THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
327 
This premised, we will observe that artillery does not solely consist of 
the gun and the carriage on which it travels; to these must be added a 
number of wagons to contain the ammunition for the piece; from the 
experience of past wars it is calculated, that a field gun should take into the 
field at least three hundred rounds. Now, if we wish to lighten artillery, it 
is clear that we must diminish the weight of the projectiles, as those are the 
more numerous; but by diminishing the weight the effect of the projectiles 
will naturally be lessened, unless, as we have seen, we can increase their 
velocity, or in other words, the charge of powder with which the gun is 
fired. 
Killed artillery under this aspect was an actual retrogression, since, while 
the smooth-bores fired a charge of one-third of the weight of the projectile, 
rifled guns fire a charge of one-sixth, one-seventh, or of one-tenth the weight 
of the projectile thrown, and with us, who have made a step in advance in this 
respect, of one-fifth of that weight. But, to increase the charge still further 
seems impossible, and for the following reasons. A projectile in a rifled gun 
is like a screw in its nut, a screw of very slow pitch; now we can imagine, that 
if we withdraw the screw from the nut with extreme and increasing violence 
and velocity, we shall arrive at a point when it will be no longer possible to 
increase the violence and velocity of withdrawal without injuring the thread 
of the screw or of the nut, or of both; with rifled guns we have reached 
that point. 
In conclusion then, the state of affairs is as follows :—To lighten artillery 
and thus make true progress, involves adequate diminution of the weight 
of the projectile; by diminishing that weight we shall diminish its effect, 
unless we increase the charge ;* to increase that, again, in the manner hitherto 
employed is impossible; hence the real problem stands thus: How can we 
fire with a charge of one-third without injuring the grooves of the gun or 
the studs of the projectile? 
To this we must add, that the increase of the charge of field guns is a 
matter of the greatest importance, as therewith the probability of hitting is 
much augmented, involving all the advantages of a flat trajectory . We will 
now give an explanation of these terms. 
A projectile thrown from a gun does not move in a straight line; but as 
it advances in its flight, it falls below that line; consequently, to strike a 
certain point at a given distance from the mouth of the gun, we must aim 
at a point higher than the given object, by a number of feet equal to the 
fall of the projectile. Thus, in order to illustrate the matter by an indi¬ 
vidual distance, let us suppose that we want to strike an object 1000 yards 
from the mouth of the gun, and further that at that distance the projectile 
falls 100 yards, we must aim 100 yards above the object, and thus we 
shall cause the projectile, in its flight, to pass through the object we intend 
to strike. 
Hence, to strike a given object we must know its distance from the gun 
and the fall of the projectile due to that distance. The latter is found by 
calculation, or still better by proper experiment at each distance : and as we 
are supposed to know the distance, we can find the fall. But in action, 
See note, p. 333, 
