22 !

OF PROJECTILES.

with the enemy and equally distant from them; the num-ber of men in the first rank struck by the case shot from thehowitzer and by that from the gun will be in the ratio of thebases of the two cones, that is less than 3:1; each manstruck by the howitzer, will be touched by more balls thanone : but when the enemy is drawn up in very deep order,the cafe shot from the gun will make more havock, as fromthe greater velocity, it will pierce a whole file; and thegreater the distance, the more will its effects exceed those ot thehowitzer, on account of its greater remaining velocity = V. Tomake the comparison clearer, suppose circumstances the mostadvantageous to the howitzer; viz. that at 170 yards, itstrikes triple the number of men; under this supposition, itsgreatest effects will be to those of the gun as 3 x 138:4642 ::

1:11.

224. Again, if the enemy be drawn up on a rising groundin form of an amphitheatre, and so near that each ball maystrike one man; the effects of the howitzer will be to the8 pr. as 8 : r and to the 4 pr. as 6 : 1: but if three rounds ofcafe shot be put at once into the 8 pr. it will regain its supe-riority, the number of balls being then equal, and the initialvelocity of those projected from the gun, being greater by

(200) than of those projected from the howitzer;

they will range farther and do more execution: the 8 pr.is therefore to be preferred. It was (hewn in the formerpart of this wo:k, that there is no danger of the gun burst-ing, if 3 cafes be fired at the fame time ; and this has beenfully confirmed by experience. On comparing a howitzer6 diameters of the muzzle in length of bore, and a com-mon 4. pr. charged with 1 lb. 10 oz. of powder; the latter,except when the enemy is very near and drawn up on anamphitheatre of hills, will be more destructive than theformer. If the length of the howitzer be curtailed, the dif-ference Will be still greater.

225. In constructing howitzers, that from the great sizeof the chambers may project (hells with a greater initial ve-locity and from the increased diameter contain larger shells,the preceding reflections should be had in view : the car-riage and the wheels, for instance, should be made strongenough to resist the greatest efforts of a large quantity ofpowder. But when the (hell is projected with twice theinitial velocity supposed in the course of this comparison,the howitzer will yet be inferior to the 8 pr. '

226. There