Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-06-03
CENTENNIAL JOTTINGS.
THE CENTENNIAL RIFLE MATCH.

Our rihemen received acceptances I,
their invitations which will bring q
least three tirst-class foreign teams b
their long range contest. We shall hav'
teams from Ireland, Scotland and Canada
and this alone will sensibly lessen on
riflemen's chances OF retaining the vic
tory which has hitherto fallen to them
The spirit with which the Irish rifemeI
have entered into the work OF selecting
their team at this early day shows tha
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 theil
number, and with the mutual help which
comes from working in practice exactly
as in a match, We may expect the best
results. The Scotch team will organize
trihe Inter, but they number some very
strong shots, and in their determination
to be early in America, to camp al
Creedmoor, and so adapt their shooting
to our atmospheric conditions, evince a
spirit that it will undoubtedly be hard
to overcome. The Canadians are hard
at work, and have, we understand, in many
instances adopted an American breecll
loader in preference to the English muz
zle loading weapons they used in former
contests.
PLATES FOR WAR VESSELS.
War as we'll as peace is fully repre-
sented at the Centennial Exhibition.
In this letter / 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 flom a plate sixteen
feet long by five feet six inches wide,
and twenty one 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 MS possible. Near by is piece
of 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 n
charge of eighteen and one half pounds of
powder, at n distance of thirty feet frem
muzzle to plate. None of the shots came
near perforating the plate, but, as all
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 shots
were fired, with charges of fourteen
pounds of powder, from a seven-inch
muxzle loading rifled gun at range of
thirty feet. There is no perforation,
but tho plate is bulged and cracked at
the back. Then there is an eight-inch
plate which was tested with an eight
inch smooth-bore gun, throwing sixty
eight pound shot with thirteen pounds
of powder distance of thirty feet. The
plate was squaiely struck by eight or
nine shots, altogether, and yet it is very
little more than bruised below tho sur
face. There is also exhibited splendid
looking fourteen inch plate which has
not been subjected to the test.
THE UNITED STATES AND THE STATES.
Your first glimpse of the Centennial
grounds is that OF city still building.
The only complete department is the
United States Government Hall. This
is the most satisfactory exhibit. If you
arc fortunate you will fall into the
hands of Lieutenant Mctcalfe, a young
ordnance officer. When he has told you
all about the guns and the military
affairs you will seek out Professor Blake
to tell you the rest. One mourns, us lie
sees how complete and instructive this
government building is, that our States
did not follow out the same principle.
Here is a:scientific panorama, as it were,
of the republic, beginning with the flint
arrows and stone utensils Of Arizona
and running down to tho mighty ord
nance which bids our defiance to every
foe. There is scarcely question that
can be asked in reference to the United
States, as a nation, that cannot be an
swered here. Its fruits and flowers, it's
its fish, its topography, its agri-
cultural resources, its mines, its systems
of education, postal service, military
are presented, palpable to
the eye and touch. How much better
it would have been to have presented
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and the New England and other States
in this form than to have thrown their
exhibits into one general heap and erect
ed buildings which serve no ornamental
or useful end. Two of the States, Kan
sas and Colorado, propose to do this.
They have building together and will
make display of their resources and
England does this with her
colonies. You pass through them one
after the other Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, her Indian and West Indian
possessions, her colonies in Africa-and
each colony makes an intelligent dis
play, as clear as q problem in mathe-
mates, as interesting as poem.
A soA1 CUTTING MACHINE.
An exhibit in Machinery Hall, of
very interesting character to the coal
fraternity, will doubtless attract
all the attention it deserves. 1t is coal
cutting machine. do not say that such
n machine does not exist in this coun-
try 1 only know that in my journeyings
among the coal regions of the United
States l have never seen one, nor do l
remember ever to have heard of one.
The chances are that its introduction
would bring about an ebullition among
the miners, for the invention is in every
sense labor saving machine. To those
who do not understand or care to puzzle
out technical terms, 1 can give the best
rough conception of the general action
of this machine by saying that it is like
an ordinary mower or reaper. The
whole machine is necessarily very
dwarfed-on the ground, in fact. Stand
ing out horizontally from the base of the
main body of the machine is lib of
great strength, around which travels an
endless chain, to which cutting knives
are attached at regular distances, and
which, when at work, have saving ac-
tiOn. On being placed in Dosition