k of
field-officer, to form a separate and junior Board, and that each Board
should send in its own report. The method of selection which I would
suggest is by ballot or vote of those Officers of the same rank in their
respective corps; for I feel sure that those who live most together are
the best acquainted with one another's talents. If two Boards are
objectionable, form one Board, of which one-half shall be of the junior
rank; and if they be equally divided in opinion, let the higher
authority appoint an umpire and order a second trial.

Remember how long the now all-but-forgotten "Brown Bess" kept the field
against the adversary which has since proved her immeasurable superior;
and let the future prove that past experience has not been entirely
thrown away. Trials may be troublesome, but officers are paid for taking
trouble; and the ingenuity of inventors will always be quickened in
proportion to the conviction that their inventions will receive a full
and unprejudiced trial; and that, if their first shot at the target of
Success be an outside ringer, they will not be denied a chance of
throwing another in the Bull's-eye.

Since the foregoing remarks went to press, it appears that the Pritchett
ball has been found wanting, both in England and in the Crimea; its
flight is said to be irregular, and the deposit of lead in the barrel so
great that after thirty rounds the charge cannot be got down. If this be
so, it is only one more proof of the necessity for some improvement in
the Board appointed to judge of and superintend warlike missiles.

When Mr. Pritchett had perfected his ball, it was tried in the
three-groove rifle, for which it was intended, with the most
satisfactory results, and was fired an indefinite number of times
without the slightest difficulty. It appears, however, that this
successful trial was not sufficient to satisfy the new-born zeal of the
authorities. Accordingly, a conclave of gunmakers was consulted previous
to the order for manufacturing being sent to Enfield; but with a depth
of wisdom far beyond human penetration, they never asked the opinion of
Mr. Pritchett, who had made the rifle which had carried the ball so
satisfactorily.

The wise men decided that it would be an improvement if the grooves were
deepened--a strange decision, when all the experience of the day tends
to prove that the shallower the groove the better. Down went the order;
the improved rifles were made as fast as pos