He emphasised the necessity for keeping such
orchards under military control, only vouchsafing sufficient
powers to the local authorities to ensure the desired
consummation. He maintained that, if the work were prosecuted
upon the right lines and sufficient financial assistance were
given, the purpose in view could be achieved without saddling the
war department with any unremunerative or excessive burden. He
admitted that the process of raising fruit trees to the stage
when they would afford adequate cover would be tedious and
somewhat prolonged, but argued that the military advantages, such
as enabling troops to move below the welcome shelter with
absolute freedom and without physical fatigue, would be an ample
compensation.
The utility of such cover to artillery was another factor he did
not fail to emphasise. He dwelt seriously upon the difficulty of
rendering permanent gun emplacements and heavy artillery
invisible to the airman by resort to the usual type of gun
shields. The latter may be located with ease by alert airmen,
whereas if the guns were under cover of fruit trees they would be
able to accomplish their deadly mission without betraying their
presence to the aerial scout.
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