70 Modes of obtaining important Results by simple Means. [Fkb. 



pillars or statues, or enormous guns, as trophies. If wood is cheap and 

 abundant, perhaps the easiest plan is, to fit beams of wood round the 

 mass, after the manner of staves, so as to barrel it up into the shape of a 

 cylindrical roller. —It has been practically proved, that an iron 18 pr. 

 siege gun, weighing forty-two hundred weight, barrelled up in this way, 

 the staves being about five inches thick, fitted exactly to the rings, 

 astragals, and fillets of the gun, will travel easily on good roads with 

 four gun bullocks, and over common roads with eight bullocks of 

 54-inches standard ; inequalities in the roads, or even heaps of stones 

 which would upset a gun carriage, are no obstruction to be barrelled 

 up gun ; some part of the cylinder is sure to act as a wheel. Narrow 

 ravines or passes would be the only difficulty : the neck of the caseable 

 has a ring passed over it, and forms the axle at one end ; whilst an axle 

 arm inserted in wood is driven into the muzzle of the gun, to form the 

 opposite axle of the cylinder. 



The Bijapur gun, which weighs about forty two tons, might be 

 moved to the coast in this way with forty pair of good gun bullocks. It 

 should be encircled with staves of tough wood, twelve inches in thick- 

 ness, closely fitted to the surface of the gun : the staves to be dove-tailed 

 and cross-pinned together, and then strongly hooped up ; the centre of 

 the cylinder to be purposely made rather larger than the ends, to 

 admit of driving the hoops tight, and also to enable it to travel better : 

 it would then form a roller six feet in diameter and fifteen feet in 

 length, and might serve to roll a road to the coast. A powerful capstan 

 (such as that described in the Memoires D'Artillerie, vol. ii. third 

 edition, page 156,) might be carried on a cart to aid in passing the 

 cylinder over mountains, and to drag it through rivers. It is believed that 

 this plan would be better than two or more broad girdles or wheels 

 round the gun. Let it not be supposed, however, that artillery officers 

 of the present day would have any difficulty in making a suitable 

 carriage for it : if it were desirable to go to that expense, a carriage 

 might easily be made. An Italian of Otranto, who served in the Moghul 

 armies, under the title of Rumi Khan, had this gun in his park, and 

 used it in several battles, occasionally firing sacks of copper coin out 

 of it. 



{To be continued.) 



