(_b_) Distributing the fire laterally along the whole or a part of the enemy’s front (I.T., 116 (10)). This may be done by giving the section a particular extent of the enemy’s front, e.g., “from the dry tree to the gate in the hedge.” The section commander then allots those of the enemy, who can be viewed within his bit of front to individual men, or preferably files of men, who are to treat them as their especial charge and keep on firing at them till otherwise ordered, or till the enemy shifts. Of course, if there is not enough of the skeleton enemy to give each file in the section a live antagonist (and there won’t be on your parades), the commander must indicate bits of cover which individual men of the enemy might be expected to use and tell his men to fire at these spots. This is a most important practice, and needs a good deal of attention and application before the men get really quick at it. It means, of course, that on service you will make it your business to allow as few of the enemy’s riflemen as possible to be free of the distraction of having some bullets landing about them, to upset their nerves and aim. Unless some plan is adopted to do this all along his line, it is all too probable your men will be exposed to some accurate fire from rifles held in steady hands, and even one rifle so held has, to my knowledge, caused a loss of eleven men in as many minutes. This lateral distribution is rather difficult, but it is easy, compared with the concomitant task of spotting where the men of the enemy are hidden, if they really try to hide, at anything but the shortest fighting ranges. The only remedy for this is for each private to carry field glasses of sorts; you will not get them from Government, but if any of your men are keen enough to go in for spotting a hidden enemy for themselves with glasses and would bring their own to parade, forbid them not, but encourage it. I have been told that in some of the yeomanry corps in the South African war nearly every trooper raised somehow and somewhere a pair of glasses—some were mother o’ pearl and silver-mounted, but did the spotting all right in spite of that.