152 DANA— NOTES ON CANNON. [April 20, 



seventeenth century, especially for guns used in China. An iron 

 tube was fastened by bands of iron to a strong stock, with a space 

 hollowed out at the breech to hold an iron box, the '' chamber," 

 sometimes called " a pot." Later this hollow became part of the 

 gun, a sort of basket, or cradle. The chamber contained the powder 

 charge, upon which a round section of wood was tightly driven as a 

 wad. The projectile was placed at the breech end of the tube, with 

 a straw, felt or rag wad in front to hold it ; the chamber was 

 wedged against it, then primed, and touched off with a heated iron 

 rod. Needless to say that a goodly portion of gas escaped between 

 chamber and tube. These were the earliest quick-firing guns, and 

 in the sixteenth century were used on the upper works of the ships, 

 very much as we use quicker firing guns today ; the ancient ones, 

 when there were four chambers, say, could be discharged about 

 every two minutes. Later they will be called " murtherers " ; and 

 w^ell they earned the name when the projectiles consisted of rusty 

 nails, bullets and scraps. 



The chambers, o*" " canones," for the huge bombards, which we 

 shall meet with later, were held in place by heavy timbers. By or 

 before 1400 the heavy, wrought-iron powder chamber was welded or 

 screwed onto the chase of the bombard. 



Li the year 1338 appeared, in the Arsenal of Rouen, a terrible 

 engine of destruction, called by its proud keepers, a " pot de fer 

 a traire garros," an iron pot for throwing arrows. These arrows, 

 much like cross-bow bolts, were tipped with iron and winged with 

 brass, the latter metal obtained from kitchen utensils, cut up and 

 melted for the purpose. The projectile was wound with leather to 

 make it fit snug in the barrel. The powder charge for this dread 

 engine of war was about seven tenths of an ounce of the ill-propor- 

 tioned powder of that day. When all was prepared, and fire was 

 applied, the bolt of destruction no doubt emerged, but certainly with 

 considerable reluctance. 



A recipe of a few years later enables us to approximately figure 

 out the cost of cannon of that day. Five cannon of wrought-iron 

 weighing 25 lbs. each, and five " canon de metal," presumably brass, 

 cost three hundred dollars of to-day, say $30 each. All of which is 

 submitted with considerable hesitation. 



