The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-03 00:00:00

Artillery Experiments at Portsmouth.

The arrival of some cartridges on board H.M.S.
Excellent at Portsmouth yesterday, which have
been altered and adapted to the Whitworth rears
vent guns at the Portsmouth issuing magazine,
enabled the Special Committee to commence their
third day's experimental firing with the 70 pounder
Whitworth and Armstrong rifled nayal guns. The
day's work was, however, prematurely cut short
soon after noon by the choking of the rear-vent of
the Whitworth gun after having fired its 58th
round; and us it was absolutely necessary to dis-
cover the exact cause the vent had to be unscrewed
and removed from the breech of the gun for exami..
nation by the committee. This operation, an en-
tirely new feature, and ono of no small importance
in relation to guns on board ship, as giving means
of immediate remedy, was successfully carried out,
and the vent, on examination,was found to be simply
fouled, but uninjured in any of its metal parts. The
introduction of this rear-vent in a gun under trial
has been a bold measure on the part of Mr Whit-
worth, for certain difficulties must be expected to be
met in the introduction of any new idea, however
sound such idea may be in reality, and one of these
small difficulties Mr Whitworth met with yesterday
in the fouling of his newly introduced vent-piece.
The temporary choking of the vent, however, can-
not affect the gun's merits, as the fault simply lay
in the form and position of the vent, and the disuse
of a cleansing wire, as used in the other guns, after
each discharge of the gun. The vent lies on a line
with the cartridge, in lieu of being at right angles
as with other guns, and the opening for the fuse lies
inside the breech-ring. By this arrangement Mr
Whitworth, with the aid of a paper tube leading
from the base to the centre of the cartridge, fires his
column of powder charge in the centre, or rather
just aft of the centre, and thus burns the whole of
his powder, and with no damage to his gun, as
would be with the ordinary vent, but at the same time
the greater amount of the force created is expended
in the rear of the chamber and on the inner face
of the vent. This vent is simply a hollow cone,
with the base next the powder cartridge, and the
fine point of its apex at the fuse end, and the result
of every explosion of a cartridge in the chamber of
the gun deposits a greater or less amount of foul
coating upon the inside of the conical vent, as it
would upon the interior of an ordinary vent, the
amount differing in its nature according to the state
of the atmosphere. Now, up to yesterday's experi-
ence, Mr Whitworth has directed, very wrongly for
his own interest many people think, that his gun
throughout any day's firing should not have the
vent cleared by the wire, as is done with the other
guns, his cartridges requiringno pricking, as with
the ordinary cartridge,or in fact all other cartridges.
To this error of judgment, in not keeping his guns'
vent free by an occasional passing through of the
wire, may be attributed fairly and honestly its
partial disablement of yesterday; but the lesson
will no doubt be of value to Mr Whitworth, as the
remedy apparently lies in his own hands, In
the partial or total disablement of any of the guns,
Armstrong or Whitworth, throughout this trial it
is imperatively necessary that the truth in its strict-
est sense, gathered from the facts as they occur,
should only be given to the public, in order that the
present story of the guns may be rendered as intel-
ligible and incontrovertible in its sense and truth.
fulness as may be possible.

The firing, so far as it was proceeded with yes
terday, was carried out with th© following results

INDEPENDENT FIRING.
Range, 2,600 yards.—Charge of powder, 101 b.
Whitworth gun; 20 rounds fired; time, 14 min. 5 sec.
QUICK FIRING.
Description Number of Time.
of Gun. Rounds. in.
Whitworth (101 b charge)
Armstrong Shunt (101 b charge).. 20
Armstrong Wedge (91b charge).. 20 ....
Whitworth (101 b charge)
Time in this instance taken from the misfire of
the 19th round, when the vent became choked.
The difference in the time of firing their twenty
rounds by the three guns is at present really of no
moment, but it is astonishing to find, by a comps•

