724 



IMKLKMKN 



KIGHT-HANDEDNE88 



velocity and great accuracy are required at moder- 

 utely long ranges ; it is therefore necessary to have 

 a heavy bullet in |>ni|><>rtion to ite diameter. Bat 

 in s|M>rting i illi long range shooting is not required; 

 the bullet ran therefore be made very much lighter 

 i to its diameter. And eat the shock of 



in proportion to its diameter. And as the knock < 

 1 1 vi ill from alight bullet is comparatively slight, tl 

 |Hiwder charge may be very large ; by thin means 

 very high muzzle velocity is obtained and great ac- 

 curacy at short ranges. As an example of the above 

 we may take the '450" bore Express ride and compare 

 it ill! tlm Martini rifle having the xame bore. The 

 charge of powder for the Martini Henry cartridge 

 is 85 grains, and weight of bullet 480 grains pro- 

 jMirtion of jNiwder to bullet, 1 to 51; muzzle velocity, 

 1320 It. -seconds ; highest point of trajectory at 100 

 yards, 2} inches ; at 150 yards, nearly 7 inches. In 

 tin- -4.TO" K\ press the powder charge is 120 grains; 

 weight of bullet, 200 grains; proportion of powder 

 to bullet, 1 to 2J ; muzzle velocity, over 2000 ft.- 

 seconds ; highest point of trajectory at 100 yards, 

 1& inch; at 150 yards, under :ii inches. In the 

 year 1891 the troops of the countries enumerated 

 below were either armed or were being armed with 

 magazine rifles, and since then the United States, 

 Norway and Sweden, and Russia have been supplied 

 with small-bore arms. In the United States army 

 the Krag-Jorgensen rifle (calibre -30) was adopted 

 in 1892, anil is in use by the regular army. But 

 during the Spanish -American war ( 1898) the volun- 

 teer troops generally retained the Springfield. 



No. or 



ioe. Houiidt la 



MAGAZINE RIFLES IN USE. 



Countrr Hl. Wi|ht. C.libre. Mifu 



Ib. 01. loclui. 



Austria Mannllcher. 10 2 -815 Fixed box. 5 



England Lee-Metford. -80S Detachable. 8 



France Lebel. V 4 -315 Tube. 



Germany ....Mauser. 9 8 -810 Fixed box. 5 



Italy Vetterli. 1010 -409 Fixed box. 5 



For a more detailed account of the arms referred to hi 

 above article the reader is referred to ' Armes a feu porta- 

 tive*,' by Schmidt, in Engineering, No*, of February 6, 

 March 0, April 3, and May 15, 1891, and Treatite on 

 Military SmaU-arm* anil Ammunition, by Lieut. -colonel 

 Bond, R.A. See also the articles in this work on FIRX- 

 ARMS, GUN, GUNNERY, PROJECTILE, VOLUNTEERS, &c. 



Killrmen. All British infantry are now rifle- 

 men ; but till 1854 riflemen were the exception, the 

 army generally having the smooth-bore ' Brown 

 Bess.' During the Peninsular war the 60th and 

 95th Regiments were armed as riflemen, taught 

 light infantry drill, and clothed in dark green. 

 The 95th became the 'Rifle Brigade.' The 60th 

 are called ' The King's Royal Rifle Corps.' In 1881 

 the 2(lth and 90th were linked to form the ' Scottish 

 Rifles,' and dressed in green ; while the 83d and 

 86th Foot were formed into the ' Royal Irish Rifles.' 

 See also VOLUNTEERS. 



I! ilia, capital of Livonia, and next after St 

 Petersburg and Odessa the third seaport of Russia. 

