In taking a battery in hand for repair it should first be stripped of all the stores, the whole of the strapping and fixed leather taken off, and the carriage thoroughly washed. All metalwork requiring repairs should be attended to at once; also canvas and leatherwork. The paint is supplied by the Ordnance Department. CARE OF GUNS. =Paint for Field-guns.=--This quantity will paint 25 guns. It comes in tins marked No. 1 and No. 2, and is furnished by the Ordnance Department. FIRST COAT. Venetian red 1½ pounds Oxford yellow or French yellow ½ pound Graphite 6 ounces Liquid dryer 1 pint Japan gold-size 1 " Turpentine spirits 1 quart To be well ground and strained before using. SECOND COAT. Venetian red 1½ pounds Oxford yellow or French yellow ½ pound Graphite 6 ounces Sugar of lead 2 " Liquid dryer ½ pint Japan gold-size 1 " Varnish (copal outside) 1 quart Turpentine spirits ½ pint To be well ground and strained before using. All grease must be carefully removed from the gun before application. The paint should be allowed at least 48 hours to harden after the first coat before applying the second, and twice that long (96 hours) after the second coat before handling. Guns should ordinarily be painted once a year. It is injurious to the mechanism to frequently dismount it, as the parts are dented by being dropped, screw-threads injured, etc. They should at all times be kept in good order and free from rust and dust, particular attention being paid to the breech mechanism. Animal oil should not be used; fish-oil and cosmoline are best. The use of lard-oil is injurious, and in cold weather forms a stiff wax over all parts. Cotton waste and cosmoline are supplied for this purpose by the Ordnance Department, and the cosmoline should be freely used in the bore, breech, and on breech mechanism. Bright parts are preserved by applying with a brush or cloth a mixture of 1 pound white lead and ¼ pound tallow or lard-oil heated and mixed together. It can easily be removed with a cloth and a little turpentine. =Machine-guns.=--Keep in dry storehouse, covered and well oiled with a mixture of equal parts of sperm-oil and kerosene-oil. Every two or three days they should be wiped off, a rag passed through the barrels, and fresh oil applied. The use of emery cloth or scouring material must be avoided. THE CARE OF AMMUNITION.