520 THE AMMUNITION SERVICE OF A FORT. 
groups must be arranged round the store in numerical order, and the 
result of much thought and trouble is altogether unsatisfactory, which 
is the more annoying when the remedy is so simple. 
* Of course very small cartridge groups should never form part 
of the equipment ammunition. Whatis wanted is that no groups’ shall 
be issued to the Artillery which are not large enough to give at least 25 
cartridges to each gun fought by one D.R.F. or one group of P.F’s. This 
is my third proposition. ‘The groups of the equipment should not be 
broken into for station or any other practice, but the powder for prac- 
tice should be supplied from cartridge groups marked for change by 
the Inspector of Warlike Stores, a whole group being exchanged at 
one time. ‘The cartridges can of course be broken up and remade to 
suit various calibres used for practice. 
There is a corollary to my first proposition that deserves notice be- 
fore leaving the subject of cartridges, viz :—that the cartridges should 
be considered in determining the number and distribution of range in- 
struments. That it is possible to instance a battery of 10-inch R.M.L. 
and 10-inch B.L. guns provided with only one D.R.F. for the whole, 
is a slight to “the spirit of Artillery,” it will not forgive if occasion 
arises. A lot of powder will make into 200 9-inch R.M.U. cartridges 
or 25 each for 8 guns, and therefore eight is the limit of the number of 
9-inch R.M.L. guns to be fought by one D.R.F., while for 10-inch and 
11-inch R.M.L. the numbers are six and four. 
The grouping of projectiles is simpler than that of cartridges, for 
although the regulations divide them into groups of one nature of one 
mark filled on one date, the date of filling makes no difference in 
shooting and can be disregarded in numbering the groups; the regu- 
lations being sufficiently complied with if the shells of different dates 
of filling ina group are slightly separated and a record of the dates 
kept on the inventory board of the store. 
The ‘Garrison Artillery Drill” says that it is desirable that a store 
should only supply to one gun group. I would go a little further and 
add, it is desirable that the supply to a gun group should be from one 
store. 
I once found in a circular fort the two guns of a group supplied from 
different shell stores. There were separate lifts and the stores were 
near them and next each other, but unfortunately on the magazine 
floor the passage was interrupted between the two. Consequently 
orders for shell had to be sent separately for each gun and the 
personnel required was very large. I therefore made room in one 
of the stores, by forming a third into its reserve, for nearly all the 
shell of the gun group. Of course, if this had affected the speed 
1 There are insurmountable difficulties in the way of carrying out this excellent proposal, if date of 
making up the cartridges is to determine the group ; but it may be remarked that the amendment 
to the Magazine Regulations quoted in note 1 p. 517 is considered to be the closest approximation 
to a solution of this difficulty which is really practicable. Many cases of small groups have been 
closely investigated, the worst that was brought to notice however proved that though the number 
of small groups appeared excessive, yet the actual difference in shooting of the different groups did 
not nearly approach the limits of error of the gun as shown by the 50 per cent. rectangle.—Com- 
municated by D.A.A.G., R.A. 
2 Of course the cartridge group intended here has the uniformity of day and lot. A lot is 10,0C0 
Ibs. Jt is the constant consumption of small quantities that creates the difficulty of supply. 
