The press reports speak of the injurious heat in the military operations in China; and this would be partially guarded against by ventilating corks or fluted material in front of the forehead.

Experiments with this method have been going on at Schuylkill Arsenal since last November, but no final report upon its value for the military service has yet been received.

On this subject Lieut. Col. M. P. Maus, inspector-general, Department of California, reports as follows:

About three years ago I purchased in London, England, a shooting suit complete, including cap of hand-made cheviot cloth, from the natural wool, as made in the rural districts of Scotland. It was explained to me that this material was waterproof and that this property was due to the fact that the natural fat in the wool had not been extracted from it. I have worn this suit on various occasions in the rain, and have found it, as far as tested, waterproof. I therefore believe that Dr. Munson's process for waterproofing, properly applied, would give the necessary results, and should be thoroughly tested at one of our clothing depots.

MUNSON HOSPITAL TENT.

Attention is again invited to the above-named tent, of which mention was made in my last annual report.

During an inspection of troops in the West Indian Islands, made by me from January 21 to April 3, 1899, the matter of shelter for the sick was carefully inquired into, and it was said in my report:

How different the several kinds of houses are, and the marked difference in the deadly temperature even in different tents, need not be dwelt on here; but a note is given of one or two tests showing this difference of temperature.

The above paragraph attracted the attention of Capt. E. L. Munson, assistant surgeon, United States Army, and after thoroughly studying the matter he devised a hospital tent to better meet the needs of troops in the Tropics, which apparently is 10 degrees cooler in extremely hot weather than the old regulation tent, is admirably ventilated-stagnation of foul air being impossible and gives much better protection against both rain and sun.

At the request of the Surgeon-General the Quartermaster's Department constructed a tent according to Dr. Munson's suggestions, and it was shipped in September, 1899, to Washington Barracks in this city for trial; where it was examined and favorably reported upon by the Surgeon-General and other officers of the Medical Department. My attention was invited to the matter, and I directed Maj. S. C. Mills, inspector-general on duty in my office, to make a complete inspection of the tent. His report was so favorable that I submitted it to the Secretary of War, with the recommendation that 100 of these tents be made and distributed among troops in Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines for trial. There was much delay in the manufacture of them, due largely to lack of the special material required and to certain details of construction not being at once understood, and it was not until the end of April, 1900, that they were reported as ready for service. In the meantime Captain Munson gave the military authorities of the United States full rights to manufacture or purchase these tents without the payment of royalty therefor. Of the 100 tents made by the Government 50 have been sent to the Philippine Islands, 10 to Cuba, and 6 to Porto Rico for trial by the Medical Department. No reports of the results of these trials have yet been received, which, in view of the short time they have been on trial was to be expected. All reports upon the sample tent in this city have been uniformly favorable. And experiments by line offiers are recommended.

It has also been favorably reported to the governments of England, France, and Canada, by officers of their military service. The chief sanitary office of the British army states that the tent is an exceedingly good pattern and the system of improved ventilation is a decided advantage over their present pattern, and it is already in use for hospital purposes by the Canadian military forces. The exigencies of service have not brought this class of tents into attention as their use for hospitals in an epidemic or after a battle in the Tropics might. But in the horrible heat in a tent of a single thickness for the sick and wounded there is something to be guarded against, and this tent has advantages that give great alleviation. Through the courtesy of Mr. Richard Harding Davis inquiries as to the English service are being made.

THE ARMY RATION.

The evolution of the army ration during the past century, in quantity and variety as well as in quality and method of preparation, until it is now superior to that furnished by any other country to its soldiers, is as remarkable as the evolution of the small arm from the slow flintlock muzzle-loader to the modern rapid-fire breech-loader with its smokeless powder and metal cartridges. A century ago the army ration comprised beef or pork, bread or flour, a small quantity of rum, and salt, vinegar, soap, and candles. Coffee, sugar, vegetables, fruits, and similar articles were not issued. Now there are no less than nine varieties in the meat component of the ration, including fish; four in the bread, seven in the vegetable, six in the coffee and sugar, and quite a number in the dried fruit and seasoning components; and the variety can practically be made unlimited by applying the savings of any of the components to the purchase of articles not on the regular ration list. Most of those on the older list are still issued, except rum--which was formerly considered a desirable stimulant for men engaged in fatiguing or hazardous occupations-but their allowance has largely increased. And if the former ration was considered sufficient in quantity for the average man, the present ration, which has about doubled, should give no cause for complaint, especially while the profits of the "exchange" add about a pound to the food of many. Great advances have also been made in the method of preparing the food, and cooks are specially enlisted to make the most of the articles placed at their disposal, so that the present diet of the soldier is vastly superior to the limited choice formerly offered. But conditions are not always favorable to use the ration to the best advantage, and service in the field. under a tropical sun has been attended by so many complications of the food supply that Col. C. A. Woodruff, of the Subsistence, and Capt. E. L. Munson, of the Medical Department, were each led to prepare and publish an article on "The ideal ration for an army in the Tropics." Extracts of these papers are given in Appendix J, and attention to them is invited for detailed information.

