220 SHOOTING IN CHINA 



provided with a small aperture into which 

 a bit of iron plate was inserted to serve the 

 purpose of a pan, the ignition being affected 

 by means of a smouldering match rope. 

 The bore at the muzzle was smaller than at 

 the breech, evidencing that the Chinese 

 knew the advantag^e of shooting with a 

 choke bore gun long before the idea was 

 developed by western gun-makers. The 

 powder which my new acquaintance had 

 been accustomed to use was of home manu- 

 facture, and already referred to, but, to be 

 more specific, it is usual to mix three 

 catties of ground charcoal, three catties of 

 saltpetre, ten of sulphur, and after putting 

 it all in a pan, and pouring over it a jar of 

 Kaoliang spirits, the pan would be placed 

 over a slow charcoal fire and the mixture 

 well stirred with a stick until it became of 

 the consistence of paste ; it would tlien be 

 laid out on paper in the sun to dry. The 

 quality of the powder thus made is not 

 good, but this can be materially improved 

 by the quality of the ingredients, and when 

 a finer quality is wanted rattan charcoal is 

 used. However the powder manufactured 

 in China for sporting purposes is black and 

 dirty and necessitates the constant washing 



