Ammonium sulphide, (NH4)2S, is obtained, in the form of

micaceous crystals, by passing sulphuretted hydrogen mixed with

a slight excess of ammonia through a well-cooled vessel; the

hydrosulphide NH4.HS is formed at the same time. It dissolves

readily in water, but is probably partially dissociated in

solution. The hydrosulphide NH4.HS can be obtained as

a white solid, by mixing well-cooled ammonia with a slight

excess of sulphuretted hydrogen. According to W. P. Bloxam

(Jour. of Chem. Soc., 1895, lxvii. p. 283), if sulphuretted

hydrogen is passed into strong aqueous ammonia at ordinary

temperature, the compound (NH4)2S.2NH4HS is obtained,

which, on cooling to 0 deg. C. and passing more sulphuretted

hydrogen, forms the compound (NH4)2S.12NH4HS. An

ice-cold solution of this substance kept at 0 deg. C. and having

sulphuretted hydrogen continually passed through it gives the

hydrosulphide. Several complex polysulphides of ammonium have

been isolated, for details of which see Bloxam's paper quoted

above. Compounds are known which may be looked upon as

derived from ammonia by the replacement of its hydrogen by

the sulpho-group (HSO3); thus potassium ammon-trisulphonate,

N(SO3K)3.2H2O, is obtained as a crystalline precipitate

on the addition of excess of potassium sulphite to a

solution of potassium nitrite, KNO2 + 3K2SO3 + 2H2O =

N(SO3K)3 + 4KHO. It can be recrystallized by solution in

alkalies. On boiling with water, it is converted, first

into the disulphonate NH(SO3K)2 thus, N(SO3K)3 + H2O =

NH(SO3K)2 + KHSO4, and ultimately into the monosulphonate

NH2.SO3K. The disulphonate is more readily obtained

by moistening the nitrilosulphonate with dilute sulphuric

acid and letting it stand for twenty-four hours, after

which it is recrystallized from dilute ammonia. It forms

monosymmetric crystals which by boiling with water yield

amidosulphonic acid. (See also E. Divers, Jour. of Chem.

Soc., 1892, lxi. p. 943.) Amidosulphonic acid crystallizes in

prisms, slightly soluble in water, and is a stable compound.

Ammonia and ammonium salts can be readily detected, in very

minute traces, by the addition of Nessler's solution, which

gives a distinct yellow coloration in the presence of the least

trace of ammonia or ammonium salts. Larger quantities can be

detected by warming the salts with a caustic alkali or with

quicklime, when the characteristic smell of ammonia will be

at once apparent. The amount of ammonia in ammonium salts

can be estimated quantitatively by distillation of the salts

with sodium or potassium hydroxide, the ammonia evolved being

absorbed in a known volume of standard sulphuric acid and the

excess of acid then determined volumetrically; or the ammonia

may be absorbed in hydrochloric acid and the ammonium chloride so

formed precipitated as ammonium chlorplatinate, (NH4)2PtCl6.

AMMONIACUM, or GUM AMMONIAC, a gum-resin exuded from the

stem of a perennial herb (Dorema ammoniacum), natural order

Umbelliferae. The plant grows to the height of 8 or 9 ft.,

and its whole stem is pervaded with a milky juice, which

oozes out on an incision being made at any part. This juice

quickly hardens into round tears, forming the "tear ammoniacum"

of commerce. "Lump ammoniacum," the other form in which the

substance is met with, consists of aggregations of tears,

frequently incorporating fragments of the plant itself, as

well as other foreign bodies. Ammoniacum has a faintly fetid,

unpleasant odour, which becomes more distinct on heating;

externally it possesses a reddish-yellow appearance, and when

the tears or lumps are freshly fractured they exhibit a waxy

lustre. It is chiefly collected in central Persia, and

comes to the European market by way of Bombay. Ammoniacum

is closely related to asafetida and galbanum (from which,

however, it differs in yielding no umbelliferone) both in

regard to the plant which yields it and its therapeutical

effects. Internally it is used in conjunction with squills

in bronchial affections; and in asthma and chronic colds it

is found useful, but it has no advantages over a number of

other substances of more constant and active properties (Sir

Thomas Fraser). Only the "tear ammoniacum" is official.

African ammoniacum is the product of a plant said to be Ferula

tingitana, which grows in North Africa; it is a dark coloured

gum-resin, possessed of a very weak odour and a persistent acrid taste.

AMMONITES, or the "children of Ammon," a people of east

Palestine who, like the Moabites, traced their origin to

Lot, the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, and must have been

regarded, therefore, as closely related to the Israelites and

Edomites. Both the Ammonites and Moabites are sometimes

spoken of under the common name of the children of Lot

(Deut. ii. 19; Ps. lxxxiii. 8); and the whole history shows

that they preserved throughout the course of their national

existence a sense of the closest brotherhood. According to the

traditions, the original territory of the two tribes was the

country lying immediately on the east of the Dead Sea, and

of the lower half of the Jordan, having the Jabbok for its

northern boundary; and of this tract the Ammonites laid claim

to the northern portion between the Arnon and the Jabbok, out

of which they had expelled the Zamzummim (Judg. xi. 13; Deut.

ii. 20 sqq.; cf. Gen. xiv. 5), though apparently it had been

held, in part at least, conjointly with the Moabites, or

perhaps under their supremacy (Num. xxi. 26, xxii. 1; Josh.

xiii. 32). From this their original territory they had been

in their turn expelled by Sihon, king of the Amorites, who

was said to have been found by the Israelites, after their

deliverance from Egypt, in possession of both Gilead and

Bashan, that is, of the whole country on the left bank of the

Jordan, lying to the north of the Arnon (Num. xxi. 13). By

this invasion, as the Moabites were driven to the south of

the Arnon, which formed their northern boundary from that

time, so the Ammonites were driven out of Gilead across

the upper waters of the Jabbok where it flows from south to

north, which henceforth continued to be their western boundary

(Num. xxi. 24; Deut. ii. 37, iii. 16). The other limits of

the Ammonitis, or country of the Ammonites ('Lmmanitis

chora, 2 Mac. iv. 26), there are no means of exactly

defining. On the south it probably adjoined the land of

Moab; on the north it may have met that of the king of Geshur

(Josh. xii. 5); and on the east it probably melted away into

the desert peopled by Amalekites and other nomadic races.

The chief city of the country, called Rabbah, or Rabbath of

the children of Ammon, i.e. the metropolis of the Ammonites

(Deut. iii. 11), and Rabbathammana by the later Greeks

(Polyb, v. 7. 4), whose name was changed into Philadelphia

by Ptolemy Philadelphus, a large and strong city with an

acropolis, was situated on both sides of a branch of the

Jabbok, bearing at the present day the name of Nahr

`Amman, the river of Ammon, whence the designation "city

of waters" (2 Sam. xii. 27); see Survey of E. Pal (Pal.

Explor. Fund), pp. 19 sqq. The ruins called Amman by the

natives are extensive and imposing. The country to the south

and east of Amman is distinguished by its fertility; and

ruined towns are scattered thickly over it, attesting that

it was once occupied by a population which, however fierce,

was settled and industrious, a fact indicated also by the

tribute of corn paid annually to Jotham (2 Chron. xxvii. 5).

The traditional history of Ammon as related in the Old

Testament is not free from obscurity, due to the uncertain

date of the various references and to the doubt whether the

individual details belong to the particular period to which

each is ascribed. (See further MOAB.) From the Assyrian

inscriptions we learn that the Ammonite king Ba'sa (Baasha)

(son) of Ruhubi, with 1000 men joined Ahab and the Syrian

allies against Shalmaneser II. at the battle of Karkar in 854.

In 734 their king Sanip(b)u was a vassal of Tiglathpileser

IV., and his successor, P(b)udu-ilu, held the same position

under Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. Somewhat later, their

king Amminadab was among the tributaries who suffered in the

course of the great Arabian campaign of Assurbanipal. With

the neighbouring tribes, the Ammonites helped the Babylonian

monarch Nebuchadrezzar against Jehoiakim (2 Kings xxiv. 2);

and if they joined Zedekiah's conspiracy (Jer. xxvii. 3), and

were threatened by the Babylonian army (Ezek. xxi. 20 sqq.),

they do not appear to have suffered punishment at that period,

perhaps on account of a timely submission. When, after the

destruction of Jerusalem, the fugitive Jews were again gathered

together, it was at the instigation of Baalis, king of Ammon,

that Gedaliah, the ruler whom Nebuchadrezzar had appointed over

them, was murdered, and new calamities were incurred (Jer.

xl. 14); and when Nehemiah prepared to rebuild the walls of

Jerusalem an Ammonite was foremost in opposition (Neh. ii.

10, 19, iv. 1-3).1 True to their antecedents, the Ammonites,

with some of the neighbouring tribes, did their utmost to

resist and check the revival of the Jewish power under Judas

Maccabaeus (1 Macc. v. 6; cf. Jos. Ant. Jud. xii. 8. 1.).

The last notice of them is in Justin Martyr (Dial. cum Tryph.

sec. 119), where it is affirmed that they were still a numerous

people. The few Ammonite names that have been preserved

(Nahash, Hanun, and those mentioned above, Zelek in 2 Sam.

xxiii. 37 is textually uncertain) testify, in harmony with

other considerations, that their language was Semitic, closely

allied to Hebrew and to the language of the Moabites. Their

national deity was Moloch or Milcon. (See MOLOCH.) (S. A. C.)

1 The allusions in Jer. xlix. 1-6; Zeph. ii. 8-11; Ezek.

xxi. 28- 32; Judg. xi. 12-28, have been taken to refer to

an Ammonite occupation of Israelite territory after the

deportation of the east Jordanic Israelites in 734, but more

probably belong to a later event. The name Chephar-Ammoni

(in Benjamin; Josh. xviii. 24) seems to imply that the

"village" became a settlement of "Ammonites." Some light

is thrown upon the obscure history of the post-exile period

by the references to the mixed marriages which aroused the

reforming zeal of Ezra and culminated in the exclusion of

Ammon and Moab from the religious community--on the ground

of incidents which were ascribed to the time of the "exodus"

(Deut. xxiii. 3 sqq.; Ezr. ix. 1 sqq.; Neh. xiii. 1 sqq.).

AMMONIUS GRAMMATICUS, the supposed author of a treatise

entitled Peri omoion kai dialoron lfxeon (On the

Differences of Synonymous Expressions), of whom nothing is

known. He was formerly identified with an Egyptian priest

who, after the destruction of the pagan temple at Alexandria

(389), fled to Constantinople, where he became the tutor of the

ecclesiastical historian Socrates. But it seems more probable

that the real author was Herennius Philo of Byblus, who was born

during the reign of Nero and lived till the reign of Hadrian,

and that the treatise in its present form is a revision prepared

by a later Byzantine editor, whose name may have been Ammonius.

Text by Valckenaer, 1739, Schafer, 1822; Kopp, De

Ammonii . . . Distinctionibus Synonymicis, 1883.

AMMONIUS HERMIAE (5th century A.D.), Greek philosopher,

the son of Hermias or Hermeias, a fellow-pupil of

Proclus. He taught at Alexandria, and had among his scholars

Asclepius, John Philoponus, Damascius and Simplicius.

His commentaries on Plato and Ptolemy are lost. Those on

Aristotle are all that remain of his reputedly numerous

writings. Of the commentaries we have--(1) one on the Isagoge

of Porphyry (Venice, 1500 fol.); (2) one on the Categories

(Venice, 1503 fol.), the authenticity of which is doubted by

Brandis; (3) one on the De Interpretatione (Venice, 1503

fol.). They are printed in Brandis's scholia to Aristotle,

forming the fourth volume of the Berlin Aristotle; they

are also edited (1891-1899) in A. Busse's Commentaria in

Aristot. Graeca. The special section on fate was published

separately by J. C. Orelli, Alex. Aphrod., Ammonii, et

aliorum de Fato quae supersunt (Zurich, 1824). A life of

Aristotle, ascribed to Ammonius, but with more accuracy to John

Philoponus, is often prefixed to editions of Aristotle. It has

been printed separately, with Latin translation and scholia, at

Leiden, 1621, at Helmstadt, 1666, and at Paris, 1850. Other

commentaries on the Topics and the first six books of the

Metaphysics still exist in manuscript. Of the value of the

logical writings of Ammonius there are various opinions. K.

Prantl speaks of them with great, but hardly merited, contempt.

For a list of his works see J. A. Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graeca,

v. 704-707: C. A. Brandis, Uber d. Reihenf. d. Bucher d.

Aristot. Org., 283 f.; K. Prantl, Gesch. d. Logik, i. 642.

