New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-01
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
SPORTING AND MILITARY WEAPONS.

W. Creener Sixth edition. octave PIP 'oS'
Charles Scribners Sons.
When one considers for how many centuries
man has had need of weapons. for purposes vi
offensive and defensive warfare with MS leiio"
creatures for protection from ferocious beasts
and as a means Of obtaining food, II Is perhaps
remarkable that the invention and Improvement
Of firearms has come about so slowly oo"ie 'o''
OF explosive agent was known TO the Hindoos io'e
enough ago to enable them. according 10 SUM
historians, to accomplish herewith the deiea' u
Alexander And Greek fire. certainly. hao oee'
need with terrible effect before the Saracens cao
into Europe with their shooting powder bu' II
was not until after the philosopher hosei 90
con and the German chemist, Berthoiu oon Vs.
had looked into the subject that western n"''''S
made any practical use OF gunpowder' Na""o"
we're used at Rouen as early as loss; ana !e'' III
the time of James l OF England more Una" wv
hundred years later. the largest "ru'ia"N'
and s inch bores. and fired shots Weighing o,'S
fifty or sixty pounds To-day our pisse'' m
guns throw more than ton OF metal at o'e w.
charge The slow Roadway made III ms
tors is even more surprising in view OF the lac'
that several of our best modern methou'' ''"~
loading at the hreech and putting twisted grooves
- ,ho ,rsi5e of the barrel in order to mpart a
rotary motion 10 the projectile were followed at
least Fundamentally. in the most primitive stages
Of gunnery.
The close reader Of Mr. Greeners valuable ana
comprebensive history will probably suspect al
though the author does not directly suggest '"'
theory that the great trouble with ancient IRE
arms was with the apparatus for lSh'lhs ''S
charge The arQuchus. a gun to be carried ao'"'
and used by foot soldiers, had MADE us appe"
ance in Germany somewhere between looo anu
1910 hut 1t is said that as late as 1000 the oo'''
,Ioirt was made that inexperienced warriors
MORO nor able TO fire their pieces more IMAM
about seven or eight times in as many hou
The old .rossbow could be worked so much HUI.
rap!dIy than this and was so much Ilghler' '"o'
I, Could NOT he easily displaced. When the prac-
tice Of carrying slow match on the gum -
such a position that il could he Instantly "p
nliad 70 the fashpan, was introduced, progress
was more rapid The fintiock had nara WORN
,o hold it's own against the matchbox. ana fhuch
harder work to dislodge 1t from pubic 1aVoi'
The change had come. though. long oelo'e wv
American Revolution. The next great "u'
was the invention of percussion caps WIZ"
rerforated nipple at the breech inns caiiie III
1916 although Eliminates were known anu e'"
ployod for pyrotechn!cal displays durins 'ie ''s'
quarter of the eighteenth century fHiAi''' q"
German named Dreyse 0S3Sr ana rreNci''i"i'
named Houiller OS40 proposed to put the iui-
inmate base or tne cdIt4uSV
IN = eenarate receptacle. These inventors poth
made the centre OF the cartridge the repoSi'o''
Of the decorating charge. although Houliier sooi
49, oiai,, IN the "rtu-fre" system also. Inc
.cartre-a fire. nlan predominates to-day however
No, only in military and sporting rifles but also
In shotguns.
Mr. Greener is disposed to credit Americans
with having been the first so to shape 'he p'ie
Of a Gun as to concentrate the shot hs'edu 81
scattering it. He discusses at cohsiuei"O.
length H., various systems In vogue, pu' q"
err,. that he most effective are those whlch
contract the bore within three inches Oh inc
nuzzla II the construction OF the passage NC
PINS further back the benefit is partly iost' iiio
outhor devotes a good deal of attention 10 Iie
numerous patterns Of "hamnieress" gun that
have been invented, and. while having MS prefer
ence among them, is emphatically of the opinion
that q good gun of this type Is very much less
denperous than the best ones having projecting
hammers With the general adoption OF car
,rdpes having metallic shells. the addition OF the
automatic extractor. or ejector. to the mechah-
,eno Of q piece became a necessity. This feature
like the safety triggers and locking devices 'a'e-
~ introduced, receives ample notice IN TINS con-
nection.
tn most sportsmen the word gun sgnrnes
a shotgun only and 1t Is evident tha' MI
Greener had this particular hrearm chiehy III
view, in writing his book. He discusses rlles
olso however both those adapted to the Khiihs
Of game and those with which The armies Oh
the world are equipped. Incidentally. OF course
he discusses the magazine fea are or thess
weapons. Pistols appear TO have originated IN
Pistoia. ITALY, in 1910, and they were employer
with considerable effect In battle by the Germans
IN 1914 The revolving chamber Is very ola
idea. But rotation formerly produced by
the thumb and finger Of the left hand, ana nor
by the cooking mechanism.
Inasmuch as Mr.. Greener is himself manu-
facturer Of guns has made numerous MINOR iii
movements in their form and action, ana mas
rewritten his treatise more than once II is falr
10 assume that by this time he has acquired
thorough acquaintance with his subject II he
never possessed it before. But the completeness
and accuracy of his work were recognized even
when the first edition of THE Gun maze us
ennearance: while its broad scope and its pro-
fuse and picturesque illustration commended II
still further to public favor. Nevertheless TINS
,o,est revision has added distinctly to its eX-
cellence.
BOOKS OF THE WEEK.