of the many that are required has been forgotten, and the omission sadly interfered with, if not spoilt, the sport of the day. An enumeration of the encumbrances attendant on the old system will, I have no doubt, remind many of the disagreeable irritation which forgetfulness of any one of these has, on some occasion or other, produced, and at the same time create a strong sentiment of satisfaction at the entire exemption from them for the future, which the use of the breech-loader secures. What old sportsman of much experience in the use of the copper-cap gun, does not recollect some one occasion, on which he had either forgotten his caps, or if he had purchased new ones found them on a first trial to be either too large or too small, thus involving some extra difficulty in placing them on the nipple, and after being there finding that they occasionally came off, thus producing a missfire and its usual sequel, irritation and bad shooting. The same objection applies to wadding, which may have been forgotten, or if forthcoming of the wrong size. Caps are, moreover, sometimes damp, in which case numerous missfires result. It also happens that the nipples are sometimes blocked up, then a considerable delay ensues in cleaning them, especially if the picker' has been forgotten and no pin can be found; and even with the use of the pin the difficulty cannot always be overcome, as a shot

6

may accidentally have found its way into the cylinder. Nipples themselves also have been known to break, and sometimes fly out of their sockets. Then comes the monster grievance, the ramrod, with the eternal ramming down after every right and left, surpassed only and aggravated by the more disagreeable and sometimes dangerous but necessary operation of drawing a charge, induced by some mistake in loading consequent on the hurry and excitement of the moment; a woodcock having been marked down which we had just missed; under which circumstance it has sometimes occurred that shot has been substituted for powder in the first instance, or two charges of powder poured into one barrel, or the charge destined for the empty barrel poured into the loaded one, instead of into the empty one, causing the barrel to burst in the next discharge. I am not expressing myself hypothetically, as an instance to this effect came within my own personal knowledge in my younger days, a friend being the sufferer, he having lost two of the fingers of bis left hand in consequence of this mistake; in fact, the blunders which occurred in loading with the old system in moments of excitement were innumerable, and were frequently attended with such serious consequences, that an escape from the possibility of their recurring by the use of the breech-loader, cannot but be in the highest degree

satisfactory, and subject for the warmest congratulation amongst sportsmen. Yet notwithstanding the fearful amount of casualties incident to the use of the muzzle-loader, some of the old school pertinaciously adhere to it, and profess to like the operation of loading with the ramrod, and wish to make us believe that the delay consequent on this tedious exertion enhances the pleasure of the sport --that the new system is by far too rapid. I will not dispute this point as a matter of taste, but as the operation is attended with some danger, which the records of the past infallibly and unmistakably transmit to us, not only in the shape of fingers and hands blown off, but in some cases of lives lost, the new system being entirely exempt from all liability to these fearful contingences, must, on the score of safety alone, be admitted by all impartial persons to be decidedly superior; and ramrods also have sometimes been known in guns of small calibre to have become so tightly fixed in the barrel as to have been immovable by the hand. This is not an imaginary case, as it occurred to myself in Scotland many years ago when using an old-fashioned copper-cap gun of 17-calibre. The head of the ramrod was rather large, almost fitting the calibre, and on this occasion on passing it down the barrel it became fixed, in consequence of the wad having turned on one side, so that I could neither move the rod up nor down. As I

was at a considerable distance from home this was a disagreeable dilemma to be placed in. I however vanquished my difficulty by pouring a few drops of water down the barrel from my drinking-cup. The wad was softened and the rod released, but not without considerable delay and annoyance. The worst feature in the use of the ramrod, especially when any difficulty arises, is that the muzzle of your gun may be directed partially towards your body, and even if you are especially careful to avoid this liability, your hand must inevitably be over the muzzle, which never can be the case with the breech-loader, with which the process of loading and unloading must invariably be equally easy and safe, especially when the weapon is in the hands of a careful and experienced

person.

A further objection to the ramrod is, that it may be broken, and I have known instances to this effect, when the party, having no loading rod, was obliged to return home. I was once present when a ramrod was shot out of a gun, it having been left on the top of the load in the hurry of the moment, grouse having unexpectedly passed exactly as the wad was rammed down on the shot; and, strange to relate, after the discharge it was not only recovered, but found to be uninjured-a search having been immediately made in the heather in the direction of the shot.

When cartridges are of the right size they are easily inserted, and as easily extracted, and although an exploded cartridge may sometimes slightly adhere to the barrel in wet weather, it is readily removed by the judicious use of the extractor, and an unexploded cartridge on the return home at night after the day's shooting is over may also be expeditiously and safely extracted with the extractor; if it does not readily yield to the finger, which it will do nineteen times out of twenty. It is incorrect to assert that there is any danger of an explosion arising from this simple operation, as the withdrawal being in an horizontal direction, the end of the pin cannot be brought into forcible collision with the cap so as to cause ignition, but I can truthfully affirm, as far as my own observation and experience are concerned, that a sticking cartridge under any circumstances is a very rare occurrence. A statement has been made to the contrary, probably by parties prejudiced in favour of some other principle of breech-loader, but it derives its origin rather from the imagination than from the real and exact character of the operation.

It has also been asserted with equal positiveness that a pin cartridge is liable to explode if not properly inserted, the pin being forced down on the false breech by an attempt to close the barrels; but this contingency must strike every ex