February 13, 1915, 
LAND AND WATER 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
FINANCIAL PRESSURE. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Deab Sib, — Mr. Eelloc, ia his interesting article " Finan- 
cial Pressure and War," published in your issue of 
February 6, shows that, froni a financial standpoint, increas- 
ing stringency can only diminish tlie capacity of a country 
to carry on war in so far as it may affect the import of 
goods from foreign countries. 
It may be reasonably assumed, therefore, that it would 
be good policy for a country situated as Germany now is to 
import either solely, or in as great a proportion of the whole 
aa possible, those items mentioned by Mr. Belloo aa being 
vital lot the prosecution of hostilities, such as horses, petrol, 
rubber, and certain metals (chiefly copper) ; in other words, 
that the less Germany imports of those commodities which 
can possibly be dispensed with the greater her financial 
(Capacity for the purchase of the vital elements. 
Now, Mr. Belloo postulates that although Germany does 
not produce internally sufl&cient food stufifa for comfort, yet, 
^y exercising great care, the nation can manage to exist 
jrithout the shortage Ln any way affecting her capacity for war. 
It would seem, therefore (paradoxically enough), that 
[^onld Great Britain decide to include food etufis as con- 
traband, the action would actually assist our enemiea by 
rendering it financially possible to procure the vital elements 
ior a longer time — thus prolonging the period of resistance. 
Of course, this line of argument does not take into 
•cconnt the effect of a shortage of food on the comfort of 
the individual, and so on the moral of the nation as a whole, 
which might far outweigh the financial gain; but from a 
logical standpoint it seems difficult to refute. — Yours faith- 
fuUy, J. H. Closb. 
•J'Rowsley," Rosebery RoaS, Cheam. 
AN EASILY MADE EAR-PLUG FOR SOLDIERS 
IN THE FIRING LINE. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Dear Sib, — So many soldiers are suffering from the effect 
on. their ears of tho awful noise of the battlefields that it 
might be of use to them to know of the most effective way 
of keeping out the concussion. Years ago as a Volunteer I 
Buffered greatly in this respect, made many experiments, and 
found the following beyond all comparison the best. 
Take a little piece of muslin, scrape off into it some of 
tike wax of a candle, fold it up into a little pill the size of 
!lhe ear opening, tie it round close above the pUl with some 
thin thread, leaving tags about three inches long; cut off the 
spare muslin, and that b all. The resulting plug, which 
looks like a miniature grenade, can be pushed into the ear 
at any time, fits itself accurately, owing to the warmth of the 
body keeping it just neither hard nor soft, and it can be 
pulled out again readily by the tags of the thread. Holding 
it near a fire will soften the wax enough to be easily moulded 
io the proper size. 
Wool as ordinarily used is of no value at all, any hard 
plug tends to injure the ear, while the little candle-wax 
grenade fits perfectly and yet is absolutely harmless. One 
can be made in five minutes ; though, of course, a little adjust- 
ment in the amount of wax used is needed to get a perfect fit. 
Should anyone care to ask me I shall be happy to send a 
inmple to them at any time. — Believe me, etc., 
Oldfield Thomas. 
15, St. Petersburg Place, Bayswater, W. 
THE FIRST LORD. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sib,— I do not think the "Man in the Street" objects 
"either to Lord Fisher or Admiral Jellicoe; certainly not to 
the latter. But they do object to a civilian using autocratic 
power at the Admiralty which the folly of Parliament has 
given him. 
The " Man in the Street " holds Mr. Churchill responsible 
for the Cressy disaster, the three cruisers being sent in defiance 
of naval opinion. 
For the Pacific defeat in sending Admiral Cradock vrlth 
an inferior force to attack a superior. 
For the Antwerp expedition of untrained men. 
For the mystery of the Goehcn at Messina. 
They also object to the First Lord of the Admiralty de- 
serting his post at Whitehall for the trenches at Antwerp. 
They are also aware of his treatment of Sir George Calla- 
ghan, and feel the anchoring of the Niger gunboat off Dover, 
*nd the Formidable disaster is probably owing to his defiance 
fit naval advice and in his bfilief tliat he is a second Nelson. 
