The standard of height required of the recruit is five feet one and a half inches, and the chest measurement in no case less than thirty-one and a half inches.[69] Men not of the required height, if specially fitted, by profession or business, for service in the administrative troops or as drummers, trumpeters, armorers, or other military handicraftsmen, may be recruited to serve in these capacities if their height is not less than five feet five-eighths of an inch. The number of recruits examined annually--that is to say, the number of young men who become subject every year to military service--is about thirty thousand. A permanent corps of one hundred and eighty-seven instructors of various grades, and representing all the arms of the service, is maintained. The members of this corps are about the only permanently paid officers of the Swiss army. But they must have undergone a thorough course of education and passed an examination at one of the training establishments erected for the purpose. The centre of these is the military academy at Thun, near Bern, maintained by the Confederation, and which supplies the army both with the highest class of officers and with teachers to instruct the lower grades. Besides this academy or _Central Militär-Schule_ there are special training-schools for the various branches of the service, especially the artillery and the _Scharfschützen_ or picked riflemen. During the period of instruction eight hours is laid down as the minimum of daily drilling. The arms, clothing, and personal accoutrements remain in the possession of the soldier, and he is expected to keep each article in good condition and in readiness for inspection at any moment; and he is not permitted to wear his uniform except when on active duty. The inspection of arms, accoutrements, etc., is made annually, and is conducted with much strictness; any repairs needed are ordered to be done at the owner’s expense; and negligence in complying with the law subjects the party to a fine, and in some instances to imprisonment. At the termination of the _Élite_ service, the uniform is retained by the recruit, but the arms and accoutrements are surrendered to the Canton. Horses are provided for the cavalry in this manner: the horses are first purchased by the government through officers designated for that purpose; these are sent to the government cavalry stable, thoroughly broken, then sold to such cavalry recruits as may require them. The sale is made at public auction to the recruits, and one-half of the price at which the animal is knocked down is paid by the Confederation and the other half by the recruit. One-tenth of the recruit’s share, however, is refunded to him at the end of each year’s service, so that after ten trainings the horse becomes his personal property. During the years of service the horse remains at the disposal of the government, but in fact is only required during the annual drill, and in the