second, after fire completely opens, turned even to best advantage, is worth but little more than no cover at all; and is worse than no cover at all, if the men (which they are much disposed to do) collect in groups behind it. Skirmishers should offer as small a mark as possible, and should therefore move in single files from six to ten yards apart, except in thick, concealing cover, when two or three may, without exposure, increase mutual confidence. But they should extend again directly good cover ceases. Extensions may be made from the right, left, or centre, but there must be a common centre of direction, connection, and extension, to avoid confusion, dispersion, or concentration. Infantry seem to unnecessarily fear cavalry; why, it is difficult to say. Skirmishers fear them even more. By the looseness of their formation they are, it is true, dangerously exposed to charges from small parties of an enemy's light cavalry; and in districts destitute of continuous fences, but aboundin hollows, isolated patches of wood, or other features convenient for concealment, such attacks may burst forth with confusing suddenness. But a point should be made of impressing upon skirmishers that, in these days, they have nothing to fear from cavalry. They may form small groups, and, standing shoulder to shoulder, avail themselves of hedges, trees, or any other obstacle at hand, and safely hold their own. Supports and reserves are absolute essentials to skirmishers. They are not only of great importance as rallying points in extraordinary cases of misfortune, but are the necessary aids to the ordinary movements of the extended line. Supports are useful for reinforcing and relieving the line of skirmishers, for prolonging its flanks or covering them, for strengthening them at any moment they find their numbers unequal to important work before them, for relieving them when they or their ammunition becomes exhausted, for coming up in close order to rush bridges, streets, villages, or other defiles too strongly occupied to be forced by the skirmishers, and to act against cavalry. Reserves supply the place of supports when necessary.

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The general rules laid down in the now defunct Part VIII. of Infantry Drill were excellent. Skirmishers are employed to reconnoitre the country in their front, feel for the enemy, or clear the way for troops advancing, and protect them from being too closely pressed either in flank, front, or rear, or harassed if obliged to retreat; they conceal the disposition and manoeuvres of their own troops, guard them against surprise, and watch the movements of the enemy. Wherever skirmishers are used they form a screen in front of the troops from which they have been pushed out; their action is covered from the rear, and their movements must be flexible in the highest degree. They will cover a wider or narrower front, diverge from the front or move directly to a flank, as circumstances may require; reinforcement or relief may become necessary, and they must be capable of resisting detachments of the enemy's cavalry. To attain these objects, it is essential that the soldier be trained to use his own powers of mind and body." But it is presumed that when skirmishers are extended the two men of a file, instead of standing and moving one behind the other, as in the Drill-Book, would

be placed side by side, as in extending to single rank at the present day. The advantages of this are obvious. The supports and reserves should also be in extended order.

It is necessary that the duties of the skirmishing line be clearly defined. They are not a fighting line in extended order; they merely feel for the enemy, well ahead of the force covered by them. They may drive in small bodies, but in ordinary circumstances their province is not to attack but to hold in check till the main body has time to make its dispositions. The line of skirmishers may, and often should, be preceded by scouts, but this will not relieve the skirmishers of their individual duty of scouting. A line of direction should always be given and religiously maintained, and not until the enemy is encountered should any serious use be made of cover.

NAVAL NOTES.

HOME.-The following are the principal appointments which have been made : Captains-F. W. Fisher to "Alexandra "; A. M. Field to "Research"; L. C. Stuart, C.M.G., to "Collingwood"; G. A. Giffard to "Charybdis," and as Commodore second-class during Newfoundland fishery season.

