Origin of the Cannon.

The shotgun and rifle, the familiar weapons of the sportsman and the foot-soldier, are not the ancestors of the cannon, as might be surmised. On the contrary, the cannon was the predecessor of the musket and its successors. The rifle, however, antedated the rifled cannon, the type of modern artillery. We do not know when cannon first appeared, but it may have been soon after the discovery of gunpowder

Three-inch Field Gun Under Test at Fort Riley, Kansas.

In the trials conducted by the Board of Ordnance and Fortification of the United States Army. This gun and carriage, complete, weighs 2,020 pounds. Charge, 18.5 ounces of smokeless powder. Weight of projectile, 15 pounds. Muzzle velocity, 1,800-foot seconds. Courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

The earliest cannon of which we have any knowledge were clumsy contrivances, at first wider at the mouth than at the chamber, and made of wood, and later of iron bars hooped together with iron rings, a system of the same type as that now in use in the wire-wound cannon. They at first seem to have fired balls of stone, iron balls coming later. A doubtful statement exists to the effect that cannon were used at the siege of Belgrade in 1073, and it is said that Edward III used them against the Scotch in 1327. Other dates of their use are 1338 and 1346, in which latter year Edward III employed them against the French at Crecy. For this we have the authority of Froissart. They were known under the varied names of bombards, serpentines, etc. Twelve cannon cast by Louis VII were named after the twelve peers of France, and Charles V gave twelve others the names of the twelve apostles. Other titles came later into general use, the royal or carthorne, carrying 48 pounds; the culv in ax, 18 pounds; the demi-culverin, 9 pounds; the basilisk, 48; the siren.

THREE INCH NAVAL LANDING GUN, CARRIAGE AND Limber.

Weight of gun and mechanism, 675 pounds. Length of gun, 74.35 inches (25 calibers). Weight of projectile, 13 pounds. Travel of projectile in bore, 62.9 inches (20.97 calibers). Weight of charge, 18 ounces of smokeless powder. Muzzle velocity, 1,650-foot seconds Muzzle energy, 246-foot tons. Weight of gun, carriage, Umber, drag ropes, tools, etc., and 60 rounds of ammunition, complete, 3,420 pounds. The carriage and limber have each two removable interchangeable ammunition boxes for 12 rounds each, with a box for 12 rounds below the axle of the limber.

Courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

60, etc. In still later times cannon became known by the weight and the balls they carried, 6-pounders, 12-pounders, etc. But they are now usually called after the size of their bores, as 6-inch, 8-inch, or 12-inch cannon. The oldest example still in existence is "Mons Meg," preserved at Edinburgh Castle. This is one of the iron-bar type, hooped by iron rings. It is supposed to have been used by James II of Scotland, at the siege of Threave Castle in 1455.

Louis VI used bombards of great length and power against the Flemish in 1477, while as early as 1401 bronze cannon had been cast in several cities of West Prussia. Iron cannon were not cast until near the end of that century. Coming down to the seventeenth century, we are told of the great Bijapur cast-iron gun, the "Lord of the Plain," cast by the Mogul emperor Auremgzebe or by his foes the Mahrattas. This huge gun was 14 feet long, 28 inches bore, and fired a ball of 1,600 pounds weight. Smooth-bore cannon and mortars of cast-iron and bronze are still retained in some fortresses, though rifled cannon are the only type now made. As late as 1864 smoothbore 100- and 150-pounder wrought-iron guns were made for the British navy and

Twenty-eight Ton Austrian Siege Howitzer which Fires a Thousand-pound Projectile.

The Germans borrowed a large number of these great siege pieces from the Austrians and used them in the reduction of the Belgian defenses. Huge shells filled with high explosives from these mammoth guns rapidly destroyed the most modern and powerful fortifications known at the beginning of the great war. It is known that against such weapons of offense no fortifications can last and that the employment of such weapons has forced both armies to depend on their trenches as their main defense.

Conquering the Alps..

Immense labor and great ingenuity were required to haul the monster Italian guns up the steep mountain sides to their positions.

The Most Formidable of the French Army's Trench Artillery.

80-m.m. mountain gun loaded with air-mine weighing 130 pounds. These mines can be thrown for a considerable distance and create havoc in the enemy's trenches if the aim is true.

The Bennett-Mekcier Machine Gun.

This new automatic machine gun has been adopted by the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps. It is handled by two men, one to aim and fire it, the other to feed the cartridges which are held in brass clips of 30 each. The complete gun weighs only about 35 pounds, fires 400 shots per minute, using regular 30-caliber Springfield rifle cartridges, with a maximum range of 3 miles and an effective range of about 2,000 yards. The weapon is air cooled and can be fired steadily for about 10 minutes without undue heating.

a few bronze rifled guns were made in 1870 for service in India, but all such guns are now obsolete.

The development of the rifle from the old smooth-bore musket, by cutting grooves or channels in the form of a screw in the interior surface, was found so advantageous in increase of precision of aim and length of range, that the rifling of cannon in time followed and is now universally used. Breech loading has also replaced muzzle loading, another vast advantage in the use of artillery. A form of breech-loading cannon was introduced in the sixteenth century, but the advantageous use of this device is of late invention. An important result of these changes is the use of elongated instead of round balls, this permitting of the employment of much heavier projectiles for the same width of bore.

Three-inch held Gun, Long Recoil Carrage and Limber.

Weight of gun, carriage and limber complete, including 36 rounds of ammunition, 4,200 pounds; ground clearance, 22.5 inches. Seats are provided on axle of carriage for two gunners in transportation, one of whom operates the road brake. [Courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.