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a calibre of 0*65 inch ; and the fourth, or largest size, is made 
with six barrels usually, but sometimes with ten, of 1-inch 
calibre, discharging solid lead bullets of half a pound in weight, 
or a small canister cartridge containing a mitraille of sixteen 
balls. This weapon also discharges explosive bullets with, it is 
said, great effect. In the ten-barrelled weapons five cartridges 
are at the same time in different stages of loading, and five 
discharged cases in different stages of extraction ; or, in other 
words, the loading, firing, and extracting are automatically per- 
formed, the cartridges simply falling out of the ten feed-cases 
into the slot, and one feed-case after another being supplied as 
fast as the previous ones are exhausted. As to the speed, the 
astonishing statements made by Dr. Gatling do not seem to be 
exaggerations. The large-size weapons can discharge 200 of 
their half-pound bullets per minute ; and from the smaller 
weapons a fearful fire of nearly double this rate can be kept 
up, and spread, too, along the line of the enemy’s front, the 
Gatling, like the Montigny, having a horizontal motion on its 
carriage. The cartridges used have solid drawn metallic cases, 
and are very effective. As the barrels rapidly revolve, the 
stream of fire from their muzzles assumes a curvilinear form 
to the eye, while the drumming noise of the consecutive dis- 
charges adds to the fascinating horror of contemplating such 
murderous instruments. 
As to the uses of machine-guns, everybody seems agreed that, 
for the defence of roads, bridges, streets, defiles, fords, and 
trenches ; in clearing breaches ; for flanking faces of fortifica- 
tions, protecting the decks of ships, and in or against boat 
operations, they would be invaluable. The other points con- 
tested for by the advocates of the new weapons are — the guns 
are not only very considerably lighter than field-guns, and 
therefore easy to carry about and to bring rapidly into action, 
but that, being still too heavy to be affected by the discharges 
of small quantities of powder, they have no appreciable recoil, 
and therefore can continue their firing after once being trained, 
in disregard of smoke or fog, or other obstruction to the vision ; 
and that, if required, they could be placed in position during 
daylight in order to support or resist a night-attack. As com- 
pared with shrapnel shell practice, it is contended that the 
shell has an iron envelope almost equalling in weight the 
enclosed bullets, or effective portion of the charge, and that its 
success depends entirely on the accurate adjustment and per- 
formance of the fuze. Thus, in order that the shell should 
have its full effect, not only must the field-gun be truly laid 
for distance, and the fuze cut accordingly, but the fuze must 
act so as to liberate the contents of the shell precisely at the 
proper moment, when probably two-thirds the weight of metal 
