538 
THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEER JOURNAL, 
From the Italian , 
BY 
CAPT. A. E. TURNER, R.H.A. 
Among the changes of materiel , &c., notified in the first number of 
the Giornale d } Artiglieria e Genio for the current year, the following are 
worthy of notice, viz. :— 
1. The introduction of linen cartridges for the 24 cm and 32 cm guns 
(8*7 ins. and 12'6 ins.) ; the length of the cartridge for the larger 
gun is 27J his. 
2. The introduction of serge bags to contain the bursting charges 
of common shells for the same guns. 
3. The adoption of a new pattern common shell for the larger gun 
above-mentioned; it is of cast-iron with a hardened head; in the 
interior of the shell is a trunco-conoidal chamber to hold the bursting 
charge, communicating with the base by means of a cylindrical passage 
cut through its thickness, and tapped with a screw, to receive a screw 
plug of the same metal as that of the shell, but with a brass washer 
beneath its head, to rest on the base of the shell; two rings project 
from the base for the convenience of carrying the shell by means of a 
movable handle, the ends of which are hooked to fit into the rings. 
Total length of shell. 
Weight of 
C bursting charge 
(_ shell, filled... 
36‘68 ins. (including rings). 
9 lbs. 
763-4 lbs. 
Three copper rings, equi-distant from one another, but of different 
thicknesses, project from the cylindrical part of the shell. The pro¬ 
jections of the front ring being ‘051-in., that of the centre ‘18-in., 
and that of the rear ‘279-in. 
Minute instructions are given as to the employment of wooden and 
zinc plugs for shells, when not fuzed. 
Muzzle-loading common shells and shrapnels are always to be fitted 
with the former for transport, and when fired as plugged shells. 
Breech-loading common shells and shrapnels of 12 cm and upwards 
(4-7 ins.), are to be fitted with wooden plugs for transport, but with 
zinc plugs when filled with sand, and fired as plugged shells : while 
for common shells and shrapnels of breecli-loading field guns, zinc 
plugs are to be used for both purposes. 
Common shells of the 7 cm (2*7 ins.) mountain gun are to be fitted 
with zinc plugs, while shrapnels of the same calibre are to be fitted 
with wooden. 
