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 Ammunition.—No details have been settled as to the amount or method of carrying.

—No official instructions for the tactical handling of machine guns have yet been issued.

JAPAN

—The Japanese have adopted the Hotchkiss,[A] the barrel of which is air-cooled, having seven radiating gills on the breech to absorb the heat. The bore is ·256, being the same as the rifle; the weight is 70 lb. It is regulated to fire at a maximum rate of 600 rounds a minute. It is loaded by brass clips containing 30 cartridges inserted into the left side of the gun. The empties are ejected on the right side. The gun is sighted up to 2,187 yards, with a tangent sight, and is mounted on a tripod weighing 40 lb., which has an all-round traverse, and can be adjusted to fire from two heights. Shields were used in the late war, but were discarded on account of the weight. It is probable that detachable shields, large enough to cover the detachment, will in future be issued with machine guns for use as the situation requires.

The Japanese machine gun is of home design and manufacture, and belongs to that class in which the mechanism is actuated by the action of gas pressure operating upon a plunger or

[Footnote A: The Hotchkiss loses accuracy after 600 rounds, and becomes red-hot