February 20, 1915. 
LAND AND WATER 
CRITICISING THE ADMIRALTY. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir. — Mr. Jane'a comments upon my letter in current 
issue are so elusive and wide of the mark as to render further 
correspondence nugatory, but I crave permission to state dis- 
tinctly ih&t Mr. Jane has all along refrained from and depre- 
cated criticism of the Admiralty, and, further, that many of 
\ia were under the impression that " a feeling of ease and 
security in the civil population " was one of the results to be 
expected from the presence of our North Sea fleet I — Yours 
truly, E. H. 
Hatch End. 
To the Editor of Land and Watee. 
Deas Sib, — I am quite in agreement with your corre- 
spondent, " E. H.," who contends that " withholding of frank 
criticism of our Admiralty and other departments would 
be harmful," but a criticism to be of value should be en- 
tered upon with a full knowledge of the points criticised. 
The very fact that your contributor speaks of " repeated 
fOCcessful demonstrations by the enemy on our East Coast" 
proves both that ho has only a surface knowledge of the 
incidents, and also that the East Coast folk who are better 
informed are, like Brer Rabbit, " lying low and saying 
nuffin." 
As an East Coast resident, let me assure "E. H." that 
no feeling of "insecurity and uneasiness" exists among the 
East Coast people aa a whole. We are taking our risks vrith 
the rest of our countrymen, and are quite convinced that, 
■while Fieber, Scott, Wilson, Jellicoe, etc., remain at their 
respective posts, there will be very little call for a layman's 
criticism. 
Let our friend ask the first Jack Tar he meets on 
leave how things are going. He won't be told anything, 
bwt the broad g^in that will develop on Jack's face should 
re&ssure him. P, 
THE LINE OF THE RHINE. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir,—- May I call attention to what would appear to be 
ft flaw in Mr. Belloc's otherwise cogent reasoning in his all- 
important argument in regard to holding and falling back 
to second, or third, defensive lines. Throughout he 
aaaumes in ea<^ illustration, though he omits to say 
BO, that the physical characteristics or natural strength 
of each alternative position is equal — the only factor 
he deals with being the comparative length of each. Whea 
he applies his reasoning to the several lines 1, 1, 1, 1, " the 
present "■ — 2, 2, 2, 2, " Antwerp, Namur, Metz, Swiss fron- 
tier " — 3, 3, 3, 3, " Liege, Metz, Swiss frontier," ajkd finally 
to " the line of the B-hine," he IfgEtly dismisses the latter 
as negligible on account of its greater length. 
It is ti'ue he refers to Grerman political essentials in this 
connection, but it is to be remMnbered that they have already 
undergone considerable modifications, and, it is to be hoped, 
will have to submit to further ones. 
I devoutly trust I am mistaken, but the natural strength 
of the line of tho Rhine, backed as it is by numerous 
parallel railways, has always appeared to be one that might 
well be effectively held by a relativoly smaller force, and 
certainly by a much smaller one than now opposed to us in 
the west. — Yours obediently, 
S. Ajithob Peto. 
Downs Court, Sandwich, Kent. 
MOTORS AND AIR RAIDS. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — Through the agency of your interesting paper, 
would it be possible to collect a number of owners of motor- 
cars or motor-cycles who could be issued with rifles and 
specially-prepared ammunition as recommended by your cor- 
respondent, Mr. Arthur Beckett, in your issue of January 9. 
Since his letted was written Zeppelins have visited this 
countr)', and so far as we know returned to Germany without 
injury. 
These pests may come agnin any calm night, and it itt 
clearly time to find an antidote in any part of the country, 
^ould one of these phosphorous bullets ignite the gas in a 
Zeppelin balloon, a.s Mr. Beckett claims, I venture to say the 
destruction of one or two -with their crews woulfl prevent our 
German friends again favouring us with their attention. 
The owner of a car or cycle would hav« tho advantage of 
local knowledge, and could choose his own site from which to 
lattack. 
Mr. Beckett's remark on the advisability of a small bore 
■vreapon being used is sound, and the danger of causing^ firei 
could not be too carefully impressed on the users. — Youri 
faithfully^ 
Francis Satjnders, 
Lieutenant Commander. 
