All the same, a matter of 300 tons per square inch, which is the pressure liable to be exerted by the detonation of an average charge contained within the high-explosive shell, can only be explained as "splitting"; and when our genial gunner-friends further assure us that 7000 metres or 21,000 feet per second is the velocity resulting from the detonation of "Trotyl," "staggering" is perhaps the most fitting epithet, and an American "Gee whiz" the only coherent sign of comprehension of which we are capable at the moment. For supposing a "premature" did chance to occur; well...! Mercifully enough perhaps for them and for their peace of mind, these intrepid individuals the gunners have little or no time, as a rule, to reflect upon the naked meaning of these figures and their attendant possibilities; for as Kipling has sung-- "The moril of this story, it is plainly to be seen, You 'avn't got no families when serving of the Queen-- You 'avn't got no brothers, fathers, sisters, wives or sons-- If you want to win your battles take an' work your bloomin' guns." The success emanating from the working of our "bloomin' guns" has been, it may be fairly argued, in no small measure due to the excellent qualities of the high-explosive shell, and some interesting figures in this respect may be usefully quoted from the _Daily Mail_ of May 16th, 1919: "Remarkable comparative tests," runs the briefly worded paragraph in question, "have been carried out by British gunnery experts with the high-explosive shells used by both sides in the war. The shells from captured and Allied dumps were fired from the guns for which they were made at specially prepared targets. The official record of 'duds' (shells which failed to explode) was-- United States 50 per cent. German (1918) 38 " " French 32 " " Italian 25 " " Austrian 25 " " British 8 " " " The remarkable results obtained from the British standpoint as compared with that of other and competing nationalities confirm once again the service rendered by our modest little friend the shell "gauge"; and without in any way disparaging the imperturbable _sang froid_ of our gunners, or the indomitable courage and the unquenchable _flair_ of our splendid infantry, it is no exaggeration to say that the superlative degree in the art of shell manufacture attained by British exponents has been largely instrumental in enabling us to fulfil the pledge that "however long the war might be, however great the strain upon our resources, this country intended to stand by her gallant Ally, France, until she redeemed her oppressed children from the degradation of a foreign yoke" (Mr. Lloyd George, October, 1917). CHAPTER VII THE CREWE TRACTOR "We often discover what will do by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery." SMILES.