This beautiful rifle though 2¹⁄₂lbs. less than the old musket, is fully as strong, and as capable of rough usage. Weight, including bayonet, 9lbs. 3 ozs., bore, ·577, length of barrel, 3 feet 3-in., weight of barrel, 4lbs. 6 ozs., three grooves with spiral of one turn in 6 feet 6-in.; the barrel to be fastened to the stock by bands. The bayonet to be fixed by means of a locking ring. The lock to have a swivel. The bullet was of a pattern suggested by Mr. Pritchett. (Plate 20, fig. 9.) ~Attempts to improve the bullet.~ ~Description of Pritchett.~ Lord Hardinge, desirous to improve the projectile, and if possible to get rid of the cup, having requested the leading gun makers to lay any suggestions before the small arms committee, none were submitted but one by Mr. Wilkinson, which was not a compound. It was solid with two deep cannelures, but it lost its accuracy when made up into a cartridge, and made very wild practice beyond 300 yards. (Plate 20, fig. 10.) Subsequently a bullet was proposed by Mr. Pritchett, being cylindro-conoidal in form, with a small hollow at the base, which was made more to throw the centre of gravity forward than to obtain expansion thereby. This bullet weighed 520 grains, or 24 guage, and excellent practice was made with it at Enfield, from 100, to 800 yards, and it was accordingly introduced into the service, to the suppression of the Minié, with iron cup; and for which Mr. Pritchett, received £1,000. ~Lancaster smooth _bore_ rifles.~ Shortly after the establishment of the School of Musketry, in June, 1853, twenty Enfield rifles were sent down for trial in competition with the Minié, and also with “Lancaster’s smooth bore eliptical rifle, with increasing spiral and freed at the breech,” when the Enfield was found to be superior to both. It is stated that Mr. Lancaster’s invention is intended to overcome the inconvenience attendant on the wearing out the rifle ridges, by the ramrod, &c.; these rifles are also easily cleaned, the difference in width between the major and minor axis of the ellipse was, ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an inch. ~Engineer Carbine.~ Carbines on this principle are now carried by the Royal Engineers, and shoot well, and by some persons are thought to be superior to the Enfield, 1853; they fire the same ammunition, and there is no question but that their firing is much more accurate from using the improved wooden plug bullet. ~Failure of the Pritchett.~ In May, 1855, the ammunition was found to be in a most unsatisfactory state and unfit to be used, there being bullets of various diameters in many of the packages of the cartridges. The correct size of the Pritchett bullet viz., ·568, was found to produce accurate shooting, at 600 yards, while bullets of a smaller diameter fired very badly. ~Return to iron cup.~ To get out of this difficulty, Colonel Hay recommended the application of the iron cup to the bullet, which was approved, when more uniform expansion resulted and greater accuracy.