The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-17 00:00:00

THE NEW AMMUNITION CART.

In July last a committee, consisting of Colonel E.
Wray, C. 8., R.A., president, and Brevet Colonel W. G.
Cameron, C. 8., 4th King's Own ; Brevet Colonel Mil-
ward, C. 8., R A., Superintendent of Royal Laboratory;
Lieutenant-Colonel Reilly, C. 8., R.A. ; and Assistant-
Controller J. Bailey, C. 8., were appointed to consider the
transport of regimental reserve ammunition. In Septem-
ber the committee's proceedings at Aldershot terminated
in their deciding, after some trials over very rough ground,
on their recommending the adoption of a light ammuni-
tion cart for supplying regiments of infantry in action
with their first reserve ammunition of 30 rounds per man,
the second reserve being in waggons in charge of the
artillery, as at present. All the continental armies use
light carts for this purpose, and now, for the first time, we
are preparing to follow their example. The cart proposed
for the British service weighs something over 9 cwt. It
has five wheels with metal naves and ring tires, the axles
being gun axles. The frame of the body is of angle iron.
In shape the cart is something like the closed ones
ordinarily used by bakers, having an opening in
the rear with a tail-board. It carries 16 ammu-
nition boxes, containing each 560 rounds of the Snider
service cartridges—in all 8,960 rounds, weighing, with
the boxes, locwt. lqr. 121 b. The total weight
of load is about one ton, or ten cwt. apiece for the
draught of two horses, which are driven by a man of
the Military Train, artillery fashion, with light
harness. The cart is divided into partitions, into which the
boxes slide, and are kept steady during transport. These
boxes are on a new design, considerably larger than the
present service box, and better adapted for mule trans-
port, the service box having be en found in Abyssinia in-
conveniently short for travelling on pack animals. The
committee in these trials alio disposed, so far as their re-
port is concerned, of the vexed question of pack-saddles,
selecting from a great variety of patterns submitted and
put to practical tests for many weeks in all sorts of
weather and under the roughest conditions, the best
points of each, and embodying them into an article which,
it is hoped, will be found not only the best adapted for
the requirements, but also the cheapest. The com-
mittee rightly consider that an economical saddle is a
great desideratum, bearing in mind to what rough usage
these things are applied in the hands of muleteers and
rascals of all sorts, who never think of cleaning them.
Beautifully finished straps and the perfect leather of
cavalry saddles are likely thus to give way to thongs of
hide and to webbing and canvas. Straw has also been
freely introduced in the packing of the pads. It, however,
by no means follows that this general service saddle re-
quired for commissariat purposes should be rigidly
adhered to in deciding a pattern for mountain parties to
which are attached artillerymen for keeping the materiel
in order. The ammunition cart has been adopted by the
authorities, the pattern sealed, and 40 ordered for manu-
facture.

The Shah of Persia is now in Turkey, on a pil-
grimage to Kerbela. He arrived at Bagdad with a suite
of about 10,000 persons, including several princes and high
official dignitaries. During his stay in the country ho and
his whole suite will be the guests of the Sultan. This is
the first occasion since the conquest of Bagdad that a
Persian Shah has made his appearance on Turkish soil,
and there is some talk at Constantinople of taking the
opportunity for proposing the formation of a confederation
of Mahometan States, which is now regarded as indis-
pensable in view of the great agglomerations of States'on
the Continent, and the threatening attitude of Russia.— -
Eastern Budget.

A BOON FOR LADIES.—Highly as sewing machines are
prized, there is one great fault to which they are addicted—they
make a great noise while doing the work ; a noise so great that
for a worker herself to talk at the same time is out of the ques-
tion. We need not say how trying this must be to a lady. To
be not only prevented from talking, but also froth listening to
the gossip of those around her—the very thought of such a
thing is unendurable. Well, an inventor has come to their
rescue with a SILENT SEWING MACHINE; and as it comprises
all the appliances sold devices for varied work with which all the
best sewing machines are provided, and several in addition, and
exercises them all so NOISELESSLY that the ladies may gossip
even in whispers, and the infant or invalid sleep on in peace, we
expect that most of the old machines will ere long be heard, or
heard of, no more, and that "LA SILENCIEUSE," the Silent
Sewing Machine (at Messrs. POLLACK, SCHMIDT, and Co.'s,
210 A, REGENT-STREET, LONDON, W.), will quietly take their
pand Financial Record," September 7, 1870.