GREENER'S GUNNERY IN 1858.* Snces the gun became the great

weapon of war there never was a time when it was so necessary to perfect it to the uttermost in range, handiness, and durability. Nor the gun alone ; but its

projec_

tile and its projecting force' gunpowder. A land of coal d iron, ours ought to be also the land of the gun par excellence. aWhatever supremacy we obtained with Brown Bess, a weapon not to be derided in British hands as our ancient enemies know, we ought to retain with the improved arm, and if we have lost it, as some think, we ought to regain it as speedily as possible. We boast of being a practical people ; here is a work of the highest practical moment to be accomplished. It is not a speculative question. The most enthusiastic member of the peace party will readily admit that if we must have arms, those arms should be the best made and the most efficient that human skill can pro- duce. Nor are good arms required merely to meet a temporary necessity—the need for them is permanent. We want them to keep our place in the world. The "prodigious activity of foreign governments" in providing efficient armaments may stimulate us to make a similar provision, but if such stimulus were withdrawn, it would still be the duty of a prudent government, charged with the safety of England and her vast interests, to neglect no means of making the armament of her Army and Marine, whatever mtht be the numerical force on shore or afloat, as superior to those of other nations as our means of doing so are superior to

theirs.

Mr. Greener, the author of "Gunnery in 1858," has con- tributed more than his book towards this desirable end—he in- vented "the expansive bullet," or " picket " as the Americans call it. In the preface to his work he reminds us that the present ruler of France is well versed, theoretically and practically, in everything relating to gunnery; and he tells us that our astute ally "is casting cannon the like of which have never been seen, while we are spending thousands in experimenting on cast-iron and foundries "; and that "by the time our officials have dis- covered the best cast iron for heavy guns, the French batteries on sea and land will be bristling with rifted steel cannon of tre- mendous range and endless endurance." Making a slight allow- ance for an exaggeration of language calculated to defeat the good intentions of the author, it must be admitted that these facts—fer facts they remain after the language has been toned down—ought to make our government fully alive to the necessities of our po- sition. It is with the view of contributing some practical in- formation on the subject that Mr. Greener has published this volume.

An enthusiast in the pursuit of his favourite science, Mr. Greener is of opinion that " gunnery is in its infancy." Looking back into its history, he finds there the germs of modern inven- tions—the revolver, the rifle, the chambered-gun, cannon made of hoops and bars, nay, monster guns themselves. Still there has been progress; for percussion caps have displaced flint an steel; Colonel Colt's invention has made the principle of revolving chambers available ; above all the expansive bullet carries us far nearer towards perfection than any other invention in gunnery. Considering what has been accomplished, where strictly scientific principles have been honestly applied, it is no wonder that our author, with the experience of a veteran and the spirit of a youth, looks eagerly forward to greater triumphs. Not that he is carried away by mere novelties. Nothing appeari to commend itself to his mind unless it be founded on solid principle. He distrusts monster guns ; rifles that obtain range at the expense of accuracy, and great wear and tear ; breech-loaders, and other "toys." What he desires is a weapon that will shoot straight to the mark as far the eye can fairly see, with the least expenditure of powder, and the least amount of friction and recoil. The direction in which we should look for improvement is not, he thinks, in fancy bores, and enormous guns, but in the application of the principle of the Enfield rifle to steel guns, and in the manufacture of powder so granulated as to create in ignition the largest amount of propellant force at the muzzle of the gun. On the latter point he says-

" The great principle in a propellant force is so to arrange it that you do not obtain too great a velocity at the first move of the projectile ; as no mass can be forced from a state of rest to a rapid state of motion without commu- nicating to the gun a corresponding motion, which will create a recoil; and the greater the motion the greater the recoil. If the explosive matter merely expands for a brief period, and is burnt out before the shot has reached midway the length of the gun, the velocity there acquired will be reduced, by the condensed column of air in the other half of the barrel, to the v loony it possessed when only one-fourth the length of the whole from the breech consequently, it would be advantageous to cut the gun in two at the middle, as a greater force would be then generated advantageously than by the whole. 'But if you so arrange the granulation of your powder that it shall proceed into motion more gradually, a rapidly increasing force of elastic fluid will continue to be generated, until it reaches its greatest you of velocity, (which it should do just as the ball leaves the muzzle,) liken3 ou obtain with your means the greatest result possible."

Mr. Greener prophecies that in a few years rifled cannon will be Perfectly constructed of cast steel, and projectiles of gun metal.