AMMONIUS SACCAS (3rd century A.D.), Greek philosopher of

Alexandria, often called the founder of the neo-Platonic

school. Of humble origin, he appears to have earned a

livelihood as a porter; hence his nickname of "Sack-bearer"

(Sakkas, for sakkoforos.) The details of his life are

unknown, insomuch that he has frequently been confused with

a Christian philosopher of the same name. Eusebius (Church

History, vi. 19), who is followed by Jerome, asserts that

he was born a Christian, remained faithful to Christianity

throughout his life, and even produced two works called

The Harmony of Moses and Jesus and The Diatessaron, or

Harmony of the Four Gospels, which is said by some to exist

in a Latin version by Victor, bishop of Capua. Porphyry,

quoted by Eusebius, ib. vi. 19. 6, however, says that

he apostatized in later life and left no writings behind

him. There seems no reason, therefore, to doubt that Eusebius

is here referring to the Christian philosopher. After long

study and meditation, Ammonius opened a school of philosophy in

Alexandria. His principal pupils were Herennius, the two

Origens, Cassius Longinus and Plotinus. As he designedly

wrote nothing, and, with the aid of his pupils, kept his

views secret, after the manner of the Pythagoreans, his

philosophy must be inferred mainly from the writings of

Plotinus. As Zeller points out, however, there is reason

to think that his doctrines were rather those of the earlier

Platonists than those of Plotinus. Hierocles, writing in the

5th century A.D., states that his fundamental doctrine was

an eclecticism, derived from a critical study of Plato and

Aristotle. His admirers credited him with having reconciled

the quarrels of the two great schools. His death is variously

given between A.D. 240 and 245. See NEO-PLATONISM, ORIGEN.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--C. Rosler, De commentitiis philosophiae

Ammoniaceae fraudibus et noxis (Tubingen, 1786); L. J.

Dehaut, Essai historique sur la vie et la doctrine d' Ammonius

Saccas (Brussels, 1856); E. Zeller, "Ammonius Saccas und

Plotinus," Arch. f. Gesch. d. Philos. vii., 1894, pp.

295-312; E. Vacherot, Hist. crit. de l'ecole d'Alexandrie

(Paris, 1846); T. Whittaker, The Neo-platonists (Camb.,

1901); Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., trans. A. C. M'Giffert

(Oxford and New York, 1890), notes on passages quoted above.

AMMUNITION, a military term (derived, through the French,

from Lat. munire, to provide), for consumable stores used

in attack or defence, such as rifle cartridges, cartridges,

projectiles, igniting tubes and primers for ordnance, &c.

The components of ammunition intended for rifles and ordnance

may be divided into (a) explosives and propellants (see

EXPLOSIVES and GUNPOWDER), (b) projectiles of all

kinds, and (c) cartridges. The military classification

of explosives differs somewhat from that of the Explosives

Act 1875, but, broadly speaking, they are divided into two

groups. The first of these comprises explosives in bulk,

made-up cartridges for cannon, and filled quick- firing

cartridges; Group II. contains small-arm cartridges, fuzes,

primers, tubes, filled shells (fuzed or unfuzed), &c. Each

group is subdivided, and arrangements are made for storing

certain divisions of Group I. in a magazine in separate

compartments. All the divisions of Group II. are, and the

remaining divisions of Group I. (comprising wet gun-cotton, picric

acid and Q.F. cartridges) may be, stored in ammunition stores.

These general conditions apply to the storage of ammunition in

fortresses. Here the positions for the magazine and ammunition

stores are so chosen as to afford the best means of protection

from an enemy's fire. Huge earth parapets cover these

buildings, which are further strengthened, where possible,

by traverses protecting the entrances. For the purpose of

filling, emptying and examining cannon cartridges and shell,

a laboratory is generally provided at some distance from the

magazine. The various stores for explosives are classified

into those under magazine conditions (viz. magazines,

laboratories and cartridge stores) and those with which these

restrictions need not be observed (viz. ammunition and shell

stores). The interior walls of a magazine are lined and

the floors laid so that there may be no exposed iron or

steel. At the entrance there is a lobby or barrier, inside

which persons about to enter the magazine change their clothes

for a special suit, and their boots for a pair made without

nails. In an ammunition or shell store these precautions need

not be taken except where the shell store and the adjacent

cartridge store have a common entrance; persons entering may

do so in their ordinary clothes. A large work may have a

main magazine and several subsidiary magazines, from which the

stock of cartridges is renewed in the cartridge stores attached

to each group of guns or in the expense cartridge stores and

cartridge recesses. The same applies to main ammunition stores

which supply the shell stores, expense stores and recesses.

The supply of ammunition may be divided roughly into (a)

that for guns forming the movable armament, (b) that for

guns placed in permanent positions. The movable armament will

consist of guns and howitzers of small and medium calibre,

and it is necessary to arrange suitable expense cartridge

stores and shell stores in close proximity to the available

positions. They can generally be constructed to form part

of the permanent work in the projected face of traverses

or other strong formations, and should be arranged for a

twenty-four hours' supply of ammunition. These stores are

refilled from the main magazine every night under cover of

darkness. Light railways join the various positions. The

guns mounted in permanent emplacements are divided into

groups of two or three guns each, and usually each group

will require but one calibre of ammunition. A cartridge

store, shell store and a general store, all well ventilated,

are arranged for the especial service of such a group of

guns. In the cartridge store the cylinders containing the

cartridges are so placed and labelled that the required

charge, whether reduced or full, can be immediately selected.

In the shell store also for the same reason the common shell

are separated from the armour-piercing or shrapnel. Each

nature of projectile is painted in a distinctive manner

to render identification easy. The fuzes, tubes, &c., are

placed in the general store with the tools and accessories

belonging to the guns. The gun group is distinguished by

some letter and the guns of the group by numerals; thus,

A/1 is No. I gun of group A. The magazine and shell stores

are also indicated by the group letter, and so that mistakes,

even by those unaccustomed to the fort, may be avoided,

the passages are pointed out by finger posts and direction

boards. For the immediate service of each gun a few cartridges

and projectiles are stored in small receptacles--called

cartridge and shell recesses respectively--built in the

parapet as near the gun position as practicable. In some

cases a limited number of projectiles may be placed close

underneath the parapet if this is conveniently situated

near the breech of the gun and not exposed to hostile fire.

In order to supply the ammunition sufficiently rapidly for

the efficient service of modern guns, hydraulic, electric

or hand-power hoists are employed to raise the cartridges

and shell from the cartridge store and shell store to the

gun floor, whence they are transferred to a derrick or

loading tray attached to the mounting for loading the gun.

Projectiles for B.L. guns above 6-in. calibre are stored in

shell stores ready filled and fuzed standing on their bases,

except shrapnel and high-explosive shell, which are fuzed only

when about to be used. Smaller sizes of shells are laid on

their sides in layers, each layer pointing in the opposite

direction to the one below to prevent injury to the driving

bands. Cartridges are stored in brass corrugated cases

or in zinc cylinders. The corrugated cases are stacked in

layers in the magazine with the mouth of the case towards

a passage between the stacks, so that it can be opened and

the cartridges removed and transferred to a leather case

when required for transport to the gun. Cylinders are

stacked, when possible, vertically one above the other.

The charges are sent to the gun in these cylinders, and

provision is made for the rapid removal of the empty cylinders.

The number and nature of rounds allotted to any fortress

depends on questions of policy and location, the degrees

of resistance the nature of the works and personnel

could reasonably be expected to give, and finally on

the nature of the armament. That is to say, for guns of

large calibre three hundred to four hundred rounds per gun

might be sufficient, while for light Q.F. guns it might

amount to one thousand or more rounds per gun. (A. G. H.)

Supply of ammunition in the field.

With every successive improvement in military arms there has

necessarily been a corresponding modification in the method

of supplying ammunition and in the quantity required to be

supplied. When hand-to-hand weapons were the principal

implements of battle, there was, of course, no such need,

but even in the middle ages the archers and crossbowmen had

to replenish the shafts and bolts expended in action, and

during a siege stone bullets of great size, as well as heavy

arrows, were freely used. The missiles of those days were,

however, interchangeable, and at the battle of Towton (1461)

the commander of the Yorkist archers, by inducing the enemy

to waste his arrows, secured a double supply of ammunition

for his own men. This interchangeability of war material

was even possible for many centuries after the invention of

firearms. At the battle of Liegnitz (1760) a general

officer was specially commissioned by Frederick the Great

to pack up and send away, for Prussian use, all the muskets

and ammunition left on the field of battle by the defeated

Austrians. Captured material is, of course, utilized whenever

possible, at the present time, and in the Chino-Japanese War

the Japanese went so far as to prepare beforehand spare parts

for the Chinese guns they expected to capture (Wei-Hai-Wei,

1895), but it is rare to find a modern army trusting to

captures for arms and ammunition; almost the only instance

of the practice is that of the Chilean civil war of 1891,

in which the army of one belligerent was almost totally

dependent upon this means of replenishing stores of arms and

cartridges. But what was possible with weapons of comparatively

rough make is no longer to be thought of in the case of

modern arms. The Lee-Metford bullet of .303 in. diameter

can scarcely be used in a rifle of smaller calibre, and

in general the minute accuracy of parts in modern weapons

makes interchangeability almost impossible. Further, owing

to the rapidity with which, in modern arms, ammunition is

expended, and the fact that, as battles are fought at longer

ranges than formerly, more shots have to be fired in order

to inflict heavy losses, it is necessary that the reserves

of ammunition should be as close as possible to the troops

who have to use them. This was always the case even with

the older firearms, as, owing to the great weight of the

ammunition, the soldier could carry but few rounds on his

person. Nevertheless it is only within the past seventy years

that there has grown up the elaborate system of ammunition

supply which now prevails in all regularly organized

armies. That which is described in the present article is the

British, as laid down in the official Combined Training

(1905) and other manuals. The new system designed for stronger

divisions, and others, vary only in details and nomenclature.

Infantry.--The infantry soldier generally carries, in

pouches, bandoliers, &c., one hundred rounds of small-arms

ammunition (S.A.A.), and it is usual to supplement this,

when an action is imminent, from the regimental reserve (see

below). It is to be noticed that every reduction in the

calibre of the rifle means an increase in the number of rounds

carried. One hundred rounds of the Martini-Henry ammunition

weighed 10lb. 10 oz.; the same weight gives 155 with .303

ammunition (incl. charges), and if a .256 calibre is adopted the

number of rounds will be still greater. It is, relatively, a

matter of indifference that the reserves of ammunition include

more rounds than formerly; it is of the highest importance

that the soldier should, as far as possible, be independent

of fresh supplies, because the bringing up of ammunition to

troops closely engaged is laborious and costly in lives. The

regimental reserves are carried in S.A.A. carts and on pack

animals. Of the former each battalion has six, of the latter

eight. The six carts are distributed, one as reserve to the

machine gun, three as reserve to the battalion itself, and two

as part of the brigade reserve, which consists therefore of

eight carts. The brigade reserve communicates directly with

the brigade ammunition columns of the artillery (see below).

The eight pack animals follow the eight companies of their

battalion. These, with two out of the three battalion carts,

endeavour to keep close to the firing line, the remaining cart

being with the reserve companies. Men also are employed as

carriers, and this duty is so onerous that picked men only are

detailed. Gallantry displayed in bringing up ammunition is

considered indeed to justify special rewards. The amount of

S.A.A. in regimental charge is 100 rounds in the possession

of each soldier, 2000 to 2200 on each pack animal, and 16,000

to 17,600 in each of four carts, with, in addition, about 4000

rounds with the machine gun and 16,000 more in the fifth cart.

Artillery.--The many vehicles which accompany batteries

(see ARTILLERY) carry a large quantity of ammunition, and

with the contents of two wagons and the limber each gun may

be considered as well supplied, more especially as fresh

rounds can be brought up with relatively small risk, owing

to the long range at which artillery fights and the use of

cover. Each brigade of artillery has its own ammunition

column, from which it draws its reserve in the first instance.

Ammunition Columns.--An ammunition column consists of

military vehicles carrying gun and S.A. ammunition for the

combatant unit to which the column belongs. Thus the ammunition

columns of a division, forming part of the brigades of field

artillery, carry reserve ammunition for the guns, the machine

guns of the infantry and the rifles of all arms. Generally

speaking, the ammunition column of each of the artillery

brigades furnishes spare ammunition for its own batteries and

for one of the brigades of infantry. All ammunition columns

are officered and manned by the Royal Artillery. They are

not reserved exclusively to their own brigades, divisions,

&c., but may be called upon to furnish ammunition to any unit

requiring it during an action. The officers and men of the

R.A. employed with the ammunition column are, as a matter of

course, immediately available to replace casualties in the

batteries. Teams, wagons and materiel generally are also

available for the same purpose. The horse artillery, howitzer

and heavy brigades of artillery have each their own ammunition

columns, organized in much the same way and performing similar

duties. The ammunition column of the heavy brigade is

divisible into three sections, so that the three batteries,

if operating independently, have each a section at hand

to replenish the ammunition expended. The horse artillery

brigade ammunition columns carry, besides S.A.A. for all

corps troops other than artillery, the reserve of pom-pom

ammunition. In action these columns are on the battlefield

itself. Some miles to the rear are the divisional and corps

troops columns, which on the one hand replenish the empty

wagons of the columns in front, and on the other draw fresh

supplies from the depots on the line of communication.