The first-class battle-ship "Hood," from the Mediterranean, paid off at Chatham on the 28th ult.; it was reported that she was to take the place of the "Sans Pareil" as port-guard-ship at Sheerness, but it is doubtful if this arrangement will now be carried out. The new first-class cruiser "Argonaut" commissioned at Chatham on the 19th ult, for China, where she relieves the first-class belted cruiser "Undaunted." The third-class cruiser "Comus" paid off on the 17th ult. at Devonport, her officers and crew turning over to the second-class cruiser "Charybdis," which was commissioned by Commodore G. A. Giffard on the following day. The third-class cruiser "Cossack" left Plymouth for the East Indies on the 18th ult. to relieve the third-class cruiser “Melpomene." The sloop "Basilisk" left Plymouth on the 7th ult. for the South-East Coast of America, where she takes the place of a sister-ship, the "Beagle."

Steam Trials. The torpedo-gunboat "Seagull," which is the only ship in the Service fitted with the Niclausse water-tube boiler, has concluded a series of nine trials, each of approximately 1,000 miles. Four of the runs fell short of the required distance owing to the bad weather. At the four early trials the I.H.P. ranged from 1,354 to 1,371, and the speed varied from 13 to 136 knots. The next trial gave a speed of 14:48 knots, with 1,611-I.H.P., but on the following trial, with an additional 20-I.H.P., the speed went up to 146. The next trial was carried out in very bad weather, and had to be abandoned when only 855 miles had been run, but with 1,798-I.H.P. the "Seagull" averaged 15-2 knots. The next run was in such fine weather that the ship was able to complete the thousand miles, and then with 2 additional I.H.P. her speed improved by two points. At the final trial, with 1,947-I.H.P., the speed was 16:07 knots. Throughout the trials only four of the six boilers were in use, and as the engines are capable of 3,000.I.H.P., the actual power at the time of the last trial was, for the number of boilers in use, nineteen-twentieths of the maximum. The maximum coal consumption for the entire series of trials works out at 1.9 lbs. per unit of power per hour for the main engines, and 2 lbs. for all purposes. The Niclausse type of boiler has been shown to possess certain advantages, the chief of which is that any tube can be quickly removed and another substituted, while all the tubes, which are 3 inches in diameter, are straight. When the trials were begun the lanterne, or end of the tube, was screwed on, but now the tube and lanterne form one solid-drawn piece, which materially facilitates the substitution of tubes.

The new torpedo-boat destroyer Petrel," built and engined at Palmer's Shipbuilding Works, Jarrow, has had a satisfactory three hours' coal consumption trial at Portsmouth. With a mean I.H.P. of 6,276 and 29 inches of air pressure, the speed for the three hours was 30054, and the mean of six runs over the measured mile gave a speed of 30.097. The highest speed on the mile was 32.59 knots, with 3789 revolutions. There was an entire absence of vibration. coal consumption worked out at 2·3 lbs. per unit of power per hour.

The

A Decade of Work in the Dockyards.—Although during 1899 only seven vessels were launched from the four Government dockyards, it must be remembered that new production forms but part of the work of such establishments, the Royal yards having to devote considerable attention to the equipment of contract-built vessels, and still more in keeping in first-class efficiency the continuously growing mighty war fleet of the Empire. In connection with contract ships alone, for instance, about a quarter of a million sterling has been spent by the dockyards

'during the year, and in repairs about £700,000 of work has been done, so that here we have practically a million sterling, without reckoning new work at all. This new construction, too, has immensely increased, and battle-ship follows battle-ship from the slips almost with the same rapidity as tramp steamers from the private yards. This will be readily appreciated by reference to the appended table of production during the last decade :

It will be seen that the total this year is slightly less than in some preceding years, being one vessel and 1,855 tons under that of last year; but it is only 2,870 tons below the maximum reached in any preceding year. Such a difference is of little consequence; it may be attributed to the fact that Sheerness does not this year contribute to the total, for although the two war-sloops, "Shearwater" and "Vestal," are practically ready for floating, they will not be launched until early in the year.

