THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
27 
on the sixth day they are at an end; and if what is generally lost in 
forced requisitions be reckoned, perhaps after three days want may be 
felt. Countries which are occupied for the second time yield much less; and 
if the war is at all stationary, it can only be carried on, even in the richest 
country, when the army by a regular supply makes itself independent of the 
resources of the place. A railroad, with five trains of 60 wagons each, can 
secure the sustenance of an army of 300,000 men and 60,000 horses for a day. 
As these trains do not stop, they can follow each other more closely—that is, 
at the rate of one every hour, not including the time taken for unloading. 
A train of 60 -wagons, carrying 5 tons each, requires at least 10 hours for 
starting and unloading. If at the last station one train at a time only can 
be unloaded, the trains must follow each other every 10 hours only; but 
there is generally room for two trains to be unloaded, and they may then 
follow each other every 5 hours, and every day provisions for 300,000 men 
can be delivered. 
The war material and the artillery for a siege are most difficult of con¬ 
veyance by rail. A 24-pr. gun provided' with 500 rounds, requires five 
wagons, and one train will forward 12 of them in one day 30 or 40 miles 
(140 or 190 miles English). Ten of such trains are sufficient for a whole 
siege battery of over 100 guns, with 500 rounds each; from 10 to 15 trains 
more would then bring all that the artilleryman or the engineer would 
further want. 
December 1, 1871. 
