ration of meat, wrap it in a piece of paper
or cloth, and cover it with a crust of clay;
then you may bake it in any sort of holes
well covered over with red-hot embers; and
with good economy too; for not a jot of the
juice of the meat is lost.

From fire we pass to ice, to mention
a recipe for improving the passage across
a freezing river. When the ice is thick
enough to bear a man, lay six inches of
straw down and pour water on it; and
when the whole mass has frozen together,
lay down planks, and it will be strong enough
to bear a train of field artillery. Great
caution is used in passing a pontoon bridge,
as well as a suspension bridge; and, to
counteract the dangerous rocking to which
there is a tendency, the troops should never
keep step, or halt upon it, unless it has
begun to rock. In swimming a horse, give
him his head; and, if he is distressed throw
yourself off and hold on by the mane, or the
tail; for he cannot kick in the water. But, as
he swims nearly upright, the mane is more
convenient.

Temporary works in the field are hastily
raised to afford protection to the camp, and
to enable the troops to annoy the enemy
more effectually. The main features are a
parapet breast high, for a screen; and a ditch
or trench outside. The cubical contents of
these two are about equal; so that what is
thrown out of the trench just serves to make
the parapet; as in planning a railway, the
great art of the engineer is to lay his line at
such inclinations, that the stuff taken from
the cuttings shall suffice to form the
embankments. One to two cubic yards per
hour is the allowance for each soldier, who
under these circumstances works without
additional pay; the use of the spade, pickaxe,
and barrow being as essential for the
defensive, as that of the musket and bayonet
for the offensive operations of the army. An
exception is however justly made for the
performance of certain duties at sieges—say,
the siege of Sebastopol—and in special cases.
Where the soil is unfavourable, or time
forbids its use, artificial parapets are raised
with piles of gabions, fascines, and sandbags.
To obstruct the enemy, sharp palisades are
stuck in the ground here and there; and
abatis, or small trees in the rough state, are
dispersed in all directions.

The fascine is a large faggot, the full size
of which is eighteen feet, and the weight one
hundred and forty pounds: the gabion is
a coarse basket, a foot and three-quarters to
two feet and three-quarters high, weighing
when filled forty pounds. Along with tarred
sandbags, these are used in immense
quantities, to build up the extempore walls of
batteries, made on the same principle as
the field-works. It is the proper business
of the sappers and miners of the engineer
department to construct such batteries,
and it is usually performed at night-time,
that the men may be less exposed to the
enemy's fire. Working parties are at the
rate of eleven to fourteen per gun, assisted by
volunteers from the rest of the army. In the
sieges of the Peninsular war, next to the
sappers, the guards, we are told, were found
to be the best workmen; and this is the
character they bear at Sebastopol. Such is the
zeal of their officers, that they do not disdain
to act the part of foremen over their men,
under the direction of the engineers.

The management of battering trains
requires great energy, patience, and attention
from the artillery officer. First, he has to
consider the quantity of ordnance—six guns
being used to every four howitzers or mortars,
besides allowing for spare guns: then, the
ammunition; and next, the means of transport.
With regard to the ammunition, it is
stated that at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo,
in six days, eighteen hundred and twenty-five
barrels of powder were expended; at
Badajoz, in eight days, two thousand
two-hundred and seventy-one barrels; and at
the two sieges of Saint Sebastian, five thousand
and twenty-one barrels. As to shot, the
average per gun may be (this is speaking
roughly) about five hundred; and of shells,
one hundred and twenty; but the general
conclusion from former sieges is that a breach,
one hundred feet wide, can be made by the
expenditure of ten thousand six hundred
twenty-four-pounder shot, at five hundred
yards distance. With a commanding position,
much less will suffice.

Upon inquiring into the execution done we
find, from elaborate experiments tried in
eighteen hundred and thirty-four at the great
artillery school at Metz, a thirty-six pounder,
with only one-third charge, at one thousand
yards, penetrated twelve inches into good rubble
masonry, thirty-one inches into sound oak,
and nearly six feet into a mass of earth, sand
and clay. An eight-inch shell penetrates
twenty-three feet into compact earth. One
thirteen-inch iron mortar, at an angle of
forty-five degrees, with a charge of twenty-five
pounds, ranged four thousand eight
hundred and fifty yards. Weak powder is sensibly
improved by heating it, with proper care.
Exposure to the sun is useful.

Double-shotting, which is chiefly practised
in the navy, may be safely tried at short
distances with heavy guns. It would seem easy
to sink a ship by hitting her below water;
but the fact is, the resistance of the water is
so great, that a shot can hardly penetrate it;
and the only way to damage the ship, would
be to catch her as she heels over. Steamers
with their machinery below the water-line
are as safe as sailing vessels; even many
holes in the funnels are of slight consequence.

The smooth bored percussion musket will
fire sixty rounds in thirty minutes, and carry
two hundred yards. The carbines used by
the artillery and cavalry carry one hundred
and fifty yards. These, however, are nothing