Sugar or sweets seem to be much craved for in the Tropics, as was pointed out in my report on conditions in Cuba in 1899; and recently the public press contained an interesting article on some experiments made with sugar by a surgeon in the German army, which seems to have a direct bearing on the question of food for soldiers, and is quoted as follows:

Dr. Leidenstorfer, a military surgeon, has recently been making experiments with sugar in the German army. Believing that it would prove a great aid toward the

maintenance of the physical strength of soldiers, he added from 50 to 60 grams of sugar daily to the rations of certain men, and as a result he found that they became much more energetic than their comrades; that they suffered much less from hunger, thirst, and fatigue, that their pulse was less rapid and stronger, and that cases of exhaustion were much less frequent among them than heretofore. The conclusion at which he arrives is that sugar, though it is evidently not a fitting food for neurasthenics or for those who are depressed and who are obliged to lead a sedentary life, is yet admirably adapted for huntsmen, soldiers, and all others who live much in the open air, the reason being because sugar has in it those very properties which their constant activity and energy require.

UNIT OF ARMY EXPENDITURES.

The distinction between the expense to the Government and the receipts of the individual soldier whenever there is an increase of force has led to a conventional estimate that soldiers practically require the disbursement of about $1,000 per man per annum, perhaps because this amount most nearly approximates in round numbers the ratio between the enlisted strength of the Army and the annual Army appropriations; and for purposes of a general offhand estimate it may serve to give an idea of the amount required to maintain an army of definite strength-though of course the soldier individually receives no such sum.

From an examination of the amounts expended during the past five years, taken from three different sources, viz, the ledgers of the War Department, the annual reports of chiefs of Bureaus, and the combined statement of receipts and disbursements published annually by the Treasury Department, the following table indicates approximately the average annual cost per enlisted man, found by dividing the total expenditures considered by the average number of enlisted men in the Army. The difference in the results obtained from the various sources available may serve to show differences in classifying or summarizing annual expenditures and some consequent difficulty in segregating in all cases similar classes of expenditures; though, as a rule, the pay, etc., of the Army, mileage, transportation, barracks and quarters, clothing, camp and garrison equipage, horses, subsistence, care of sick, and arms and equipments have been considered, and expenditures for fortifications or their armament excluded, as far as it was practicable to draw such distinctions.

The following table shows the averages for two years of peace (1896 and 1897) and two years of war (1899 and 1900):

The increased expenditures of war are readily understood from the unusual conditions of waging war simultaneously in two hemispheres many thousand miles apart; and it is evident that the maintenance of troops in distant lands is more expensive than at home and must increase the average cost per man. The year of preparation for war also adds many incidental expenses for arms, animals, etc., that may not be wholly worn out in a single year.

Of course, the figures are only tentatively presented from sources most readily accessible; but they may serve to show that it is entirely practicable to obtain the average cost per enlisted man of maintaining the Army; and doubtless such information can be accurately furnished by the departments disbursing the various funds, not only in their aggregate expenditures, but in the several items composing it. Apparently the difference between war and peace expenses is about $300 per annum or about 25 per cent; and we have returned nearly to our normal peace basis. And with full organizations the average per man is diminished.

DRINKING WATER.

As General Tidball, now on the retired list, had a handy water cart with his command during our civil war, he doubtless can tell what steps were taken concerning such effective methods of supplying an essential of human life. That old incident is recalled by the following extract from a recently published private letter of First Lieut. A. U. Loeb of the Ninth Infantry and from the New York Sun's accoun of the taking of Tientsin.

Lieutenant Loeb says:

It was impossible to get troops to us, and we lay all that hot day in salt water and mud up to our waists. Water gave out, and the men in their frenzied attempts to quench their burning throats would drink that dirty salt water, supplying it in short mouthfuls as it eddied about their forms.