■^ ^oast-Dweller in Cornwall, 
THE AGE QUESTION. 
To the Editor of Land and Wateb. 
Deae Sib, — ^Could you see your way to give in one of 
your future issues of Land and Water some notes on the 
qualifications of naval officers? It seems at present that the 
entry to this service must ibe determined before the age of 13, 
and after that age a boy desiring to enter the service is 
barred. Surely a lad having a good education should have 
an opportunity of entering at least as late as 16. I am con- 
cerned, because I have a boy aged 14 anxious to enter the 
Navy, and find he is too late. I do not know if this is 
within the scope of your paper, but if it is I should be 
obliged by a note in your correspondence columns.- — Yours 
faitlifully, 
Nauticus. 
CATCHING SUBMARINES. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Dear Sir, — One of your correspondents mentioned 
the efficacy of an ordinary fishing net for catching and 
disabling submarines. I have been told that Messrs. Brunton 
Bros., of 17, St. Stephen's House, Westminster, have already 
devised a scheme which has been probably shown to the 
Admiralty. The scheme consists in attaching a net to the tail 
of a torpedo (not charged), and on a ship sighting a submarine 
the torpedo is launched across the bows of the latter, the net 
trails out behind, and unless the submarine sees and evades it, 
disaster is the result. I believe that this has been tried ex- 
perimentally. — ^Yours faithfully, 
MA0RICB A. Wood. 
Cecil Chambers, 86^ Strand, London, W.C. 
EARLY SUBMARINES. 
To the Editor of Land and Wateb. 
Sir, — Mr. Grimshaw's letter in a recent issue has proved 
interesting to many readers, no doubt; to myself particu- 
larly so. 
In 1884 a submarine boat wajs designed by Mr. J. 
Waddington, and built at Birkenhead by Messrs. Cocliranes, 
of that city. This vessel was approximately 40 feet long 
and 6 feet greatest diameter, tapering to a point at each 
end. The rudder was fixed under the boat, and diving fins 
or planes were fitted. A conning-tower and pumps for alter- 
ing the displacement were a pait of the equipment. Pro- 
pulsion was effected by one 20-h.p. electric motor, made by 
Messrs. Siemens, driven by a battery of accumulatora sup- 
plied by the Electric Power Storage Co., the whole electric 
installation being fitted by the writer and his partner, Mr. 
F. H. Perry. The battery, which weighed over five tons, 
had to be charged from an external source. 
The electrio power was guaranteed by us to drive the 
boat at 8 miles p.h. upon the surface, which was easily accom- 
plished. In all the chief features it will be seen this ship 
was a prototype of the present-day under-water ship. The 
designer had hopes of interesting the British Admiralty in 
the idea, but without success, and I believe eventually lost 
all the money spent on the work. Of course, the boat wea 
never properly fitted for diving, but Mr. Waddington's belief 
was that, having shown the invention so far advanced, 
further assistance, both financially and mechanically, would 
have been available to complete a practicable submarine. 
The first trials took place at the end of 1884 in the great 
float at Birkenhead. When everything was in place, three 
men, including myself, went inside, and the conning-tower 
hatch was then bolted from the inside, the tanks then, filled, 
and the boat, attached by chains from a crane at the dock 
side, was lowered to the bottom. Communication being 
established by telephone with those above, it may be imagined 
the stay below was not very prolonged, just sufficient to show 
everything was tight. Afterwards the boat was driven at 
various speeds, and performed evolutions upon the surface 
which certainly were most wonderful at that time. The hull 
was almost entirely Bubmerged at times; in fact, two of 
those on board were heartily glad when the trial was over. 
The nose of the boat was a solid steel piece about three feet 
long, and in making a sharp turn at full speed we just 
missed running into the s.s. Alaska, which would have meant 
our going down like a stone and the big steamship being sunk, 
as she was lying up for repairs. 
Although the submarine of to-day is marvellous In it« 
perfection, the same risks exist, added to many others; and 
I take off my hat to the crew of any submarine.— Yours truly, 
Chas. W. Coi. 
IS* 