 lies on the Dwina (crossed here by a bridge of 

 boats and a railway bridge) 7 miles from the 

 mouth of the river, "and 350 by rail SW. of St 

 Petersburg viA Pskolf. The old town has narrow 

 streets and medieval houses and stores ; but the 

 suburbs are laid out in broad street* with hand- 

 some buildings. The chief edifices are the cathe- 

 dral built in 1204, burned down in 1547, but re- 

 built; St Peter's Church (1406), with a steeple 

 460 feet high ; the castle of the old Knights of 

 the Sword, built 1494-1515, the former residence 

 of the grand-master of the order ; and several old 

 guild houses and Hanseatic halls. It is the seat 

 of an archbishop of the Greek Church. Its in- 

 dustries are rapidly growing ; they turn out cottons, 

 machines, tobacco, corks, spirits, oil, metal wares, 

 glass, paper, flax, jute, and oilcloth, and employ 



nearly 12,000 work-piiiplc. The e\|Kiils reach an 

 annual average of 5,500,000 ( 2,396,000 in 1866), 

 ami embrace grain (average 1,433,000), timber 

 (1,175,000), flax (1,077,000), linseed (581.500), 

 hemp and hemp-seed (443,000), wool, hides, eggs, 

 oilcake, hair (horse and camel), and mineral oil. 

 The imports (iron and steel, coal, inachiiicn , 

 cotton, dye-woods, corkwood, lierring, manuie, 

 woollens, and wine) average 2,233,000 (675,000 

 in 1866). r.ritain's share in this trade is repre- 

 sented by an average of 2,604,000 for export* and 

 978,350 foi imports. The port, which is closed by 



ice for three to four nths in the winter, is 



entered by an average of 2396 vessels of 1,047,915 

 tons every year, of which 625 of 464,500 tons are 

 British. Riga has grown from 102,590 inhabitants 

 in 1867 to 169.329 in 1881, and 181,935 in 1891. 

 Nearly one half are Germans (with German-speak- 

 ing Jews), one-fourth Russians, and one fourth 

 Letts. lliga was founded in 1201 by Albert, 

 Itishop of Livonia, and soon became a first-rate 

 commercial town, and member of the Hanseatic 

 League. It belonged to Poland from 1561, and in 

 1621 was taken by Giistiivus Adolphus, and in 1710 

 was finally annexed to Russia. 



The (JrLF OK RIGA is an inlet on the east side ol 

 the Baltic Sea. which washes the shores of Courland, 

 Livonia, and Esthonia. It is 105 miles in length 

 from north to south, and about 60 in breadth. The 

 islands of Oesel, Dago, Mohn, and Worms lie 

 athwart the entrance. The chief river which 

 falls into the gulf is the Dwina. Sandbanks render 

 navigation in some parts dangerous. 



Right. SeeRlGl. 



Right Ascension. See ASCENSION (RIGHT). 



Right-handedness is no doubt due to the lack 

 of perfect symmetry in the human bodv. If the 

 latter could be folJed over from a medial line < 

 that each organ of the one side fell exactly upon a 

 corresponding organ of the other, we should have a 

 structure highly favourable, mechanically, to tin- 

 equal use of each limb, and ambidextral individuals 

 would be the rule, not the exception. If a vertical 

 line be drawn dividing the body it will be found 

 that the centre of gravity is a little to the right of 

 this medial line. This makes the right side heavier. 

 From a series of experiments the greater weight 

 has been estimated at about 15 ounces. Upon this 

 fact is founded the mechanical theory of right- 

 handedness, or the predominance of the right 

 hand over the left ; or, more generally, of the limits 

 of the right side over those of the left, as expounded 

 by Professor Buchanan of Glasgow in a pamphlet 

 published in 1862. The three-lobed right lung is 

 more capacious and receives more air during an 

 inspiration than the two-lobed left. The liver 

 during inspiration swings toward the right side, 

 shifting the centre of gravity farther to that side. 

 In violent muscular exertion there is more air 

 proportionally inhaled by the lung of the side 

 which sustains the exertfon. Normally about 'J.'iO 

 cubic inches of air are contained by the lungs, of 

 which the right holds 20 inches more than the lefi. 

 1'nder exertion of the right side the larger lull},' i- 

 better filled than the smaller, and the centre of 

 gravity is removed until it is found in a line pass- 

 ing through the right foot ; so that the right leg 

 and foot afl'ord a steadier basis of support than the 

 left would do under similar circumstances. Which- 

 ever leg we stand on we use the ami of that side to 

 greater advantage, and thus, through the greater 

 use of the right lower limb, the right upper limit 

 comes to lie preferred. 



Professor Buchanan's theory also explains the 

 almost universal habit of carrying burdens on the 

 left shoulder. In the case of a light weight, slung 

 on the arm, the equilibrium of the body is better 



