CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



which has a twist in the rifling of I turn in 22 

 inches, and a calibre of -45 of an inch. The 

 barrel is designed by Mr Alexander Henry of 

 Edinburgh ; the breech mechanism by Mr Martini, 

 a naturalised Swiss. The Henry-Martini or 

 Martini-Henry rifle excels the Chassepot by its 

 greater strength and safety of ammunition, higher 

 penetrative power, greater accuracy and longer 

 range, and above all, in increased rapidity of 

 fire. In 1883, arrangements were being made for 

 introducing into the British army improved maga- 

 zine or repeating rifles. Prussia has superseded 

 the needle-gun by the Mauser, and France has 

 greatly improved the Chassepot. 



Cannon comprise the smooth-bore gun, the 

 rifled gun, and the shell gun. The rifled gun at 

 present in the service is made of various calibre, 

 from a 3-pounder for mountain, to a yoo-pounder 

 of 35 tons weight. The projectile is an elongated 

 bolt or shell. The smaller guns, up to the 40- 

 pounder, are breech-loading, the breech being 

 secured by a steel vent-piece falling into a slot 

 Apart from the rifling, the specialty of the gun is 

 its mode of manufacture, to insure the strength 

 necessary to resist the explosion of the heavy 

 charges used. The results of the Armstrong gun, 

 the first of the spiral rifled guns introduced, were 

 very satisfactory, a range of sJ miles, with very 

 trifling aberration, having been attained. The 

 arm is, however, somewhat delicate, more especially 

 when made to load at the breech ; and it is ex- 

 pensive. A cheaper modification of the Armstrong 

 gun, invented by Mr Fraser, executive officer of 

 the Woolwich Gun Factory, has been adopted. 

 No system of breech-loading has been found out 

 yet sufficiently handy, safe, and durable for the 

 heavier guns. 



Mortars are short guns of large calibre in pro- 

 portion to their length, from which shells are fared 

 with comparatively smaU charges, at a considerable 

 elevation, in order that they may fall nearly 

 vertically on the object attacked. 



Howitzers are cannon of considerable bore, but 

 small thickness of metal ; they are adapted for 

 small charges and hollow shot, and therefore are 

 only serviceable at close quarters. In a field of 

 battle, among masses of men, their fire is very 

 destructive. 



The cost of artillery is enormous : a 1 2-inch 

 6oo-pounder, 23 tons weight, costs 2627 ; 

 an ii-inch 5oo-pounder, 25 tons weight, costs 

 ^1893 ; a lo-inch 4<x>-pounder costs 1305 ; a 

 9-inch gun costs ^912 ; and a 7-inch gun ^503. 

 Small g-pounders cost 84 each ; still smaller 

 6-pounders cost ^78 each. In fact, comparing our 

 modern artillery with the old cast-iron guns, we 

 find the cost of production increased by about 

 400 per cent. On the other hand, the power of 

 modern artillery has enormously increased so 

 much so, that one single projectile thrown from one 

 of the 35-ton Fraser guns (7OO-pounder) in one of 

 the Devastation's turrets, exceeds in weight a 

 whole broadside from one of Nelson's ' old seventy- 

 fours ' not to speak of the 8i-ton gun. 



Ammunition. 



Ammunition includes the powder by which the 

 projective force is produced, and the missiles 

 themselves. Those for modern arms are as 

 follows : For small-arms, the bullet of lead, in 

 shape conico-cylindrical ; for the smooth-bore 

 2M 



cannon, round shot, varying in weight from 6 td 

 700 Ibs. and of cast-iron ; hollow shot of the same 

 diameters, but less weight ; case, canister, &&& grape 

 shot, which consist of bullets and small iron balls, 

 bound together in clusters, to disperse on being 

 fired, and produce disastrous effects on bodies of 

 men ; chain shot, formed by two cannon-balls 

 being united by a short chain, and which are 

 destructive to the spars of shipping. For rifled 

 guns, shells or solid shot of an elongated form ; 

 exploded by a time-fuse, burning a certain number 

 of seconds, or by a percussion-fuse on striking any 

 object. Solid elongated shot of steel are used 

 against iron-plated ships. For mortars, shells are 

 used, which consist of heavy hollow iron spheres, 

 containing a charge of powder with bullets, slugs, 

 and pieces of metal. Grenades are small shells of 

 iron or glass, with a fuse, which are thrown by 

 hand among the holders of a ditch or a scaling- 

 party, and produce great confusion at their ex- 

 plosion. Carcasses are shells of light specific 

 gravity, which contain combustibles capable of 

 burning for some time, and setting fire to anything 

 on which they fall. A rocket is a gun made of so 

 light a material, that on the explosion taking place 

 it shoots itself through the air, breech foremost, 

 to a great distance. Rockets are made as large 

 as 32-pounders, and become terrible weapons, 

 especiaUy against cavalry. Grmpowder varies as 

 regards the proportion of its ingredients, but the 

 proportions of the constituents in English govern- 

 ment powder are saltpetre, 75 ; sulphur, 10 ; and 

 charcoal, 15 parts in the 100. There is no 

 powder in the world equal to that produced in the 

 government mills at Waltham Abbey. The physi- 

 cal characters vary the size of the grains ranging 

 from the fine pistol powder, the grains of which 

 are retained on sieves with 72 meshes to the inch, 

 up to the 'pebble' powder for big guns, the grains 

 or lumps of which are as large as the top of a 

 man's thumb. Cartridges consist of (i) projectile, 

 (2) powder, (3) detonating apparatus to ignite the 

 powder. These are arranged in a case that of 

 the Boxer cartridge for the Snider rifle being made 

 of brass covered with paper. The detonating 

 apparatus is a percussion-cap, which lies in the 

 'cap-chamber' at the bottom of the powder, right 

 against a small shouldered brass anvil. Ignition 

 is effected by the cap being struck (by the striker 

 of the rifle) against the anvil, when the flash from 

 the detonating composition of the cap passes 

 through the firehole at the bottom of the cap- 

 chamber to the powder, and explodes it. 



MANUFACTURING DEPARTMENTS. 



There are two methods by which the vast sup- 

 plies of materiel for the army can be procured 

 by contract with private manufacturers, or by 

 direct manufacture in the government establish- 

 ments. There is much to be said in favour of 

 either source. It is always desirable to maintain 

 throughout the country a sufficient number of 

 skilled artisans, to complete the orders given on 

 an emergency ; and this can only be done by 

 fostering the private trade in such articles. On 

 the other hand, if such articles are manufactured 

 exclusively by the trade, the prices are found to 

 rise progressively, for the authorities have no 

 criterion by which to compute the proper price, 

 and in most warlike implements the numbers in 



