II. MILITARY VOCABULARY FOR INDICATION AND RECOGNITION OF TARGETS.
Arable Land.—Ground under cultivation other than pasture or grass land.
Brook.—A small stream.
Causeway.—A made road or path, raised by artificial means above the level of the surrounding country.
Clearing.—Where trees and undergrowth have been cut down in a wood, so as to make an open space.
Cliff.—A high, steep rock.
Col.—A gap or break in a ridge of hills, often traversed by a road, which thus avoids to a great extent the ascent and descent otherwise necessary in passing from one side of the ridge to the other. This term is also used to describe the narrow ridge often seen joining a hill to a main chain of hills.
Copse (or Coppice).—A small wood, composed of young trees and undergrowth for cutting.
Crest-Line.—Where the top of a hill or mountain appears to meet the sky.
Cross-Roads.—The point where one road crosses another.
Culvert.—A watercourse arched over with brickwork or masonry, generally under a road or railway.
Cutting.—An excavation through which a railway line runs.
Dense Hedge.—Growing closely together.
Donga.—A South African term, meaning a dry watercourse, bordered by steep and high banks.
Embankment.—Earth banked up above the natural height of the surrounding country, to preserve the level of a railway line.
Fenced.—Bounded by a fence, hedge, wall, etc.
Fencing.—A structure, enclosing a piece of land or separating it from another piece.
Ferry.—A place where a river or other piece of water may be crossed by means of a boat kept at the spot for the purpose.
Fold in Ground.—A slight hollow, caused by the regular lie of the ground being broken by a rise or depression.
Foliage.—The leaves of trees, shrubs, etc.
Ford.—A shallow place in a stream where it may be crossed by wading.
Gorge.—A rugged and deep ravine.
Hollow.—A depression in the ground.
Junction of Roads.—The point where two or more roads meet, but do not cross one another.
Knoll.—A low hill standing by itself.
Level Crossing.—Where a road or path crosses a railway-line at the same level.
Marshland.—Low-lying, wet land, covered usually with rushes and rank vegetation.
Moorland.—Waste land covered with heath, and having a poor, peaty soil.
Nullah.—An Indian term, meaning a dry watercourse bordered by steep and high banks.
Palings.—Narrow pieces of wood nailed closely together upon rails so as to form a fence.
Pastureland.—Grassland.
Plantation.—A small wood, composed of trees recently planted.
Ploughland.—Land which has recently been ploughed.
Posts and Rails.—A fence composed of posts, with one end sunk in the ground, connected by rails.
Quarry.—An excavation from which stone has been extracted.
Ravine.—A deep hollow in a hill or mountain side.
Ridge.—Anything shaped like the back of an animal. For instance, the highest part of a long range of hills or the angular top of the roof of a building.
Ridge and Furrow.—Land ploughed in such a manner that the ground lies alternately heaped up (ridge) and hollowed out (furrow).
River Bank, Right, Left.—The right or left bank of a river is the bank on the right or left of an observer facing down the stream.
Saddle.—A shallow, central dip in a ridge. The depression is less marked than a col.
Scrub.—Stunted trees and bushes growing closely together.
Shrub.—A small bushy tree.
Signal—Box or Cabin.—A small building adjoining a railway-line, from which a set of signals is controlled.
Sky-Line.—Where earth or sea appear to meet the sky.
Slope, Concave.—A slope is concave when the actual slope of a hill offers no obstruction to an observer standing on the crest from seeing the foot of the slope. In this case the upper slopes of the hill are steeper than the lower slopes.
Slope, Convex.—A slope is convex when an observer standing on the crest is unable, through the slope of the hill bulging out, to see the foot of the slope. It is caused by the lower slopes being of a steeper nature than the upper slopes, and is met with especially in chalk downs.
Slope, Forward.—One that falls away in the direction an observer is looking.
Slope, Gentle.—This term explains itself.
Slope, Reverse.—One that falls away behind the spot where the observer is standing.
Slope, Steep.—This term explains itself.
Spur.—A ridge running out from a hill or from range of hills.
Stream.— Any course of flowing water.
Sunken Road.—A road that has been cut below the level of the surrounding country.
Swamp.—Land so saturated with wet bog as to be useless for cultivation.
Thicket.—A small wood, composed of bushes and undergrowth.
Track.—An unmade path, which is marked by use.
Undergrowth.—Small trees, brambles, creepers, etc., in a wood.
Viaduct.—A road or railway carried by a series of arches over a valley, river, etc.
Note.—The figures at the hinges of pages refer to the Sections.