The material and equipment of the artillery are fairly good. The horses, however, are small and badly trained, and on the march the batteries--especially those of later invention--are slow. The gunners are clever in handling their weapons, in loading, aiming, and selecting a target. They are wonderfully cool, and handle their guns with the utmost confidence, but in training and discipline they are inferior to the infantry. In shooting, their accuracy is about the same as our own. The infantry march in column of fours; the cavalry in column of threes, and the artillery in single column. The average speed of a detachment of these arms is from four-and-a-half to five Russian miles an hour. Twenty-five paces separate battalions; forty paces separate regiments. They march in large bodies, their columns extending over a great distance, a halt of from one-and-a-half to two hours being made in each march. In war, the Japanese send in front an independent body of horsemen, usually the whole of the cavalry attached to the column. The advance guard consists of about one-quarter of the infantry, from one-seventh to one-third of the artillery, a company of sappers, and a troop of cavalry. From this is drawn the vanguard--a small detachment of infantry and cavalry. The “point” is composed of specially selected cavalry, and sends out patrols to the front. They have neither flank guards, nor fixed patrols. Occasionally they send patrols to examine the locality and to report upon the character and topography of the district. As in the Russian army, the duties of the advance guard vary with the force that follows, with the distance marched, and the physical features of the country. When the advance guard of a division is in hilly country, it always sets out one hour earlier than the main body. The component parts and order of a column are as follows:--As point, a small body of cavalry--about half a squadron--followed by a large body of infantry, all the artillery, the rest of the infantry, the engineers, and the bridging sections, followed by a small rearguard. One or more divisions advance along several roads, and the advance guard is sent from one column--generally the central. Connection among columns marching in the same direction is very weak. When retiring, the formation is the same as when advancing, though the retirement is covered by a rear guard, whose strength and distance from the main body are the same as those of an advance guard in an advance.