as sites for batteries to protect Woolwich against the in vading Dutch fleet, although in 16G4 mention is made ol storehouses, &c., and sheds for repairing ship carriages. In 1G68 guns, carriages, and stores were concentrated at Woolwich, and in 1695 the laboratory establishment wa moved from Greenwich to the former place. Prior to 1716 ordnance was obtained from private manufacturers, and proved by the Board of Ordnance. In 1716 a dan gerous explosion took place at the Moorfields Foundry, and it was decided to build a royal brass foundry at the Tower Place, Woolwich. Founders were advertised for, and the records of those times show that Mr Andrew Schalch of Douay was selected. The popular story of Schalch s fore seeing the explosion, and being afterwards commissioned to search for a site and build a foundry is completely dis proved by Lieut. Grover. The original Tower Place con sisted of 42 acres only, while the present Royal Arsenal occupies 333 acres. In 1741 an academy or school for instructing the people of the military branch of the ordnance was established at the Warren. It was not till 1805 that the collection of establishments, consisting of a foundry, laboratory, repository, tc., and stores, became the
Royal Arsenal.Having thus glanced at the history of the arsenal, we shall now endeavour to describe the various manu facturing establishments concentrated at Woolwich, and those at Enfield and Waltham.
The "Woolwich establishments consist of the Royal Gun Factories, the Royal Laboratory, the Royal Carriage Department, a Chemical and Photographic establishment, a Gas Factory, and the Control Department Stores. The others are the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, and the Royal Gunpowder Factory at Waltham Abbey.
The Royal Gun Factories consist of forges, smith's shop, rolling mills, pattern shop, brass and iron foundry, gun-boring mill, tool rooms, turneries, lighting room, field-gun section, engine repairing shop, examining branch, pattern room. The factories employ the fol lowing machinery : 291 lathes, 42 boring machines, 57 drilling machines; 12 rilling, 13 planing, 37 slotting, 64 shaping, 42 milling, 7 screwing, 3 lapping, 3 wheel cutting, and 20 weighing machines; 2 saws, 240 vices, 54 furnaces, 6 blowing fans. The total horse-power employed is engines, 653, and boilers, 1620. Besides the elaborate machinery detailed there are no less than 86 cranes of all kinds, giving a collective power of 1172 tons, and 17 steam hammers, from 8 cwt. up to 30 tons. The average value of the work turned out is about 253,700 annually, and the department is capable of produc ing 6000 tons of guns of various calibres per year, or 7500 tons of forgings. The personnel consists of a superintendent and assistant- superintendent (artillery officers), deputy-assistant superintendent, 24 clerks and writers, draftsmen, proof-master and proof-sergeants, and time-keepers ; 22 masters and foremen, 386 artificers, and 571 labourers and boys.
The Royal Laboratory comprises an extensive series of factories and workshops. Under the head of small arm ammunition alone we find a paper factory, lead or bullet factory, small arms factory, containing 456 machines, and the "magazines," which include capping machines, and all those required for filling and finishing cartridges. The whole plant of 894 machines is capable of produc ing, in a week of fifty-four hours, 1,500,000 ball cartridges, and octets. 500,000 blank cartridges. For the manufacture of rockets there is the smith s shop in the main factory, and the rocket factory in the marshes. In these, a plant of 73 machines is capable of producing, per week of fifty-four hours, 4450 rockets of all kinds. The manufacture of fuzes is divided into two parts, for wood and metal fuzes. In the workshops of the former 93 machines are used, and 7000 wood fuzes can be turned out in a week. For metal fuzes are required metal turners shops, brass foundry, paper factory, composi tion buildings, containing the machines for filling, pressing, and finishing fuzes. The whole plant of 1 42 machines and apparatus rojectiles. can turn out SOOO fuzes in a week. For the manufacture of projectiles there are a shell foundry, brass foundry, smiths shops, metal and turners shops, tinman s shop, rifle shell factory, repairing and tool shop. The whole of the plant consists of 971 machines, capable of turning out weekly G:,16 projectiles, field and heavy, taking the 16 pounder and the 9-iueh gun as an average, and the weight of such out-turn would be 281 tons. The wood machinery depart ment of the Laboratory for making powder barrels and general work consists of carpenter s shop, saw-mills, and cooperage. The plant of 11G machines can turn out 1000 small arms ammunition boxes, nd 2700 barrels weekly. The torpedo factory adjoins the main factory, and contains G5 machines. For the manufacture of cor- 1 nigatcd brass cases and zinc cylinders (to contain common cartridges), there is a metal-turner s shop capable of producing weekly 160 brass cases, and 500 zinc cases. The brass foundry can turn out 12 tons of castings weekly. Besides the above there are many mis cellaneous shops and machine-rooms. In the Royal Laboratory there are 66 engines and boilers of 5155 horse-power (indicated), and a total of 2847 machines, the fuel consumed weekly by this im mense establishment amounting to 93 tons. The average value of the out-turn is 472,000. The personnel consists of a superinten- Personnel, dent and assistant-superintendent (artillery officers), 40 clerks and writers, manager and assistant-manager, 30 masters and foremen, 5G9 artificers, and 1772 labourers.