The most significant fact in connection with the table is the great increase in the cost per ton, more especially as this is what may be called a battle-ship year, no high-speed cruisers of the first or second class are included. 1894 was a cruiser year, and was remarkable for the high average cost per ton; but even then it was only £67 10s. The explanation, of course, is to be found in the greater cost of battle-ships. Our "Royal Sovereigns" cost £982,500, our “Formidables" £1,072,000, and our newer ships will work out to nearly £1,150,000, and yet all three represent about the same displacement. This is due to the superior metal used for armouring the ships so as to get a greater power of resistance, to the greater proportion of armour in the total weight, and to the higher strength per unit of weight in the machinery, so as to get higher power and greater speed, and it may be taken that the nation is getting more value for its money than heretofore.

It should be at once explained that the above figures include the new Royal · yacht "Victoria and Albert," launched at Pembroke, and now nearing completion.

New Torpedo Depôt.-The Admiralty has decided to form a naval torpedo depôt at Falmouth. All destroyers and torpedo-boats in the Western command which are not in commission for instructional purposes will be stationed there, as will also a small squadron of torpedo-gun boats. Dredging operations to improve the mooring accommodation have been begun, and the dockyard at Mylor is to be used by the torpedo staff. The cruiser "Triumph" will be sent to Falmouth from Devonport as a floating torpedo depôt.

Gun-mounting Trials.-The experimental Vickers mounting for the 12-inch gun for the "Irresistible " battle-ship (of which we gave some details, with plates, in the last number of the JOURNAL), which has been fitted in the "Excellent " gunnery school, Captain W. H. May, has been successfully tried at Portsmouth. The mounting shows some important innovations, chief among which is the addition of apparatus which enables the gun to be loaded at any position of elevation or depression, either with the gun at rest or in motion. This apparatus is very simple, and involves no additional complications in the present Service fittings, and at the same time it very much simplifies the operation of loading. The main advantage secured is that the gun can always be kept sighted on the object aimed at, as it is never necessary to alter the position of the gun either vertically or horizontally for the purpose of loading, as has hitherto been the case. This should prove of great value, as the time occupied in carrying out the vertical or horizontal movement of the gun during loading is saved, and allows, at the most, a few seconds for aiming when rapidity of fire is desired. The operations involved in loading the gun are also materially reduced, as neither elevation nor depression is necessary to bring the gun to a fixed station, nor to take it back again, after loading, to the firing position. It may be said, in fact, that the gun is always in the firing position except only during the brief period of recoil and run-out-at the most not exceeding five or six seconds—and even then as the gun recoils in the line of fire and the sights are not directly on the gun the aiming is practically continuous. No locking bolts or gear for working them are necessary to secure the mountings when loading at a fixed position, intermediate between the ordinary firing position and the maximum angle of elevation, which has hitherto been the usual fixed loading position. Rapidity of fire, combined with accuracy of shooting, is materially increased as compared with the arrangement of mounting not fitted for loading at any or all positions of the gun's movements. Another important feature is the addition of alternative mechanical methods-first, for running the gun out after recoil to the firing position; and, secondly, for elevating the gun either in its recoiled or in its firing position. The gear for these purposes is entirely distinct and separate from the ordinary hydraulic fittings supplied for performing these operations, and are so arranged that either set of fittings can be used as may be desired without involving any alteration of the gear, except in the simple rotation of a hand, which is placed conveniently in the mounting. It may be mentioned that this is the first mounting supplied to the Service designed to carry the new 12-inch B. L. wire Mark IX. gun, which has also been designed and manufactured by Messrs. Vickers, Sons & Maxim. This gun is 40 calibres long in the bore, weighs slightly over 50 tons unmounted, and is fitted with the same firm's breech and mechanism, which have been adopted by the Admiralty for all calibres of guns from 4.7-inch upwards. The gun fires a projectile of 850 lbs., with a cordite charge of 212 lbs. On the first round with a half-charge, the recoil was 23 inches; on the second with three-quarters charge, and on the third with the same charge; but with the run-out cylinder drained the recoil was 30 inches, and in the fourth and fifth rounds with full charges it was 33 inches. The length of the recoil was in each case in accordance with the design. The weather was at no time sufficiently clear to justify firing at an elevation, and all the rounds were