The shooting powers of the musket (1842) are stated in the report on Experimental Musketry firing carried on by Captain (now Lieut.-Colonel) McKerlie, Royal Engineers, at Chatham, in 1846, which concludes as follows: “It appears by these experiments, that as a general rule, musketry fire should never be opened beyond 150 yards, and certainly not exceeding 200 yards. At this distance, half the number of shots missed a target 11-ft. 6-in., and at 150 yards a very large proportion also missed. At 75 and 100 yards every shot struck the target, only 2-ft. wide, and had the deviation increased simply as the distance every shot ought to have struck the target 6-ft. wide at 200 yards, instead of this, however, some were observed to pass several yards to the right and left, some to fall 30 yards short, and others to pass as much beyond, and this deviation increased in a still greater degree as the range increased. It is only then under peculiar circumstances, such as when it may be desirable to bring a fire on Field Artillery when there are no other means of replying to it, that it ought ever to be thought of using the musket at such distances as 400 yards.” In fact, it has been stated that the probability of hitting one man with a musket ball at 500 yards would be as one farthing to the National Debt! On a recent occasion, at the Cape, 80,000 rounds were fired to kill 25 men!! To put a man “_hors de combat_” requires his weight in lead, and six times his weight in iron!!! ~Price.~ ~Fastened by bands.~ ~Bands unsightly!!~ ~Supposed profit of large bore.~ Our musket cost £3, the French and Belgian £1 8s. 6¹⁄₂d. In foreign arms the barrel is fastened to the stock by bands, binding the two together, and thus adding greatly to their strength. This mode, although acknowledged to be infinitely superior for military purposes, by our Inspector of small arms, was condemned as unsightly!! The French musket, although three inches longer, is beautifully poised, being lightened forward. Our bore being larger was considered an advantage, as their balls could be fired out of our barrels, while our balls could not out of their muskets. It was generally thought that the greater weight of the English ball produced an increased range and momentum, but this was counteracted by the excess of windage. * * * * * ~Various forms of early fire-arms.~ In former days small arms were made of various shapes and devices, and also combined with other weapons of attack and defence. There is in the arsenal at Venice a matchlock containing twenty barrels, ten gun barrels, about 2¹⁄₂ feet long, and ten pistol barrels half that length. The match exploded a gun and pistol barrel together. The Chinese of the present day make use of a species of matchlock revolvers, and also of another matchlock, consisting of several barrels, placed on a common stock, diverging from each other, and fired simultaneously. (Plate 4, fig. 4 and 5.)