[N.B. — It is highly improbable that the War OfBce would 
permit any unauthorised body of men to form euch a cotpg 
as suggested by the writer. — Editor.] 
HARDENING HORSES. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — After years of practical experience in handling 
horses, especially in America, I am concerned to note t'uat 
numbers gathered for our New Army have been lost through 
being picketed out unsheltered in exposed situations. 
Of course, for campaigning horses must get used to expo- 
Buro, but that should be a gradual process. They should in 
no case be out in winter weather without wind breaks, if there 
are no natural ones, such as woods or banks. Wet does not 
hurt a horse with a winter coat on, but draught and cold do; 
and to tie a horse out in an exposed situation without wind- 
breaks or natural shelter is absolute murder. 
I see that a number have died of what is called " rug 
pneumonia," caused by their being supplied with rugs that 
get wet through and are not dried off. If, however, the horses 
were provided with wool-lined tarpaulin cloths, such as are 
used for dray horses, these would be cheap and effective in 
keeping their backs dry and turning the wind. In New 
Zealand, work horses are not stabled, but, after being rubbed 
dry and fed, are turned out with waterproof rugs on. Of 
course, the trouble in campaigning would be to carry the ruga 
along, but this would be amply repaid by the horses saved. 
In W. Virginia, our horses ran out in rain, snow and 
sleet, but had always shelter to go to. We never lost one from 
pneumonia, but if under the same conditions they had been 
tied up in exposed places, they would have died. To leave 
sick horses in the open is a scandal; no colonial would make 
Budi mistakes. — Faithfully yours. Colonial, 
THE GERMAN LOSSES. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Dear Sir, — Mr. Belloo this week makes an interesting 
calculation of the total German losses up to date. This calcu- 
lation is based upon the assumption that the Germans do not 
include in their lists the numbers of those lightly wounded. 
This assumption, however, is not correct. During a 
long period of captivity in the enemy's country, one of my 
few pastimes was the ghoulish one of poring over the endless 
7 erlustlisten ; after each name was given one of the follow- 
ing categories: leicht verwundet, verwundet, schwer verwun- 
det, schwer varletzi, vermisH, gefangen, or tot. Of these 
leicht verwundet appeared oftener than any other category 
but verwundet. I have still in my possession a Terlustlist, 
in which eighty out of a total of 420 casualties are specifically 
given as " leicht verwundet." — Yours faithfully, 
2, Savoy HiU, W.C. C. J. Thomas, M.B., B.So. 
THE SAILORS AND SOLDIERS' TOBACCO FUND. 
To the Editor of Land and Watwl. 
Dear Sir, — We shall be extremely grateful if you will 
permit me to use your valuable paper as a medium for an 
appeal on behalf of the above Fund. 
The need of tobacco and pipes for our soldiers and sailors 
is very urgent, and we shall welcome any donation, eitlier in 
money or kind, that will enable us to remove this want. It 
is true that there are several other Funds opened to this end, 
but when it is realised that to supply every man with only- 
half an ounce of tobacco each (a modest estimate of one day's 
requirements) nearly 28 tons of tobacco are needed, it will be 
realised that the fear of any overlapping is almost superfluous. 
Anyone desiring to help the Fund can do so by (1) sub- 
scribing direct ; (2) taking a collection box ; (3) organising an 
ent-ertainment or concert. Cheques, postal orders, etc., 
should be made payable to Mr. Roy Horniman, hon. treasurer, 
and crossed " Barclay's Bank." Should any of your many 
readers be interested and would like further particulars of the 
Fund, I should be most happy to answer any inquiries.—" 
Your obedient servant, W. Evan Coi.mson. 
Central House, Kingsway, W.C. 
HOSTILE SUBMARINES. 
To the Editor of Land and Watbb. 
Dear Sib, — ^With regard to tho threatened attack on 
our Mercantile Marine by German submarines with the 
intention of blockading our ports and stopping our over- 
seas trade, it has occurred to me that an efieotive way of 
