the Force of fired Gunpowder. 285 
As the slowness of the combustion of gunpowder is undoubt- 
edly. the cause which has prevented its enormous and almost 
incredible force from being discovered, so it is evident, that the 
readiest way to increase its effects is to contrive matters so as 
to accelerate its inflammation and combustion. This may be 
done in various ways, but the most simple and most effectual 
manner of doing it would, in my opinion, be to set fire to the 
charge of powder by shooting (through a small opening) the 
flame of a smaller charge into the midst of it. 
I contrived an instrument on this principle for firing can- 
non three or four years ago, and it was found on repeated 
trials to be useful, convenient in practice, and not liable to ac- 
cidents. It likewise supersedes the necessity of using priming, 
of vent tubes, port-fires, and matches ; and on that account I 
imagined it might be of use in the British navy. Whether 
it has been found to be so or not I have not yet heard. 
Another infallible method of increasing very considerably 
the effect of gunpowder in fire-arms of all sorts and dimen- 
sions, would be to cause the bullet to fit the bore exactly, or 
without windage, in that part of the bore at least where the 
bullet rests on the charge : for when the bullet does not com- 
pletely close the opening of the chamber, not only much of the 
elastic fluid generated in the first moment of the combustion 
of the charge escapes by the sides of the bullet, but, what is 
of still greater importance, a considerable part of the uncon- 
sumed powder is blown out of the chamber along with it, in 
a state of actual combustion, and getting before the bullet con- 
tinues to burn on as it passes through the whole length of the 
bore, by which the motion of the bullet is much impeded. 
The loss of force which arises from this cause is, in some 
Pp 2 
