ADDRESS. 1 7 



for each particular purpose ? Something which, until our better sense 

 comes to our aid, we are inclined to look upon as ridiculously insignificant 

 —a ' next-to-nothing.' Setting extraneous ingredients aside, and con- 

 sidering only the union of iron and carbon, the question whether there 

 shall be added or deducted one-tenth of 1 per cent, (pardon my clumsy 

 way of using the decimal system) of carbon is a matter of great import- 

 ance in the resulting quality of the steel. This is a striking practical 

 instance of how apparently insignificant things may be of the highest 

 importance. The variation of this fraction of a percentage may render 

 your boiler steel untrustworthy, may make the difference between safety 

 in a gun and danger in a gun, and may render your armour-piercing pro- 

 jectile unable to pierce even the thinnest wronght-iron armour. 



While thus brought incidentally to the subject of guns, let me derive 

 from it another instance of the value of small things. I have in my 

 hand a piece of steel ribbon. It is probable that only those who are 

 near to me can see it. Its dimensions are one-fourth by one-sixteenth of 

 an English inch, equal to an area of one sixty-fourth of a square inch. 

 This mode of stating the dimensions I use for the information of the 

 ladies. To make it intelligible to my scientific friends, I must tell them 

 that it is approximately "00637 of a metre, by approximately "00159 of a 

 metre, and that its sectional area is "00001012S3 (also approximately) of 

 a square metre. This insignificant (and speaking in reference to the greater 

 number of my audience), practically invisible piece of material — that I can 

 bend with my hand, and even tie into knots — is, nevertheless, not to be 

 despised. By it one reinforces the massive and important-looking A-tube 

 of a 9"2-inch gun, so that from that tube can be projected with safety a 

 projectile weighing 380 pounds at a velocity, when leaving the muzzle, 

 of between one-third and one-half of a mile in a second, and competent to 

 braverse nearly 12^ miles before it touches the ground. It may be said, 

 [' What is the use of being able to fire a projectile to a distance which 

 sommonly is invisible (from some obstacle or another) to the person 

 lirecting the gun ? ' I will suggest to you a use. Imagine a gun of 



lis kind placed by some enemy who, unfortunately, had invaded us, and 

 lad reached Richmond. He has the range table for his gun ; he, of 

 jourse, is provided with our Ordnance maps, and he lays and elevates the 



m at Richmond, with the object of striking, say, the Royal Exchange. 

 Suppose he does not succeed in his exact aim. The projectile goes 100 

 ^ards to one side or to the other ; or it falls 250 yards short, or passes 

 250 yards over ; and it would be ' bad shooting ' indeed, in these days, if 

 nearly every projectile which was fired did not fall somewhere within an 

 area such as this. In this suggested parallelogram of 100,000 square 

 yards, or some 20 acres, there is some rather valuable property ; and the 

 transactions which are carried on are not unimportant. It seems to me 

 that business would not be conducted with that calmness and coolness 

 which are necessary for success, if, say every five minutes, a 380-pound 

 1888. c 



