EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN HEAVY GUN. 149 



pounds of powder. For some of these ancient Turkish cannon 

 the diameter of the stone shot was as much as a yard, while the 

 length of the gun was only five yards. 



It is not therefore so much in the size of heavy ordnance as in 

 its efficiency that we of to-day are warranted in claiming much 

 superiority over our ancestors. The plan of hooping iron staves 

 together gradually gave place to that of molding guns, sometimes 

 in cast iron, sometimes in bronze. Wrought iron also came ex- 

 tensively into use for the purpose of gun construction. The gun 

 was made up of a succession of short forged tubes jointed to- 

 gether. Over each joint a ring was shrunk on while hot, for the 

 sake of strengthening the whole. Many guns made in this way 

 during the sixteenth century are still to be seen in European 

 museums. 



The use of breech-loading cannon is of considerable antiquity, 

 despite the great difficulty that has been experienced in securing 

 safety in their use. Among the earliest breech-loading devices 

 was that of a short movable tube or chamber, closed at one end. 

 This was loaded to its muzzle and then inserted into the breech of 

 the large tube. It was propped behind with a heavy block of 

 wood or iron, and firmly wedged into position before firing. It 

 is readily seen that with such loose fittings much of the force of 

 the powder was wasted. None of these guns were provided with 

 any facilities for adjustment in aiming. The stone projectile 

 was but poorly fitted to the size of the bore. Not only did much 

 of the expanding gas escape without doing useful work, but the 

 strength of the gun was never sufficient to warrant a charge of 

 powder large enough to send the projectile more than a few hun- 

 dred yards. 



In course of time it became evident that greater efficiency was 

 attainable by the use of smaller cannon and more accurate fitting. 

 The clumsy and unmanageable heavy guns were discarded, and 

 their places supplied by guns many of which were small enough 

 to be carried by a single man. The introduction of the musket 

 was merely one phase in the fluctuation of the waves of custom, a 

 reaction after many unhappy experiences in the use of large can- 

 non which had been inefficient and often more dangerous to the 

 user than to the enemy. The musketeer with his burdensome 

 flintlock became more important than the cannoneer in field work. 

 A variety of forms of small cannon came into use, all of which 

 were, like the muskets, smooth-bored, muzzle-loading arms, made 

 of cast metal of one kind or another. Iron balls were substituted 

 for those of stone, and about the beginning of the present century 

 a weight of eighteen or twenty pounds was deemed best for most 

 artillery purposes. War ships were equipped with armaments 

 sometimes in excess of a hundred small cannon. Custom had 



