content_output-065_4 (Q6447)

The bore of the cannon was not always circular; an oval-bore cannon was made in Germany in 1625. A weapon of still greater elliptical bore is shown on the opposite page. This peculiarly shaped mortar was sometimes used to make breaches in barricades at close quarters, when it was charged to the muzzle, and bars of iron fired from it. It was also used for firing bar-shot.