Grasshopper was the nickname for a cannon used by the British in the late 18th century as a light battalion gun to support infantry. It was designed for service in rough terrain such as the frontiers of British North America. Its barrel was made of bronze instead of iron. Bronze is less brittle than cast iron, and so the barrel could be made thinner and lighter than that of an iron gun. If a bronze gun developed a defect it would rupture; an iron gun with a flaw would shatter, at great cost to its own crew. It fired a three-pound (1.4 kg) ball (or same weight of canister shot).