The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-27 00:00:00

PARIS EXHIBITION.

In Class 37, group 4, is to be seen the won-
derful Ferris Gun, which is at present attract-
ing such attention among military men. The gun
is an invention of George H. Ferris, a gunsmith of
Utica, New York, and patented by him in 18G1.
The gun is a wonderful invention, and a descrip-

tion of it will no doubt be interesting to many of
your readers :—" Mr. Ferris, being a practical gun
maker, has brought his target rifle' to a point of
perfection in range and accuracy not dreamed of
ten years ago, and in the invention of his cannon
has combined the results of many years' experience
and practice. Acting on this and on the opinion
of Mr. Longridge, the English engineer, about the
straining and bursting of metal, Mr. Ferris has
built the barrel of his gun of the best wrought iron
bars, all welded together, the softer at one end, and
growing harder towards the other end ; then coiled
into the form of a watch spring, then hammered
into a flat washer-like ring, the softest iron forming
the inner and the hardest the outer circle of the
same. These rings are passed through rollers and
brought to a uniform thickness and an even sur-
face. They are then laid together around a
mandrell-bar, forged and thoroughly welded
together, with heavy longitudinal and light
vertical hammering, until a solid mass is formed,
which after being bored, chambered, rifled in-
side, and perfectly engine-turned outside with a
true taper from the breech to the muzzle, forms the
core or heart of the barrel. The covering of this
core is formed by a series of heavy steel rings,
mechanically turned, inside and outside, and the
inner surface made to exactly fit the core, the
larger at the breech and the smaller at the muzzle,
the rings being firmly secured in a peculiar manner
to prevent loosening by the concussion of the dis-
charges. The steel rings are lubricated and forced
into their places by a screw and cluth, and they can
be removed by the same means, two or three men
easily working the screw. The breech chest is of
cast iron, and attached by heavy flanges and bolts.
Through the breech chest the screw plunger is
worked by a double screw, and driven in the rear by
a bar wheel, five turns of which by the gunner
will leave the chamber open for the insertion of
the shot and charge, and the like number of
turns drive up and screw the same. The upper end
of the plunger is fitted with detachable steel plates,
•so arranged as to exactly fit the chamber of the
barrel, and being levelled at the end they cut away
all fouling of the chamber, being bolted to a metal
plug, which, firmly entering the base of the chamber,
forms with the shot plates a perfect prevention of

the escape of gas.
" The plug holding these detached plates can be
detached in a moment from the plunger, thus ren-
dering the gun useless in the bands of an enemy.
In the discharge of the gun the heavy breech chest,
with its strong flanges and bolts and the long screw
plunger, must be torn away, before any leakage of
gas or windage can take place, and as the strength
of the breech is fully equal to that of the barrel, in
the Ferris peculiar way, the effect is to allow
the projectile to start easy and increase in velo-
city, while by that same peculiar method of form-
ing the barrel the ball or shell does not leave the
muzzle until it has received the entire force of the
powder. As the Ferris gun is breech loading the
ball or shell is placed in the cannon by the hand,

and is conical in form, surrounded with a lead band,

which is prevented from peeling or flying off by
levelled shots, while all the advantages of thorough
slugging are secured. Around the projectile is a
smooth groove coming up to the surface of the ball
or shell. In the groove are four small transverse

holes, reaching to the centre of the ball, where they
intersect one or more longitudinal holes which the
gas passes through at each discharge, and forces the
cannon against the inner surface of the barrel and
thoroughly cleans and lubricates it, thus obviating
all necessity of washing or swabbing from the
muzzle, enabling the gunners to work the piece at
the casements of a fort or the ports of a ship with-
out movement of the carriage or exposure of the
gunner. The ball is slightly conical, with a fiat
point, which form of ball has been used by Mr.
Ferris in his target rifles for many years. It would

seem that this cannon has combined in its construc-
tion, shape, and discharge all the advantages of the
Armstrong, Whitworth, and Longridge guns, while
the objections to each are avoided."