ment experimented to find out the effect of increasing the length of barrel of the Springfield rifle, it was found that with a barrel 112 inches long, using 70 grains of powder and regulation bullet, there was scarcely any smoke and very little noise accompanying the explosion, while with a barrel only 5 inches in length there was a cloud of smoke and a deafening noise. These phenomena are natural results of the complete combustion of the charge in the bore. In the near future the common black gunpowder will be entirely superseded as a motive force in guns. It is time that the mechanical mixture known as gunpowder, which was used in battle by the Chinese in the year 1232, and has practically been used in all portable firearms ever since, should be superseded by a chemical mixture, smokeless, noiseless, odorless, stable, without recoil, and a more powerful pusher than gunpowder. The term "pusher" is used advisedly; there is a difference between a blow and a push; we want a pushing propellant for our rifles, not a rending explosive. Using the Springfield rifle and service ammunition, the penetration at ranges of 3,500 yards is about three inches in pine wood; energy corresponding to a penetration of one inch in pine is held to be sufficient to inflict a wound dangerous enough to put a man out of action. For reasons both humane and politic it is better to wound a man in action than to kill him. The time of flight for the Springfield bullet in traversing 3,000 yards is seventeen and three quarter seconds.

An entire chapter could be devoted to the subject of the motion of bullets. In the barrel of the Springfield rifle are three grooves; they are inclined to the axis of the barrel; the twist is uniform from left to right, that is, the groove on the top turns from the left to the right, and makes one turn in 22 inches. The bullet in moving through the barrel thus receives a motion of rotation around its longer axis. When it reaches the muzzle, the points on the surface have an axial motion of 92 feet a second. In

slide upon the rear sight. Of course, the slide had to be moved slightly to the left. For this lateral adjustment of the sight, a knowledge was requisite of the force or velocity and direction of the wind, and of the value of one point on the wind-gauge in overcoming the motion of the bullet, due to drift and the wind, at different ranges. A wind blowing directly from the front (that is, from the direction of the target), is called a twelve o'clock wind; one directly from the left and across the line of fire, a nine o'clock wind, and so on. In 1884, Col. Adelbert R. Buffington, U. S. A., invented a rear sight which has since been used for the Springfield rifle and carbine.

plain language, it spins. A lateral motion of the entire projectile results. Its direction is determined by the rifling. As this latter is from left to right, the bullet deviates to the right of the plane of fire. This deviation is called "drift." At 600 yards, the drift is over 16 inches; at 500

When the sight is adjusted for the necessary elevation, it automatically corrects for drift. As at 200 yards, the drift of the rifle bullet is 3 inches to the right, the Buffington sight causes the soldier to aim nearly point to the left of the objective. At 200 yard range, 1 point of the wind gauge compensates for a wind acting at right angles to the plane of fire with a velocity of about 8 miles an hour for rifle firing, and about 10 miles an hour for carbine firing.

Breech-loading rifles may be divided as follows: 1, single-loaders, like the Springfield; 2, single-loaders and repeaters combined; 3, single-loaders with magazine attached; 4, repeaters with no cut-off to the magazine, like the Winchester and the Austrian Manlicher; 5, experimental repeaters; 6. de-tached magazines, like the James P. Lee gun.

Repeating rifles may be divided into: 1, those

whose magazines are in the butt; 2, those whose magazines are under the barrel; 3, those whose magazines are over the barrel; and 4, those whose magazines are under the breech. With reference to the four sub-divisions, or classes, last named, the Spencer rifle belonged to the first class; no nation now uses a repeater of the first class. The Winchester rifle belongs to the second group. The Bethel-Burton belongs to the third class, but no nation now uses a repeater of this kind. The James P. Lee belongs to the fourth class. All of these rifles are American in their origin and development. The military rifles adopted by European governments are briefly enumerated below, in the alphabetical order of the countries.

