554 
MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY PROGRESS. 
point for the instruction of our Mountain Artillery, and I have never 
seen a regular system practised. 
In the last war, the wretched ballistic powers of the Russian 1867 
pattern mountain gun, as we have seen, rendered the co-operation of 
the Mountain Artillery of slight account in many of the operations. 
The 1883 pattern gun is an improvement. It has been described in 
the “ Proceedings,” so it is only necessary to give a few diagrams 
(Plate I.) of the equipments in pack. The pack saddlery would appear 
to be a varied assortment on quite different lines to our own. 
Several novelties in the way of mountain ordnance have been pro¬ 
posed for adoption by various Foreign Powers in the last year, of 
which, perhaps, the following are the most interesting :— 
(I.) The Q.F. 2^-pr. gun, under consideration in Italy for a por¬ 
tion of her Mountain Batteries employed in the defence of 
her Alpine Passes ; and 
(II.) The system of jointed guns with homogeneous A tube, pro¬ 
posed by Colonel Lycoudis for introduction into the Greek 
Mountain Artillery. 
(I.) Preferring the rapid fire at a critical moment of a high velocity 
small shell gun to the low velocity but larger calibre ordinary shell 
gun of the French, the Italian Government are experimenting with 
the 2|-pr. Q.F. gun of Maxim-Nordenfelt Company. 
The gun is an ordinary steel quick-firing gun of 1*65-inch calibre, 
605-inches long, and weighs 195 lbs., constituting one mule load. 
The cradle has to be raised very high above the back of the mule, to 
prevent the muzzle touching the croup of the mule, over which it 
projects, and thus offers a most inconvenient load for turning sharp 
corners, &c. The carriage, of steel and iron forgings, is of the fol¬ 
lowing weights and dimensions :— 
(a.) Trail, with elevating and traversing gear, 176 lbs. (top load). 
(i b .) Cross head . 43 lbs. 
( c .) Break gear . 22 „ > 114 lbs. (top load). 
(d.) Axle . 49 „ ) 
( e .) Wheels .152 « ) on on (wheels, side load). 
(/.) Shield . 56 „ ) S ‘ (shield, top load). 
(a) constitutes one mule load, ( b ), (<?), and ( cl) a second mule load, 
and ( e ) and (/) a third mule load. 
The ammunition is “ fixed.” 
There are three projectiles, ring and shrapnel shell, 2^ lbs. each, and 
case shot, 2| lbs. 
The full charge is 9^ ozs. R.L.G. 4 powder, giving a muzzle velocity 
of 1450 feet. The fuzes employed are the “ Point percussion ” and 
“ Time and percussion.” The limit of effective fire is 3500 yards. 
(II.) Commandant Lycoudis, a Greek military engineer, has devised 
for mule transport three mountain jointed pieces, corresponding in 
ballistic power, respectively, to the 75 mm field gun, the 87 miu field 
howitzer, and 120 mm field mortar of Krupp, requiring each, with the 
exception of the latter, which necessitates an additional mule for 