At the usual weekly meeting of tlto Executive
Committee, held on Tuesday, a letter Avrte read
from her M, j-si3 'a consul-general at Belgrade,
stating that the Servian Government are intending
to make cxoeiiments in the ceitivntion of cotton,
and have requested him to procure from the asso-
ciation the seed necessary for the purpose, as well
as the information and instructions which its public
cations afford. A previous experiment in the °Us,
trict of ZVidin was not successful, owing to the seed
being sown too late in the season, and from other
causes. A letter was received from the Govern-
ment inspector of cotton for Scinde, dated Kurt-,
rachee, September 24, together with a sample of
cotton grown at Mulleer, in the province of Scinde,
from Egyptian seed, by a gentleman who has been
endeavouring to produce a better description of
cotton in that part of India. As inspector of cotton
for India under the new Cotton Frauds Act, the
writer is anxious to do all that he can to substid
tate a better description of cotton in that province
for the present short stapled, dirty, indigenous
variety grown there. Ire proposes to introduce
better seed, suet as may be best suited to the soil
and climate. In upper Scinde, where the climate is
very dry, and differs from Lower Scinde, where it is
moist, Peruvian seed, it is believed, will do best,
whilst in the latter province Brazilian and Egyptian
are likely to do well. A sample of the Bourbon in.
digenous cotton, grown about 200 miles south of
Bombay, on the seacoast, wes also forwarded, with
ft^ —ement that the plants are of several years'
growth, and nave reached
.a height of 5 or 6 feet,
and during the three years the writer was there no-
thing was ever done in the way of cultivation. A let.
ter was read from Dominica, West Indies, enclosing
various samples of green seed cotton, together with
one of black seed from Tortola. The longseona
tinued drought has been very injurious to the crops,
its prevalence may be considered exceptional, as
dry weather seldom exists for months together
without occasional showers falling to keep vegeta-
tion. Since the commencement of the rain, three
or four months ago, the cotton plants have thriven
wonderfully, and now look luxuriant and beautiful.
The crop is expected to be a very satisfactory one.
Hurricanes are more or less experienced during 3
months in the year. Cotton cultivation is extending
in nearly all our West India colonies, and it is
hoped will prove an incalculable advantage to the
inhabitants. The writer is of opinion that there is
nothing to prevent nearly every sugar estate in
the West Indies cultivating at least a portion of
land with cotton, which would mitigate the dins.
trous results often experienced when sugar does
not pay. The indigenous varieties suit the soil
and climate better than others. A quantity of
the cotton grown by the writer on his own farm
will shortly be consigned to the association:
Consular reports were received from the Foreign-
office on the cultivation of cotton in Paraiba, Rio
Grande do Norte, Guayaquil, Coquimbo, Islay, and
Jaffa, together with despatches from her Majesty's
consuls at Smyrna, Trebizond, and Scutari. In the
province of Paraiba do Norte, Brazil, about 1,390
square acres were planted with cotton in 1863, and
about 1,850 square acres in 1864. Little or no exotic
seed has been used. The produce in the former year
was 4,543 tons, and in the latter it is expected to be
6,000 tons, three. fourths of which is exported to Liver-
pool, and the rest to Havre and Barcelona. The crop
for the season just closing has not realised the expec•
cations formed at the commencement; it is, however,
a very fair one, and shows an increase of nearly 30
per cent upon the former one. The prospects of the
new crop are said to be very favourable, and
promise an increase of 40 per cent. In Rio Grande
do Norte the produce of 1863-4 was 678,0001 b.
of cotton ; and it is estimated that the crop from
July, 1864, to Juno, 1865, will yield 7,200,0001 b.
Rain has been very scarce this season, but the plants
present a flourishing appearance ; they yield two,
three, and even more crops, and the soil is gene•
rally very good. In the Republic of Eucador the
extent of land planted with cotton in 1863 was 600
acres, and 2,000 acres in 1864; the produce in the
former year was 600,000 lb., and in the latter it is
expected to be 2,000,000 lb. of cotton. The want
of population, and the distance of the country from
England, are stated amongst the causes why the
cultivation of cotton has not made greater progress.
The country possesses great tracts of land, adapted
to its growth, there are navigable rivers in every
direction, and the climate, though hot, is
benign. The great drawback is the want of

