-------------+--------+----------+--------- |Range in|Elevation.|Figure of RIFLE. | yards.| | Merit. -------------+--------+----------+--------- | | Deg. | Feet. Whitworth } | {| 2·22 | 1·41 Enfield } | 800 {| 2·45 | 5·67 Whitworth }| | { | 1·27 Enfield }| 500 | -- { | 3·30 Whitworth } | | {| 1·33 Enfield } | 500 | -- {| 4·01 -------------+--------+----------+--------- “The last entry in the table records the mean radial distance from a central point of 10 shots fired from a table-rest, by Colonel Hay and Mr. Gunner, the manager of the Enfield factory. Both are first-rate marksmen, yet at 500 yards the Manchester rifle in the hands of the former gives three times as good shooting as the latter can get out of the Government arm. All the other trials were made by firing from a beautifully-constructed machine rest, which placed both weapons on a footing of perfect equality as to the conditions under which they were tested. In addition to the foregoing experiments, there was one for showing that with cylindro-conoidal balls on the expansion principle of those used for the Enfield rifle, very superior shooting could be obtained from Whitworth’s hexagonal bore. This was most satisfactorily established, the mean deviation on the target from the centre of the group of 10 hits being only ·85 of a foot at 500 yards’ range. It will be observed that at 500 yards’ range, at which the practice commenced, the shooting of Whitworth’s rifle was so much better than the other that no greater distance was attempted. A reference to the first table of experiments will also demonstrate that the target made by the former weapon at 1,100 yards is nearly as good as that made by the latter at 500. These are great results to have achieved, and amply justify the forethought of the late Lord Hardinge in securing the services of so eminent a mechanic as Mr. Whitworth for the improvement of the rifle. Until he took the subject in hand the proper principles for guidance in the construction of the weapon had not been accurately determined. The manufacture was still conducted by rule of thumb, and in a very hap-hazard way on the most important points. The use of grooves and an expansive projectile made it impossible to secure the requisite amount of pitch in the rifling and the indispensable hardness of metal in the bullet for penetration. Moreover, from the small amount of bearing, the wear and tear both in the barrel and in the projectile were enormous, and the length of the latter could not be increased without causing it to capsize in its flight. By the polygonal bore and rapid pitch to which the form of the bullet accurately conforms, Mr. Whitworth has rendered stripping impossible, and, his rifle when fired acting exactly like a male and female screw,