Austria. The old type of Austrian bullets belonged to the class of solid expanding projectiles-caliber, 547; length of bullet in calibers, 184; weight of bullet, 450 grains; fired from a barrel having one twist in 62 inches. In these old-pattern rifles, Austria utilized the invention of Col. Thouvenin, consisting of a spindle attached to the breech screw, which fitted into the bullet as the finger into a thimble. This was not to aid in the expansion of the bullet, but to give it an invariable position with reference to the powder, and thus secure uniformity of action. Then came the breech-loading Werndl rifle, weight 904 pounds, having a cartridge weighing 655 grains. No rifle of the Werndl class now exists, so far as known. Its peculiarity consisted in the fact that the breechblock rotated about an axis parallel to the axis of the barrel and below it. About 1877 Austria adopted a new cartridge for the Werndl, and, by the change, passed from one of the lowest to the highest position in Europe in the order of merit of military rifles. In 1885 the great arins factory at Steyr began to work night and day at the manufacture of the Manlicher repeater. The Lee gun, the invention of an American, can be used either as a single-loader or as a repeater. It has a detachable magazine; each magazine holds five cartridges, and when it is desired for use as a repeater, the magazine is placed in a hollow frame beneath the breach. The manipulation of the Lee involves a straight backward and forward motion, so that the gun may be fired again and again without taking it from the shoulder. It is claimed that a full magazine can be substituted for an empty one in two seconds. The balance of the piece is not disturbed each time that the gun is fired, as is the case in the other magazine systems, where the cartridges are carried either in the butt or under the barrel. Both Austria and Austria-Hungary have discarded the Werndl rifle and have adopted the smallcaliber Manlicher, which is an obvious plagiarism upon the old-style Lee. The disadvantage of the Manlicher is that it can not be used as a single-loader. The improved Lee is free from this grave drawback. The Manlicher adopted by Austria in 1885 had a caliber of 433; weight of bullet, 371 grains; twist, one turn in 216 inches; length of bullet, 2:33 times the caliber. In 1889 Austria adopted a more effective explosive and an improved cartridge, and began experimental trials with Herr Schulhoff's improved small-caliber Manlicher, and also with the Fortelka, the Jurmitschek, and the Salvatore

magazine guns. The result was the adoption of the caliber 31 Manlicher and a compound projectile covered with steel. Those covered with copper or nickle proved too expensive. At an immense cost the transformation was effected and the armament of the Austrian infantry completed. Herr Nordenfeldt imported the machinery for the manufacture of these small-arms, and set up a factory at Pesth, Hungary, for the manufacture of the rifles, guaranteeing 400.000 to be delivered in two years. Hungary allotted the land on which the factory was built free of rent, and exempted the property from taxes for fifteeen years. The Fortelka rifle is the invention of a blind man. It is claimed that the rotary velocity of the bullet fired from this rifle is about 1,800 turns in a second. The Kropatschek tubular magazine seven-shot repeater is made in Austria. This rifle has been adopted by Chili and Portugal, and also by the French navy. France is producing arms on her own account, and the adoption of the Kropatschek of Austrian make by that country is singular.

Bavaria. Although Bavaria is a part of the German Empire it is here considered separately because of its separate armament and because it was not until after the seven weeks of war with Austria in 1866 that the Bavarians succumbed to the homogeneous power of Prussia and became imbued with the principle that the strongest power should have the sway and Bavarians put away the local hatred fostered in past times and forgot and forgave everything for the sake of a common fatherland. The success of the French Chassepot in 1870-'71 would have meant, the Bavarians knew, the restoration of the Rhenish confederation and the political impotency of all Germany.

In 1846 the Wahrendorf breech-loader was invented, but it was too slow in action to be long retained. Different systems of breech-loading arms have been tried, accepted, and abandoned in Bavaria since Germany first used them in warfare. It was not until after 1866 that south Germany began to organize according to the Prussian system and to introduce Prussian tactics and regulations. In that year Baden and Wurtemberg had adopted the Dreyse needle-gun and the Prussian drill. The Bavarian infantry then carried a different rifle-the converted Podewills. In 1869 the Bavarian army adopted the Werder rifle, the alleged invention of J. L. Werder, of Nuremberg. This rifle belonged to the class of falling breech-blocks, of which the Peabody, the invention of a Boston man, was the exponent in this country. The caliber of the Werder was 435 inch; length of barrel, 35 inches; twist, one turn in 22 inches; weight of piece, unloaded, 9.75 pounds. The Bavarian rifle factory at Hamburg is reported to be working in feverish haste on a new weapon of reduced caliber. Exact data can not be given, but it is said that it differs from most other guns of its class, as the breech-block is opened and closed by the hammer instead of the lever-guard, giving, it is claimed, greater safety and ease of manipulation, especially when the soldier loads while lying on the ground.

