THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
69 
the same charge. But to enable the gun to do this the area of the bore 
must be reduced, and consequently the strain will be increased. Will 
the material, of which the gun is composed, bear this strain ? That is 
the whole question. The iron must he of first rate quality ; it is quality, 
not quantity, which we want ; and I have much too great an opinion of the 
engineering skill of this country to make me fear for the result. I have no 
doubt that the iron will be found, and that shortly we shall have our 150 
and 300-pr. rifle guns, with an initial velocity of 1700 feet per second. 
The science of gunnery is but in its infancy, as far as relates to the 
construction of guns, and there is a wide field open in which a lover of his 
profession may gain credit for himself while he advances the interests of that 
arm to which he belongs. 
There are difficulties in the way; we must take account of recoil; effect 
on the carriage; strain on the gun, &c. But these difficulties can be over¬ 
come by science and perseverance; and surely it is worth our while to try 
to effect this. 
Even supposing that it be found impossible to make a rifle gun to bear 
the strain consequent upon throwing an elongated projectile with a high 
velocity, it would by no means be impossible to rifle a round shot or a short 
cylinder of the same weight as a spherical shot and so preserve some of the 
advantages of the rifle system, while attaining a high velocity. It is a great 
mistake to suppose that a rifle projectile is incapable of obtaining great 
velocity. It all depends upon the charge with which it is fired .* 
7. The following Tables shew the velocities, at different ranges, of 
various natures of shot and shell, and great pains have been taken to make 
these Tables perfect. 
The Tables are based upon the following hypothesis :— 
Supposing that the resistance of the air is 
p — A ^1 + ^ fl 3 7ri2 2 ,j* 
the retarding force is 
* While this paper was passing through the press, an initial velocity of 1905 ft. was obtained 
by an elongated shot, of 6*2 lbs. weight, rifled on Mr Whitworth’s principle, and fired, with a charge 
of 2 lbs., from his breech-loading 12-pr. gun. 
f A =a constant=0-0005137 for smooth-bores=0*0003425 for rifles, 
12=half the diameter of the shot, 
ir=3*1415926, 
«=the mean of the observed velocities at two points in the trajectory, 
V -f V' 
2 ’ 
or v = 
