The wonders of modern mechanismA résumé of recent progress in mechanical, physical, and engineering science . ar. At that date the muzzle-loadino; rifle, wath RECENT PROGRESS IN GUNS AND ARMOR. 103 the percussion cap, was the principal weapon of the foot-soldier. With this two shots a minute could be fired, andit was possible to inflict harm within a range of half amile, though it was really difficult to shoot to kill at tlireehundred yards. To-day the troops of the United Statesuse the Krag-Jorgensen magazine rifle, carrying fourcartridges at a loading, and capable of discharging abouttwenty
The wonders of modern mechanismA résumé of recent progress in mechanical, physical, and engineering science . ar. At that date the muzzle-loadino; rifle, wath RECENT PROGRESS IN GUNS AND ARMOR. 103 the percussion cap, was the principal weapon of the foot-soldier. With this two shots a minute could be fired, andit was possible to inflict harm within a range of half amile, though it was really difficult to shoot to kill at tlireehundred yards. To-day the troops of the United Statesuse the Krag-Jorgensen magazine rifle, carrying fourcartridges at a loading, and capable of discharging abouttwenty shots a minute. The bullets are longer, of lesscalibre, and lighter than formerly, but owing to improvedpowder have a much greater range and penetration. Theywill kill at a distance of two miles, which is about as faras a man can comfortably see another without the aid of aglass. They are further dangerous in that the path of thebullet is so nearly a straight line as to sweep all the terri-tory between the firer and the point aimed at, whereaswith old-time guns the bullets mostly passed over the Fig. BIFLING MACHINE FOR GlN-BARRELS. heads of intervening soldiers. The best bullets used aremade with a hard lead core enveloped in a case of sheetsteel that has been plated with nickel-copper. Tliese willpenetrate about five feet of pine wood or a foot of hard 9* 104 WOXDERS OF MODERN MECHANISM. saud. William Sellers ct machine for rifling suchguns is here shown. The Lee rifle, designed by James Paris Lee, of Hart-ford, Connecticut, has been adopted by the United Statesnavy, and is much like the United States army rifle,thous-h usino- a bullet of smaller calibre. The former istwo hundred and ninety-five thousandths of an inch, thelatter two hundred and thirty-six thousandths, which givesa lighter weapon capable of killing at about a mile and ahalf. The charge is thirty-six grains of rifleite—one oftlie most powerful of the new smokeless powders. Thecartridges are put up
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