244 



deposits carbon of considerable density, and sufficiently good 

 to be used for the purposes of the electric light. It absorbs- 

 and carries off oil and grease when used under pressure, and 

 is employed for cleansing delicate fabrics. It produces superior 

 glass to that obtained by fusion with coals, and covered pots 

 for this purpose are found to be unnecessary. 



Before concluding I would like to refer to the progress made 



MILITAEY ENGINEERING WITH REGARD TO ARMOUR-PLATE AND* 



WEAPONS. 



Great progress has been made during the past few years in 

 this direction, and shields, cupolas, &c, are now made from 

 chilled cast-iron as well as of steel. 



CHILLED CAST-IROF ARMOUR PLATE. 



The G-ruson chilled cast-iron armour plate, which lately 

 withstood most successfully three shots from the 16-inch 100- 

 ton gun at Spezzia, has just successfully resisted a fourth shot, 

 although it struck the plate at a point where it had been 

 weakened by previous shots. This experiment has yielded the 

 best results on record of any armour-plate up to the present 

 time. 



The experiments made in the improvements in construction 

 of torpedoes still continue, and the perfection to which these 

 dangerous weapons are now brought is marvellous ; they can 

 be steered in any direction, and manoeuvred with the greatest 

 ease. Nitro-glycerine has also been successfully used infilling: 

 shells for destructive purposes ; but one of the most successful 

 machines lately introduced has been the Maxim gun. 



MAXIM GTJlf. 



This gun is automatic, and is the invention of Mr. Hiram 

 Maxim, of London, and it differs very materially in its action 

 from the machine guns generally adopted. The first mechanical 

 gun of any practical value was invented by an American, Dr. 

 Gatling, in 1863, and they were used extensively during the 

 American "War in 1865. Subsequently another American — Mr. 

 Hotchkiss — invented a machine i;un, and took his invention 

 to France, where these guns are extensively manufactured. 

 The Nordenfelt and the Gardner guns followed in rotation. 

 All these guns require manual labour in loading, firing, and 

 discharging the empty shells. They also have magazines for 

 the ammunition holding from a dozen to 100 cartridges. The 

 workmanship in these guns, to be reliable, must be of the very 

 best, and the great fault found with them in action is their 

 liability to jam or hang fire. 



The Maxim gun, which I propose to shortly explain, is- 