These also are in artillery charge; a divisional column is

detailed to each division (i.e. to replenish each set of

brigade ammunition columns), and the corps troops column

supplies the columns attached to the heavy, howitzer and

horse artillery brigades. The ammunition thus carried

includes ordinarily seven or eight kinds at least. S.A.A.,

field, horse, howitzer and heavy gun shrapnel, howitzer and

heavy gun lyddite shells, cartridges for the four different

guns employed and pom-pom cartridges for the cavalry,--in

all twelve distinct types of stores would be carried for a

complete army corps. Consequently the rounds of each kind

in charge of each ammunition column must vary in accordance

with the work expected of the combatant unit to which it

belongs. Thus pom-pom ammunition is out of place in the

brigade ammunition columns of field artillery, and S.A.A. is

relatively unnecessary in that attached to a heavy artillery

brigade. Under these circumstances a column may be unable to

meet the particular wants of troops engaged in the vicinity;

for instance, a cavalry regiment would send in vain to a heavy

artillery ammunition section for pom-pom cartridges. The point

to be observed in this is that the fewer the natures of weapons

used, the more certain is the ammunition supply. (C. F. A.)

The first projectiles fired from cannon were the darts and

stone shot which had been in use with older weapons. These

darts ("garros") had iron heads or were of iron wrapped with

leather to fit the bore of small guns, and continued in use up

to nearly the end of the 16th century. Spherical stone shot

were chosen on account of cheapness; forged iron, bronze and

lead balls were tried, but the expense prevented their general

adoption. Further, as the heavy metal shot necessitated the

use of a correspondingly large propelling charge, too great

a demand was made on the strength of the feeble guns of the

period. Stone shot being one-third the weight of those of

iron the powder charge was reduced in proportion, and this

also effected an economy. Both iron and stone shot were

occasionally covered with lead, probably to preserve the interior

of the bore of the gun. Cast iron, while known in the 14th

century, was not sufficiently common to be much used for the

manufacture of shot, although small ones were made about that

time. They were used more frequently at the latter part of

the following century. Towards the end of the 16th century

nearly all shot were of iron, but stone shot were still used

with guns called Petrieroes (hence the name) or Patararoes,

for attacking weak targets like ships at short range.

Case shot are very nearly as ancient as spherical shot.

They can be traced back to the early part of the 15th century,

and they have practically retained their original form up to

the present date. They are intended for use at close quarters

when a volley of small shot is required. With field guns they

are not of much use at ranges exceeding about four hundred

yards; those for heavy guns are effective up to one thousand

yards. In the earlier forms lead or iron shot were packed

in wood casks or in canvas bags tied up with twine like the

later quilted shot. In the present (fig. 2) type small shot

are placed in a cylindrical case of sheet iron, with iron

ends, one end being provided with handles. For small guns

the bullets are made of lead and antimony--like shrapnel

bullets--while for larger calibres they are of cast iron

weighing from two ounces to three and a half pounds each.

Grape shot is now obsolete. It consisted generally of three

tiers of cast-iron balls separated by iron plates and held in place

by an iron bolt which passed through the centre of the plates.

There was also another type called quilted shot which consisted

of a number of small shot in a canvas covering tied up by rope.

Chain shot, in the days of sailing ships, was much in favour as

a means of destroying rigging. Two spherical shot were fastened

together by a short length of chain. On leaving the gun they

began gyrating around each other and made a formidable missile.

Red-hot shot were invented in 1579 by Stephen Batory, king of

Poland. They were used with great effect by the English

during the siege of Gibraltar, especially on the 13th of

September 1782, when the French floating batteries were

destroyed, together with a large part of the Spanish fleet.

Martin's shell was a modified form; here a cast-iron

shell was filled with molten cast iron and immediately

fired. On striking the side of a ship the shell broke up,

freeing the still molten iron, which set fire to the vessel.

Rotation.--Projectiles intended for R.M.L. guns were at first

fitted with a number of gun-metal studs arranged around them

in a spiral manner corresponding to the twist of rifling. This

was defective, as it allowed, as in the old smooth-bore guns,

the powder gas to escape by the clearance (called "windage")

between the projectile and the bore, with a consequent loss

of efficiency; it also quickly eroded the bore of the larger

guns. Later the rotation was effected by a cupped copper

disc called a "gas check" attached to the base end of the

projectile. The powder gas pressure expanded the rim of

the gas check into the rifling grooves and prevented the

escape of gas; it also firmly fixed the gas check to the

projectile, thus causing it to rotate. A more regular and

efficient action of the powder gas was thus ensured, with a

corresponding greater range and an improvement in accuracy.

With the earlier Armstrong (R.B.L.) guns the projectiles were

coated with lead (the late Lord Armstrong's system), the lead

being forced through the rifling grooves by the pressure of the

exploded powder gas. The lead coating is, however, too soft

with the higher velocities of modern B.L. guns. Mr Vavasseur,

C.B., devised the plan of fitting by hydraulic pressure a

copper "driving band" into a groove cut around the body of the

projectile. This is now universal. It not only fulfils the

purpose of rotating the projectile, but renders possible the

use of large charges of slow- burning explosive. The copper

band, on being forced through the gun, gives rise to considerable

resistance, which allows the propelling charge to burn properly

and thus to exert its enormous force on the projectile.

The laws which govern the designs of projectiles are not

well defined. Certain formulae are used which give the

thickness of the walls of the shell for a known chamber

pressure in the gun, and for a particular stress on the

material of the shell. The exact proportions of the

shell depend, however, greatly on experimental knowledge.

Armour-piercing Shot and Shell.--On the introduction

of iron ships it was found that the ordinary cast-iron

projectile readily pierced the thin plating, and in order to

protect the vital parts of the vessel wrought-iron armour of

considerable thickness was placed on the sides. It then became

necessary to produce a projectile which would pierce this

armour. This was effected by Sir W. Palliser, who invented

a method of hardening the head of the pointed cast-iron

shot. By casting the projectile point downwards and forming

the head in an iron mould, the hot metal was suddenly

chilled and became intensely hard, while the remainder

of the mould being formed of sand allowed the metal to

cool slowly and the body of the shot to be made tough.

These shot proved very effective against wrought-iron armour,

but were not serviceable against compound and steel armour.

A new departure had, therefore, to be made, and forged steel

shot with points hardened by water, &c., took the place of

the Palliser shot. At first these forged steel shot were made

of ordinary carbon steel, but as armour improved in quality

the projectiles followed suit, and, for the attack of the

latest type of cemented steel armour, the projectile is formed

of steel--either forged or cast--containing both nickel and

chromium. Tungsten steel has also been used with success.

Armour-piercing shot or shell are generally cast from a

special mixture of chrome steel melted in pots; they are

afterwards forged into shape. The shell is then thoroughly

annealed, the core bored and the exterior turned up in the

lathe. The shell is finished in a similar manner to others

described below. The final or tempering treatment is very

important, but details are kept strictly secret. It consists

in hardening the head of the projectile and tempering it in

a special manner, the rear portion being reduced in hardness

so as to render it tough. The cavity of these projectiles

is capable of receiving a small bursting charge of about

2% of the weight of the complete projectile, and when

this is used the projectile is called an armour-piercing

shell. The shell, whether fuzed or unfuzed, will burst

on striking a medium thickness of armour. Armour-piercing

shells, having a bursting charge of about 3% of the weight

of the complete projectile, are now often fitted with a soft

steel cap (fig. 3) for the perforation of hard steel armour.

For the theory of the action of the cap see ARMOUR PLATES.

Even with these improvements the projectile cannot,

with a reasonable velocity, be relied upon to pierce one

calibre in thickness of modern cemented steel armour.

Explosive shells do not appear to have been in general

use before the middle of the 16th century. About that

time hollow balls of stone or cast iron were fired from

mortars. The balls were nearly filled with gunpowder and the

remaining space with a slow-burning composition. This plan

was unsatisfactory, as the composition was not always ignited

by the flash from the discharge of the gun, and moreover the

amount of composition to burn a stipulated time could not

easily be gauged. The shell was, therefore, fitted with a

hollow forged iron or copper plug, filled with slow-burning

powder. It was impossible to ignite with certainty this

primitive fuze simply by firing the gun; the fuze was

consequently first ignited and the gun fired immediately

afterwards. This entailed the use of a mortar or a very short

piece, so that the fuze could be easily reached from the muzzle

without unduly endangering the gunner. Cast-iron spherical

common shell (fig. 4) were in use up to 1871. For guns they were

latterly fitted with a wooden disc called a sabot, attached

by a copper rivet, intended to keep the fuze central when

loading. They were also supposed to reduce the rebounding

tendency of the shell as it travelled along the bore on

discharge. Mortar shell (fig. 5) were not fitted with sabots.

Cast iron held its own as the most convenient material

for projectiles up to recent years, steel supplanting it,

first for projectiles intended for piercing armour, and

afterwards for common shell for high-velocity guns where the

shock of discharge has been found too severe for cast iron.

Common shell is essentially a material destructor. Filled

with ordinary gunpowder, the larger natures are formidable

projectiles for the attack of fortifications and the

unarmoured portions of warships. On bursting they break up

into somewhat large pieces, which carry destruction forward

to some distance from the point of burst. For the attack of

buildings common shell are superior to shrapnel and they are

used to attack troops posted behind cover where it is impossible

for shrapnel to reach them; their effect against troops is,

however, generally insignificant. When filled with lyddite,

melinite, &c., they are called high-explosive (H.E.) shell (see

below). Common shell for modern high-velocity guns may

be made of cast steel or forged steel; those made of cast

iron are now generally made for practice, as they are found

to break up on impact, even against earthworks, before the

fuze has time to act; the bursting charge is, therefore, not

ignited or only ignited after the shell has broken up, the

effect of the bursting charge being lost in either case. So

long as the shell is strong enough to resist the shocks of

discharge and impact against earth or thin steel plates, it

should be designed to contain as large a bursting charge as

possible and to break up into a large number of medium-sized

pieces. Their effect between decks is generally more

far-reaching than lyddite shell, but the purely local effect is

less. Light structures, which, at a short distance from the

point of burst, successfully resist lyddite shell and confine

the effect of the explosion, may be destroyed by the shower

of heavy pieces produced by the burst of a large common shell.

To prevent the premature explosion of the shell, by the

friction of the grains of powder on discharge, it is heated

and coated internally with a thick lacquer, which on cooling

presents a smooth surface. Besides this the bursting charge

of all shell of 4-in. calibre and upwards (also with all other

natures except shrapnel) is contained in a flannel or canvas

bag. The bag is inserted through the fuze hole and the

bursting charge of pebble and fine grain powder gradually poured

in. The shell is tapped on the outside by a wood mallet to

settle the powder down. When all the powder has been got

in, the neck of the bag is tied and pushed through the fuze

hole. A few small shalloon primer bags, filled with seven

drams of fine grain powder, are then inserted to fill up the

shell and carry the flash from the fuze through the burster bag.

In the United States specially long common shell called torpedo

shell, about 4.7 calibres in length, are employed with the

coast artillery 12-in. mortars. They were made of cast steel,

but owing to a premature explosion in a mortar, supposed to

be due to weakness of the shell, they are now made of forged

steel. The weight of the usual projectile for this mortar is 850

lb. . The torpedo shell, however, weighs 1000 lb. and contains

137 lb. of high explosive; it is not intended for piercing

armour but for producing a powerful explosion on the armoured

deck of a warship. The compression, and consequent generation

of heat on discharge of the charge in these long shell,

render them liable to premature explosion if fired with high

velocities. Some inventors have, therefore, sought to overcome

this by dividing the shell transversely into compartments

and so making each portion of the charge comparatively short.

Cast-steel common shell (fig. 6) are cast in sand moulds head

downwards from steel of the required composition to give the

proper tenacity. A large head, which is subsequently removed,

is cast on the base to give solidity and soundness to the

castings. The castings are annealed by placing them in a

furnace or oven until red hot, then allowing them to cool

gradually. The process of casting is very similar to

that for the old cast-iron common shell, which, however,

were cast base downwards. The steel castings after being

annealed are dressed and carefully examined for defects.

