297 



SAFETY. 



The safety from accidents depends partly upon the absence 

 of danger from bursting, and partly from freedom from risk in 

 loading. In the former department it is clear that no 

 gun is so safe as the ordinary percussion gun, which has a 

 breech screwed solidly into it. Next to this, I should say, 

 comes the Lefaucheaux (and Mr. Lancaster's, which is similar 

 in principle). Mr. Needham's is perhaps almost equally safe 

 from this species of risk, but it has not been tried to the same 

 extent. In reference to danger from explosion during loading, 

 there can be no question that the muzzle-loader is beaten 

 by the breech-loader; and that among the varieties of the 

 latter, the Lefaucheaux gun is pre-eminent. In fact, with 

 ordinary care, it is almost impossible to do mischief in loading. 

 A serious accident occurred to Lord Nelson during the 

 loading of one of Mr. Needham's guns. It happened that 

 the cartridge had missed fire from having been pushed 

 too forward, and his lordship, while the needle was pro- 

 truding into the barrel, drove the cartridge with a ramrod 

 back upon it, causing the cap to explode ; and the result was 

 a serious injury to his hand. If, however, the plug had been 

 previously turned out, as it ought to have been, no such 

 accident could have occurred. 



RESULT OF "FIELD" GUN TRIAL OF 1859. 



In order to show the difference of performance in the 

 several departments to which I have alluded, the results of 

 the trial of various guns at Hornsey Wood House are ap- 

 pended in a tabular form on the next two pages. In the 

 preface to this volume I have alluded to the circumstances 

 which led to these trials of 1858 and 1859, so that it will 

 be unnecessary to repeat them here. 



