"Land and Water," for December opens with an article on "Lessons from the Football Season of '97" by W. H. Rand, Jr., '98, captain of the Harvard nine. He outlines briefly the conditions and systems of training at the four leading universities. Harvard and Princeton started the season with a large number of old players and endeavored to keep their elevens intact and to develop team play. On the other hand, Yale and Pennsylvania started with green players and pursued the policy of giving their teams hard, fierce work. No attempt is made to argue for or against any system of training. The writer maintains that the systems of '97 have led to a distinct advance in team play.

The article closes with diagrams and an explanation of the three plays by which Harvard attempted to score from Yale's four-yard line.