SHORT NOTES ON PROFESSIONAL SUBJECTS. 
19 
in the land on that side as deep as those on the 
edge of the groove. The driving edge is better 
preserved, but there are gutters in lands between 
5 and 6 fully O’2" in depth; the reticulated appear¬ 
ance and the transverse lines are very strongly 
marked. 
The deep part of the guttering extends about 
20" along the groove, and is perceptible an inch 
or two further. 
After 500 rounds :— 
The driving edge of groove 5 is still tolerably 
good, the loading edge is quite obliterated for a 
distance of IB", the deepest cavity occurs in the 
lands between 4 and 5, and is about 0‘6" in depth. 
The wearing of groves 1, 2, and 3 (present 
bottom), is a little increased, particularly along 
the landing edge, but is still comparatively insig¬ 
nificant. 
The wearing along the loading edge of groove 6 is 
about equivalent to that on groove 2 at the com¬ 
mencement. The scoring of the lands between 6 
and 1 is decided, but of no great amount. 
The conclusion drawn by the 0. S. Committee is that the durability of the guns 
which use heavy charges will be greatly increased by the employment of wads of 
the nature specified. They need not be used when firing shells with time fuzes, as 
shells are only fired with ordinary charges, the effect of which is comparatively 
small. 
There is much less difference than would be expected between the character of 
the markings in a wrought-iron barrel and those in a tempered steel barrel, the 
former however have rather a greater tendency to follow the direction in which the 
iron is piled, that is to run circumferentially; but the reticulated character is common 
to both. In some instances the steel wears at a certain stage into an appearance 
of scales overlapping each other, with the singularity that the overlap is towards 
the muzzle, that is to say, the edge of each so called scale is from the direction of 
the current, not towards it. The whole effect is full of interest to metallurgists, 
and will hereafter, when examples are more numerous, be well worthy of attentive 
study. 
The roughness extends ge¬ 
nerally over the lands and 
edges of the grooves, but is 
scarcely perceptible at the 
bottom of the grooves; it 
does not exceed *02 or *08" 
in depth; except along the 
driving edge of one of the 
grooves, where it is rather 
more decided. 
25. Artillery arrangements made eor the expedition to Egypt in 
1801.* The following extracts from a MS. in the Eoyal Artillery Library, Woolwich, 
will no doubt be interesting at the present time when the Abyssinian expedition is 
in prospect, more especially as correspondents in the daily Press have recommended 
that no Artillery should accompany the expedition on account of the difficulties which 
are likely to be met with. Major-General Lawson’s notes shew that no argument 
of this nature is valid, and that the Abyssinian expedition will not be the first 
instance in which Officers of the Eoyal Artillery have had occasion to exercise their 
ingenuity in overcoming obstacles. 
“ The expedition under the orders of Admiral Lord Keith, and General Sir Ealph 
Abercrombie, proceeded from the island of Malta on the 21st of December, 1800; 
arrived at Marmorice Eay, in Asia Minor, on the New Year’s Day following, and 
* By Brigadier-General Lawson, Commanding the Royal Artillery of the Expedition, 
