The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

THE ARTILLERY WORKS OF MESSRS. SCHNEIDER AND CO., AT CREUSOT. 169 the jacket, and the result is 'recorded rapidly and accu- rately by bell signals, the circuit being completed between the electric contacts on the straight edges when the jacket lias remained perfectly straight. A system of water jets complétés the installation. The construction of artillery has, during recent years, taken new directions, the most important being that of quick-firing guns, especially of field guns ; this lias been much to the front of late, and has excited the keenest interest among rival manufacturées. Thus, in Germany The two artillery works, those of Havre and tliose of Creusot, form at present a single department, and Mr. Canet, who was formerly manager of ordnance at the Forges et Chantiers, is, as already stated, now manager of ordnance at Messrs. Schneider and Co.’s works. The work of gun construction is divided between those two works, the geographical situation of which lias permitted a main division to be established, Messrs. Schneider and Co. entrusting their Havre works with the construction of naval ordnance and coast defence Fig. 572. Electric Power Department. the compétition between tlie firm Fried. Krupp with the Gruson Works resulted in their amalgamation; a similar combination was arrangée! by tlie fusion of the Armstrong and Whitworth interests in England. It was the same motive that led Messrs. Schneider and Co. to purchase the artillery department that belonged to the Société Anonyme des Forges et Chantiers de la Medi- terranée, already referred to. The purchase of this depart- ment was completed on January 28tli, 1897, and in uniting their artillery works, Messrs. Schneider and Co. now practically enjoy a monopoly of gun construction in F rance. guns, while at their Creusot works, field, siege, and garrison artillery are manufacturée!. There is, however, nothing absolute in this distribution of business, and the works lielp one anotlier according to the orders they have each in progress. This is all the more easy, as they both have been fully equipped with a view to the manufacture of every variety of artillery, from mountain and boat guns, to marine and coast defence guns of the largest calibre. In the following descriptions of the different natures of Schneider-Canet ordnance, no discrimination is made between those made at Creusot and at Havre. 2 o