of 
equipment as a camp bedstead, but it is not so, since a pillow 
of some sort is a necessity, and if the folded coat is used on a 
wet night and the user is a restless sleeper — likely to turn and 
twist during the night — the result is often a wet coat to wear 
at the start of the day. Not that an air pillow should be 
taken when it is necessary to keep kit and equipment within 
the strictest limits, but in many cases it is a very useful 
accessory to field kit, and most men have sufficient judgment 
to know when it is not admissible. 
invat r. Rubber 
It may be stated definitely that the canvas washing bowl 
is better than anything that can be done in the way of rubber 
proofing. The chief drawback to the canvas article is that it 
must nearly always be folded and put away wet, and this is 
a difficulty that cannot be overcome, apparently. But then 
there is a drawback to practically every article of camp equip- 
ment ; all things used in campaigning have either to serve 
double purposes or else must be collapsible ; the users must 
get accustomed to the fact that they cannot have the amount 
of comfort that the Ritz or Carlton can provide ; they are out to 
rough it, and rough it they must, though it rests with them- 
selves to a very great degree how much of comparative 
comfort they get out of their campaigning ; and the more 
comfort they get the more efficient they will be. 
(To be contir.ued titxt u-*ek) * 
Tinder Lighters 
FOR 
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Engine-Turned tiold, 
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Plain Silver - £0 7 6 
Engine-Turned Silver, 
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C3 
No. V. 2156 — Vickery's New 
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Ditto without cup : 
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£2 2s., £2 12s. 6d. 
ICKER>^ 
The New 
SILK-SKIN WAISTCOAT 
Impervious to wet or 
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tunic to be worn 
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waistcoat. Wright 
20 oz. 
Pri 
ice 
27/6 
Special Articles : 
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Leather Waistcoats, Oil-silk Cap Covers, " Wolsey" 
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DunhiU's 
2 CONDUIT STREET, LONDON, W. 
359-361 EUSTON ROAD, N.W. 
59 
