November 14, 19 14 
LAND AND WATER 
CHOOSING KIT 
{Continued from page 79) 
Head-collars 
But I do not like the regulation head-collar. It is a 
nice-looking affair, but the " throat-lash " is not solid or 
wide enough to stand hard wear. The same saddlers who 
showed me the blanket clip e.xhibited a special pattern 
head-collar with extra strength in the throat fastening, and 
this looks a far more serviceable article for hard wear. It 
must be remembered that on actual service a groom often 
has no chance to change the head-collar used for riding for 
another one in the lines, and thus the parade article has to 
be used for fastening the horse at night as well as for riding 
purposes. If a horse jerked his head up suddenly from any 
cause he would snap the throat fastening of the regulation 
head-collar — not when it is new, but after a month or two 
of wet weather and hard wear. It is strong enough at the 
beginning of things, but saddlery must be so built as to stand 
wet weather without cleaning and all the hardships that its 
user has to stand on campaigning work. And it is not 
possible to get breakages repaired or replaced on Service 
as it is in peace time ; as a rule, one cannot carry duplicates 
of articles in use, and thus everything should be patterned 
and constructed to stand the maximum of strain, which the 
regulation pattern head-collar will not do. 
Wallets and Saddlebags 
A point on which all saddlers concur is that no leather 
can be made absolutely waterproof ; pigskin, and the 
other leathers from which saddlebags and most wallets 
are constructed, are even worse than heavier leathers 
in their wet- resisting qualities, and thus it is imperative 
that both wallets and saddlebags should be properly lined 
with absolutely waterproof material. Further, the ex- 
teriors of these articles should be dressed as often as 
possible with some waterproofing composition ; but, at the 
same time, they must not be soaked in grease, or the rubbered 
lining will speedily lose its power to resist water, for nothing 
is so damaging to rubber and rubber-proofed fabrics as 
grease. The regulation wallets are the best, and as for the 
pattern of the saddlebag, it should be perfectly plain — 
compartments and fittings are nuisances in actual work. 
The Safety Bar 
Many nervous riders seem to have a hankering after a 
safety bar to release the stirrup leather in case of a fall ; but, 
after seeing trials of several of these devices, I have come to 
the conclusion that, for Service work, the ordinary bar fitted 
to the regulation saddle is a§ " safety " as anything else. 
The patent devices for releasing the stirrup leather usually 
fail to act in case of a downward and backward pull, and the 
man who cannot trust himself and his horse with the ordinary 
fitting ought not to go campaigning — his nerves are not fit 
for it. There is, certainly, a safety device which releases 
the stirrup leather instantly if the stirrup is thrown over to 
the other side of the saddle in case of a fall, but this happens 
so seldom that the thing is not worth fitting for campaigning, 
whatever may be its merits in the hunting field. Safety bars 
may be counted out for practical purposes in a military sense. 
Wire-Cutters 
Most of the German barbed-wire entanglements — at 
least, those used for the defence of prepared positions — 
contain at least one strand of barbed wire charged with a 
very powerful electric current. The average man advancing 
on these entanglements with ordinary wire-cutters, should he 
get a chance to cut any of the strands, will sooner or later 
get electrocuted — when he comes to the electrically-charged 
strands. In order to overcome this difficulty it is now 
possible to get wire-cutters with vulcanite or rubber- covered 
handles, both in the ordinary and the " Ironside " pattern. 
The latter are by far the better pattern. There is enough 
power in these " Ironside " cutters to sever half a dozen 
strands of ordinary barbed wire at once with ease. But the 
rubber-covered handles should be insisted on, as they may 
mean the saving of a life — and, in fact, of many lives. 
{To be continued next week) 
^^- k ^' '(.>^rN a^^ 
SHIR.TMAKER 
,277 HIGH IIOLBORN LONDON/- 
Khaki 
Shirts 
made to measure on the premises In 
2 HOURS 
Send lO'day for patterns and prices. 
W. TACON, spfciaii.t 277 High Holborn, LONDON. 
f^hone : Central 483. Cables and Telegratns : " Skirlmaker. London. ' ' 
WHAT IS WAR? 
What IS War? 
what it is." 
Half the people who talk of war know not 
John Blight — House of Comiiioiis Speech. 
What IS Military Tailoring? a difficult and complicated busi- 
ness requiring knowledge, brains and skill to produce any 
and every Officer's Uniform. 
It is a Scandal that vast numbers of Officers, especially 
newly-appointed Lieutenants, have gone to the 
front in abominable rubbish. 
Printed Estimates are misleading always, especially 
advertised ones. Call and examine the Regulation Military 
Cloths, Linings, Badges, and the Sewing that is the making 
of the Kits turned out by 
Castle & Co., 
MILITARY 
TAILORS 
{Established 1889). 
37 PICCADILLY, LONDON, W. 
Telephone: Regent 5624. 
SERVICE KIT 
AT SPECIAL 
WAR PRICES 
FOR DURATION OF WAR ONLY, 
consisting of 
GREAT GOAT (Stars), BRITISH WARM (Stars), TUNIC 
(Stars), KNICKER BREECHES, TROUSERS, CAP & BADGE, 
GREAT COAT STRAPS & CARRIER, PATENT SPIRAL 
PUTTIES, HAVERSACK, WATER BOTTLE, WHISTLE and 
LANYARD, SAM BROWNE BELT complete (including Revol- 
ver Case, Pouch, Frog and Braces) 
Inclusive Cost £23 Net Cash 
DA \/ T C TAILORS TO ROYALTY 
-**. ▼ X VJ (By Royal H'arranis), 
31 George Street, Hanover Square, W. 
TELEPHONE 
GERHARD 2093. 
HARRODS' 
GIFT BOXES 
TROOPS AT THE FRONT 
Specially selected and appropriate " Comforts " have been 
arranged in Parcels, details of which are given below. 
These are securely packed and will be dispatched imme- 
diately to anyone serving in the Expeditionary Force, upon 
receipt of instructions. 
No fuss or bother with packing. 
You simply send your order by letter, 'plione or wire to 
Harrods, specifying Box No. 1 or Box No. 2 (or both), 
and the following goods to the value of one Sovereign are 
dispatched without delay straight to the Firing Line : — 
BOX No. 1 BOX No. 2. 
ONE SOVEREIGN. 
1 tb. Chocolate (Harrods). 
3 Tin* Oxo Cube*. 
2 Potted Meats. 
1 IvelcoD. 
1 Brand's Ess. Chicken. 
1 Brand's Elss. Beef. 
100 Cigarettes, Best, Flat Box. 
i lb. Tobacco (compressed). 
1 Packet Boracic Powder. 
1 Tube Vaseline. 
1 Tin Coffee and Milk, or 
Cocoa and Milk. 
1 Plum Cake. 
A Tin Danish Butter. 
1 Pipe. 
Bromo Toilet Paper. 
HARRODS Ltd. ( 
ONE SOVEREIGN. 
1 Pair Gloves. 
1 Pair Socks. 
1 Undervest. 
1 Pair Pants. 
3 Handkerchiefs. 
1 Pair Braces. 
1 Woollen Scarf. 
1 Balaclava Cap. 
The 
Sovereign 
covers 
cost 
of packing 
an 
d postage. 
Richard BurbidtCi 
Ma nagiHi' Dt 
;), London, S.W. 
8i 
