The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-02-15 00:00:00

2nitu anti Nan.

The Rodney, 90, sailing ship, is ordered to be navi-
gated round from Ports th to Chatham I)ockyard,
whrre sbe hi to docked and made ready for sea.
The 'Trafalgar, P. 9), in dock at Malian', being
converted into a 90-gun screw steamer, is nearly coin.
pleted, and will he ready to be undocked next month,
when it hi understood she will be attached to the Chan-
nel fleet. . .

u,a
it 1,1 Ntated in Woolwich Arsenal that Mr. Armstrong,
the inventor of the wrought iron rifle ca ,
entered into • contract with tier Majesty's Goveninient,
ant that a COll ,1.1,1,1.1 e number of the guns are to be
forthwith supplied for the we of the Artillery.
her Majesty's ',team transport Urgent, C ikr
John W. D. M'Resiald (with troops on board), steamed
out of Portsmouth harbour on Wednesday at noon, and
anchored at Spithead. It wan blowing a gale at the
tone from S.W. She was to procet•il to her destination
(Malta) as sthm as the weather moderates.
NAvat, PeNnioNn. —The total her of warrant
officers, seamen, tool marines in receipt of pensions for
long services and injuries it 12,a47, and the grand
total amount of their pens. is £232,537 a year.
3,525 seamen receive pensions for length of service, and
3,41il for grievous wounds and hurts.
Ngw BeLi.M4.--t In Thursday last some experiments
took place near the field-works of the Royal Engineers
at Chatham, for the purpose of testing Wllle new des-
criptions of missiles which have been invented by Cap-
tain J. Norton, an officer who has already made 11011111
valuable inventions in connection with the rifle. The
afternoon MRS exceedingly wet and unfavourable for
carrying on the operations, but notwithstanding this
drawback a number of officers of the Royal Engineers
were present. The experiments first made were with a
new description of ridesbell, called, by Captain Norton,
the liquid-fire ride shell. The object of this new missile
is to *et on fire the sails, rigging, and even the hull of
any vessel against which the shell ix thrown, and cer•
!sillily the results of the experiments on Thuniday proved
that the shell in question is one of the must extraordinary
projectiles ever introduced into the art of warfare. The
cliii is about three or four times the size of an ordinary
conical rifle bullet, but is hollow, the interior being
filled with a glass in which is contained the " liquid
Ilm." This clipoical substance mm prepared from •
iwcret in the porowasion of Captain Norton, but the chief
ingredients are phosphorus dissolved in hi-sulphite of
carbon, and hermetically sealed. I 11111 l cdiatelly on this
shell striking any ignitable matter the glass is broken,
and no powerful is the liquid that it al it instanta-
neously sets the object in a blaze. During the experi-
ments on Thursday r‘ftvnimin a number of large sacks
were suspended on poles, to represent the sails of • ship,
and these were soon Kinked through with rain, so as to
become completely saturated. Captain Norton then
took a heavy three•grooved rifle, which lie loaded with
one of his shells, and fired at the canvass. Notwith-
standing that the sacking was very wet the effect was
exceedingly eurprising, the liquid spreading through the
CAIIVAS, which in a short time began to smoulder,
and after another interval burst forth into flame,
entirely consuming the w hole. Ilal the sacking leen
dry the effect would have been instantaneous. Captain
Natoli can undertake, with the mune doseription of

shells, but of larger size, to set fire to any linemf-battle
Idiip in the navy. The next experiments undertaken
were with a new description f rifle-ain't. which ham
been named the " firinster." TWA Millen, which eau
be fired by Captain Norton at a diNtllllCe of 110 1111111
1.800 yards, is intended for blowing up ammunition
wagons, bags of gunpowder, or setting fire to the camp
uf an enemy. The bullet, which in shape and size re-
'wield.' the Enfield rifle-bath, lifts a chemical mutnitanee
attached to its base, which becomes ignited the instant
it is tired, remaining burning long enough to do the
execution for whiih it is intended. A bag, containing
Iwo pounds' weight of gunpowder, mixed with a great
~ustitity of sawdust, wait upon the gruunil, the
powder being *ion wetted through by the rain. One of
the " iu.imiter" chute was fired at the mass by Cala of
( 'amain Nortolll'olgi•Asaitter seamless cartridge, but owing
to the powder being lei wet no immediate result fol-
io. eil, ILK tic gUlli.UWder was so mixed up with the
itawdii4. After a short time, however, the powder was
ignited and blown U. Captain Norton afterwards °alai-
bited POllle of 1114 "frictional igniters." which are a
kind of hand grenade. and can be made to explode when
thrown from ft glade in the taco of assailants. The
engineer ollicvrs pre•ent expressed themselves in satis-
factory terms at the result of thu experiments made
with Captain Norton's inventions.