| Show frona crom from the union rifled cannon at last most of our readers are aware that for more than a century all the great military powers of the world have made sedulous e efforts fr orts to render the rifle principle available for ordnance hitherto the attempt has been rewarded with avith no valuable results though neither time skill nor not money mone has haa been spared to secure I 1 an object of so niue nine much importance in the great game of war avar in which nation nations are occasion a compelled to engage the e great lancaster gun of sebastopol sevastopol Seba notoriety tori ety which has consumed so much of english skill and english treasure was itself but an abortive scheme for securing the effects of ridle rifle grooves by substituting a new form in the bore of cannon our own country first illustrated the great efficiency of the common rifle as a war weapon it appears to have been also reserved for us to furnish the first practical solution of the applicability of the rifle principle to cannon there is every reason to believe belleve that the problem has at length lenth ien len t th been solved by a citizen of alabama who a few months ago presented for the consideration of the department war a form ot projectiles for rifled canon of his invention ven tion which have since been twice submitted submit teu with good results to the test teat of actual experiment these experiments were made with a rifled twenty four tour conducted b by experienced perien perlen ced and competent officers of the united united states army the results were stich such as to secure the confidence of ehe cho ch war avar department and induce an ar fr for a third and more extended trial of the new arl projectile with a view tos to lis its adoption by tb the it if fin finally ally aily as satisfactory as arit atit these facts are sufficient to justify all that th we have predicated of them but we may state as an additional endorsement that the tho cj il and skilful proprietors of the west point to andry among whom is capt R P parrott i lithot te of the united states arav have purchased one fourth interest in the invention for this country alone at the fifty thousand dollars ai arrangements ran prients have also been instituted for bril i ri this inmei invention faion to the notice of the european Eui powers and s securing curin for the lin in en ea tor corthe the profits of his discovery discover disco vei Y the ile projectile in question is of the elongated form now so much in vogue and by a simple yet ingen ingenious ions combination of cast ard ad wrought non lion secures all the advantages of the mionie ball an increase of range t and accuracy in the j fire of artillery are ti two v 0 of the important results 1 that will inure from this invention and as s artillery is the great art bychich by which the fate af of modern bat battle battie tug s whether on sea or land is mainly decided the importance of such results j may be readily estimated we may i mention as a third anil arid still more Im important t gain the increased efficiency that will be secured forth terr ble bie 8 system stem sheil shell firing especially against ship a system Y that avill long render a dark day in the turkish calendar and which has immortal IP lape tb i ap nia rif f in u wi ie e it si 8 i mid in lusti usei uati e have bro i ht fame to di an amerlan officer or f artia artil ariki icly for tor coaplen co idled wib arb increase mc ease of raap range I 1 and precision in direct shell firing as dis distinguished oin lin aisheh from the vertical fire of li bombs bs from mortars this invention will in such cases enable our artillery officers to dispense wilh with 1 lii lit 10 ord ofalie il dry time taue the b arim anig ol 01 which litchi is of if act nce lly ity ity ily more or iss ass I 1 ss tar tap 1 i and liable to be by s striking the water an incident of constant occurrence in I 1 all naval combats from the fact of this new projectile uniformly striking upon its apex the time fuze may be uba aba nguie nt ute uie by a pt act f fi iz feht I 1 inot i not it bo be ext ex by vider valer illie wiltie it wi wll explode by impact with wilh v it any solid body is as inevitably i evi evl as hs a cap upon the best biest percussion lock it will i ill lil in this way therefore be as easy to lodge and explode a shell in the side of a ship as to strike it with a solid shot while the effects oi of oie ole one shell thus erp crp eded oded may be as uli as a whole broas arcas br cas oas teof the latter splinters usually pil alig the aper apor apont aport tures cres made mado by solid shot however large but the consequence of a shell exploding in the hull bull of a ship would be tha tho tearing and bursting effects of a mi mine ne and aril one or two such taking effect near the waterline water ilae liae might compel the tallest three decker deeker to succumb to a comparatively insignificant adversary properly armed we W taink we are recognize in this improvement improti of rifled cannon ah expedient for promptly and economic economically allf alir brining up our navy to something lidean ilbe an e equal I 1 bl footing with any european marine for to and other obvious reasons we ave hail helY thib this invention as another and valuable addition to the list of peace makers that will i eventually render war too terii teril ble bie and too expensive degive a game to be played at except in in self defence e fl nc e by the most bellicose and wealthy of nations |