labour. At the 13'aq of Guayaquil there are
several establishments for ginning, pressing, and
packing the cotton. The report from the province
of Coquimbo (Chili) states that, though the
climate is not unsuitable for cultivating cotton, the
high price of labour and the extreme scarcity of
water aro insuperable hindrances. Her Majesty's
cousul at Islay (Peru) reports that cotton is grown
on a small scale in the valley of Jumbo, some leagues
to the south of Islay, and also that of Camana, many
leagues to the north, but that no reliable details

have yet been received. In the listrict of Jaffa about
5,290 acres were planted with cotton in 1863, and
about 31,700 acres in 1&64. The produce in the
former year was 12,270 cwt., and in the latter it is
expected to be about 73,700 or 85,900 cwt. It is
shipped from Jaffa to England and France. The
crops throughout the country are in a promising
condition, and the general opinion is that they will
yield from 25,000 to 30,000 bales of 4001 b each. It
is calculated that 7d per lb, under ordinary
circumstances, would be remunerative. Should
the general intioduction of exotic seed take
place, there is reason to believe that Jaffa will rank
among the first-class cotton exporting towns, both
as to quantity and quality. 'Though there is still
much prejudice to overcome on the part of growers
to the use of exotic seed, yet several who have been
prevailed upon to make experiments with it are so
delighted with the appearance of the plants now
near maturity that they declare they will hence•
forth use exotic seed only. The consul at Scutari
reports that he is collecting information, which will

be forwarded, that the growth of cotton has been
commenced at Tiranna, and that the Governor.
General will proceed shortly to inspect the district,
and will do all that he can to encourage the culti,
vation throughout the province under his authority.
pna tperho
Ifm,reofiu raenb
di z
theond
rstates s
etthiant
late,
shea teo,ual should
itmh
maAuctdnuesmse
quantity of cotton will be collected in Imes
ritia, Miugrelia, and Guriel. It is said that Imeri-
tia alone will export 10,000 bales, equal to 750 tons
of cotton. A despatch from Smyrna, of the 7th
October, reports that, owing to tho unnsum
ally heavy rains during the previous fortnight
throughout the district the cotton crop has been
much damaged, that in some districts 10 per cent.,
and in others 20 rer cent. must be deducted from
the estimates made at the beginning of September,
and that it the weather continue rainy for other ten
days, it is impossible to say the amount of loss which
will be incurred, as the pods will not have sufficient
time to burst before the cold weather commences.
Copies of the treaty by which Bavaria, Wurtema
burg, and the Grand Duchies of Hesso and Nassau
have acceded to the renewal of the Z)llverein were
received from the Foreigu-offic. A copy of an act
passed by the Government of India relative to the
emigration of native labourers to Queensland, and
declaring it to be lawful, was received from the
Colonial•office, which concluded the business.

• ATTEMPTED INCENDIARISM ON THE YORKSHIRE
WOLDS.—On Sunday evening an attempt was
made to set fire to a staok in the stackyard of Mr Wilber-
force, Hornby, who occupies a farm of between 600 and 700
acres, under Lord Londesborough, in the parish of Nun-
bernholmo, near Pocklington. One of the farm-servants
living in the house, named Harold Robinson, a Lincoln-
shire man, was apprehended on Monday evening by
Superintendent Cordukes, of the Pocklington po'ice force,
on suspicion, which seems well founded—of being the
guilty party, and was taken before tho Rev. F. 0. Morris, a
magistrate of the East Riding, rector of the parish, and by
him remanded till Wednesday, for the purpose of being
further remanded to Saturday, on which day the Pockling-
ton Bench hold their usual monthly meeting, when the case
will be fully investigated.