of the enemy, for the purpose of holding on when
boarding; their prongs are barbed.

Six feet of small chain are to be attached to the ring, and connected
with six fathoms of one and three quarter rope.

TARGETS.

222. In the construction of targets for practice at sea, the chief
object will be to give buoyancy and stability to the screen, with
sufficient development of its surface. To these ends, whiskey or beef
barrels, supporting boards of sufficient length, will afford staging
for the masts, yards, and screen; the heel of the mast passing through
the stage, and having ballast attached to it. The stage should be so
fitted as to be readily put together when wanted, and taken apart for
stowage.

Harbor targets may be anchored, or supported on stakes; but it would
conduce to good practice to stretch a screen of sufficient length to
show, distinctly, four or six ports, with the proper intervals
between. This will the better exhibit the lateral effect of the firing
of each gun, and of the concentration of fire from several guns at
known distances.

PACKING-BOXES.

223. Cartridges for small arms, primers, spur-tubes, percussion-caps,
spare fuzes, false-fires, blue-lights, port-fires, and signal-rockets,
will generally be supplied to vessels in boxes, in which they can be
kept with little liability to injury, until wanted for use. (See Part
I., Page 10, Art. 42.)

These boxes are to be safely kept and returned into store, or
accounted for in the same manner as other articles of Ordnance stores,
by those persons in whose charge they may be placed. They will be held
pecuniarily responsible for their loss.

GUN-SLINGS

224. Must be made of chain of 3/4-inch iron, and tested, to secure
proper strength; the rings are to be of 1-1/4-inch iron. The length of
the slings should exceed by one foot that of the longest gun on board.
The two parts should be parcelled and marled together for a space of
two feet before and one foot behind the trunnions of the longest gun,
and a piece of three-inch rope spliced around both parts in the wake
of the parcelling, long enough to take four or five turns round the
chase of the largest gun.

TRUNNION-SIGHT FOR MORTARS AND PIVOT-GUNS.

225. The trunnion-sight is designed to be used only when the required
elevation passes the limits of the other sights. It is formed of a bar
of mahogany, or other hard wood not liable to warp, of about forty
inches in length, two inches wide,