Belgium. The system of alteration of breechloaders adopted in March, 1867, by the Belgian Government was the Albini - Braendlin, and

closely resembled the Springfield system of the United States. In appearance, this rifle is like the Muir-Montstorm; the breech is closed by a block, which turns over on the top of the barrel for loading. The bore was 443 inch when the arm was first adopted (that is, seven decimals smaller than the Martini-Henry), but it was subsequently increased so as to take the 577 Snider cartridge. The Albini-Braendlin was succeeded by the Fosberry rifle, carrying the Berdan brassdrawn cartridge, the same as the Russian. This cartridge is the invention of an American. About fifteen years ago the Belgian volunteers were armed with the Comblain single shot breech-loader of the pattern now in use in Brazil. King Leopold ordered 100,000 Nagant, caliber 31, magazine rifles to be made at the small-arin factory at Liége and at Luttich. The Nagant is similar to the Manlicher, which, in turn, is a modification of our Lee gun. The Brussels military journals give results of recent tests made there with the French Pralon magazine rifle. The energy concealed in a million rifles of the latest improved pattern commands respect. The hatred and the dread and the jealous rivalry of nations is indicated by one significant fact. For news items about the French armament, one has only to read the "Deutsche Heeres Zeitung." For facts and details concerning Prussian ordnance, one refers to the "Revue du Cercle Militaire or the Revue Militaire de l'Etranger." "La Revue Militaire Belge" (Brussels) reports that Germany has obtained specimens of the French Lebel gun, with samples of the cartridges and smokeless powder belonging to it, and has manufactured copies of them. In order to find out what any nation of military importance is doing in the way of armament, it is only necessary to read the journals of a rival nation. The most misleading and absurd, even impossible, statements are being constantly published. Thus the game of menace and bluster goes on. The patriotism and the passions of the masses are adroitly played upon in order to obtain the means to pay for new munitions of war.

Denmark. The question of the adoption of a small-caliber rifle has been settled affirmatively in Europe. The status of peace or the result of war throughout Europe depends upon the rifle used. Denmark was one of the first nations to devote attention to an 8-millimetre, or 31-inch caliber cartridge, using compressed powder and a leaden ball coated with copper. According to the "Vort Forsvar," the initial velocity of the new rifle is 1,700 Danish feet a second, and a rotary velocity of 1,800 turns a second is claimed for this bullet fired from the new Danish rifle, which is a combination of the American Lee magazine, with a small-caliber barrel. It is called the Hebler Lee.

According to a recent number of the semi-official "Berlingske Tidende," the new repeating rifle of Capt. Wadsen and Lieut. Rasmussen is to be introduced in the Danish army. In this rifle the barrel is not fixed to the stock, but is secured by a spring. In firing, the barrel is forced backward, by which motion the bottom plate of the breech is opened, the empty cartridge ejected, and a fresh cartridge put forward into its place, the magazine holding six cartridges. This principle is not original with, or peculiar

to, the inventors named. Thirty years ago, two Americans, named William Gardner and Helm, patented breech-loading guns, each having fixed chambers and movable barrels; the barrel of the Gardner slid forward and backward on ways con nected with the butt stock. The Helm had a fixed chamber closed by a movable barrel. Another peculiar feature of the arm, which Denmark does not appear to have imitated, was the connection of the tumbler with a movable butt plate so arranged that by pressing the piece against the shoulder, in aiming, the hammer was simultaneously cocked. The Danish War Department announces that, by coating the leaden ball with copper and by pressing the powder in the cartridge, a velocity of 150 feet above any mentioned by the Austrian Minister of War has been obtained. The Austrian Manlicher (model of 1885) has an initial velocity of 1,575 feet a second. Assuming the statement of the Danish minister to be correctly reported, the copper bullet has an initial velocity of 1,725 feet. The Danish army of 35,000 men was formerly armed with the Remington rifle. Had Denmark been provided with this rifle in 1864, Prussian success would have been doubtful.

On Oct. 13, 1887, at the West-Side Driving Park, Chicago, at the 200-yards, all-comers, individual rifle competition, the Scandinavian service rifles in the hands of Hjalmer Levi, Lieut. Land, and Sergeants Jorgensen and Heminsen, of the Danish service, failed to demonstrate any claims to superiority over the Springfield. Regarding the weapons merely as single-shot rifles, the Enfield-Martini, the Berdan, and the Jarman were unquestionably of the best, if not the best, large-calibered rifles in military service in Europe. Their power is limited only by the power of the shooter to withstand the effect of recoil and to use a heavy piece. The momentum of the bullet, up to the time of its leaving the muzzle, is equal (neglecting the weight and motion of the gas generated by the gunpowder charge) to that of the gun backward at any instant. Supposing the gun to weigh 150 times as much as the bullet, it will acquire a velocity against the shoulder equal to the one hundred and fiftieth part of that acquired by the bullet. This velocity measures the severity of the recoil, and the heavier the gun and the more powerful the shooter, the more momentum can he afford to impart to his bullet. The limit of power lies in the recoil when ordinary gunpowder is used.

