old-fashioned shoulder arm; while a bullet made
only of lead would strip on striking the rifling and pass right through
the barrel of the gun without taking any rotary motion whatever. It
might at first seem that the powder is the only thing to be considered;
but high ballistics can only be obtained when everything else is adapted
to its use.

The projectile, the cartridge case, the fulminating cap, and the gun
have had to be all built up together, and a very large amount of
experimenting has been necessary to determine what would constitute the
best projectile, best cartridge case, best fulminating cap, and what
should be the character of the rifling and the quality and temper of the
steel of the gun barrel.

It has been necessary first to conduct experiments to test the smokeless
powders for velocities and pressures, and then with the powders test
various kinds of projectiles and guns. In order to obtain the high
ballistics which have been secured, it has been found necessary to cover
the bullet with something harder than lead and to rifle the gun in a
special manner.

The French, who were the first to definitely adopt smokeless powder,
were the first also to make a rifle, projectile, cartridge case and
primer suited to its use.

To obtain long range with a small long bullet such as is now used, it
should rotate at a very high speed. It is well known to artillerists
that a projectile of four or more calibers in length has to be rotated
at a much higher speed than one of half that length, in order to keep
the projectile stiff in the air, and to prevent it from ending over in
its flight. To communicate this very high rotary movement to the bullet
in the instant of time during which it is passing through the barrel,
the rifling of the gun has to exert an enormous torsion on the bullet.
Lead, no matter how hardened, is not sufficiently strong, as it will not
only strip and pass straight through the gun without taking any rotary
movement whatever, but under such very high pressures it behaves like
wax, and is thrown from the gun in a distorted mass.

The French cover their bullets with German silver, a substance made of
nickel, zinc and copper; and in order to put as little strain upon the
rifling and projectile as possible, the rifling of the gun is made with
an increasing twist, and has no sharp edges. The French rifle is made
very strong at the breech and is of tempered steel throughout. In this
way the French ha