"It is only on account of the difficulty of experimenting with rifled can" non that they are at all behind rifled muskets in point of perfection. The ardent lover of science is appalled when an experiment costs hundreds of viaini.* Gar theiewpirinn 16851 being a Treatise on Rifles. Cannon. and Sporting Arms ; ..x- Proyements M P.P es of the science of Gunnery, and describing the newest ma- Elder, and Co. Arms. By William Greener, C.E. Published by Smith, pounds. We have not a General Jacob everywhere who can afford to spend a thousand or two in experiments ; but, nevertheless, the lover of science, could he experiment, might attain such extraordinary accuracy of range, as to blow up a smaller magazine than that of Kurrachee at four times the distance ; and that, too, with a more certain effect, though with a projectile heavier than several of Jacob's rifles tied together. Correct direction is certain in proportion to the increase of weight ,• deflection being in the minimum with the heavier weight, from the well-known law of momentum. That astute and energetic sovereign, the Emperor Napoleon, is pursuing experiments with rifled cannon ; with what result there can be little doubt. "It must be by the use of rifled cannon that our artillery will regain the place it has lost. A short time will suffice to make the disparity between our artillery, and small arms as great as when we were content with the six- pounder field-gun and old 'Brown Bess.' Ranges will only be ruled by sight, and objects will be hit eventually with as much ease at 5000 yards as theymow are at 1000. Steel, rifled cannon, and projectiles of gun-metal will assuredly bring about as complete a revolution in artillery as the Green- erian rifle and bullet have effected in small arms."

With rifled cannon he anticipates extraordinary ranges. Thus the range of a six-pounder will be increased from 1500 to 3000 yards ; of a nine-pounder from 1600, to 4000 yards ; of a twelve- pounder from 1700 to 4500 yards ; and so on. Some of these ranges have been actually obtained in experiments with rifled cannon of all sizes from six to forty-eight pounders. It is in this field that the Emperor Napoleon is making such careful experi- ments. But we must refer the reader to Mr. Greener's volume which is a comprehensive but rather undigested dissertation on the whole subject of gunnery, gunmaking, gunpowder; aboun

in information that might have been much better arranged, full of suggestions which appear to us well worthy the attention of those to whom they are addressed—the practical men. We may conclude with some remarks on the manufacture of iron, which may throw some light on railway, and other accidents which an frequently occur to iron-built machines.

"Little doubt exists that guns cast a hundred years ago were more durable than those of more recent formation; it is evident, therefore, that, apart from mere form, some material depreciation must have taken place in the quality of the metal. The use of hot blast-furnaces, better fluxes, and improved chemical knowledge in the reduction of metallic ores, though highly profitable in a commercial point of view, doubling the products of our mines, and enriching their proprietors, has, unfortunately, rendered English cast-iron perfectly unfit for the formation of cannon, if increased range and greater strain by high elevation are to be the order of the day.

"The durability of Russian east-iron is unquestionably greater than that manufactured in England. Sonic cause must exist for this ; and the ques- tion arises, is the ore superior to ours, or does the superiority of Russian iron depend on their method of smelting ? The latter is, we believe, the cause of the superiority of Russian iron ; for experiments show that Russian ore, smelted in an English furnace, yields the same kind of cast-iron as is produced from the ore found in England. The inference, therefore, is plain, that the difference in the process of smelting makes all the difference in the quality of the iron. " Two thousand years ago, the Romans or their dependents smelted iron in the county of Durham, vast accumulations of slag exist there at the present time ; and thousands of tons have been beneficially resmelted by two adjoining iron-works, and a percentage of iron obtained sufficient to prove that the Romans were little indebted to fluxes or hot blasts for the quality of iron they obtained. The Russians cannot boast of these adjuncts any more than the Romans ; the old agents, wood and energy, are alone employed in the smelting of their ores ; and in the absence of scientific aids, though they obtain a much smaller aggregate quantity of metal, yet it is undoubtedly of a much superior quality. With the Romans, also, the yield was meagre, but the quality was good ; now, however, circumstances are reversed, quantity, not quality, being the order of the day.

"The use of coals instead of wood in the process of smelting has intro- duced a mixture which is very prejudicial. Most of the coal, even from our very best mines, contains a large quantity of pyrites, or bisulphuret of iron, which, combining with the cast-iron, injures it to an incalculable extent. "These facts fully explain why our cast-iron guns are not so good now as formerly. Select the most suitable mine in the kingdom, erect a furnace on the most improved principles, employ wood fuel only, avoid fluxes and hot and cold blasts, and be content with the small amount of metal pro- duced, and beyond all doubt the quality will be all that the most sanguine founder or artillerist could wish.

"Thus the inferiority of our cast-iron guns has been accounted for, and a method suggested, which, if efficiently carried out, would effect the desired improvement."

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