ARTILLERY IN COAST DEFENCE. 
311 
The permanent staff do not parade with the details, but on the 
sounding of the assembly would proceed to their stations, light the 
magazine lamps, open stores, and prepare to issue stores. 
The next division of this part of the subject was the storage and 
supply of ammunition. Beyond what has been said above on these 
points, it should be noted that Palliser shot and case shot are stacked 
on the gun floor between or in rear of the guns, shell filled and 
plugged are stored in main and expense shell stores and cartridges in 
zinc cylinders in main and expense magazines ; when the expense 
magazines are damp they are sometimes left empty ; but in view of a 
possible attack (which might at distant stations be the first intimation 
of the declaration of war) the cartridges must be in them, and being 
in air-tight cylinders it is difficult to see how they could take any 
harm. Automatic gas-checks and wedge-wads are usually kept in the 
artillery general stores. Tubes and fuzes are kept in expense shell 
stores, or in cupboards inside the head of the shell lifts. 
Ammunition is arranged in the magazines in batches (called ammuni¬ 
tion groups) according to the age and brand of powder or mark of 
shell. It is most important that this should be properly carried out as 
different batches of cartridges will not give the same muzzle velocity, 
and consequently ranges will differ and the correction of elevation 
would become impossible if batches are used indiscriminately. Batches 
must consequently be distinctly marked with then 1 number so that 
they can be easily distinguished in a dim light. They must also be so 
arranged in the magazines that the guns of a group may all be 
supplied with the same batch for an equal number of rounds. In action 
it would be the duty of the Ammunition Officer to select the batch to 
be issued, usually the largest would be first used, though at peace prac¬ 
tice small batches may require to be used up to prevent accumulations. 
In allotting lifts and stores to the service of groups or special guns, 
the principle kept in view is that the supply to every gun of a group 
should be equally rapid. If it can by any means be avoided a lift 
should not be allotted to guns of different groups or of different 
calibres; this will not be quite so important, however, if temporary 
depots are established, as less risk of confusion and error in taking 
up ammunition to the guns is then likely to occur. 
Recesses for a few cartridges or shell are sometimes provided in the 
parapets; these would be filled in anticipation of an action, but this 
ammunition should not be used except in an emergency, such as the 
break down of a lift, or the sudden necessity for very heavy fire. 
The means of communicating orders, indicating objectives, and find¬ 
ing and communicating ranges, &c., must be the next care. 
For communicating orders no special means are at present provided 
but probably will be shortly; in the mean time orders must be sent by 
word of mouth through speaking tubes or telephones, or where these 
are not available by a combination of trumpet calls and flag signals, a 
code for this is given in the “ Tactical Manual,” but whatever signals 
are adopted they should be clearly understood by all concerned, and 
they should be so arranged that they cannot be mistaken for one 
another. The most important orders to be communicated are those 
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