AMMUNITION OP ARTILLERY IN THE FIELD. 
311 
Shells of such characteristics as these can hardly be of any use for 
the ordinary work of field artillery. When burst in an object which 
offers resistance, or tends to concentrate their dispersive effect, they 
are, of course, useful; when, however, they are burst in the open against 
objects in themselves dispersed, and which can only suffer from a large 
number of projectiles covering a considerable area thickly, they must 
surely be wanting in effect. 
Undoubtedly, both the Dartmoor and Okehampton committees, 
composed as they were of officers of every shade of thought in the 
regiment, arrived at a very curious consent on this subject, both indi¬ 
vidually and collectively. The first recommended the almost entire 
omission of common shell from the equipment; and the second, 
though commencing with a decided opinion in its favour (the large 
proportion demanded for the experiments will prove this), came, after 
patient trial, to the conclusion that it was simply waste of time and 
ammunition to persevere with it, as it was beaten—and beaten hollow^ 
by every other projectile in all cases; in the end, a large proportion 
of the rounds supplied were returned unused. 
It would appear to be one of the most usual mistakes made in regard 
to common shell, to suppose that they are effective when the practice is 
indifferent; the real fact is, that with the very best practice their 
effect is not to be compared with that of shrapnel shell; with fair 
practice it is very small and with indifferent practice there is abso¬ 
lutely no effect. It might, indeed, be said that under almost any 
circumstances, they would be “ fired away like blank cartridge, so far 
as the people aimed at were concerned. - ” 
(r) The nature of Shrapnel Shell is entirely different. It does not break 
up and disperse at random, but opens, and allows a large number of 
bullets to pursue very much the same well-defined path as the shell 
would have taken had it not ceased to exist as a single projectile. 
The path of the bullets is compounded of the velocity inherent in the 
components of the shell at the moment of opening, the centrifugal 
force due to its rotation, and the force generated by the bursting 
charge; the two first are quite constant and regular, and although the last 
is uncertain, it bears but a small proportion to the other two. The 
shell, therefore, forms a cone very regular in shape, and in the disper¬ 
sion of the bullets over any given area of its section. The great 
regularity of effect is most remarkable. 
It must be carefully borne in mind that this shell has in its action 
no affinity with the old Spherical Shrapnel, the Segment, or the Com¬ 
mon shells; all these require to be burst near and high up, whereas 
it must be opened low, and comparatively far off. 
The cone of dispersion (8°) is so small, the effect is so directly in the 
path of the projectile, the velocity and power of the bullets is so long 
retained, and their ricochet is so effective that, although good practice 
will materially increase the results obtained, yet indifferent or almost 
bad practice is never without fair result; in fact, if the action of the 
shell is thoroughly understood, failure in obtaining effect need never 
be feared. 
