52  Mr.  hutton  on  the  initial 
their  practice  beyond  bullets  of  that  kind,  and  fatisfied- 
tliemfelves  with  earneftly  wilhing  for  experiments  to  be 
made  in  a fimilar  manner  with  balls  of  a larger  fort.  By 
the  experiments  in  this  paper  I have  endeavoured,  in 
fome  degree,  to  fupply  this  defect,  having  made  them  with, 
fmall  cannon  balls  of  above  twenty  times  the  lize,or  from 
one  pound  to  near  three  pounds  weight.  Thefe  are  the 
only  experiments  that  I know  of  which  have  been  made 
with  cannon  balls  for  this  purpofe,  although  the  conclu- 
fions  to  be  deduced  from  fuch  are  of  the  greatefl  impor- 
tance to  thofe  parts  of  natural  philofophy  which. are  de- 
pendent on  the  effects  of  fired  gunpowder;  nor  do  I 
know  of  any  other  practical  method  of  afcertaining  the 
initial  velocities  of  military  projeililes  within  any  tole- 
rable degree  of  the  truth.  The  knowledge  of  this  velo- 
city is  of  the  utmoft  confequence  in  gunnery : by  means 
of  it,  together  with  the  law  of  the  refiftance  of  the  me- 
dium,, every  thing  is  determinable  relative  to  that  bufir 
nefs;  for,  befides  its  Being  an  excellent  method  of  trying 
the  ftrength  of  different  forts  of  powder,  it  gives  us  the 
law  relative  to  the  different  quantities  of  powTder,  to  the 
different  weights  of  fhot,  and  to  the  different  lengths  and: 
fizes  of  guns.  Befides  thefe,  there  does  not  feem  to  he 
any  thing  wanting  to  determine  any  inquiry  that  can 
be  made  concerning  the  flight  and  ranges  of  fhot,  except 
the  effects  arifing  from  the  refiftance  of  the  medium. 
