MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 113 



cast-iron pi'epared by Dr. Price, and the case-hardened shot pre- 

 pared by Major Palliser, Mr. Fairbairn considered, might answer 

 the purpose in some cases; but he questioned whether this mate- 

 rial, however well prepared, could be made to hold together, and 

 not break in pieces when the shot struck the plates. So he came 

 to the conclusion that steel shot and shell were the only projectiles 

 suited for attacking iron-plated vessels. Major Palliser, however, 

 has recently succeeded in demonstrating most thoroughly and 

 practically, that, by his method of chilling the shot when cast, he 

 detains a metal jDossessing a hardness equal to that of steel and a 

 toughness ajiproaching very closely to that of wrought-iron. He 

 has thus solved one of the most important questions of modern 

 gunnery, — that of penetrating armor with shells which do not 

 explode until they have passed through the plate and backing, 

 or, in other words, completely through a ship's side. Major 

 Palliser is by no means the first to accomplish this object : the 

 credit of that is due to Mr. Whitworth, who eifected his purpose 

 with comparatively small projectiles and low charges of powder. 

 Following the latter gentleman, others have done the same thing ; 

 but two serious drawbacks to success were always present. The 

 shells for the most part exploded backward on contact ; and being 

 made of steel, were very expensive, their cost for large ordnance 

 ranging from £7 to £20 each projectile. So, on the score of im- 

 perfection and of costliness, absolute success was not attained by 

 any, nor, until Major Palliser had perfected his chilled shot, which 

 are both cheap and eiiicient, was it considered attainable. But 

 the question was set at rest by a series of experiments which 

 were carried out last week, at Shoeburyness, with various kinds 

 of shell. 



These experiments wei-e instituted for the pm-pose of testing 

 Major Palliser's chilled shells against those of the best steel pro- 

 jectiles, and in their results proved most valuable. The principle 

 upon which Major Palliser manufactures these shells is worthy 

 of notice, as being something more than the old process of chill- 

 ing. As the shells ai-e required for a particular purpose, they 

 must have something more than a mere chilled surface ; a definite 

 and carefull}' determined hardness must be imparted throughout 

 the metal. This condition is attained by a selection and combi- 

 nation of those brands of iron which have been found by experi- 

 ment to chill to the exact extent required, a careful mean being 

 observed between iron which it is diificult to chill and that which 

 chills too hard. Added to the principle of manufacture, is the 

 principle of construction, which goes far toward the success of 

 the projectile. The form given by Major Palliser is such as will 

 convert the sudden shock of impact as much as possible into a 

 uniformly increasing pressure. In other words, the projectile 

 has an elongated, pointed head, which is as essential an element 

 in it as is the perfect chilling of the metal. Upon the occasion in 

 question, the firing was ivom an ordinary seven-inch wrought-iron 

 muzzle-loader, with full battering charges of twenty-two pounds 

 of powder, and a range of two hundred yards. The shells were 

 directed against a "Warrior" target, which was built of the 

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