232 British Artillery Matériel. April, 
while they abundantly show that the Department has un- 
dergone a thorough re-arrangement,. also attest the fidelity 
and accuracy with which the operations of coining are 
conducted. 
VI. BRIEF NOTES ON RECENT CHANGES IN 
BRITISH ARTILLERY MATERIEL. 
by Capt..o. P. .OLiver, Eh.G.s, 
ee 
N looking through the Extraéts of the Quarterly Report 
al of Proceedings of the Department of the Director- 
=> General of Ordnance (from vol. viil., part 1, to vol. ix., 
part 3), it will be observed that the labours of the various 
committees have not been light or unsuccessful. The re- 
sults of various experiments and proposals are given by at 
least a dozen of these said committees, of whom the prin- 
cipal are the following, viz., committees on mitrailleurs, on 
torpedoes, on range-finders, on gunpowder and other explo- 
sives, on ship’s deck and turret targets, on mountain artil- 
lery equipment, on rifled shell guns for field service and 
heavy rifled howitzers and mortars for vertical fire, on 
Palliser’s method of strengthening cast-iron guns with in- 
ternal tubes, on Palliser’s projectiles, on traversing arrange- 
ments, on wads for preventing erosion of bore, on Moncrieff 
carriages, on shells and percussion fuzes for field service, on 
improvements of bronze, on proportions of ammunition for 
ordnance and small arms to be maintained in fortresses at 
home and abroad, besides Noble’s important electro-ballistic 
experiments, and Majendie’s experiments relative to the 
distance of cartridge-filling sheds, &c. 
From an inspection of the reports of the above, it would 
appear that the following results are noticeable as affecting 
future warfare and modern requirements :— 
I. The immediate introduétion into the service of the 
small Gatling gun of 3 cwts., with musket-proof shields, 
and to be drawn by two horses. ‘This gun is found to be a 
most effective weapon in defending villages, field intrench- 
ments, caponniéres, for covering the approach to bridges or 
tétes-du-pont, for defending a breach, and for employment in 
advanced trenches and field-works where economy of space 
is important. For naval purposes these machine guns are 
well adapted for use in the tops of vessels of war, for boat 
operations, service up close rivers, &c. 