The exterior of the body is generally ground by an emery

wheel or turned in a lathe; the groove for the driving band

is also turned and the fuze hole fitted with a gun-metal

bush. Forged-steel common shell are made from solid steel

billets. These are heated to redness and shaped by a series

of punches which force the heated metal through steel dies

by hydraulic pressure. If the shell is intended for a

nose fuze the base end is shaped by the press and the head

subsequently formed by a properly shaped die, or, in the case

of small shell, the head can, when red hot, be spun up in a

lathe by a properly formed tool. For a base fuze shell the

head is produced by the punches and dies, and the base is

subsequently formed by pressing in the metal to the desired

shape. The shell is then completed as described above.

High-explosive shell (fig. 7), as used in the English service,

are simply forged-steel common shell filled with lyddite and

having a special nose fuze and exploder. The base end of

lyddite shell is made solid to prevent the possibility of the

gas pressure in the gun producing a premature explosion. In

filling the shell great precautions are necessary to prevent

the melted lyddite (picric acid) from coming in contact with

certain materials such as combinations of lead, soda, &c.,

which produce sensitive picrates. The shell are consequently

painted externally with a special non-lead paint and lacquered

inside with special lacquer. The picric acid is melted in an

oven, the temperature being carefully limited. The melted

material is poured into the shell by means of a bronze

funnel, which also forms the space for the exploder of picric

powder. On cooling, the material solidifies into a dense, hard

mass (density 1.6), in which state it is called lyddite.

The fuze on striking ignites the exploder and in turn the

lyddite. When properly detonated a dense black smoke is

produced and the projectile is broken up into small pieces,

some of which are almost of the fineness of grains of sand.

The radius of the explosion is about 25 yds., but the local

effect is intense, and hence on light structures in a confined

space the destruction is complete. The shell is only of use

against thin plates; against modern armour it is ineffective.

When detonation has not been complete, as sometimes happens

with small shells, the smoke is yellowish and the pieces of the

exploded shell are as large as when a powder burster is used.

The French high-explosive shell obus torpille or obus

a melinite was adopted in 1886. The melinite was

originally filled into the ordinary cast-iron common shell

(obus ordinaire) with thick walls, but soon afterwards a

forged-steel thin-walled shell (obus allonge) was introduced.

To explode the shell a steel receptacle (called a gaine) is

screwed into the nose of the shell. It is filled with explosive

and fitted with a detonator which is exploded by a percussion

fuze. Except for the means adopted to ensure detonation

this shell is practically the same as the lyddite shell.

Picric acid in some form or other is used in nearly all

countries for filling high-explosive shell. In some the

explosive is melted and poured into cardboard cases instead

of being poured directly into the shell. The cases are placed

in the shell either by the head of the shell unscrewing from

the body or by a removable base plug. The French melinite

and the Italian pertite are believed to be forms of picric

acid. Russia and the United States use compressed wet gun-cotton

(density 1.2) as the charge for their high-explosive shell.

The gun-cotton is packed in a thin zinc or copper case and is

placed in the shell either by the head or base of the shell being

removable. The gun-cotton is detonated by a powerful exploder,

the form of which differs in each country. Ammonal is also

used in high-explosive shell, but owing to its light density

it is not in great favour. For field-gun and other small

high-explosive shells, ordinary smokeless powder is often used.

Double shell is a term given to a common shell which was

made abnormally long, so as to receive a large bursting

charge. They were intended to be fired with a reduced charge

at short range. They are now practically obsolete; their

place with modern B.L. guns has been taken by high-explosive

shell. Star shell are intended for illuminating the enemy's

position. They are very similar to shrapnel shell,

composition stars made up in cylindrical paper cases taking

the place of the bullets. The shell on bursting, blows

off the head and scatters the ignited stars. This shell

is only supplied to mountain guns and howitzers, and takes

the place of the older types of illuminating shell, viz.

the ground light ball and the parachute light ball.

Hand grenades were used at the assault of entrenchments or

in boat attacks. Although generally regarded as obsolete, they

were much used by the Japanese at the siege of Port Arthur,

1904. In the British service they were small, thin, spherical

common shell weighing 3 lb. for land service and 6 lb. for sea

service, filled with powder. They were fitted with a small

wood time fuze to burn 7.5 seconds. The grenade was held in the

hand and the fuze lighted by a port-fire. It was then thrown

some 20 to 30 yds. at the enemy's works or boats. Sometimes a

number were fired from a mortar at an elevation of about 30 deg.

so that none should strike the ground too near the mortar.

New types of grenades filled with high explosives detonated by

a percussion fuze have been produced of late years, and it is

probable that they will be again introduced into most countries.

Shrapnel shell were invented by Lieutenant (afterwards

Lieutenant- General) Henry Shrapnel, R.A. (1761-1842), in

1784. They were spherical common shell with lead bullets

mixed with the bursting charge. Although far superior to

common shell in man-killing effect, their action was not

altogether satisfactory, as the shell on bursting projected

the bullets in all directions, and there was a liability

of premature explosion. In order to overcome these

defects Colonel Boxer, R.A., separated the bullets from the

bursting charge by a sheet-iron diaphragm--hence the name

of "diaphragm shell" (fig. 8). The bullets were hardened by

the addition of antimony, and, as the bursting charge was

small, the shell was weakened by four grooves made inside

the shell extending from the fuze hole to the opposite side.

With rifled guns the form of the shell altered, but its character

remained. The body of the shell was still made of cast iron

with a cavity at the base for the bursting charge; on this

was placed a thick steel diaphragm with a hollow brass tube

which communicated the flash from the nose fuze to the bursting

charge. The body was filled with hard lead bullets, and

a wood head covered with sheet iron or steel surmounted it

and carried the fuze. By making the body of toughened steel

(fig. 9) and by slightly reducing the diameter of the bullets,

the number of bullets contained was much increased. In the

older field shrapnel, bullets of 18 and 34 to the lb. were

used; for later patterns see table in ORDNANCE: Field

Equipments. Thus with the cast-iron body the percentage

of useful weight, i.e. the proportion of the weight of

the bullets to the total weight of the shell, was from 26 to

28%, while with modern steel shell it is from 47 to 53%. The

limit of the forward effect of shrapnel at effective range

is about 300 yds. and the extent of front covered 25 yds.

[Fig. 10 shows in plan the different effects of (a) shrapnel

and of (b) high-explosive, burst in the air with a time

fuze in the usual way. It will be seen that the shrapnel

bullets sweep an area of about 250 yds. by 30 yds., half

the bullets falling on the first 50 yds. of the beaten

zone. With the high-explosive shell, however, the fragments

strike the ground closer to the point of burst and beat a

shallow, but broad, area of ground (about 7 yds. by 55

yds.). These areas show the calculated performance of

the German field gun (96 N.A.), firing at a range of 3300

yds. In the case of the high- explosive shell, the

concussion of the burst is highly dangerous, quite apart

from the actual distribution of the fragments of the shell.]

The term "shooting shrapnel" is given to certain

howitzer shrapnel, which are designed to contain a large

bursting charge for the purpose of considerably augmenting

the velocity of the bullets when the shell bursts.

High-explosive shell of a compound type have also lately

appeared. Messrs Krupp have made a kind of ring shell with

a steel body; a central tube conveys the flash from the

fuze to a base magazine containing a smoke-producing charge,

while surrounding the central tube is a bursting charge of

ordinary smokeless nitro-powder. A shrapnel on somewhat

similar lines has been made by Ehrhardt; in form (fig. 11) it

is an ordinary shrapnel with base burster, but near the head

is a second magazine filled with a high-explosive charge;

this is attached to the end of the fuze and is so arranged

that when the shell is burst as time shrapnel the flash

from the fuze passes clear of the high-explosive magazine

and ignites only the base magazine, the bullets being blown

out in the usual manner. When, however, the fuze acts on

graze, the percussion part detonates the high-explosive

charge and the bullets are blown out sideways and thus reach

men behind shields, &c. (fig. 10). There is some loss of

bullet capacity in this shell, and it appears likely that the

bullets will be materially deformed when detonation occurs;

the advantages may, however, counterbalance their objections.

Segment and ring shell are varieties of shrapnel, the

interior of the shell being built up of cast-iron segments

or rings (which break up into segments) about a tinned-iron

cylinder which formed the magazine of the shell. The shell

was completed by a cast-iron body formed around the segments or

rings. The German army in 1870 employed ring shell almost

exclusively against the French. The French found that common

shell (obus ordinaire) when made of cast iron broke up on

bursting into a small number of irregularly shaped pieces, and

in order to obtain a systematic fragmentation for small shells

they adopted a variety of projectiles of the segment and shrapnel

types. With the improvements made latterly these have become

obsolete, and the French system does not now materially differ

from that employed in England and other countries. The old

shell are, however, of sufficient interest to be enumerated;

thus the "double-walled shell" (obus a double parol) was

built up of two shells, the internal portion had a cylindrical

chamber for the bursting charge, but on the outside it was so

shaped as to break up into well-defined pieces; the external

portion of the shell was cast around the internal part, and

also broke up into a number Of pieces; this shell was liable

to premature explosion. The obus a couronnes de balles

(1879) was practically a segment shell with cast-iron balls

in lieu of segments; thin iron partitions separated each

layer, and the balls were flattened where they came in contact

with the plates. The obus a balles libres, adopted in

1880, were of the same type, but there were no separating

plates. The obus a anneaux was simply a ring shell of

the same type as used in England. The obus a mitraille

adopted in 1883 for field and siege guns had a cast-iron

disc for its base with the body built up of segments and

steel balls; a hollow ogival head surmounted this and a thin

steel envelope bound all together. The head was filled with

powder and fitted with a fuze; on explosion the head burst

and rupturing the envelope set free the balls and segments.

It is of importance in firing shrapnel shell that the position

of the burst shall be plainly seen. With the larger patterns

of shell this presents no difficulty, but with the shrapnel

for field guns which contain a small bursting charge only,

and at long range in certain states of the atmosphere, the

difficulty becomes pronounced. The problem has been solved in

some cases by packing the bullets in fine grain black powder

(instead of resin) and compressing both bullets and powder in

order to prevent the generation of heat when the bullets set

back on the discharge of the gun. In Germany a mixture of

red amorphous phosphorus and fine grain powder is used for the

same purpose and produces a dense white cloud of smoke. In

Russia a mixture of magnesium and antimony sulphide is used.

Fuzes.--The fuzes first used were short iron or copper

tubes filled with slow-burning composition. They were roughly

screwed on the exterior to fit a similar thread in the fuze

hole of the shell. There was no means of regulating the

length of time of burning, but later, about the end of the

17th century, the fuze case was made of paper or wood, so

that, by boring a hole through the outer casing into the

composition, the fuze could be made to burn approximately

for a given time before exploding the shell--or the fuze

could be cut to the correct length for the same purpose.

Early attempts to produce percussion fuzes were unsuccessful,

but the discovery of fulminate of mercury in 1799 finally

afforded the means of attaining this object. Some fifty years,

however, elapsed before a satisfactory fuze was made. This

was the Pettman fuze, in which a roughened ball covered with

detonating composition was released by the discharge of the

gun. When the shell hit any object, the ball struck against

the interior walls of the fuze, the composition was exploded

and thence the bursting charge of the shell. At present there

are three types of percussion fuzes--(1) those which depend

on the gas pressure in the gun setting the pellet of the fuze

free--this type is necessarily a base fuze; (2) those which

rely on the shock of discharge or the rotation of the shell

setting the pellet free, as in various kinds of nose and base

fuzes; (3) those relying on direct impact with the object.

The British base percussion fuze (fig. 12) illustrates

type (1). In this, before firing, the needle pellet is held

back by a central spindle with a pressure plate attached to

its rear end. For additional safety a centrifugal bolt is

added which is released by the rotation of the shell. On

discharge, the gas pressure pushes the pressure plate in, the

central spindle is carried forward with it and unlocks the

centrifugal bolt; this is withdrawn by the rotation of the

shell, and the needle pellet is then free to move forward

and explode the detonating cap when the shell strikes.

Type (2) is that usually adopted in small base fuzes and in

the percussion part of "time and percussion" fuzes. Here the

ferrule, on shock of discharge, moves back relatively to the

percussion pellet by collapsing the stirrup spring; this leaves

the pellet free to move forward, on the shell striking, and

its detonator to strike the needle fixed in the fuze body. A

spiral spring prevents any movement of the pellet during flight.

The direct-action or impact fuzes of type (3) are very simple

(see fig. 13 of direct-action fuze). They are made of such

a strength that during discharge nothing happens, but on

striking an object the needle disc is crushed in and the needle

explodes the detonating composition and thence the powder.

