I860.] to the Efficiency and Welfare of Military Forces, 249 



of the residue left on the discharge of powder, the escape of whicli is 

 to a great extent prevented by the destruction of windage in the rifle- 

 gun, has led to the introduction of lubricating materials which are 

 placed in the gun, together with the charge of powder, in the form of 

 plugs or wads of the materials only, or of hemp, or sawdust, saturated 

 with the fatty matter. In the case of rifled small-arras, the lubricant 

 has to be applied to the exterior of that portion of the cartridge-paper 

 which surrounds the bullets, and considerable difficulty was experienced 

 in the first instance, in the selection of a suitable material for this pur- 

 pose. Tallow was fii-st employed, in admixture with sufficient beeswax 

 to harden it somewhat, and enable it to resist the effects of warm 

 climates. It was found, however, that the tallow, penetrating the 

 paper, soon established a corrosive action upon the surface of the lead, 

 which proceeded occasionally to such an extent as to cover the bullet 

 with a hard coating of compounds of oxide of lead, thus increasing its 

 diameter so greatly as to render its introduction into the barrel im- 

 possible. Many materials were tried, as substitutes for tallow, which 

 did not possess a tendency to promote the corrosion of lead, and 

 eventually beeswax, used alone, was found not only to protect the 

 metal, but also to act as a most efficient lubricator in small arms, and 

 to possess great permanence in all climates. In discontinuing the use 

 of tallow, it was also found indispensable to avoid the use of any 

 alterable oils as lubricators in the bullet-making machines, as the small 

 film of oil remaining on the lead, was found in many instances suffi- 

 cient to establish a rapid corrosion of the metal. Such an occurrence 

 is now avoided by the use as lubricant for the machines, of the neutral 

 and permanent oil prepared by Price's Candle Company from Kangoon 

 Petroleum. 



Considerable attention has been devoted in different continental 

 states, during the hist few years, to the application of the different 

 forms of electricity to the discharge of mines. The many serious in- 

 conveniences attending the employment of voltaic batteries for that 

 purpose in the field have led to the use, with considerable success, of the 

 arrangements contrived by Ruhmkorff" and others for the production of 

 powerful electro-magnetic currents. The application of the induction- 

 coil machine, with appropriate fuse-arrangements for the ignition of the 

 mine by means of the spark, led to a very great reduction in the size 

 of the battery required even for extensive operations. The necessity, 

 however, of still using a battery, and the great liability to injury of 

 the induction-apparatus, have rendered the advantage to be attained by 

 their employment somewhat questionable. In Austria, very important 

 results are said to have been obtained by the employment of frictional 

 in the place of voltaic electricity. A very portable arrangement of a 

 plate-electric machine, with Leyden jars, and a small stove to protect 

 the apparatus from damp, has been employed with success in some ex- 

 tensive operations, as many as one hundred charges having been fired 

 simultaneously by its means. Professor Wheatstone and Mr. Abel 

 have carried on numerous experiments on the application of electricity 



