HOW OUR ARMY IS CLOTHED.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 708, 8 March 1900, Page 3

HOW OUR ARMY IS CLOTHED.

Most people imagine that when a recruit joins a regiment his uniform is made to fit him ; but this is by no means the case. The uniforms are ■made in thirty-six different sizes, and all that has to be done is to send along ithe number required, and that partica-'. lar uniform is served ouisJurtjaßMH v " i muni

r nearest to tho measurement of -th( soldier. Great-coats and cavalr 1 claks are made in eighteen differen t sizes, and over 90,000 of f;hese an t always kept in stock. A very bij stock of shirts, all of one material, is on hand, and when I was there tht quantity exceeded 200,000. But there is nothing more astounding in th( 1 stores department than the huge quanl tity of necessaries. Thousands oJ f packing cases, piled up to the very top ; of the lofty rooms, are to be found in , this branch, filled with„nothing but I pipeclay and blacking for cleaning ac- [ coutrements, braces, combs, brushes ; (hair boot, and clothes), table knives, .' forks, spOons, big clasp knives, (for these are always used when a regiment is on active service), aud spurs. The razor is a marvel of cheapness, and the clothing depot is justly proud of its ability to dispose of these articles at 5Jd apiece, for they are quite as good as those for which 2s 6d and 3s are paid ih the shops. No fewer than 5,000,000 of the articles just tabulated are disposed of in a year ; while tons and tons of brown soap are sent out to regiments all over ; for discipline, even to the smallest matter, is most severe, and the British soldier must wash his face with soap of a specified brand, only to be obtained through the clothing depot, and must lather his chin with a shaving brush only obtained through the same source. — ' Pearson's Magazine.'