COMMENDED ESSAY, 1899. 407 
7. He is also given a general idea of the employment, ranging, 
and organisation of field, coast and siege artillery. 
As regards practical work: — 
8. He should have a good knowledge of Field Artillery drill and 
understand the various systems of ranging in use. This, 
though not Garrison Artillery work, is a very important part 
of his training; it teaches him smartness at drill and quick¬ 
ness of action, and the ranging of field guns is the ground¬ 
work of ranging with coast guns, a fact sometimes overlook¬ 
ed at practice, where we too often see no attempt whatever 
made to obtain a bracket. The methods of ranging land face 
guns are also analogous and the principles he has learned 
will stand him in good stead. 
9. He does a little drill with a g" R.M.L., a 6" B.L. on hydro¬ 
pneumatic mounting, ( which can rarely be worked and is of 
an experimental pattern ), a &6" Howitzer, a 4." B.L. siege 
gun, a 3-pr. Hotchkiss, and is taught a little group work 
using 64-prs. The time available for these drills is, however, 
so limited and the conditions so unlike reality, that we may 
look upon a cadet’s experience of drill with garrison guns as 
practically nil. 
The system lately adopted of sending classes for a week’s 
practice at Shoeburyness, or of showing them round coast 
forts in the vicinity, is of the greatest value, and gives them 
an insight into practical work, which is unobtainable at 
Woolwich 
10. He has a. slight knowledge of mounting and dismounting 
64-prs., the use of sleighs, sheers and derricks, and the work¬ 
ing of gyns, jacks, etc., but the majority take little interest in 
these things, and there is little inducement for them to give 
any time to reading up about them. The most that can be 
done is to give them a good general idea of the elementary 
principles of artillery exercises and the manipulation of levers 
and tackles, but little time should be given up to “redrilling”, 
which, with cadets, is the ruination of all smartness at this 
description of work, and which can be much more effectively 
taught after a young officer has joined. 
11. Cadets are shown how to work Depression Range Finding 
and Position Finding instruments, but this instruction is 
necessarily very sketchy and of little practical value. 
12. Hitherto the mechanical training in workshops has been much 
neglected. It is then satisfactory to learn that proper instruc¬ 
tion is to be given. For a Garrison Artillery officer, nothing 
can be more useful than acquaintance with this subject; he 
often has complicated machinery and instruments to look 
after or has to superintend repairs, and in armament work 
generally, occasions are constantly occurring where a slight 
mechanical knowledge by the officer in charge would be of 
great advantage. 
