It has always been customary to place a heavier gun than that carried on the broadside as a bow chaser, but the principle is exaggerated when guns of 14 tons and upwards, aggregating with carriage, etc., 20 tons, are placed in the fine bows of vessels not larger than the old frigates. Yet in the Mersey, Severn, Thames, and Forth, modern cruisers of 4000 tons, an 8-in. 14-ton gun has been placed in the bow and stern, the former of which must, with all its appurtenances, be a terrible weight to carry against a head wind or sea. How can we expect speed to be maintained when the vessel is thus handicapped? Such considerations have no doubt led us in the latest cruisers of similar dimensions, of which there are several now building, to limit the guns at the bow and stern to a calibre of 6-in. and a weight of 5 tons. Constructed of the length now necessary to obtain the full energy derived from improved powders, they have a long range for such a gun, and throw a shell capable of dealing terrible havoc to any unarmoured structure. No more need be demanded of vessels not primarily designed to fight ironclads.
The smallest type of cruisers, termed third class, is represented in the 'Medea,' 'Medusa,' 'Marathon,' and 'Melpomene.' Their principal armament consists of six 6-in. guns. They were designed to have an extreme speed of 20 knots, but a sustained speed of about 16 knots an hour on the ocean is probably the most that can be attained, A lighter armament would probably render these vessels more efficient as cruisers. There is
