and sent the
survivors flying for their lives along the road up which they had ridden
so confidently. Had the aviator been in a position to observe the horses
more closely, he would have found that what appeared to be riders on
their backs were in reality sacks stuffed with straw, dressed in old
uniforms, and that a mere handful of men were driving the animals
forward. The cavalrymen had purposely dismounted and secreted themselves
in the wood in anticipation of such a pursuit as was made.

While the Germans do not appear to be so enterprising in this form
of ingenuity they have not been idle. A French airman flying over the
Teuton lines observed the outermost trenches to be alive with men whose
helmets were distinctly visible. The airman reported his observations
and the trench was subjected to terrific shell fire. Subsequently
the French made a spirited charge, but to their dismay found that the
outermost German trench was occupied by dummies fashioned from all sorts
of materials and crowned with helmets! This ruse had enabled the German
lines to be withdrawn to another position in safety and comparatively at
leisure.

Before war was declared the German military experts were emphasising
the importance of trees for masking troops and guns against aerial
observation. One of the foremost authorities upon military aviation
only a few months ago urged the German Military Staff to encourage the
planting of orchards, not for the purpose of benefiting agriculture or
in the interests of the farmers, but merely for military exigencies.

He pointed to the extensive orchards which exist in Alsace-Lorraine
and Baden, the military covering value of which he had determined from
personal experience, having conducted aerial operations while military
were moving to and fro under the cover of the trees. He declared that
the cover was efficient and that under the circumstances the laying
out of extensive orchards in strategical places should be carried out
without any delay. This, he urged, was a national and not a private
obligation. He advocated the bestowal of subsidies on the farmers to
encourage the planting of fruit trees. He suggested that the trees
should be provided by the State, and given to all who were prepared to
plant them; that substantial prizes should be awarded to encourage the
rapid growth thereof, and that annual prizes should be awarded to the
man who would undertake their cultivation and pruning, not from the
fr