The Express.
London, England, 1851-06-14 00:00:00

ject, formerly but little dreamt of. These re-
searches were greatly facilitated by a happy
idea of M. Delvigne. Before his time the
bullet was forced in by a mallet, but as
far back as 1828 he showed how the rifle
could be loaded with ease, and yet that the ball
should, on its expulsion, hold firmly to the barrel.
This consisted simply in giving a chamber to his
carbine, by contracting that part of the barrel; the
powder was placed in this chamber; a ball having
I hardly any windage was then put in, and two or
three blows from a ramrod flattened it sufficiently to
cause it to take the form of the grooves, into which it
penetrated when fired. This chamber, however,
being found to be attended with much inconvenience,
a great number of experiments were tarried on,
to endeavour to obviate it, when a simple idea
of Colonel Thouvenin, of the French Artillery,
overcame all difficulties. This was to fix at
the bottom of the bore an iron shank, the argis of
I which was the same as that of the bore, and around
which shank was placed the powder: the shank
stopping the bullet, allowed it to be struck in such
manner as to cause the lead to penetrate into the
grooves. Colonel Thouvenin carried on a series of
experiments with this carbine, in concert with two
officers who took part in the important improve-
ments which occurred afterwards ; these were M.
Tersisistr, Captain of Artillery and Professor
at the Rifle School of Vincennes, and M.
Minie, Captain of 'the Chasseurs d'Orkans,
likewise an instructor in the school. Having
brought the rifle to this state of perfection,
these officers endeavoured to adapt to it the balls of
conical shape, which, although by no means a novel
idea, had, nevertheless, never been brought to any de-
cided success. This new field of research appeared
to have no limit, for as no one clement in a rifle can
be altered without a series of experiments to deter-
mine its effect upon the other elements, it would be
supposed that much time would have been spent be-
fore obtaining a successful result. However, thanks
to the experiense acquired by many yeais of
reflection and study, and thanks to the
knowledge acquired by M. Minifi of the
former researches of M. Delvigne, they soon
perfected a rifle with a shank firing a ball of
a new form to great advantage. In 1838, M. Lo
Capitaine Blois had proposed the important modifi-
cation of a hollow at the base of the ball in order to
throw the centre of gravity more forward. deflect-
ing upon this, M. 'fainisier thought he could obtain a
similar result by hollowing circular grooves ut tho
base of the cylinder. These notches he found op-
posed surfaces perpendicular to the direction of the
trajectory to the resistance of the air, by which
means the bullet is forced back to the desired
direction every time it endeavours to deviate, in tho
same manner as a top when spinning. The chief
principle involved in this system is to acquire the
desired force and to conquer the resistance of the .
air by increasing the weight of the projectile and
diminishing the charge. To show the power of
these weapons, M. Tumisier had a rifle made with
a calibre of 12 minim., firing a ball having seven
grooves and 48 minim. in length. This idle car-
ried a thousand yards, and the bullet at that dis-
tance had sufficient strength to penetruto into
hard wood a depth of ti centimes. In fact,
se great is their range, that it has been
found necessary to give them a fixed tangent scale,
as in field guns, to obtain the angle of elevation.
In these rifles the position of the pock is rather dis-
pleasing to the sight, being of such great length and
laying over so much ; but this is to obtain a direct
communication with the charge, utility being pre-
ferred to appearance. The series of experiments
carried on with this conical ball, or rather cylindro-
conical, showed that by improvements in the bullet
and a very simple process invented by M. Miele,
the shank could he done away with, and
this suppression has been found to give greater
range and accuracy in tiring. Although much
clamour has been at various times raised against the
government for their inattention to the improvement
of fire-arms, we doubt whether any government has
given fairer trials to every new system, but there is
a great dislike to incerring expense in what may
afterwards prove a failure. Dunng the last month,
however, M. Millie't4 rifles upon trial at NVoolwich,
were found to be so vastly superior to anything
hitherto tried, that thirty thousand were at
once ordered to be constructed at Enfield.
To what may not this small rifle and ball
lead. It is evident that this new principle will
be adopted in course of time for field guns, for other-
wise if small arms are given an increased range of
so great a nature and that guns remain as they are,
gunners will be picked off at their guns one by one,
without being üble to keep the enemy at a distance,
for distances in the late war will be distanced in the
next. Then must the whole train of ammunition
waggons be not only altered but vastly increased;
in fact, the very thought of so much change bewil-
ders one.

Among our English gunmakers who turned their
attention to improvements in the rifle were Mr. Lan-
caster, of London, and Mr. Greener, of Birmingham;
but although they adapted the conical-shaped bullet,
they seemed to have thuught that the shape of the
bullet was immaterial, compared with the improve.
meat in the rifling, hence their failure in obtaining
complete success, Mr. Lancaster using a ball re-
sembling a sugar loaf with an indented ring round
it. Still, the application which they gave to
the subject reflects the greatest credit on them.
Of the Irish makers, Messrs. Truloek and
Rigby keep up the reputation of the Dublin
workmen, Rigby's rifles being equal to anything
which the London makers can furnish, and they
have a better display of weapons. Mr. Trulock also
shows some conical halls, which come nearer to the
French than any we have seen, being sphero-conical
with two indentures at the base. Amongst other
subjects which show the increased attention which
our makers pay to the scientific principles of gunnery
is the number who have applied the principle of
central fire, by which means greater rapidity is
obtained in ignition, for as it .ins in the centre
of the charge, it is sooner diffused throughout, and
the bullet consequently obtains a greater quantity of
initial velocity at the moment of impulsion. Mr.
Osborne, of Birmingham, exhibits a pretty weapon
of this description. There arc also many exhibitor'
of safety-locks, but the best safety-lock is common
prudence. In duck guns, Mr. Greener and Colonel
Hawker have come into competition. The colonel's
principle of waterproof ignition is not equal, how-
ever, to Mr. Greener's : the nipple being preserved
from damp by a head which screws on, and which re-
quires,when used, to be taken off; whilst Mr. Greener
has his right behind thebrooch, thereby preserving the
advantage of the central fire' and both trigger and
nipple being constantly covered with a brass plate
moving on a hinge, which keeps them safe from wet.
His application of a double recoil acting on the
trunnions deserves attention. But for sporting on a
largescale, Mr. Greener gives us several specimens
of his harpoon gun. Since the year 1731 guns have
been occasionally. used for the purpose of shooting
whales, but their construction having been rather
of a dangerous nature, it was not until 1772
that an improved one was introduced with effect.
The Society of Arts took much interest in the ques-
tion, giving rewards to the best whale shots, and
Mr. Greener has now in extensive use, a weapon
throwing a harpoon nine pounds in weight and a
rope of some eighty yards in length; but besides its
application to the whale fishery, it can be used with
effect for casting apparatus to a ship in distiess,
throwing a line three hundred yards in length, to
which, in the night time, a rocket can be attached,
instead of the harpoon.
Although a few revolving guns met our gaze,
amongst vrhichwere some sanguinary-looking blunder-
busses (No. 220), yet we can well spare them, as our
neighbours on the other side of the Atlantic have
sent us a whole inundation of them. Caring little
about the length of range, they are fond of some-
thing with which they can riddle • man's body in. st.
wara
second; and the nature of their t . alsanst .:-,,
always against barbarona tribes Got .. ) ~z,
42 .: - • • .
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