The action of all time fuzes is started by the discharge

of the gun. By this the pellet strikes the detonator and

so ignites a length of slow-burning composition which is

pressed into a wood tube or into a channel formed in a metal

ring. To regulate the time of burning of the wood fuze, a

hole is bored through into the composition as before stated,

so that when it has burnt down to this hole one of the side

channels filled with powder is ignited and explodes the

shell. Wood fuzes are now only used for R.M.L. guns.

With modern long-burning fuzes (fig. 14), two composition

time rings are used. The lower of these rings is made movable

so that it can be turned to bring any desired place over a

hole in the body of the fuze, which is filled with powder and

communicates with the magazine. On the gun being fired the

detonator is exploded and its flash ignites the upper time

ring. This burns round to a passage made in the lower ring, when

the lower ring begins to burn and continues to do so until the

channel to the magazine is reached. The gases from the ignited

composition escape from an external hole made in each time ring.

Mechanical time fuzes depending on the rotation of the shell

to give a regular motion to clockwork have been tried, but

so far no practicable form of these fuzes has been found.

It is important that all fuzes should be rigidly guarded against

dampness, which tends to lengthen their time of burning; hence

they are protected either by being kept in hermetically sealed

tins holding one or more fuzes, or by some similar means.

Tubes and Primers.--In ancient times various devices were

adopted to ignite the charge. Small guns were fired by thrusting

a hot wire down the vent into the charge, or slow-burning

powder was poured down the vent and ignited by a hot wire.

Later the priming powder was ignited by a piece of slow match held

in a lint-stock (often called linstock). About A.D. 1700 this

was effected by means of a port-fire (this was a paper case about

FIG. 14.--Fuze, Time and Percussion, No. 80, Mk. I

16 in. long filled with slow-burning composition which burnt

rather more than 1 in. per minute). Later again the charge was

exploded by paper tubes (sometimes called Dutch tubes) filled with

powder and placed in the vent and ignited by a port- fire. In

comparatively modern times friction tubes have been used, while

in the latest patterns percussion or electric tubes are employed.

In most B.L. guns it is essential to stop the erosion of the

metal of the vent by preventing the escape of gas through it

when the gun is fired. For this purpose the charges in such

guns are ignited by ``vent-sealing tubes.'' For M.L. guns and

small B.L. guns radially vented, especially those using black

powder, the amount of erosion in the vent is not so serious.

The charge is fired by ordinary friction tubes, which are blown

away by the escape of gas through the vent. In all guns axially

vented, vent- sealing tubes, which are not blown out, must be

employed so that the men serving the gun may not be injured.

The common friction tube is a copper tube, driven with powder,

having at the upper end a short branch (called a nib piece) at

right angles. This branch is filled with friction composition

in which a friction bar is embedded. On the friction bar being

sharply pulled out, by means of a lanyard, the composition is

ignited and sets fire to the powder in the long tube; the flash

is conveyed through the vent and explodes the gun charge. For

FIG. 15.--T-headed Friction Tube.

naval purposes, in order that the sailors should not be cut

about the face or hurt their feet, tubes of quill instead

of copper were used. If friction tubes are employed when

cordite or other smokeless powder charges are used, the

erosion of the vent is very rapid unless the escape of the

gas is prevented; in this case T-headed tubes (fig. 15) are

used. They are similar in action to the ordinary type,

but are fixed to the vent by the head fitting a bayonet

joint formed with the vent. The explosion blows a small

FIG. 16.--Electric Tube.

ball upwards and blocks the coned hole at the

top of the tube and so prevents any rush of gas.

The vent-sealing tube accurately fits into a chamber formed

at the end of the vent, and is held in place by the gun

lock or some similar means. The force of the explosion

expands the tube against the walls of its chamber, while

the internal structure of the tube renders it gas-tight,

any escape of gas through the vent being thus prevented.

In the English service electric tubes (in the United States

called ``primers'') are mostly used, but percussion or

friction tubes are in most favour on the continent, and

electric tubes are seldom or never used. There are two types

of electric tube, one with long wires (fig. 16) for joining

FIG. 17.--Wireless Tube.

up with the electric circuit and the other without external

wires. The first type has two insulated wires led into the

interior and attached to two insulated brass cones which are

connected by a wire ``bridge'' of platinum silver. This bridge

is surrounded by a priming composition of guncotton dust and

mealed powder and the remainder of the tube is filled with

powder. On an electric current passing, the bridge is

heated to incandescence and ignites the priming composition.

In the wireless tube (fig. 17) the lock of the gun makes the

electric contact with an insulated disc in the head of the

tube. This disc is connected by an insulated wire to a brass

cone, also insulated, the bridge being formed from an edge of

the cone to a brass wire which is soldered to the mouth of the

tube. Priming composition surrounds the bridge and the tube

is filled with powder. The electric circuit passes from the

gun lock to the disc, thence through the bridge to the body of

the tube, returning through the metal of the gun and mounting.

The percussion tube (fig. 18) has a similarly shaped body to the

wireless electric tube, but the internal construction differs;

it is fitted with a striker, below which is a percussion cap

on a hollow brass anvil, and the tube is filled with powder.

With Q.F. guns (that is, strictly, those using metallic cartridge

cases) the case itself is fitted with the igniting medium;

in England these are called primers. For small guns the case

contains a percussion primer, usually a copper cap filled with

a chlorate mixture and resting against an anvil. The striker of

FIG. 18.--Primer.

the gun strikes the cap and fires the mixture. For larger guns an

electric primer (fig. 19) is used, the internal construction and

action of which are precisely similar to the wireless tube already

described; the exterior is screwed for the case. For percussion

FIG. 19.--Electric Primer.

firing an ordinary percussion tube is placed in an

adapter screwed into the case. In some foreign services

a combined electric and percussion primer is used;

the action of this will be understood from fig. 20.

The first cartridges for cannon were made up of gunpowder

packed in a paper bag or case. For many years after the

introduction of cannon the powder was introduced into the bore

by means of a scoop-shaped ladle fixed to the end of a long

stave. The ladle was made of the same diameter as the shot,

and it had a definite length so that it was filled once for

the charging of small guns but for larger guns the ladle

had to be filled twice or even thrice. The rule was to

make the powder charge the same weight as that of the shot.

Cartridges made up in paper or canvas bags were afterwards

used in forts at night-time or on board ship, so that

the guns could be more rapidly loaded and with less risk

than by using a ladle. Before loading, a piece of the

paper or canvas covering had to be cut open immediately

under the vent; after the shot had been rammed home

FIG. 20.--Combined Primer.

the vent was filled with powder from a priming horn, and the gun

was then fired by means of a hot iron, quick match or port-fire.

The ancient breech-loading guns were not so difficult to

load, as the powder chamber of the gun was removable

and was charged by simply filling it up with powder and

ramming a wad on top to prevent the escape of the powder.

Paper, canvas and similar materials are particularly

liable to smoulder after the gun has been fired, hence

the necessity of well sponging the piece. Even with this

precaution accidents often occurred owing to a cartridge

being ignited by the still glowing debris of the previous

round. In order to prevent this, bags of non-smouldering

material, such as flannel, serge or silk cloth are used;

combustible material such as woven gun-cotton cloth has also

been tried, but there are certain disadvantages attending this.

All smokeless powders are somewhat difficult to ignite in a

gun, so that in order to prevent hang-fires every cartridge

has a primer or igniter, of ordinary fine grain gunpowder,

placed so as to intercept the flash from the tube; the outside

of the bag containing this igniter is made of shalloon,

to allow the flash to penetrate with ease. The charge for

heavy guns (above 6 in.) is made up in separate cartridges

containing half and quarter charges, both for convenience

of handling, and to allow of a reduced charge being used.

The cartridges are made of a bundle of cordite,or other smokeless

powder, tightly tied with silk, placed in a silk cloth bag with

the primer or igniter stitched on the unclosed end; the exterior

is taped with silk cloth tape so as to form a stiff cartridge. For

FIG. 21.--10-inch B.L. Gun Cartridge.

some of the longer guns, the exterior of the cartridre

is conveniently made of a coned shape, the coned form

being produced by building up layers outside a cylindrical

core. In these large cartridges a silk cord becket runs up

the centre with a loop at the top for handling (fig. 21).

For howitzers, variable charges are used, and are made up so

that the weight can be readily altered. The following typical

instance (fig. 22) will serve to show the general method of making

Fig. 22.--6-inch B.L. Howitzer Cartridge.

such charges, whether for B.L. or Q.F. howitzers. Small

size cordite is used, and the charge is formed of a

mushroom-shaped core, made up in a shalloon bag; on the

stalk, so as to be easily removed, three rings of cordite are

placed. The bottom of the core contains the primer, and

the rings can be attached to the core by two silk braids.

The weight of the rings is graduated so that by detaching

one or more the varying charges required can be obtained.

For quick-firing guns the charge is contained in a brass

case to which is fitted a primer for igniting the charge.

This case is inserted into the gun, and when fired slightly

expands and tightly fits the chamber of the gun, thus acting

as an obturator and preventing any escape of gas from the

breech. This class of ammunition is especially useful

for the smaller calibres of guns, such as 3-pr., 6-pr. and

field guns, but Messrs Krupp also employ metallic cartridge

cases for the largest type of gun, probably on account of

the known difficulty of ensuring trustworthy obturation

by any other means practicable with sliding wedge guns.

The charges for these cases are made up in a very similar manner to

those already described for B.L. guns. Where necessary, distance

pieces formed of papier-mache tubes and felt wads are used to

fill up the space in the case and so prevent any movement of the

charge. The mouth of the case is closed either by the base

end of the projectile (fig. 23), in which case it is called

``fixed ammunition'' or ``simultaneous loading ammunition.''

or by a metallic cap (fig. 24), when it is called ``separate

FIG. 24.--4.7-inch Q.F. Cartridge greatly reduced scale).

loading ammunition,'' projectile and charge being

thus loaded by separate operations. (A. G. H.)

The Bullet.--The original musket bullet was a spherical leaden

ball two sizes smaller than the bore, wrapped in a loosely

fitting paper patch which formed the cartridge. The loading

was, therefore, easy with the old smooth-bore Brown Bess and

similar military muskets. The original muzzle-loading rifle,

on the other hand, with a closely fitting ball to take the

grooves, was loaded with difficulty, particularly when foul, and

for this reason was not generally used for military purposes.

In 1826 Delirque, a French infantry officer, invented a

breech with abrupt shoulders on which the spherical bullet

was rammed down until it expanded and filled the grooves.

The objection in this case was that the deformed bullet

had an erratic flight. The Brunswick rifle, introduced

into the British army in the reign of William IV., fired a

spherical bullet weighing 557 grs. with a belt to fit the

grooves. The rifle was not easily loaded, and soon

fouled. In 1835 W. Greener produced a new expansive bullet,

an oval ball, a diameter and a half in length, with a flat

end, perforated, in which a cast metallic taper plug was

inserted. The explosion of the charge drove the plug

home, expanded the bullet, filled the grooves and prevented

windage. A trial of the Greener bullet in August 1835, at

Tynemouth, by a party of the 60th (now King's Royal) Rifles,

proved successful. The range and accuracy of the rifle were

retained, while the loading proved as easy as with a smooth-bore

musket. The invention was, however, rejected by the military

authorities on the ground that the bullet was a compound one.

In 1852 the government awarded Minie, a Frenchman, L. 20,000 for

a bullet of the same principle, adopted into the British

service. Subsequently, in 1857, Greener was also awarded

L. 1000 for ``the first public suggestion of the principle of

expansion, commonly called the Minie principle, in 1836.'' The

Minie bullet contained an iron cup in a cavity in the base of

the bullet. The form of the bullet was subsequently changed

from conoidal to cylindro-conoidal, with a hemispherical iron

cup. This bullet was used in the Enfield rifle introduced into

the British army in 1855. It weighed 530 grs., and was made

up into cartridges and lubricated as for the Minie rifle. A

boxwood plug to the bullet was also used. The bullet used in

the breech-loading Martini-Henry rifle, adopted by the British

government in 1871 in succession to the Snider-Enfield rifle,

weighed 480 grs., and was fired from an Eley-Boxer cartridge-

case with a wad of wax lubrication at the base of the bullet.

Between 1854 and 1857 Sir Joseph Whitworth conducted a long

series of rifle experiments, and proved, among other points, the

advantages of a smaller bore and, in particular, of an elongated

bullet. The Whitworth bullet was made to fit the grooves of

the rifle mechanically. The Whitworth rifle was never adopted

by the government, although it was used extensively for match

purposes and target practice between 1857 and 1866, when it

was gradually superseded by Metford's System mentioned below.

