GUNS, ARTILLERY SUPPLIES, AMMUNITION AND FIREARMS. 161 



The gun works in Tula were reorg-anized in the year 1873 and shortly after 

 received the title of Imperial Manufactory, It is moved by three Jonval turbines of 

 120 horse power each, and in addition it has two steam engines of 150 and 50 horse 

 power in order to prevent the stoppage of the works in case of high iloods. The 

 total quantity of complete machines, ordered mostly from England, amounts to about 

 900 pieces. This manufactory is justly considered one of the most important and 

 well organized of the European manufactories; all the parts of the gun are manu- 

 factured by machinery and the exactitude and finish as well as the adjustments of 

 the several parts are not inferior to those of the best foreign makes. The production 

 of the Tula factory is enormous; at the time of its greatest activity from 1877 to 

 1881, that is, during five years, these works turned out 685,425 guns, or on the 

 average more than 137,000 guns annually. From 1873 to 1874 the barrels and 

 cases, made exclusively of steel, were furnished to the Tula Manufactory by the 

 Izhevsk steel works, while up to that date these parts were imported from Austria. 



The army having received a new equipment the orders were reduced for a 

 time. Therefore, the Tula manufactory as well as others were allowed to make hunt- 

 ing guns and side arms for private customers, as by such privileges the best workmen 

 could be retained. In late years the Tula works alone made such guns to the value 

 of fifty thousand pieces yearly. From 1885 the said factory has also been working 

 revolvers of the military pattern, which had been until then imported. The yearly 

 production of such revolvers amounts to about eight thousand pieces. Finally, in the 

 year 1886 these works began the making of the Hotchkiss cannons for the Admi- 

 ralty. Now that the arming of the militia will be changed for the guns of the 

 three-line caliber, the manufactory has been reinforced by additional operators and 

 steam propellers in order to considerably increase the annual output. 



The Sestrorietsk manufactory was founded hy Peter the Great in the year 

 1721, and in 1724 it began already the making of guns. It has machines as perfect 

 in construction as those of the Tula manufactory, and is moved by 14 water wheels 

 yielding 300 horse power. The output of this factory has amounted in late years to 

 70,000 guns per annum, and if some of the minor parts could be worked elsewhere 

 the production could be doubled. The Izhevsk factory, which was founded for iron 

 works in 1763, began the making of guns about 1807. This manufactory uses its 

 own steel, cast steel and Marten steel. It has 8 water wheels and 8 turbines, yield- 

 ing altogether 520 horse power, and 7 steam engines yielding 675 horse power. 

 For working steel it has one Marten furnace and 21 casting furnaces. The number 

 of hands employed is about one thousand. The production of this factory in the 

 years of the greatest demand for guns, as in 1878 for instance, amounted to 168,455 

 pieces. The Izhevsk and the Sestrorietsk works, as well as the Tulsk, are now turn- 

 ing out a large number of guns of the new 3-liue caliber, and therefore they are 

 greatly reinforced in their technical departments. 



The enlargement in 1872 of the cast steel works at the Izhevsk manufactory 

 rendered a great service to the Eussian armory in that it did aw^ay with the neces- 

 sity of importing steel barrels and cases. This manufactory supplies with steel of the 

 best quality not only gun manufactories but also many other technical establishments 

 working for the artillery. It would be desirable to attract the attention of the man 

 ufacturer to the fact that this steel would be of great use in the making of me- 



