the no yal artillery institution. 
88 
The stores specified as being for the service of the bombards included 
nine scrocatoria of iron, fourteen tassatoria of iron, and one scannum cum 
lino police. What the scrocatoria 1 were we are unable to assert. Technical 
terms such as this are little noticed by the glossarists, and unless we 
can trace the origin of the word which it is sought to interpret, or can 
gain from the context some clue to its meaning, we must remain in doubt. 
The tassatoria were scoops or ladles for inserting the powder into the 
chamber; but this will appear more plainly from the evidence of a later 
inventory, which will shortly be quoted. Bellows, as usual, occur in the list 
of stores, and the hot iron was doubtless employed to fire the charge. Two 
carriages, each with two wheels, are mentioned; and, when we come to a later 
period, we shall be able to judge from the miniatures of contemporary MSS. 
of what nature they were. 
Iron shot, 928 in number, of which 885 were small, appear in the “bom¬ 
bard-chamber;” and 620 stone shot, of which 334 were of marble, in the court¬ 
yard. Of good powder in casks, sacks, or bags, there were 318 lb. 7 oz.: and 
of bad powder 77 lb. 266 lb. of new saltpetre, 18| lb. of whole sulphur, and 
4 lb. of powdered sulphur were ready for the manufacture of more powder, 
when required. 2 Some of the shot are indicated as being so small that the 
bombards from which they were fired can have been no larger than hand 
guns. 
Of such a nature as this, and very different from the great bombards with 
canones joined to them to hold the powder, must have been those which 
Andrea Gataro mentions as placed in three rows, 48 bombards in each 
row, that is to say, 144 bombards in all, on one carriage. 
He tells us how Antonio della Scala (Scaligero), being anxious to defeat 
the people of Carrara, 
“ prima fece comandare tutte le genti del suo paese, che potevano portare armi, 
clie subito possero a Yerona; depoi ordino tre carrette armate a tre solari, e per 
cadaun quadro di solaro pose dodici bombardelle, che portavano palle di grossezza 
d’un ’uovo, che erano in numero 144 per cadauna carretta, con tre persone ancora 
per cadauna che avessero da tirare le dette bombardelle ; et erano ordinate in modo, 
che di dodici in dodici si dava loro fuoco, e dovevano trarre tre fiate alia volta, una 
per cadauna carretta, che erano 36. al tratto, e cio doveva essere allora, che si 
toglieva la battaglia contro le schiere Carraresi per rompere loro Fordine. 
Erano le carrette men ate da 4. cavalli grossi, coperti d’arme per cadauna, con 
un 5 huomo armato con un* azza in mano per cadauno cavallo.” 3 * 
Here we have on one carriage 144 bombards, each throwing a ball as 
large as an egg, managed by three men only, that is, forty--eight bombards 
by one man. Their small size is marked by the word bombardelle which is 
employed instead of bombarde . They were so arranged as to give their fire 
by twelve at a time, and the three rows could be fired at once, so as to 
1 Query ? Grochus, a hook. 
2 There are other very interesting items in this inventory: rockets winged with pasteboard, 
arrows called muschitce , &c.j hut as they do not belong to the subject of cannon, they are not 
discussed here. 
^ Muratori, Her. Ital. Script. Yol. XVII. col. 558; and see Giovanni Citadella, Is tori a della 
dominazione Carrarese in Padova, Yol. II. p. 60. 
[VOL. V] 
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