346 Mediaval and Modern Ordnance. (July, 
the old guns in the Tower of London, or in the Museum of 
Artillery, at Woolwich, may see that they are of the same 
genus as modern smooth-bores, and even notice some 
specimens quite as soundly and artistically cast as any 
of those of the present century; nay more, he may infer 
that our modern cast guns can scarcely be superior to their 
prototypes in range, power, or susceptibility to rifling.* 
Captain Stoney attributes this stagnation in the con- 
struction of rifled ordnance to the backward state of metal- 
lurgical science and mechanism, and not to the ignorance 
of theory. ‘Thus the manufacture of cast-steel in large 
masses has only recently been accomplished, whilst rifling 
machines now work accurately and true to within x00 of an 
inch. 
But, after all, it is not with rifling that we have to do in 
this paper, which is intended more to compare the size and 
weight of the pieces of ordnance ancient with modern, and 
to let alone all questions of their comparative energy, 
velocity, and penetrative power. Having premised this, we 
now proceed to consider our modern monster ordnance. 
As first examples, although not illustrated, should be quoted 
the French mortars, with shells of 13-inch diameter, which 
they threw into Cadiz from a long range at its siege in 
1810. ‘These notable pieces of ordnance (their weight is 
not given, but one of them may still be seen raised as a 
trophy in St. James’s Park, London), were invented by 
Colonel Villantroys, and called cannon-mortars; they were 
cast at Seville, and being placed in slings, threw projectiles 
over Cadiz, a distance of more than 5000 yards.t To 
obtain this flight the shells were partly filled with lead, and 
the reduced bursting charge was too small for an effetive 
explosion. ‘Towards the latter end of the siege of Antwerp, 
in 1832, a mortar cast at Liége was placed in position 
against the citadel. It weighed 7 tons; and threw shells 
of 23°6226 inches diameter, which did but little actual 
execution, but produced a great moral (or rather demo- 
ralising) effect. This mortar was afterwards burst at 
practice with a charge of g kilos. (about 20 lbs.). Although 
the French adopted the Paixhan shell-guns as early as 1822, 
and General Millar introduced ro-inch and 8-inch shell-guns 
* « Text-Book of the Construction and Manufadture of Rifled Ordnance in 
the British Service.” By Capt. F.S. Stoney, R.A., and Lieut. CHARLES JONES, 
R.A. Royal Gun Factories, 1872. 
+ At the siege of Cadiz cast-iron shells filled with lead, forming projectiles 
of great strength and density, were thrown from mortars to a distance of 
3% miles. Vide ‘‘ American Artillery Course,” p. 69. 
