THE BOYAL ABTILLEEY INSTITUTION. 
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I have no hesitation in saying many of us would fire three without being 
told at all. With infantry within 300 yds. of us, we should not carefully 
consider Army Circulars and Changes in War Stores; but the propor¬ 
tions of stores issued are based on the supposition that one case shot 
only is used, and the supplies are made accordingly. We are told that, 
after all, case are hardly required for these guns. If true, that might be 
a reason for having none, but hardly a good reason either for having a 
bad case shot, or for acting on the supposition that we have more 
rounds of case than we really are provided with. 
It is true that the segments, or lining, cause the shot to carry close 
and make better target practice, and also that something is found 
necessary to protect the bores of the guns; but in the pattern before us 
this is done at a very great sacrifice. 
But to crown all, what is the name of this case shot ? It is termed 
the “ Koyal Laboratory pattern.” This is really very hard. There was 
once a form of point tried with Palliser shell which we termed the 
“ committee point,” but when it began to do badly we took to calling 
it the “ Belgian point;” * and I suggest that this case shot be called the 
“ Belgian case shot.” As yet we have not heard it much found fault 
with; but I am quite satisfied it will do very badly, and think its name 
ought to be changed at once. 
Materiel for Siege Guns and Guns of Position . 
Under this head come the 7", 64-pr., and 40-pr. breech-loading guns, 
and the muzzle-loading 64-pr. shunt takes the same projectiles, segment 
shell excepted, and we may therefore consider it at the same time. 
The projectiles for siege guns and guns of position are :— 
Common shell, Segment shell, 
Boxer shrapnel shell, Case shot. 
Hollow shot have disappeared, and solid are fast following them, though 
batteries of position still retain the 40-pr. solid shot. Shrapnel have to 
a great extent superseded segment shell, which are stated by Sir W. 
Armstrong to have been specially constructed with a view to wooden 
shipping, &c. We retain them for our siege equipments, although we 
have no percussion fuze to cause them to act on graze, which we shall 
see hereafter is their natural associate. It should be observed, with 
reference to our siege equipment, and still more our guns of position, 
that we have no means of firing shell to act on graze. The time fuze 
(Boxer B.L.R.O.) acts on direct impact; hence there would be no 
advantage in issuing the Pettman G.S. fuze, for, as noticed before, it 
would not act on graze. There exists a means of firing a small field 
service percussion fuze from old pattern segment shells; but it is not 
* This, I think, was really due to a similar point having been tried in Belgium; not to any wish 
to connect bad materiel with that country. 
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