A TEST OF PRELIMINARY TRAINING. 
151 
tice, the first must be ensured before the other two can be given fair play, 
so it must be necessary, if possible, to test this first essential before 
allowing a battery to proceed to practice involving exercise of the 
other two; but this first essential is identical with the standard of effi¬ 
ciency of complete Preliminary Training. 
It therefore appears doubly necessary to have this firing test. 
13. If the necessity is not proved, I would suggest that for one 
year every battery should expend 12 rounds in finding its rectangles 
of graze and burst. 
A comparison of these rectangles with the results noted throughout 
in the Practice Report would be instructive. 
14. Ammunition, expended in acquiring efficient rectangles, would 
not be wasted, as results at all practice, when the test was passed, 
would be immensely improved. 
15. Finally, the erroneous idea would be removed, which is appar¬ 
ently sanctioned by all range tables, that only 50 per cent, of rounds 
can be expected to fall in the efficient rectangle. 
Perfect results would be bringing grazes or bursts and a selected 
point to coincide. This is deemed impossible, and each nature of gun 
is credited with a known normal error, which should be taken as a 
guide in calculating the efficient rectangle. 
A Plea for Service Targets and Indirect Laying. 
1. Everyone will agree with the statement that a country paying 
troops, has a right to expect that all arms will take the field, when 
needed, and produce the best possible results under all circumstances. 
All training in peace should tend to realize this expectation. 
2. The general object of all arms, in war, is one—the defeat of the 
enemy—but, in bringing this about, each arm has its separate role, that 
of the Artillery—with one aspect of which I propose to deal—is rapid 
accuracy of fire under service conditions. 
3. To train properly, in peace, service conditions, where possible, 
should be introduced. 
4. The targets, at all practice, are not what would be met with on 
service, a fact easily verified on any field day. 
No one denies that service targets could be improvised, but the 
seemingly unanswerable objection against them, always advanced, is 
“ What is the use of firing at difficult service targets, until good re¬ 
sults can be produced on easy targets ? ” 
This objection has been allowed undue weight in overruling all ar¬ 
guments in favor of service targets, and especially the equally powerful 
one :—“ If our object is to produce good results on service targets, 
why not expend, in firing at them, as much practice ammunition as 
possible, of the small amount annually allowed.” 
5. Once there is a clear grasp of how good results at practice are 
to be obtained, the seemingly unanswerable objection to service targets 
vanishes, as it will be seen, that only one man—the observer—need see 
the target at all, 
