LINE OF FIRE. 141 



The line of fire is the continuation 

 The Line of J J 



of the axis in a straight line, and 

 marks the direction the bullet would take on 

 leaving the barrel, propelled by the explosion of 

 the charge, were it not that it is also acted upon 

 by the power of gravity, which attracts it towards 

 the earth, and the resistance the air offers to its 

 passage, which is always in direct opposition to 

 its flight. 



TheTra'ec *^ ne ^ ra j ecfor y i tne actual course 

 of the bullet, which dalways escribes 

 a curve a fact easily accounted for, as, from the 

 moment it leaves the muzzle, the force of the 

 gunpowder drives it forward, and gravity draws 

 it downward, so that by yielding to both forces 

 i.e., by moving onwards and downwards at the 

 same time it must travel in a curve diverging 

 more and more below the line of fire, until at 

 last, the propelling power being expended, it 

 falls to the earth. Hence it follows, that if the 

 axis of a barrel is directed upon the bull's-eye of 

 a target, at 100 yards distance, the bullet will 



