Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1876-06-03
CENTENNIAL JOTTINGS.
The United States and the States---The
Rifle Match---WRr Yessels---A Coal Cut
ting Machine.
THE CENTENNIAL RIFLE MATCH.


their long range contest. We shall have
teams from Ireland, Scotland and Canada,
and this alone will sensibly lessen our
rihemen's chances of retaining the vic
tory which has hitherto fallen to them.
The spirit with which the Irish rihemen
have entered into the work of selecting
their team at this early day shows that
they are determined to take leaf from
our American book, and make the or
ganization and discipline of their team
as much matter of study as the excel
lence of the individual marksmen. They
count some wonderful shots in their
number, and with the mutual help which
comes from working in practice exactly
as in. q match, we may expect the best
results. The Scotch team will organize
trihe later, but they number some very
strong shots, and in their deter mination
to be early in America, to camp at
Creedmoor, and SO adapt their shooting
to our atmospheric conditions, evince
spirit that it will undoubtedly be hard
to overcome. The Canadians are hard
atwork, and have, we understand, in many
instances adopted an American breech
loader in preference to the English muz
zle loading weapons they used in former
contests.
PLATES FOR WAR VESSELS.
War as well as peace is fully repre-
sented at the Centennial Exhibition.
In this letter I shall only touch one
point, and that the plates for war YES
sells. There is good collection of
them here. First, there is fine speci-
men of an armor plate, piece cut from
one twenty-five feet six inches long,
seven feet five inches wide, and eight
inches thick, intended for the English
ship Rupert. The Welding is very fine
but the piece exhibited bears no signs
of having been tested. Near this speci-
men is piece cut from plate sixteen
feet long by five feet six inches wide,
and twentyone and five-eighths inches
thick. This is by far the heaviest plate
exhibited, and on one side the plate has
not been trimmed, so that the many
layers welded together are as distinctly
shown as possible. Near by is piece
of a plate from the "Temeraire. 1t is
sixteen feet one inch long by three feet
six inches wide and eleven inches thick.
1t has been tested by the English gov
eminent with one of their seven-inch
muzzle loading guns, loaded with Pal
User elongated chilled iron shot and q
charge of eighteen and one half pounds Of
powder, at distance of thirty feet from
muzzlet to plate. None of the shots came
near perforatipg the plate, but, as al
the shot holes are adjoining one another
the pressure has produceda slight bulge
in the back of the plate. There are
also shown some very fine plates which
have been tested. First, there is por
ton of nine-inch armor plate, at which
four chilled Palliser elongated shot
were fired, with charges of fourteen
pounds of powder, from q seven-incl
muzzle loading rifed gun at range O.
thirty feet. There is no perforation
but the plate is bulged and cracked q
the back. Then there is an eight-incl
plSte which was tested with an eight
inch smooth-bore gun, throwing sixty
eight pound shot with thirteen pound
of powder distance of thirty feet. TIL
plate was squarely struck by eight o
nine shots, altogether, and yet it is yer,
little more than bruised below the sur
face. There is also exhibited a splendid
looking fourteen-inch plate which ha
not been subjected to the test.
THE UNITED STATES AND THE STATES
Your first glimpse of the Centennia
grounds is that of city still building
The only complete department is th
United States Government Hall. Thi
is the most satisfactory exhibit. If yo1
are fortunate you will fall into tn
hands of Lieutenant Metcalfe, a youn
ordnance officer. When he has told yo
all about the guns and the militar
affairs you will seek out Professor Blak
to tell you the rest. One mourns, as h
sees how complete and instructive thi
government building is, that our State
did not follow out the same principle
Here is a.scientifc panorama, as it were
OF the republic, beginning with the fir
arrows and stone utensils of Arizon
and running down to the mighty orc
nance which bids our defiance to ever
foe. There is scarcely a question thf
can be asked in reference to the Unite
States, as nation, that cannot be OIL
swered here. Its fruits and flowers, il
animals, it's fish, it's topography, it's ayr
cultural resources, its mines, its system
of education, postal service, militar
strength-all are presented, palpable
the eye and touch. How much bette
it would have been to have presente
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jerse,
and the New England and other STATE
IN this form than to have thrown the
exhibits into one general heap and cree
ed buildings which serve no ornament
or useful end. Two of the States, Kal
sas and Colorado, propose to do thi
They have building together and wi
make display of their resources an
attractions. England does this with h,
colonies. You pass through them OF
after the other Canada, Australia, Ne
Zealand, her Indian and West India
possessions, her colonies in African
each colony makes an intelligent di
play, as clear as problem in math
matics, as interesting as poem.
A COAL CUTTING MACHINE.
An exhibit in Machinery Hall. of
very interesting character to the co
mining fraternity, will doubtless attra
all the attention it deserves. 1t is o co
cutting machine. I do not say that SUI
machine does not exist in this cou
try; L only know that in my journeyinI
among the coal regions of the Unite
States 1 have never seen one, nor do
remember ever to have heard of on
The chances are that its introductiC
would bring about an ebullition amor
the miners, for the invention is in eve
sense labor saving machine. To tho
who do not understand or care to puzz