The age-herald., 1900-09-30

nor do they even care to know when they are advancing; sufficient to know when they arrive
 In modern war the importance of accu- rate and reliable reconnaissance has in- creased a hundredfold, owing to the fact that the forces engaged in the decisive bat tie have become far greater in number, and the distances to be covered, both in concentrating the troops for battle and in disposing them on the battlefield itself, greatly exceed those of the past. Specially trained scouts and orderlies are used by all armies. To free the cavalry of the smaller elements of its reconnaissance work, and economize its fighting power as much as possible, most of the great nations are now training kind of mounted infantry in this work.
 In Germany each army corps has a squadron of mounted orderlies'' of this kind, and they have proved invaluable; in Russia a number of the best men in each company are mounted and trained in pa- trol and reconnaissance duty, instructed in riding horses and bicycles. and exercised by affording them opportunities to engage in bear and tiger hunts; in England each brigade of the cavalry division sent to South Africa received battalion Of mounted infantry with 8 Maxim gun; in Austria mounted scouts assist the cavalry in their reconnoitiring
 Then there Is the very important use of the field and wireless telegraphy. The improvements in field telegraph apparatus have permitted the use of this valuable accessory in the very front of the outposts, and the introduction of the buzzer has so far increased its efficiency that with even the poorest insulation it works we'll enough for all practical purposes.
 The United States Signal Corps in the Philippines has surpassed all previous rec ords in this field.
 Wireless telegraphy is still in the expe- -4, ,fo1 a,fa Alt tr I@1f. tested practically in the field in the TransvaaL Improvements are being con- stantly made and it's future cannot yet be predicted. One of the latest applications Is to balloons, but the difficulty of carry ing the apparatus properly in the basket has led to a modification consisting in leaving the latter on a table on the ground below, the balloon merely carrying up a copper wire, which hung down several yards below the basket to send the waves received by the appartatus on through space
 The signal service is of great benefit The heliograph has been specially devel- oped in sunny climates; by the British in Afghanistan and In Africa, by the French in Tonkin, by the Americans in the United States, and by the Greeks in Crete. It has been used successfully over single stretches of over 65 miles. In France the acetylene lamp has greatly increased the use of the apparatus by making 1t independent of sunlight, and signals have been read as far as a7 miles by day and 56 miles by night.
 In Italy the acetylene lamp flash has been read at a distance of seventy-two miles. The navy searchlights landed in Cape Colony have been used for flash sig mailing and have greatly extended the range. At coast forts and in the navy the Ardois signal light Ca combination of red and white electric lamps hung in the rig ging or on a masD are extensively used for short distances, either between ships, or between forts and ships.
 There has been recent and most novel use made of searchlights. The use of searchlights by ships and by coast and other forts Is well known, but recently | they have also been applied on battlefelds l for hunting up the wounded Acetylene gas is used where electricity is not availa- ble.
 The carrier pigeon Is by no means to be | ignored. The use of carrier pigeons from | fixed stations like cities and forts has long been known, bvt lately they have been used successfully in the French field maneouvres, their houses being carried | along by the troops
 In Russia in 1898 cavalry patrols carried | along the carrier pigeons of the forts, and | 1t was found that in returning to theil l homes they travelled at the rate of i've eigths of a mile minute. A number