254 A VISIT TO PERSIA. 
Percussion caps and many kinds of stores of obsolete pattern are 
manufactured for the irregular army, while the various natures of guns 
in use with the Field Artillery require many different types of stores. 
Thus for the Uchatius guns built on the Austrian model, friction tubes 
such as are used in Austria are required, while for the guns introduced 
by the Russian officers, a Russian pattern tube is required; the com- 
plication and trouble that this leads to may be well imagined. 
The work done in the Gun Factory appears to be the best carried 
out in the Arsenal. The guns at present under construction are being 
copied from those purchased in Austria, they are made of a com- 
position of bronze resembling Uchatius metal. The machinery used 
for rifling is of a somewhat primative nature. A complete battery of 
six mountain guns, constructed in the Arsenal, on the pattern of the 
Austrian mountain gun were extremely well turned out. The gun 
carriages now being made for Field and Mountain Artillery are of 
wrought iron of the Austrian pattern ; in fact the artillery armament 
may now be taken as altogether on the Austrian model, these patterns 
having been introduced by the Austrian officers who entered the service 
of the Shah after his visit to Vienna in 1878. 
The Arsenal also includes a harness factory, the leather for which is 
tanned and prepared at Hamadan. Here again the harness is copied 
from the Austrian, the Bengal pattern harness once in use being now 
discarded. The harness factory, besides turning out saddlery for the 
artillery and cavalry also devotes itself to the manufacture of harness 
for the Royal equipages and several most gorgeous sets of harness for 
use on State and high ceremonial occasions are exhibited in the 
pattern room with much pride. The patent leather used for this 
harness is of foreign manufacture, having been, like many other articles 
seen in Persia, made in Russia. A complete change of saddlery 
is being now effected throughout the Persian army, the Austrian 
pattern saddle having been recently adopted for all the regular cavalry, 
except the Cossack cavalry, so that the harness factory is at present 
particularly busy. 
In the Arsenal are kept the various natures of material required for 
immediate issue, not only in the matter of ammunition and the more 
important articles such as rifles, bayonets, swords, but also all the 
smaller articles of equipment. All articles are put away neatly, but 
there is such an intermingling of different natures of equipment that 
to make an issue on any large scale would lead to endless confusion. 
The main supply of reserve material and stores is kept in a large 
magazine on the outskirts of the city. The number of guns, rifles and 
articles of equipment kept in store as a reserve far exceeds what one 
would expect to find in Persia, where, in the matter of prudential 
arrangements, but little trouble is taken by the administration. 
Guns, carriages and stores for one field battery complete are kept 
in reserve. The guns for this battery are those of ten centimetres, 
such as are in use with the Austrian Artillery. The ammunition 
wagons are not with the guns, so their existence may be looked on as 
rather doubtful, 