The Carriage Department manufactures all carringes, platforms, artillery machines, for the artillery, royal navy, and transport services. Its shops are as follows : main forge, scrap forge, 6 smithies, containing in all 173 fires; 10 furnaces, with steam hammers, forging machines, &c. ; 11 fitters slops, 6 being for general work, and the remainder for work classed according to the divisions of the artillery service ; general foundry, painters shops, wheelers shops, carpen ters shops, pattern makers shops, saw-mills, collar makers shops. In these different workshops there are 17 steam hammers; 16 forging machines, bolt and nut making machines, rivetting machines, &c. ; 22 shearing, punching, and cutting machines ; 9 planing machines ; 19 shaping, 17 slotting, 10 boring and facing, 49 boring and drilling machines; 85 lathes, 17 bolt-screwing and nut-facing, 8 milling, 4 band sawing, 2 bending machines. For tin work there are 7 machines, and numerous machines for cleaning castings and turnings, grind stones, &c. For woodwork there are 43 saws of various kinds; 5 planing circular, 14 boring, 8 mortising and tenoning, 19 shaping machines ; 17 lathes, and machines for sharpening saws and spoke dressing, hydraulic presses, &c. Besides these there are various miscellaneous machines. The total nominal horse-power is 250. The value of the annual out-turn is about 210,000. This depart ment is able to turn out in one year 65 field batteries, ISO naval or garrison carriages with slides or platforms, 24 turret carriages, 360 transport carriages. In addition to this work a large quantity of repairs, conversions, and experimental work could be carried out. By working at night the out-turn could be increased 30 per cent. The personnel of the establishment consists of 1 superintendent, 1 assistant-superintendent, manager, assistant-manager, 38 clerks and writers, 38 masters and foremen, 792 artificers, 430 labourers and boys.
In the storekeeping branch of the Arsenal, which is under the Control Department, we find 1 controller, 1 deputy-controller, 4 assistant-controllers, 2 commissaries, 7 deputy-commissaries, 8 assistant-commissaries, 5 sub-assistant-commissaries, 11 clerks and writers, 114 masters and foremen, 58 artificers, 668 labourers and boys, 60 women and girls employed.
The Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, and the Powder Factory at Waltham Abbey, scarcely fall under the heading Arsenal, but as in other countries similar factories are sometimes found within the precincts of an arsenal, and they belong theoretically to the subject, we shall speak of them here.
The factory at Enfield Lock consists of the following shops: barrel mill, machine room, polishing room, grinding room, tempering room, tool room, smithery, millwright s room, foundry and annealing shop, joiner s shop, containing an enormous quantity of beautiful machinery worked by steam and water power. The average annual value of the work turned out is 214,482. The capability of the factory, if worked to its highest pressure, would be about 3000 arms per week with two gangs of workmen.
The personnel consists of 1 superintendent and 1 assistant-superIntendent (artillery officers), a chief inspector of small arms, 27 clerks, writers, and time-keepers, 1 manager, 78 masters and foremen, 715 artificers, 806 labourers and boys.
The Powder Factory consists of 1 saltpetre refinery, 1 house for extracting saltpetre from damaged powder, 1 sulphur refinery, 1 cylinder house with retorts for burning charcoal, 2 steam stores, 2 heading-up houses, 1 barrel house, 1 proof house, 1 mechanic's shop, houses for charcoal and composition mills, incorporating mills, breaking-down machines, press boxes with pumps, granulating machines, pellet press, glazing barrels, horizontal reels, slope reels, fire engines, and houses for all the machines required in the manufacture of gun-cotton. Both steam and water power are used. The annual value of the out-turn is 41,000. The capacity of the factory working at highest pressure would be about 30,000 barrels pebble powder per annum, or 20,000 pebble and 4000 R.F.G. powder (each barrel containing 100 ft), and 150 tons gun-cotton.
The personnel comprises 1 superintendent, 1 assistant-superintendent (artillery officers), 1 superintendent and 1 assistant-superintendent of machinery, 1 master worker, 1 master refiner, 9 clerks, writers, and time-keepers, 12 masters and foremen, 71 artificers, 196 labourers and boys.
colonies. The troops are supplied from stores and work
shops in charge of the Control Department. In India the
