limbs, the laying open of the abdominal or
thoracic cavities, or the production of visceral injuries beyond the
possibility of repair. Of such injuries no further mention will be made.

A very great variety of shells was employed during the campaign,
especially on the part of the Boers, and the frontispiece gives some
idea of these. The photograph was taken by Mr. Kisch after the relief of
Ladysmith. For the want of more extended knowledge I shall confine
myself to the description of a few injuries caused by two classes of
large shell, those of the Vickers-Maxim or 'Pom-pom,' and two varieties
of shrapnel.

The large shells employed may be divided into classes according to the
metal used in their construction, and the nature of the explosive with
which they were filled. These details are of some surgical import,
because they affect the nature of the fragments into which the shells
are broken up.

Fragments of shells constructed with cast iron and burst with powder,
and also of forged steel exploded with lyddite, are depicted in fig. 90.

[Illustration: FIG. 90.--A, B, D. Fragments of 200 lb. forged Steel
Howitzer Shell exploded by lyddite. C. Fragment of Cast-iron Shell
exploded by powder. B exhibits transverse markings which might be
mistaken for the lines seen in the Boer segment shells, but which really
correspond to the area of fixation of the copper driving band]

Examination of fragment C of a cast-iron shell exploded by powder shows
the characteristic granular fracture, and edges, although sharp, yet of
a comparatively rounded nature. The fragment is also heavier for its
surface measurement, as the metal is thicker than that seen in the
remaining fragments, although the cast-iron shell was of a much smaller
calibre than the steel one. The lesser degree of penetrative power, and
increased capacity to contuse, possessed by such fragments are obvious.

A B and D are fragments of a large forged steel howitzer shell exploded
by lyddite, such as were cast by our guns. The photograph well shows the
more tenacious structure of the metal in the incomplete longitudinal
fissuring exhibited, while the margins are of a sharp knifelike
character, well calculated to penetrate or, in the case of superficial
injuries, to produce wounds of a more sharply incised character than the
cast-iron shell. Fragments A and B also show an appearance suggestive of
partial fusion, characteristic of high explosive action, in the turning
o