The next important change in the history of the rifle

bullet occurred in 1883, when Major Rubin, director of the

Swiss Laboratory at Thun, invented the small-calibre rifle,

one of whose essential features was the employment of an

elongated compound bullet, with a leaden core in a copper

envelope. About 1862 and later, W. E. Metford had carried out

an exhaustive series of experiments on bullets and rifling,

and had invented the important system of light rifling with

increasing spiral, and a hardened bullet. The combined

result of the above inventions was that in December 1888

the Lee-Metford small-bore .303 rifle, Mark I., was finally

adopted for the British army. The latest development of this

rifle is now known as the .303 Lee-Enfleld, which fires a

long, thin, nickel-covered, leaden-cored bullet 1.25 in.

long, weighing only 215 grs., while the Martini-Henry bullet,

1.27 in. in length and .45 in. in diameter, weighed 480 grs.

The adoption of the smaller elongated bullet, necessitated

by the smaller calibre of the rifle, entailed some definite

disadvantages. The lighter bullet is more affected by

wind. Its greater relative length to diameter necessitates

a sharper pitch of rifling in order properly to revolve the

bullet (one turn in 10 in. for the .303 rifle as compared with

one turn in 22 in. for the Martini-Henry). This, in its turn,

necessitates a hard nickel envelope for the leaden bullet in

order to prevent its ``stripping,'' or being forced through

the barrel without rotation. The general result is that,

while the enveloped bullet has a much higher penetrative power

than one of lead only, it does not usually inflict so severe

a wound, nor has it such a stunning effect as the old lead

bullet. It cuts a small clean hole, but does not deform.

This fact is of some military importance, as, for example,

in warfare with savages, in which the chief danger is usually

a rush of large numbers at close quarters. The advantages,

however, of the smaller calibre and the lighter bullet and

ammunition are considered to outweigh the disadvantages, and

they have been universally adopted for all military rifles.

Bullets for target and sporting-rifles have, in the main,

followed, or occasionally preceded, the line of progress of

military rifle bullets. In 1861 Henry introduced a modification

of the grooving of the cylindrical Whitworth bullet, and in

1864 and 1865 the Rigby mechanically fitting bullet was used

with success at the National Rifle Association meeting, and

in the second stage of the Queen's prize. The bullets of

sporting rifles, and particularly those of Express rifles,

are often lighter than military bullets, and made with hollow

points to ensure the expansion of the projectile on or after

impact. The size and shape of the hollow in the point vary

according to the purpose required and the nature of the game

hunted. If greater penetration is needed, the leaden bullet

is hardened with mercury or tin, or the military nickel-coated

bullet is used with the small-bore, smokeless- powder rifles.

Explosive bullets filled with detonating powder were at one

time used in Express and large-bore rifles for large game.

The use of these bullets is now practically abandoned owing to

their uncertainty of action and the danger involved in handling

them. Their use in warfare is prohibited by international law.

The nickel-covered bullet, when used in a modern small-bore

rifle for sporting purposes, is made into an expanding

bullet, either by leaving the leaden core uncovered at

the nose of the bullet, with or without a hollow point,

or by cutting transverse or longitudinal nicks of varying

depth in the point or circumference of the bullet.

A cone-shaped sharp-pointed bullet, named the Spitzer bullet,

has been tried in the United States under the auspices

of the Ordnance Department, in a Springfield rifle, which

is practically identical with the British service .303

Lee-Enfield. This bullet is lighter than the Lee-Enfield

bullet (150 grs. as against 215 grs.), and when fired with

a heavier charge of powder (51 grs. as against 31 grs.)

gives, it is claimed, better results in muzzle-velocity,

trajectory, deflexion from wind and wear and tear of rifling,

than the present universally used cylinder-shaped bullet.

In 1906 details of its prototype, the German ``S'' bullet

(Spitzgeschoss), and of the French ``D'' bullet, were published.

The Cartridge.--The original cartridge for military small

arms dates from 1586. It consisted of a charge of powder

and a bullet in a paper envelope. This cartridge was used

with the muzzle- loading military firearm, the base of the

cartridge being ripped or bitten off by the soldier, the

powder poured into the barrel, and the bullet then rammed

home. Before the invention of the firelock or flint-lock,

about 1635, the priming was originally put into the pan of

the wheel-lock and snaphance muskets from a flask containing

a fine-grained powder called serpentine powder. Later the

pan was filled from the cartridge above described before

loading. The mechanism of the flint-lock musket, in which the

FIG. 25.

pan was covered by the furrowed steel struck by the flint,

rendered this method of priming unnecessary, as, in loading, a

portion of the charge of powder passed from the barrel through

the vent into the pan, where it was held by the cover and hammer.

The next important advance in the method of ignition was the

introduction of the copper percussion cap. This was only generally

applied to the British military musket (the Brown Bess) in

1842, a quarter of a century after the invention of percussion

powder and after an elaborate government test at Woolwich in

1834. The invention which made the percussion cap possible

was patented by the Rev. A. J. Forsyth in 1807, and consisted

of priming with a fulminating powder made of chlorate of

potash, sulphur and charcoal, which exploded by concussion.

This invention was gradually developed, and used, first in a

steel cap, and then in a copper cap, by various gunmakers and

private individuals before coming into general military use

nearly thirty years later. The alteration of the military

flint-lock to the percussion musket was easily accomplished

by replacing the powder pan by a perforated nipple, and by

replacing the cock or hammer which held the flint by a smaller

hammer with a hollow to fit on the nipple when released by the

trigger. On the nipple was placed the copper cap containing

the detonating composition, now made of three parts of chlorate

of potash, two of fulminate of mercury and one of powdered

glass. The detonating cap thus invented and adopted, brought

about the invention of the modern cartridge case, and rendered

possible the general adoption of the breech-loading principle

for all varieties of rifles, shot guns and pistols. Probably

no invention connected with firearms has wrought such changes

in the principle of gun construction as those effected by

the expansive cartridge case. This invention has completely

revolutionized the art of gunmaking, has been successfully

applied to all descriptions of firearms, and has produced a

new and important industry--that of cartridge manufacture.

Its essential feature is the prevention of all escape of

gas at the breech when the weapon is fired, by means of

an expansive cartridge case containing its own means of

ignition. Previous to this invention shot guns and sporting

rifles were loaded by means of powder flasks and shot flasks,

bullets, wads and copper caps, all carried separately. The

earliest efficient modern cartridge case was the pin-fire,

patented, according to some authorities, by Houiller, a Paris

gunsmith, in 1847; and, according to others, by Lefaucheux,

also a Paris gunsmith, in or about 1850. It consisted of

thin weak shell made of brass and paper which expanded by the

force of the explosion, fitted perfectly into the barrel, and

thus formed an efficient gas check. A small percussion cap

was placed in the middle of the base of the cartridge, and

was exploded by means of a brass pin projecting from the side

and struck by the hammer. This pin also afforded the means of

extracting the cartridge case. This cartridge was introduced

in England by Lang, of Cockspur Street, London, about 1855.

The central-fire cartridge was introduced into England in

1861 by Daw. It is said to have been the invention of Pottet

of Paris, improved upon by Schneider, and gave rise to

much litigation in respect of its patent rights. Daw was

subsequently defeated in his control of the patents by Eley

Bros. In this cartridge the cap in the centre of the

cartridge base is detonated by a striker passing through

the standing breech to the inner face, the cartridge case

being withdrawn, or, in the most modern weapons, ejected

by a sliding extractor fitted to the breech end of the

barrel, which catches the rim of the base of the cartridge.

This is practically the modern cartridge case now in universal

use. In the case of shot guns it has been gradually inproved

in small details. The cases are made either of paper of

various qualities with brass bases, or entirely of thin

brass. The wadding between powder and shot has been thickened

and improved in quality; and the end of the cartridge case is

now made to fit more perfectly into the breech chamber. These

cartridges vary in size from 32 bore up to 4 bore for shoulder

guns. They are also made as small as .410 and .360 gauge:

their length varies from 1 3/4 in. to 4 in. Cartridges for punt

guns are usually 1 1/2 in. in diameter and 9 3/4 in. in length.

In the case of military rifles the breech-loading cartridge

case was first adopted in principle by the Prussians about

1841 in the needle-gun (q.v.) breech-loader. In this

a conical bullet rested on a thick wad, behind which was

the powder, the whole being enclosed in strong lubricated

paper. The detonator was in the hinder surface of the wad,

and fired by a needle driven forward from the breech, through

the base of the cartridge and through the powder, by the action

of a spiral spring set free by the pulling of the trigger.

In 1867 the British war office adopted the Eley-Boxer

metallic central-fire cartridge case in the Enfield rifles,

which were converted to breech-loaders on the Snider

principle. This consisted of a block opening on a hinge,

thus forming a false breech against which the cartridge

rested. The detonating cap was in the base of the cartridge,

and was exploded by a striker passing through the breech

block. Other European powers adopted breech-loading military

rifles from 1866 to 1868, with paper instead of metallic

cartridge cases. The original Eley-Boxer cartridge case

was made of thin coiled brass. Later the solid-drawn,

central-fire cartridge case, made of one entire solid piece

of tough hard metal, an alloy of copper, &c., with a solid

head of thicker metal, has been generally substituted.

Central-fire cartridges with solid-drawn metallic cases

containing their own means of ignition are now universally

used in all modern varieties of military and sporting rifles

and pistols. There is great variety in the length and

diameter of cartridges for the different kinds and calibres

of rifles and pistols. Those for military rifies vary

from 2.2 in. to 2.25 in. in length, and from .256 to .315

gauge. For sporting rifles from 2 1/4 in. to 3 1/2 in. in

length, and through numerous gauges from .256 in. to .600

in. For revolvers, pistols, rook and rabbit rifles, and for

Morris tubes, cartrillges vary from .22 in. to .301 in. in

gauge. All miniature cartridges with light charges are made

for breech adapters to enable .303 military rifles to be

used on miniature rifle ranges. All the above cartridges are

central-fire. Rim-fire cartridges for rifles, revolvers

and pistols vary from .22 in. to .56 in. gauge according to

the weapon for which they are required. The cartridge for

the British war office miniature rifle is .22 calibre, with

5 grs. of powder and a bullet weighing 40 grs. Most modern

military rifles are supplied with clip or charger loading

arrangements, whereby the magazine is filled with the required

number of cartridges in one motion. A clip is simply a case

of cartridges which is dropped into the magazine; a charger

is a strip of metal holding the bases of the cartridges,

and is placed over the magazine, the cartridges being

pressed out into the latter. Both clips and chargers, being

consumable stores, may be considered as ammunition. (H. S.-K.)

AMNESTY (from the Gr. amnestia, oblivion), an act of

grace by which the supreme power in a state restores those

who may have been guilty of any offence against it to the

position of innocent persons. It includes more than pardon,

inasmuch as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the

offence. Amnesties, which may be granted by the crown alone,

or by act of parliament, were formerly usual on coronations

and similar occasions, but are chiefly exercised towards

associations of political criminals, and are sometimes granted

absolutely, though more frequently there are certain specified

exceptions. Thus, in the case of the earliest recorded

amnesty, that of Thrasybulus at Athens, the thirty tyrants and

a few others were expressly excluded from its operation; and

the amnesty proclaimed on the restoration of Charles II. did

not extend to those who had taken part in the execution of his

father. Other celebrated amnesties are that proclaimed by Napoleon

on the 13th of March 1815, from which thirteen eminent persons,

including Talleyrand, were excepted; the Prussian amnesty of

the 10th of August 1840; the general amnesty proclaimed by the

emperor Francis Joseph of Austria in 1857; the general amnesty

granted by President Johnson after the Civil War in 1868; and

the French amnesty of 1905. The last act of amnesty passed

in Great Britain was that of 1747, which proclaimed a pardon

to those who had taken part in the second Jacobite rebellion.

