20 APRIL 1901, Page 13

" EYES AND NO EYES " IN THE ARMY.

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—In your article upon this subject in the Spectator of March 30th, you omit to mention a very excellent manner of teaching people to see, and a far more workable one for the masses than hunting,—viz., drawing. Surely the following account of the shooting powers of the various Volunteer corps proves this assertion. Both as individual and collective marksmen the Artists were first,-80 per cent. being first- class. Following them came the Honourable Artillery Com- pany, 71 per cent,; the 2nd East Surrey, 59 per cent. ; the Queen's Westminsters, 58 per cent. ; the London Rifles, 57 per cent. ; the London Scottish, 54 per cent. ; the Inns of Court, 51 per cent. Of course, the Artists' Corps is not ex- clusively artistic, as it contains, amongst others, many medi- cine men, but these also, by reason of their work, learn to use their eyes. Hunting, no doubt, is a good school for scouts ; but would not drawing do as much for the multitude who can- not hunt ? It is the only way of teaching every one to see, and it ought to be remembered that half the world is practi- cally born blind. Possibly no better scouts could be found in a country than the local artists, who know every inch of the ground, and see it under every possible condition.-1 am, Sir,