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you recover £7 after using your bronze gun for a great number of years, 
out of every £17 you originally expended. 
The value of a steel gun witli wrougbt-iron coils of those weights 
when new, is greater than that of the corresponding bronze gun; and 
when old, it is worthless, or the next thing to it. 
6. So much for the metal; let me now turn to the nature and weight 
of the field gun for India, first confining ourselves to horse artillery. 
The nature and weight of gun for employment in that or in any 
other country, is best considered by first deciding on the following 
points:— 
(1) What weight can your teams draw at the pace you propose to 
go ? 
(2) What is the least weight of projectile which will be efficient on 
explosion, and what is to be its velocity ? 
(3) How many rounds do you want with the gun and limber ? 
On some, if not on all of these points, artillerymen will differ: hence 
the problem will have a variety of solutions. Permit me to give you 
my ideas on them. 
In India we find that a team of six horses can draw from 30 to 32 cwt. 
at the pace required for horse artillery. 
On the. second point, I consider that an explosive projectile, to be 
efficient, should not weigh under 9 lbs. 
As to the quantity of ammunition with the gun and the limber, 
though opinions differ widely on the point, I think I shall not be far 
Wrong in taking the same number of rounds as the 9-pr. breech-loading 
gun, viz. 34i At the same time, I should tell you that the French 
have lately increased the number of rounds with their gun and limber 
from 36 to 44, the alteration being due to the adoption of breech¬ 
loading fire-arms by the infantry. 
Then as to velocity: your 12 and 9-pr. breech-loading guns fired at 
Dartmoor with velocities of 1121 and 1058 feet per second. This pace is 
slow as compared with that of the round shot of the S.B. 9-pr. with its 
1614 f.s., or of the S.B. 6-pr. with its 1484 f.s.; the result is, that up to 
700 or 800 yards the S.B. guns have the flatter trajectory. It seems to 
me clear, then, that if we wish to improve on the present breech-loaders, 
we must increase the velocity; but as we cannot hope to fire a projectile 
of 9 lbs. with such a velocity as 1600 feet from a horse artillery gun, let 
us see if we cannot manage to fire with 1400 feet—a velocity rather less 
than that of the 6-pr. round shot of the horse artillery gun. 
I have thus roughly given answers on the three points :— 
(1) 30 to 32 cwt. behind the gun team. 
(2) A 9 lb. projectile with a velocity of 1400 feet per second. 
(3) 34 rounds with gun and limber. 
Let us see what these answers will lead US to. 
As at present constructed, the lightest limber, without load, weighs 
10 cwt. We have, further, thirty times 9 lbs., and its charge of If lb. 