AMOEBA, the Greek equivalent of the name ``Amibe'' given

by Bery St Vincent to the Proteus animalcule of earlier

naturalists, used as a quasi-popular term for any simple naked

protist the sole external organs of which are pseudopodia,

i.e. temporary outgrowths of the clearer outer layer of the

soft protoplasmic body. It is also used as a generic name,

and in its present limitations by E. Penard includes only

those the pseudopodia of which are constantly changing, blunt

outgrowths. In the former wider sense, amoebae are found

in sluggish waters, fresh and salt, all over the world; they

readily make their appearance in infusions putrefying after

infection from aerially carried germs, and the leucocytes

or colourless blood corpuscles of Metazoa are essentially

amoebae in their structure and behaviour. The protoplasm of

the individual is divided into a centrally placed body, the

nucleus, of relatively stable shape, and the cytoplasm, itself

divided into an outer, clearer ectoplasm (``ectosarc'') and an

inner, more granular endoplasm (``endosarc''), passing into one

another. The movements of amoebae are of several kinds. (1)

The amoeba may grow out irregularly into blunt lobes, the

pseudopodia, some being emitted while others are retracted, and

so may advance in any direction by the emission of pseudopodia

thitherward, and the enlargement of these by the passage of

the organism into them. (2) Again, it may advance by a sort

of rolling: the lower surface, or that in contact with the

substratum over or under which it is passing, is viscid and

adheres to the substratum, the superficial dorsal layer passing

forward and bending over to the ventral side; whilst the

converse action takes place at the hinder end; (3) or again, the

pseudopodia, when long, well marked and relatively permanent,

may serve as actual limbs on which the body is supported

and on which it moves. In the outgrowth of a pseudopod the

process may take place gradually, the ectoplasm growing as it

stretches, or it may take place by the limiting layer of the

ectosarc bursting, as it were, and a rounded prominence of

the endosarc protruding and at once forming a new ``skin', or

pellicle. This last mode, termed ``eruptive,'' is common

in the case of the enormous, multinucleate amoeba termed

Pelomyxa palustris, which attains a diameter when contracted

and spherical of as much as a line (over 2 mm.). From the

ease with which amoebae are obtained and kept alive under

the microscope, as well as from their identity in structure

with the primitive elements of Metazoa, they have always

been favourite objects of study for protoplasmic physiology

under its simplest conditions. Among the investigators of

protoplasmic movements we may cite F. Dujardin, O. Butschli,

L. Rhumbler and H. S. Jennings. The opening to the exterior

of the contractile vesicle has been found here. Pelomyxa

has yielded to A. E. Dixon and M. Hartog a peptic ferment,

such as has been extracted by C. F. W. Krukenberg from the

myxomycete Fuligo (Flowers of Tan), which is the largest

known naked mass of protoplasm without cellular differentiation.

Amoeba shows also the multiplication by fission, so

characteristic of the cell: for the study of other modes of

reproduction, spore formation and syngamic (or so-called

fertilization) processes, fresh-water or salt-water amoebae

are ill suited, and up to this date we do not know the life

cycle of any free-living naked amoeba, though that of some

parasitic forms and shell-bearers have been fully made out. Some

amoebae are certainly young states of Myxomycetes. Encystment,

the excretion of a membrane around the cell to tide over

unfavourable circumstances, has been noted in almost all species.

Amoeba coli and A. histolytica are parasites in the gut

of man, the former relatively harmless, the latter the cause

of severe dysentery and hepatic abscess, common in India.

H. S. Jennings has recently made a full study of the movements

of Amoeba, and of its general behaviour, and found therein

many indications that these are on the whole such as we

should expect of an organism working by ``trial and error''

rather than the uniform modes of non-living beings. Thus the

operations of an amoeba ingesting a round, encysted Euglena

are summed up thus: ``One seems to see that the amoeba is

trying to obtain this cyst for food, that it shows remarkable

pertinacity in continuing its attempts to put forth efforts to

accomplish this in various ways, and that it shows remarkable

pertinacity in continuing its attempts to ingest the food

when it meets with difficulties. Indeed the scene could be

described in a much more vivid and interesting way by the use

of terms still more anthropomorphic in tendency.'' (M. HA.)

AMOL, or AMUL, a town of Persia, in the province of

Mazandaran, 23 m. W. of Barfurush, in 36 deg. 28' N. Lat. and

52 deg. 23' E. long. Pop. about 10,000. It is situated on both

banks of the Heraz, or Herhaz river, which is crossed here by

a very narrow stone bridge of twelve arches and flows into the

Caspian Sea 12 m. lower down. Amol is not walled and is now

a place of little importance, but in and around it there are

ruins and ancient buildings which bear witness to its former

greatness. Of these the most conspicuous is the mausoleum of

Seyed Kavvam ud-din, king of Mazandaran, who died in 1379, and

one old mosque dates from A.D. 793. The town has spacious

and well-supplied bazaars and post and telegraph offices.

AMONTONS, GUILLAUME (1663-1705), French experimental

philosopher, the son of an advocate who had left his native

province of Normandy and established himself at Paris, was

born in that city on the 31st of August 1663. He devoted

himself particularly to the improvement of instruments

employed in physical experiments. In 1687 he presented to

the Academy of Sciences an hygrometer of his own invention,

and in 1695 he published his only book, Remarques et

experiences physiques sur la construction d'une nouvelle

clepsydre, sur les barometres, les thermometres et les

hygrometres. In 1699 he published some investigations

on friction, and in 1702-1703 two noteworthy papers on

thermometry. He experimented with an air-thermometer, in

which the temperature was defined by measurement of the length

of a column of mercury; and he pointed out that the extreme

cold of such a thermometer would be that which reduced the

``spring'' of the air to nothing, thus being the first to

recognize that the use of air as a thermometric substance led

to the inference of the existence of a zero of temperature.

In 1704 he noted that barometers are affected by heat as well

as by the weight of the atmosphere, and in the following year

he described barometers without mercury, for use at sea.

Amontons, who through disease was rendered almost completely

deaf in early youth, died at Paris on the 11th of October 1705.

'AMORA (Hebrew for ``speaker'' or ``discourser''), a

title applied to the rabbis of the 2nd to 5th centuries,

i.e. to the compilers of the Talmud. Each tana--or

rabbi of the earlier period--had a spokesman, who repeated

to large audiences the discourses of the tana. But the

'amora soon ceased to be a mere repeater, and developed

into an original expounder of scripture and tradition.

AMORITES, the name given by the Israelites to the earlier

inhabitants of Palestine. They are regarded as a powerful

people, giants in stature ``like the height of the cedars,''

who had occupied the land east and west of the Jordan. The

Biblical usage appears to show that the terms ``Canaanites''

and ``Amorites'' were used synonymously, the former being

characteristic of Judaean, the latter of Ephraimite and

Deuteronomic writers. A distinction is sometimes maintained,

however, when the Amorites are spoken of as the people of

the past, whereas the Canaanites are referred to as still

surviving. The old name is an ethnic term, evidently to be

connected with the terms Amurru and Amar, used by Assyria

and Egypt respectively. In the spelling Mar-tu, the name

is as old as the first Babylonian dynasty, but from the

15th century B.C. and downwards its syllabic equivalent

Amurru is applied primarily to the land extending northwards

of Palestine as far as Kadesh on the Orontes. The term

``Canaan,'' on the other hand, is confined more especially

to the southern district (from Gebal to the south of

Palestine). But it is possible that the terms at an early date

were interchangeable, Canaan being geographical and Amorite

ethnical. The wider extension of the use of Amurru by the

Babylonians and Assyrians is complicated by the fact that

it was even applied to a district in the neighbourhood of

Babylonia. If the people of the first Babylonian dynasty

(about 21st century B.C.) called themselves ``Amorites,''

as Ranke seems to have shown, it is possible that some

feeling of common origin was recognized at that early date.

See Ranke, Bab. Exped. Pennsylvania, series D, iii. 33

sqq.; and for general information, W. M. Muller, Asien u.

Europa, 217 sqq.; Pinches, Old Testament, Index (s.v..)

The people of Amar are represented on the Egyptian monuments

with yellow skin, blue eyes, red eyebrows and beard, whence

it has been conjectured that they were akin to the Libyans

(Sayce, Expositor, July 1888). Senir, the ``Amorite',

name of Hermon (Deut. iii. 9). appears to be identical

with Saniru in the Lebanon, mentioned by Shalmaneser Il.

In the Old Testament the chief references may be classified

as follows:--primitive inhabitants generally, Is. xvii. 9

(on text see comm.), Ezek. xvi. 3; a people W. of Jordan,

Josh. x. 5; Judg. i. 34-36; Deut. i. 7, 44; Gen. xiv. 7,

xlviii. 22: E. of Jordan, Num. xxi. 13, 21 sqq.; Josh. ii.

10, xxiv. 8; Judg. x. 8. See further CANAAN, PALESTINE.

AMORPHISM (from a, privative, and morfe, form),

a term used in chemistry and mineralogy to denote the

absence of regular or crystalline structure in a body;

the adjective ``amorphous,'' formless or of irregular

shape, being also used technically in biology, &c.

AMORT, EUSEBIUS (1692--1775), German Catholic theologian,

was born at Bibermuhle, near Tolz, in Upper Bavaria, on

the 15th of November 1692. He studied at Munich, and at

an early age joined the Canons Regular at Polling, where,

shortly after his ordination in 1717, he taught theology and

philosophy. In 1733 he went to Rome as theologian to Cardinal

Niccolo Maria Lercari (d. 1757). He returned to Polling in 1735

and devoted the rest of his life to the revival of learning in

Bavaria. He died at Polling on the 5th of February 1775.

Amort, who had the reputation of being the most learned man

of his age, was a voluminous writer on every conceivable

subject, from poetry to astronomy, from dogmatic theology to

mysticism. His best known works are: a manual of theology

in 4 vols., Theologia electica, moralis et scholastica

(Augsburg, 1752; revised by Benedict XIV. for the 1753

edition published at Bologna); a defence of Catholic doctrine,

entitled Demonstratio critica religionis Catholicae

(Augsburg, 1751); a work on indulgences, which has often been

criticized by Protestant writers, De Origine, Progressu,

Valore, et Fructu Indulgentiorum (Augsburg, 1735); a treatise

on mysticism, De Revelationibus et Visionibus, &c. (2

vols., 1744); and the astronomical work Nova philosophiae

planetarum et artis criticae systemata (Nuremberg, 1723).

The list of his other works, including his three erudite

contributions to the question of authorship of the Imitatio

Christi, will be found in C. Toussaint's scholarly article

in A. Vacant's Dict. de theologie (1900, cols. 1115-1117).

AMORTIZATION (derived through the French from Lat. ad,

and mortem, to death), literally an extinction or doing

to death, a word formerly used of alienating lands in

mortmain, and now for the paying off of a debt, particularly

by means of a regular sinking-fund; thus ``amortization''

and ``amortization fund'' generally refer to the latter

method of extinguishing some pecuniary liability.

AMORY, THOMAS (c. 1691-1788), British author, was born

about 1601, his father being the secretary for the forfeited

estates in Ireland. He was an eccentric character and seems

to have lived a very secluded life. He published Memoirs;

containing the lives of several Ladies of Great Britain; a

History of Antiquities &c. (1755) and Life of John Buncle

Esq. (1756 and 1766). Both books are an extraordinary mixture

of fiction, autobiography, scenic description and theological

discussion. Amory died on the 25th of November 1788.

AMOS, in the Bible, an Israelitish prophet of the 8th

century B.C. He was a native of Tekoa, i.e. as most

suppose, a place which still bears the same name 6 m. S. of

Bethlehem. He was a shepherd, or perhaps a sheep-breeder,

but combined this occupation with that of a tender of sycomore

figs. It is true, the Tekoa just mentioned lies too high

for sycomores; so it has been almost too ingeniously supposed

that Amos may have owned a plantation of sycomores in the

hill country leading down to Philistia, technically called

the Shephelah (R. Y., ``lowland''). Here there were

sycomores in abundance (1 Kings x. 27). That this was his

usual occupation we learn from a better source than the heading

(i. 1), viz. a narrative (vii. 10, 17), evidently of early

origin, which interrupts the series of prophetic visions on

the fall of the kingdom of Israel. Amos, it appears, though

himself a Judahite, had been prophesying in the northern

kingdom, when his activity was brought to an abrupt close by

the head priest of the royal sanctuary at Bethel, Amaziah,

who bade him escape to the land of Judah and get his living

there. The reply of Amos is full of instruction. ``No prophet

am I; no prophet's son am I; a shepherd am I, and one who tends

sycomore-figs. And Yahweh took me from behind the flock; and

Yahweh said to me, Go, prophesy against my people Israel.''

The following words show that a prophet in ancient Israel

had the utmost freedom of speech. It was far otherwise

in the period of the fall of Judah. (See JEREMIAH.)

But what had Amos said that appeared so dangerous to the head

priest? Amaziah summarizes it thus, ``Jeroboam shall die by the

sword, and Israel shall go away into captivity from his own

land'' (vii. 11; cf. vii. 9b, v. 27, vi. 7). He omits all the

reasons for this stern prophecy. The reasons are that the good

old Israelitish virtue of brotherliness is dying away, that

oppression and injustice are rampant (ii. 6-8, iii. 9, 10, iv.

1, v. 11, 12, viii. 4-6), and that rites are practised in the

name of religion which are abhorrent to Yahweh, because they

either have no moral meaning at all, and are mere forms (v.

