522 
GOLD MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1879 . 
Common 
shell. 
Improve¬ 
ments in 
common 
shell; gun- 
cotton. 
diameter moving at the velocity. These considerations point out how 
desirable it is to discover some alloy of lead sufficiently hard and at the 
same time as heavy, or even heavier, than lead itself. Now, an alloy 
of lead and mercury is both harder and heavier than lead itself. It is 
generally used by elephant hunters, where these qualities are of import¬ 
ance in order to ensure great penetration. It is spoken of by 
Sir Samuel Baker in “ The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia ” as being far 
superior to all other alloys. It, however, is expensive, and rather 
difficult to manage in casting, as the mercury will volatilise if raised to 
too high a temperature, and, being heavier than lead, sinks to the bottom 
if not kept stirred. 
Finally, then, we may sum up the directions in which improvements 
in shrapnel manufacture may be expected, viz.— (1), use of steel for the 
bodies ; (2), improved form of walls; (3), a better alloy for the bullets, 
if obtainable. 
The common shell next claims our attention. 
Although this projectile is not so important as shrapnel, since the 
chief function of field artillery seems to be that of firing at troops in the 
open, yet the increased importance given to field fortification demands 
that artillery must be prepared to make advances in its power of 
destroying materiel . In fact, against well defended works infantry is 
powerless; attacks, as the late war has shown, only end in useless 
slaughter. The Russian frequent repulses in the late war appear to 
have been due, in a great measure, to their sending unsupported infantry 
to attack works the defenders of which, their artillery, from bad 
handling, bad shooting, and want of power in the guns, had not 
sufficiently shaken. Their guns appear to have taken up a distant 
position, and never to have moved forward to close range to co-operate 
in the attack, or only did so in the case of isolated batteries. Combined 
action of artillery on a large scale was wanting. 
The artillery must now come to the front, and by its fire render works 
untenable, or at least shake the moral force of the defence to such a 
degree as to render an attack possible. For this purpose, great 
accuracy (in order that as few .shells as possible may be thrown away), 
weight and velocity of shell, and a powerful bursting charge are 
necessary. The proposed 24-pr. would far exceed what the 16-pr. can 
do. The greater energy and penetration (resulting from increased 
weight and velocity), and larger capacity for a bursting charge, would 
probably render one 24-pr., such as we speak of, worth more than two 
16-prs. The common shells of the 9-pr. and 16-pr. appear to be of 
little use against a tolerably well constructed parapet. 
What can we do to improve our common shells ? Beyond increasing 
weight and velocity, it appears that much might be done by using 
bursting charges of gun-cotton. That detonators of fulminate of 
mercury can safely be fired, is shown by the very few prematures 
among the water shell fired at Gkehampton. 
Experiment has shown that wet gun-cotton is perfectly safe from 
premature explosion. There remains the dry primer. We want a 
somewhat more inert substance than the service cotton, and one at the 
