A new era in the science of gunnery may be dated from the commencement of the latter half of the nineteenth century; and long before its close other improvements may be effected which shall eclipse even those of our day. A new elementary principle has been infused into the science. Rifles are now really weapons of the highest order; in truth we may be said to have only recently become acquainted with the principles on which they should be constructed. Little of science had hitherto been applied to them; as military arms they were neglected for centuries, to be ushered into notice at last by the unassisted efforts of private individuals; Government, to whom arms were of the greatest importance, having systematically neglected all improvement, by invariably refusing pecuniary aid, the only grease at all calculated to overcome the friction retarding the wheels of progress. It is an old proverb, that “one extreme begets another,” and when changes are once started, the difficulty is to stop them; the tendency is to rush on from one alteration to another, before we are really well acquainted with what we have so hastily thrown aside. Improvement does not always follow a change; the human race, and the English more especially, have an inordinate desire for “the marvellous;” and multitudes of “wonderful discoveries” and inventions of the utmost value are heralded daily by the ever eager press, often to be as hastily forgotten, or discovered, even by their promulgators, to be myths. Improvement, to be at all beneficial, must bring with it all the elements of improvement; and to render it easy of attainment, none of its essential points should be costly. In gunnery more especially, it is essential to avoid all unnecessary friction, excess of recoil, and waste of gunpowder; whilst, at the same time, transport of the gun must not be cumbersome, and durability in all its points is essential. How few study the subject in all its bearings! How rapidly conclusions are jumped at! Even in getting range, if it is to be purchased at the cost of other essential principles, it is not economy to sacrifice several even moderately valuable principles for the sake of range alone. The experience of the present age has shown that all our important discoveries have their limits: the locomotive cannot be used with advantage beyond a certain limited speed; steam vessels attempted to be propelled at an unusual velocity have but a very brief endurance, and rapidly decay. All matter has power only to effect a certain amount of work, and this is endured best at a medium application; showing most clearly that “the race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong.”