EXPERIENCES AT OEEHAMPTON IN 1891 . 109 
for fire discipline should be increased to about 100. Out of the 50 
now allowed, almost any battery can obtain 30, and the remaining 20 
marks at the disposal of the umpire are not sufficient to adequately 
discriminate between the various shades of excellence to which the 
batteries have been worked up. 
Exception is sometimes taken to the modern system of fire discipline, 
and to the competitive practice as accentuating the objection, that it is 
such a thoroughly iC one-man job,” and that in order to secure success 
at the competition, Battery Commanders rely upon themselves and 
their six qualified layers, whom they exercise upon every possible 
occasion to the exclusion of others. This has certainly been observed 
in many cases this year, and the reserve gun-layers were, in most cases, 
greatly in want of practice. It has been suggested that this might be 
overcome by causing different gun-layers to be used during each series 
of the competition. This would at least ensure 18 carefully-trained 
layers per battery; for, if the result of the competition depended on 
them, Battery Commanders would see that they were properly and 
sufficiently trained. 
The present competition has this great disadvantage, that a battery 
practising on any but the liberal “ A ” scale at Okehampton uses up 
the whole of its ammunition for the competition and often has not 
enough for that, to the total exclusion of elementary and brigade 
practice. 
This will have to be met either by shortening the time during which 
the firing may go on or by limiting the number of rounds to be fired, 
and allowing extra marks to batteries firing the stated number of 
rounds in the. shortest time. 
The advantage of limiting the time and not the ammunition is that 
a very simple method of scoring is obtained, which can be thoroughly 
understood by all the competitors, whereas, with time allowances, there 
is almost always a loophole for an argument and they are not well 
understood by the men. 
ies, Ac. 
16 