The Sun's correspondent reports:

One thing this day should teach the American Army one little thing of great importance. I have seen six different breeds of men go into battle to-day. Every one of them except the American had some contrivance for getting extra water to the field. It has been a fearfully hot day and the men have suffered greatly for water. Our men are notoriously prodigal of the contents of their canteens. They hadn't been on the line two hours before they were running out and the cry went up for more. But there was no way to get more. The British, French, and Japanese had their donkey carts or mules packed with breakers, but the Americans had nothing and their men had to suffer and stand it as best they could. It is no very great reform to make but it counts afield.

THE GALVESTON STORM.

In connection with the recent destructive storm of September 8, which caused such appalling loss of life and property at Galveston and vicinity and for the time overshadowed all other events, the following, extracts from the report of an inspection of Camp Hawley and its subposts, Forts Crockett, San Jacinto, and Travis, forming the fortifications of Galveston, made April 26 to 30, 1900, by Capt. F. W. Sibley, acting inspector-general, Department of Texas, may be of interest:

Camp Hawley.

Camp Hawley is located north of and adjacent to the western part of the Fort Crockett reservation, on 45 acres of land leased in October, 1899, by the Government for one year from the Galveston Land and Improvement Company at a nominal rental of $1, with an option of a second year at the same price.

The post is a temporary one, erected to shelter the command until permanent quarters can be erected at Fort Crockett. It has been but recently completed, and consists of frame buildings, board and batten sides, and roofed with boards, asphalt, and shells. The buildings consist of:

Nos. 1-3, officers' quarters; No. 4, commissary building; No. 5, hospital; No. 6, quartermaster's office; No. 7, wagon shed and stable; No. 8, administration building; No. 9, barracks; No. 10, guardhouse; No. 11, mess hall; No. 12, bath house and wash room; No. 13, bakery; No. 14, latrine; No. 15, quartermaster's storehouse. These buildings are comfortable, raised on piles about 2 feet above the ground, are well ventilated, and sufficiently warm for the winters of this climate.

Fort Crockett.

Formerly City Beach Battery: This battery is situated about 5 miles from the entrance to Galveston Bay at the extreme southern end of the line of defenses of the city of Galveston. It is one of

the most important of the defenses of that city. The soil is gulf sand, overlaid with 6 to 10 inches of sandy loam, covered with a thick sward of evergreen grasses. The land is as high as any in the city, being some feet above mean low tide. A shallow bayou about 100 feet wide comes in from the north or bay side of the island, nearly dividing the reservation in two. It will be necessary to fill this bayou to the surrounding level by pumping sand from the gulf. The fort is readily accessible, being connected with the city by well-paved streets, a line of street cars, a telephone line, and an engineer's switch which connects with the main railroad lines entering the city.

Owing to the time it will require to fill in the bayou, it is now proposed to erect only sufficient buildings to accommodate the officers and men of one battery, and to have these buildings so located as to permit of their construction without filling this

bavou.

The works of Fort Crockett consist of three batteries.

The first battery is completed, except connections with electric dynamo. All property is in charge of a care-taker detachment, detailed from Battery G, First Artillery, consisting of 1 sergeant and 5 privates. This detachment is housed in a temporary three-room wooden dormitory having capacity for 12 men.

There is also a well-constructed three-room storehouse for signal property, ordnance stores, and mathematical instruments. These buildings are frame, are raised on piles about 10 feet above the surface of the ground and are well adapted to the purposes for which they are used.

Fort Jacinto.

This fort is located on the extreme eastern point of Galveston Island, on a low-lying tongue of sand extending into the entrance of Galveston Harbor. There are four batteries constructed here, which stand in order from right to left.

The buildings provided for the use of the detachment are similar to those furnished at Fort Crockett, and consist of dormitory, three rooms, two being used for noncommissioned officers; mess room and kitchen; storehouse, three rooms; oil house for paints and oils. These buildings are frame, well built, suitable for the uses intended, and are on piles about 10 feet above the ground.

Suitable buildings in good repair for a garrison of about 65 men, consisting of barracks, officers' quarters, storehouses, etc., are completed and have been completed for eighteen months, but are not habitable, by reason of the fact that they are located on piles and raised to a height of about 10 feet above mean low tide, with water at high tide flowing under the buildings. This post, which is about a mile from the batteries, was built before the site was prepared.

It will require about 400,000 cubic yards of sand to fill in this site alone to a height