There is a current story of one Tommy who, writing home, remarked in the course of his letter that the French were funny people, and the only word of English they seemed to understand was "souvenir"! _*Chapter IV*_ _*SUPPLY COLUMNS AND RATIONS*_ The Supply Column of a Cavalry Division consists roughly of 160 motor-lorries, mostly of a carrying capacity of thirty hundredweight each. The column is divided into two echelons or sections of eighty lorries, each of which works independently of the other. Briefly, the system is as follows: The echelons load and deliver rations on alternate days—that is to say, No. 1 Echelon draws rations from the supply train at railhead on Monday and delivers them to the troops on Tuesday. No. 2 Echelon refills on Tuesday and delivers on Wednesday, and so on. The rations in each case, being delivered direct to units in their billets or bivouacs, are consumed by the troops on the day following delivery, so that one day’s rations are always held regimentally for the following day’s consumption. The lorries are loaded in a particular manner, namely, "by regiments," and according to a definitely laid down scale of daily rations. That is to say, each lorry is told off to a particular job, and the quantity of each ration issued to a regiment is arrived at by multiplying together the number of men or animals to be fed—that is "ration strength" of each regiment—and the allowance of each particular ration, as laid in the ration scale. The scale of rations and forage now prevailing for personnel and animals is as follows: BRITISH AND DOMINION TROOPS (*Daily Ration per Man.*) 1 lb. fresh or frozen meat or 3/4 lb. (nominal) preserved meat. 1 1/4 lb. bread or 3/4 lb. biscuit. 4 oz. bacon. 3 oz. cheese. 2 oz. dried vegetables, peas, beans, or dried onions. 5/8 oz. tea. 4 oz. jam. 3 oz. sugar. 1/2 oz. salt. 1/50 oz. mustard. 1/36 oz. pepper. 1/12 tin condensed milk. 2 oz. butter, thrice weekly. The ration of tobacco is 2 oz. per week, either in the form of cigarettes or for pipe-smoking, and two boxes of matches are also issued. There are certain extras issued according to season or circumstances, such as rum, pea-soup, Oxo cubes, lime juice, and candles. The fresh vegetable ration, such as potatoes and onions, is 1/2 lb. per man per day; it may come up by supply train or be a local purchase.