In today's Spanish, _pasavolante_ means "fast action," a phrase suggestive of the vicious impetuosity to be expected from such a small but powerful cannon. Sometimes it was termed a _drajon_, the English equivalent of which may be the drake, meaning "dragon"; but perhaps its most popular name in the early days was _cerbatana_, from Cerebus, the fierce three-headed dog of mythology. Strange things happen to words: a _cerbatana_ in modern Spanish is a pea shooter. _Sixteenth century Spanish cannon of the second class_ Spanish name Weight of ball Translation (pounds) Quarto canon 9 to 12 Quarter-cannon. Tercio canon 16 Third-cannon. Medio canon 24 Demicannon. Canon de abatir 32 Siege cannon. Doble canon 48 Double cannon. Canon de bateria 60 Battering cannon. Serpentino Serpentine. Quebrantamuro or lombarda 70 to 90 Wallbreaker or lombard. Basilisco 80 and up Basilisk. The second class of guns were the only ones properly called "cannon" in this early period. They were siege and battering pieces, and in some few respects were similar to the howitzers of later years. A typical Spanish cannon was only about two-thirds as long as a culverin, and the bore walls were thinner. Naturally, the powder charge was also reduced (half the ball's weight for a common cannon, while a culverin took double that amount). The Germans made their light cannon 18 calibers long. Most Spanish siege and battering guns had this same proportion, for a shorter gun would not burn all the powder efficiently, "which," said Collado, "is a most grievous fault." However, small cannon of 18-caliber length were too short; the muzzle blast tended to destroy the embrasure of the parapet. For this reason, Spanish demicannon were as long as 24 calibers and the quarter-cannon ran up to 28. The 12-pounder quarter-cannon, incidentally, was "culverined" or reinforced so that it actually served in the field as a demiculverin.