TRACT 34.

IN GUNNERY.

311

3. Such then was the state of the first set of experimentswith cannon balls, made in the year 1775 : and such werethe probable advantages to be derived from them. I do nothowever know that any use has hitherto been made of themby authority for the public service ; unless perhaps we areto except the instance of Carronades, a species of ordnancewhich hath since been invented, and in some degree adoptedin the public service; for, in this instance, the proprietorsof those pieces, by availing themselves of the circumstancesof large balls, and very small windage, with small chargesof powder, have been able to produce very considerableand useful effects with those light pieces, at a comparativelysmall expence. Or perhaps those experiments were toomuch limited, and of too private a nature, to merit a moregeneral notice. Be that however as it may, the presentadditional course, which is to make the subject of this tract,will have great advantages over the former, both in pointof extent, variety, improvements in machinery, and in au-thority. His Grace the Duke of Richmond, the master-general of the ordnance, in his indefatigable endeavours forthe good of the public service, was pleased to order thisextensive course of experiments, and to give directions forproviding guns, and machinery, and every thing completeand fitting for the proper execution of them.

4. This course of experiments has been carried on underthe direction of Major Bloomfield, (now General Sir Tho-mas B.) inspector of artillery, an officer of great professionalmerit, and whose ingenious contrivances in the machinerydo him the utmost credit. It has been our employment forseveral successive summers, namely, those of the years1783, 1784, 1785, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1791, &c; and in-deed it might be continued much longer, either by extend-ing it to more objects, or to more repetitions of experimentsfor the same object.

5. The objects of this course have been various. But theprincipal articles of it are as follow :

(1.) The velocities with which balls are projected by