[Copy letter to the Secretary of War 22. April 1795] [To Timothy Pickering Esq Secretary for the Department of War — Philadelphia] Navy Yard at New York 22^d April 1795 Sir. Your favor of the 17^th Inst is at hand with the Several inclosures. Permit me Sir to request that you will be so good as to inform me particularly of the manner in which the Shot and Centledge are to be examined, and what are the points to be ascertained relative there to which I am to report to you; Whether the number and quantity of pigs that answer the dimentions of the Mold presented to the Contractors are to be seperated from those which do not answer that description and the whole to be rejected And also as to the Shot which I consider the Most consignence. Is it your desire to have them all weighed seperately or in large draughts, I mean those that the Inspector has [strikethrough: the] certified are such as may be used, for I take it for granted that those which he lay'd aside on account of being either of an Oval shape or otherways too large can never be used with safety, because altho a shot of an Oval form may be forced one way into the caliber of a Cannon yet it may turn and Stop in its passage out when the Cannon is [undecipherable] by which the Ordnance [undecipherable: will probably be] split— * If the Strict letter of the Contract is to be my guide, [strikethrough: I desire to inform me I find that I shall have no] difficulty a large proportion of the centledge will be inadequate, as they differ widely from the Pattern. The Contract specify that the Shot Shall weigh twenty four Pounds. here again permit me to observe that I am most confident that there is not one among the whole that will come up to that Standard. I have weighed Sixty of them seperately, they were all short of 24 pounds. I then weighed twenty Six of them at one draught they fell Short of what they ought to weigh twenty four Pounds, ray nearly a pound each. I find it laid down by some authors that an Iron Shot five inches and fifty parts diameter / being something [undecipherable] than the Mold given in the present case/ ought to weigh twenty four pounds— I profess no great skill in the art of Gunnery therefore wish to know your pleasure particularly as to the mode of Inspecting the Shot in question, if any and what [strikethrough: deduction] [undecipherable: allowance] in the weigh^t of the Shot in question is to be dispensed with. The great [strikethrough: defference] [undecipherable: deficiency] [undecipherable: offset] in the weight of the Shot is owing (as I presume) to a want of solidity in them and which is so apparent on their surface. — I have been led to make the foregoing request in hopes to be possessed of your Ideas fully on the subject before I begin the Inspection. It being attended with considerable trouble and expense to over[strikethrough: haul] so great a quantity of heavy articles, in therefore am desirous to avoid being obliged to go over them more than once— [undecipherable] I am Sir with Great respect & Esteem your Obedient humble Servant Timothy Pickering Esq                          Silas Talbot Secretary at War— A M^r Royal Mint who owns a part of a furnace near the High Lands on the North River in this State informed me yesterday that he would under take to cast at his any quantity of Shot that would be as Smoath as an [undecipherable: Eels] tooth But he says that the Mettle at his furnace will run so close that he is confident that [strikethrough: they will overgo the] a shot of our dimentions will overgo [strikethrough: barely] [undecipherable: at least] half a pound the weight intended that they shall be perfectly solid without any blemish on their Surface —