home-defence idea. We piled four turrets for eight-inch guns on each, along with the thirteen-inch gun turrets, for the purpose of increasing the weight of metal thrown. We thought we could thus throw two thirteen-inch shot and four eight-inch in a round either ahead or astern, while double that number could be thrown in a broadside, besides two six-inch shot and a hail of the smaller projectiles that, as we now know, are so tremendously effective against unarmored superstructures. But we were mistaken. It was at once seen to be impossible to fire the eight-inch guns fore and aft, because the blast of the gases would penetrate the openings in the thirteen-inch gun turrets, to the excruciating distress, if not the destruction of the men there. Stops are now placed on these turrets, so that the guns cannot come nearer than an angle of ten degrees to the keel.

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In the Kearsarge class we tried the plan of building two-story turrets—a small turret for two eight-inch guns above the big turret for the two thirteen-inch guns, and we have every reason to believe that the system will work admirably. Although this gave us but four eightinch guns where the Oregon has eight, we shall be able to fire as many guns of the two calibres in a broadside as the Oregon, and we shall fire two eight-inch dead fore and aft, where the

We

Oregon cannot fire one of that calibre. have saved the weight of two turrets and of four eight-inch guns, apparently, in the design of the Kearsarge class, besides increasing the effective arc of the larger guns. What we saved thus we used in broadside guns. We put in fourteen five-inch rapid-fire guns where the Oregon carries but four six-inch guns-a very great increase in effectiveness, especially in case of such a battle as that off Santiago, where guns of eight-inch calibre and less did about all the work.

In designing the Alabama class we abandoned the eight-inch guns altogether, on the theory that they are better replaced with the six-inch rapid-fire guns. The Alabama class will carry fourteen of the six-inch rapid-fire guns in broadside, with two turrets of two thirteen-inch guns each.

This brings us to a brief consideration of the very latest development in guns, to which only mere references have been made hitherto. When we first began building modern rifles we quickly placed our weapons beside the very best in the world, but when 1897 came we were practically at a standstill, with a six-inch rapidfire gun that had a muzzle energy of 3,200 tons; an eight-inch slow-fire gun with a muzzle energy of 8,011 tons, and a thirteen-inch gun with a muzzle energy of 33,627 tons. With