England. The engravings on page 742 illustrate the caliber and lengths of the English small-arm bullets since spherical ones were superseded by elongated projectiles, 31 being the caliber of the new magazine rifle whose adoption for the British service will soon be made public.

England thus hopes to obtain from the rapid change of small-arins armament and projectiles all the advantages claimed for the French Lebel and the German Hebler rifles. The caliber 577 was used with the Snider cartridge: the caliber 310 projectile will be used with the Metford Lee magazine gun.

The American Lee system has been adopted by the committee appointed to select a magazine gun for England. The "Broad Arrow," of Jan. 14, 1888, says: "The conclusion arrived at by the committee is that the Metford system of

present service rifle, carries the oil-bottle and rag in the butt, and weighs, with its magazine, only 9 pounds 3 ounces. The caliber is 303 inch; the bullet, cased with copper, weighs 217 grains; and the charge is 77 grains of compressed powder. The magazine, which is detachable at will, holds eight cartridges, and lies just in front of the trigger-guard and under the action. There is no perceptible recoil; this fact alone, apart from its other good qualities and general handiñess, should commend the new weapon to our soldiers. Six hundred rifles have been issued for the experiment at Aldershot, in which a smokeless compressed powder is to be used." Thus the American invention, the Lee, stolen by Austria, and renamed the Manlicher, and adopted by Austria, Austria - Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, and Mexico, has received the further approval of Great Britain. The Lee rifle was fully tested and reported upon during the autumn of 1872 by the small-armsordnance board, whereof Maj.-Gen. Alfred H. Terry, United States army, was president. France. When the German military authorities first engaged in their hurried and unsatis

FRENCH LEBEL MAGAZINE RIFLE. BOLT ACTION.
UNDER-BARREL, TUBULAR SYSTEM.

factory conversion of the single-loading Mauser into a clumsy under-barrel fixed, tubular, spring-fed, slow-charging magazine arm, France

abandoned the Gras single-loader (model of 1874), and rejected the Chalons, and, in October, 1888, it was given out that the French troops had been re-armed with a very small-bore repeater named after its inventor, Lebel (model of 1886). The exact pattern of the arm was jealously guarded, and an ignorant enthusiasm became wide-spread regarding the properties of the smokeless chemical propellent and hardened lead or steel-coated or ferro-nickel compound projectile used in the soundless Lebel cartridge. The Lebel, it was said, was without recoil, and the new propellent, made by Capt. Vielle, non-fouling, non-heating, stable, and giving a pressure of 34,800 pounds to a 232-grain projectile and initial velocity of 2,020 feet a second. Bismarck is alleged to have said that the best guarantee of peace with France lay in the deliquescent properties of the Lebel powder. The French Minister of War published a sufficient description of the weapon in "Instructions sur l'armement l'infantrie." The Lebel is a bolt-action weapon, a modification of the Kropatschek, in use in the French navy since 1878. The principal modification is in the caliber, which has been reduced from 472 inch to 315 inch. The magazine is parallel with the barrel and below it. The cartridges are placed end on end. A spring, with a button on the end, forces the cartridges toward the rear into a species of spoon, by which the cartridge is raised into the chamber by the action of the sliding breech-block. A detent prevents the next cartridge from finding its way under the spoon. By means of the thumb button, the repeating mechanism can be locked, and the rifle can then be fired as an ordinary breechloader. The locking and percussion mechanism are identical with those of the Gras rifle. The weapon measures over all, with the sword bayonet, 4 feet 3 inches, and weighs 94 pounds with eight cartridges in the magazine. The barrel is externally of five faces, and is rather thicker than usual. It is 2933 inches long. Its interior is rifled by means of four grooves, each ·15 millimetre in depth, and the twist is from right to left. Measured from the bottom of the grooves, the caliber is 3149 of an inch. The rifling has a twist of 1 in 9-449 inches. The bullet, which is of hardened lead or low-grade steel coated

with nickel, is 1.181 inch long, and weighs 231-48 grains. The bayonet has a straight, grooved blade of quadrangular section, and is 20-47 inches long. It can be used as a hand weapon, and is provided with a nickel-plated hilt. At 220 yards, it is said, the bullet can pierce 15 inches of oak, a penetration that would probably enable it to traverse the bodies of three men in succession, and to smash through every bone that it might encounter on the way.

In France there are 8.200 machines engaged in the manufacture of this weapon. France imported from the United States the original plant for making the Lebel. The daily output has been 1,600. Before Nov. 1. 580,000 rifles were made and delivered. No rifle is delivered until 5,000 cartridges are ready for it, and there are 14,000,000,000 cartridges stored in the magazines