21-23), or else, jndged from Amos's purified point of view,

are absolutely immoral (ii. 7; cf. viii. 14). On the details

of the captivity Amos preserves a mysterious vagueness. The

fact, however, he puts forward with the confidence of one who

is intimate with his God (iii. 7), and most probably it was at

some great festival that he spoke the words which so perturbed

Amaziah. The priest may not indeed himself have believed

them, but he probably feared their effect on the moral courage

of the people. And it is perhaps not arbitrary to suppose

that the splendour of the ritual in Amos's time implies a

tremulous anxiety that Israel's seeming prosperity under

Jeroboam II. (see JEWS) may not be as secure as could be

wished. For Amos cannot have been quite alone either in

Israel or in Judah; there must have been a little flock of

those who felt with Amos that there was small reason indeed

to ``desire the day of Yahweh'' (v. 18; see Harper's note).

But why did Amos so emphatically decline to be called a

prophet? A prophet in some true sense he certainly was, a

prophet who, within his own range, has not been surpassed.

He means this--that he is no mere ecstatic enthusiast or

``dervish,'' whose primary aim is to keep up the warlike

spirit of the people, taking for granted that Yahweh is on

the people's side, and that he is perfectly free from the

taint of selfishness, not having to support himself by his

prophesying. He could not indeed tell Amaziah this, but it

is nevertheless true that he was the founder, or one of the

founders, of a new type of prophet. He was also either the

first, or one of the first, to write down, or to get written

down, the substance of his spoken prophecies, and perhaps

also prophecies which he never delivered at all. This was

the consequence of his ill success as a public preacher.

The other prophets of the same order may be presumed to have

been hardly less unsuccessful. Hence the new phenomenon

of written prophecies. The literary skill of Amos leads

one to suppose that he had prepared in advance for this,

perhaps we may say, not altogether unfortunate necessity.

That there are many hard problems connected with the

fascinating book of Amos cannot be denied. The one point

on which we have indicated a doubt, viz. as to the situation

of Tekoa, ought strictly to be accompanied by others. For

instance, how came Amos to transfer himself to northern

Israel? How hard it must have been to obtain a footing there

while he was a mere student and observer! And how came he by

his wide knowledge of people outside the limits of Israel?

The most recent and elaborate commentator even calls him an

``ethnologist.'' And lastly, whence came his mastery of the

poetical and literary arts? Is he really the Columbus of

written prophecy? And behind these questions is the fundamental

problem of the text, which has been somewhat too slightly

treated. The text of Hosea may be in a much worse condition,

but a keen scrutiny discloses many an uncertainty, not to say

impossibility, in the traditional form of Amos. That the

text has been much adapted and altered is certain; not less

obvious are the corruptions due to carelessness and accident.

The main divisions of the book are plain, viz. chaps. i.-ii.,

chaps. iii.-vi., and chaps. vii.-ix. This arrangement,

however, is probably not due to Amos himself, or to his

immediate disciples, but to some later redactor. A number

of passages seem to have been inserted subsequently to the

time of Amos, on which see Ency. Bib., ``Amos,'' and the

introduction to Robertson Smith's Prophets of Israel(2),

though in some cases the final decision will have to be

preceded by a more thorough examination of the traditional

text. The most obvious non-Amosian passage in the book is the

concluding passage, ix. 8-15, which has evidently supplanted

the original close of the section. The meaning of the phrase

``the tabernacle (booth) of David that is fallen'' (ver. 11)

is not perfectly clear. Beyond reasonable doubt, however,

the writer seeks to take out the sting of the preceding

passage in which Israel is devoted to utter destruction.

The penitent and God-fearing Jews of the post-exilic age

needed some softening appendix, and this the editor provided.

English readers are now well supplied with books on Amos.

Driver's Joel and Amos (see JOEL) (1897) and G. A. Smith's

Twelve Prophets, vol. i. (1896), supplement and illustrate

each other. Harper's Amos anid Hosea (see HOSEA) (1905)

gives the cream of all the good things that have been said

before, with a generally sound judgment; it is addressed to

advanced students, and is perhaps less cautious than the two

former. The German commentaries on the Minor Prophets by

Nowack (2nd ed., 1905) and (especially) Marti (1904) must

not, however, be neglected. Wellhausen's briefer work (3rd

ed., 1898) is esriecially suggestive for textual criticism.

Cheyne's Critica Biblica (1904), cf. his review of Harper in

Hibbert Journal, iii. 824 fl., breaks new ground. (T. K. C.)

AMOS, SHELDON (1835-1886), English jurist, was educated

at Clare College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar

as a member of the Middle Temple in 1862. In 1869 he was

appointed to the chair of jurisprudence in University College,

London, and in 1872 became reader under the council of legal

education and examiner in constitutional law and history

to the university of London. Failing health led to his

resignation of those offices, and he took a voyage to the South

Seas. He resided for a short time at Sydney, and finally

settled in Egypt, where he practised as an advocate. After

the bombardment of Alexandria, and the reorganization of

the Egyptian judicature, he was appointed judge of the court

of appeal, but being without any previous experience of

administrative work he found the strain too great for his

health. He came to England on leave in the autumn of 1885,

and on his return to Egypt he died suddenly at Alexandria

on the 3rd of January 1886. His principal publications

are: Systematic View of the Science of Jurisprudence

(1872); Lectures on International Law (1873); Science

of Law (1874); Science of Politics (1883); History and

Principles of the Civil Law of Rome as Aid to the Study of

Scientific and Comparative Jurisprudence (1883), and numerous

pamphlets. His wife, Mrs Sheldon Amos (Sarah Maclardie

Bunting), took a prominent part in Liberal Nonconformist

politics and in movements connected with the position of

women. She died at Cairo on the 21st of January 1908.

AMOY, a city and treaty-port in the province of Fuh-kien,

China, situated on the slope of a hill, on the south coast

of a small and barren island named Hiamen, in 24 deg. 28'

N. and 118 deg. 10' E. It is a large and exceedingly dirty

place, about 9 m. in circumference, and is divided into two

portions, an inner and an outer town, which are separated

from each other by a ridge of hills, on which a citadel of

considerable strength has been built. Each of these divisions

of the city possesses a large and commodious harbour, that

of the inner town, or city proper, being protected by strong

fortifications. There are dry-docks and an excellent

anchorage. Amoy may be regarded as the port of the inland

city of Chang-chow, with which it has river communication,

and its trade, both foreign and coastwise, is extensive and

valuable. The chief articles imported are sugar, rice, raw

cotton and opium, as well as cotton cloths, iron goods and

other European manufactures. The chief exports are tea,

porcelain and paper. The trade carried on by means of Chinese

junks is said to be large, and the native merchants are

considered to be among the wealthiest and most enterprising in

China. By other vessels the trade in 1870 was:--imports,

L. 1,915,427; exports, L. 1,440,000. In 1904 the figures

were:--imports, L. 2,081,494; exports, L. 384,494. The falling

off of exports is due to the decreased demand for China

tea, for which Amoy was one of the chief centres. The native

population is now estimated at 300,000, and the foreign

residents number about 280. A large part of the trade is

that carried on with the neighbouring Japanese island of

Formosa. The province of Fuh-kien is claimed by the Japanese

as their particular sphere of influence. Amoy was captured by

the British in 1841, after a determined resistance, and is one

of the five ports that were opened to British commerce by the

treaty of 1842; it is now open to the ships of all nations.

AMPELIUS, LUCIUS, possibly a tutor or schoolmaster, and

author of an extremely concise summary--a kind of index--of

universal history (Liber Memorialis) from the earliest

times to the reign of Trajan. Its object and scope are

sufficiently indicated in the dedication to a certain Macrinus:

``Since you desire to know everything, I have written this

`book of notes,' that you may learn of what the universe and

its elements consist, what the world contains, and what the

human race has done.'' It seems to have been intended as a

text-book to be learnt by heart. The little work, in fifty

chapters, gives a sketch of cosmography, geography, mythology

(chaps. i.-x.), and history (chap. x.-end). The historical

portion, dealing mainly with the republican period, is

untrustworthy, and the text in many places corrupt; the earlier

chapters are more valuable, and contain some interesting

information. In chap. viii. (Miracula Mundi) occurs the

only reference in an ancient writer to the famous sculptures of

Pergamum, discovered in 1871, excavated in 1878, and now at

Berlin: ``At Pergamum there is a great marble altar, 40 ft.

high, with colossal sculptures, representing a battle of the

giants.'' Nothing is known of the author or of the date at

which he lived: the times of Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius,

the beginning of the 3rd century, and the age of Diocletian

and Constantine have all been suggested. The Macrinus to whom

the work is dedicated may have been the emperor, who reigned

217-218, but the name is not uncommon, and it seems more

likely that he was a young man with a thirst for universal

knowledge, which the Liber Memorialis was compiled to satisfy.

There is no English edition or translation. The first

edition of Ampelius was published in 1638 by Salmasius

(Saumaise) from the Dijon MS., now lost, together with

the Epitome of Florus; the latest edition is by Wolfflin

(1854), based on Salmasius's copy of the lost codex.

See Glaser, Rheinisches Museum, ii. (1843); Zink, Eos,

ii (1866); Wolfflin, De L. Ampelii Libro Memoriali (1854).

AMPELOPSIS (from Gr. ampelos, vine, and opsis, appearance,

as it resembles the grape-vine in habit), a genus of the

vine order Ampelideae and nearly allied to the grape-vine.

The plants are rapidly-growing, hardy, ornamental climbers,

which flourish in common garden soil, and are readily

propagated by cuttings. They climb by means of tendrils.

A. quinquefolia, Virginian creeper, a native of North

America, introduced to Europe early in the 17th century, has

palmately compound leaves with three to five leaflets. A.

tricuspidata, better known as A. Veitchii, a more recent

introduction (1868) from Japan, has smaller leaves very

variable in shape; it clings readily to stone or brick work

by means of suckers at the ends of the branched tendrils.

AMPERE, ANDRE MARIE (1775-1836), French physicist,

was born at Polemieux, near Lyons, on the 22nd of January

1775. He took a passionate delight in the pursuit of knowledge

from his very infancy, and is reported to have worked out

long arithmetical sums by means of pebbles and biscuit crumbs

before he knew the figures. His father began to teach him

Latin, but ceased on discovering the boy's greater inclination

and aptitude for mathematical studies. The young Ampere,

however, soon resumed his Latin lessons, to enable him to

master the works of Euler and Bernouilli. In later life he

was accustomed to say that he knew as much about mathematics

when he was eighteen as ever he knew; but his reading embraced

nearly the whole round of knowledge--history, travels, poetry,

philosophy and the natural sciences. When Lyons was taken

by the army of the Convention in 1793, the father of Ampere,

who, holding the office of juge de paix, had stood out

resolutely against the previous revolutionary excesses, was

at once thrown into prison, and soon after perished on the

scaffold. This event produced a profound impression on his

susceptible mind, and for more than a year he remained sunk in

apathy. Then his interest was aroused by some letters on

botany which fell into his hands, and from botany he turned to

the study of the classic poets, and to the writing of verses

himself. In 1796 he met Julie Carron, and an attachment

sprang up between them, the progress of which he naively

recorded in a journal (Amorum). In 1799 they were

married. From about 1796 Ampere gave private lessons at

Lyons in mathematics, chemistry and languages; and in 1801

he removed to Bourg, as professor of physics and chemistry,

leaving his ailing wife and infant son at Lyons. She died in

1804, and he never recovered from the blow. In the same year

he was appointed professor of mathematics at the lycee of

Lyons. His small treatise, Considerations sur la theorie

mathematique du jeu, which demonstrated that the chances of

play are decidedly against the habitual gambler, published in

1802, brought him under the notice of J. B. J. Delambre, whose

recommendation obtained for him the Lyons appointment, and

afterwards (1804) a subordinate position in the polytechnic

school at Paris, where he was elected professor of mathematics

in 1809. Here he continued to prosecute his scientific

researches and his multifarious studies with unabated

diligence. He was admitted a member of the Institute in

1814. It is on the service that he rendered to science in

establishing the relations between electricity and magnetism,

and in developing the science of electromagnetism, or, as

be called it, electrodynamics, that Ampere's fame mainly

rests. On the 11th of September 1820 he heard of H. C. Oersted's

discovery that a magnetic needle is acted on by a voltaic

current. On the 18th of the same month he presented a paper

to the Academy, containing a far more complete exposition

of that and kindred phenomena. (See ELECTROKINETICS.) The

whole field thus opened up he explored with characteristic

industry and care, and developed a mathematical theory which

not only explained the electromagnetic phenomena already

observed but also predicted many new ones. His original

memoirs on this subject may be found in the Ann. Chim.

Phys. between 1820 and 1828. Late in life he prepared

a remarkable Essai sur la philosophie des sciences. In

addition, he wrote a number of scientific memoirs and papers,

including two on the integration of partial differential

equations (Jour. Ecole Polytechn. x., xi.). He died at

Marseilles on the 10th of June 1836. The great amiability

and childlike simplicity of Ampere's character are well

brought out in his Journal et correspondance (Paris, 1872).