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and anvils, and moreover the movement of the lever is to a great extent dependent on a spring, which fact is worthy of consideration, as it is kept in its place by this means. A question, therefore, naturally arises whether, in the event of this spring breaking at the moment of a discharge, any bad consequences would ensue. If the spring be not necessary, and the lever can be worked safely and effectively without it, why is the lever encumbered with a superfluous and unnecessary appendage?

Mr. Dawe, however, affirms that all the component parts of this system perform their functions admirably, and to the satisfaction of all who have used his gun; but still it cannot be denied that complicated machinery of this character must be much more liable to get out of order than the simpler plain strong works of the Lafanchaux, which involve no complication of springs, pistons, cups, or anvils: in fact nothing that can snap, break, or give way, the only part affording evidence of wear after great use being the pin or bolt which can be replaced for the trifling sum of 28. 6d. I am, therefore, strongly of opinion that the Lafanchaux will still continue to be the favourite weapon amongst sportsmen in spite of the few real and more numerous imaginary imperfections which have been attributed to it either by persons prejudiced in favour of other systems, or by interested parties; indeed, the undeniable excellence

of the Lafanchaux, and the absence of any valid objection to it, has, I apprehend, been mainly the cause of the numerous trumpery and frivolous charges which have been brought against it in the shape of immovable and self-exploding cartridges, bent pins, and consequent numerous missfires and other evils of a purely fabulous and imaginary character: indeed, the absence of any real evils has left its opponents no resource beyond the manufacture of a large variety of imaginary ones. Some enthusiastic persons have been so far led away by their predilections for other systems and by their prejudices against the Lafanchaux that they have actually pronounced its death-warrant, and wished to represent it as a thing of the past. It, however, strikes me that they have been rather premature in their judgment, as I am credibly informed by some of those who are intimately conversant with this subject,' and who are at the same time interested in the healthy vitality of the Lafanchaux, that it was never in a more vigorous condition, and that the orders from its patrons to prolong and perpetuate its existence have recently been unprecedentedly numerous; so that I think it may be safely inferred that it has obtained a reprieve from the judgment of condemnation passed on it by its self-constituted judges, and that very possibly it may survive many of its enemies and oppo

nents, as well as some of their fancied superior systems.

Lancaster's central fire gun is an excellent weapon, and of handsome appearance, the only formidable opponent, in my opinion, to any of the varieties of the Lafanchaux which I have seen; it is on the same principle as Daw's gun, and although its predecessor by many years, in fact its prototype, has not been improved upon, but, on the contrary, is decidedly its superior, and, as is generally the case with pictures, the original is immeasurably better than the copy. I will state my reasons for this opinion, leaving the decision as to their soundness to the impartial judgment of practical sportsmen. In the first place, the lever in Lancaster's gun is not held, or regulated by, or in any way dependent on a spring, as in Daw's, but depends on a simple, easy horizontal movement, which combines efficiency with great strength, and answers its purpose so admirably that any disorganisation of it seems next to impossible. The end of it fits closely over the trigger guard. Its binding power is immense. Secondly, the pistons in the false breech are in a horizontal position, and strike horizontally and not obliquely as in Daw's; so that they must strike the centre of the cartridge with greater precision than if they descended obliquely; and moreover, their movements are not in any way dependent on or

regulated by springs as in Daw's gun, but are kept in their places by a small vertical bolt or screw, which can be removed in half a minute by a turnscrew, in the event of such an operation being necessary; but they are so well contrived, their structure is so simple, and their movements so easy and effective, that the anticipation of any difficulty with them does not suggest itself as probable. The hammers, as a matter of course, strike horizontally. Another important and remarkable feature in Lancaster's gun, and one which I have not found in any other breechloader, is, the judicious arrangement of the breech-end of the barrels, which, instead of being rectangular to the bed of the stock or bottom. of the false breech as in other guns, is obtusangular, the false breech being acutangular, so that any vertical movement of the barrels after a discharge is impossible, so tightly are the barrels kept in their places by these relative arrangements; and in consideration of the false breech being acutangular, niches or cavities in it for the reception of the heads of the cartridges are so constructed that they lie firmly and immovably in a horizontal position, the upper part of each nich or cavity being deeper than the lower part; each contrivance is equally ingenious and important, and each answers its purpose admirably. No escape of gas or vertical movement of the barrels after a discharge is possible. The former advantage

is not possessed by the ordinary Lafanchaux, and although a strong binding power exists in all the improved specimens of the Lafanchaux, the dovetailed arrangement introduced by Lancaster must, on the score of additional security and strength, entitle his gun to the claim of superiority.

Martin's gun, with the disks on the false breech and with a lever of similar construction, will, however, be found to be productive of the same results, no vertical movement being possible, and very little escape of gas being perceptible; and moreover, after a discharge by the simple movement of the lever, the cartridges are ejected as the barrels slide forward, and this important result is accomplished without any extra mechanism, as in Daw's and Lancaster's. It is impossible for the cartridges to adhere to the barrels, consequently no extractor is ever required. This immense advantage gives Martin's gun the decided superiority over all the ordinary specimens of the Lafanchaux.

If there be any virtue in this strong binding power of the lever, and I think it cannot be questioned, a strong objection suggests itself to all snap guns, in which this power cannot be attained, a fact which may easily be proved by the simple experiment of fixing each gun firmly in a vice close by the end of the breech, when it will be ascertained by giving a strong lateral movement

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