-I /I UnpiiblisJicd Manuscript. 



407- 



will goag-ulate before it reaches the bot- 

 tom. Anoint it well without, with any 

 iDiimal oil. Lay it away in a dry place, 

 and it will take no harm in a dozen years. 



To Chan It in the Spring. — Wipe the 

 outside clean, set the piece (muzzle 

 downwards) against a south wall in the 

 sunshine, and as soon as the tallow is 

 all run out wipe dry with tow. 



Always in laying away a clean gun 

 lay a bit of linen rag greased and doubled 

 between the cone and the hammer — lay 

 a square of greased rag over each muz- 

 zle and insert a pvmch wad driven down 

 about two inches. 



The best oil for guns is animal oil, in 

 spite of the ill odor — olive oil holds salt 

 in suspension, which is very injurious to 

 the iron. This may be obviated, how- 

 ever, by putting half a pound of old iron 

 — rusty nails or the like — into a clear 

 glass bottle, filled up with the best olive 

 oil and letting it stand a few days, when 

 all the salt and impurity of the oil is 

 precipitated on the iron, and the upper 

 portion can be drawn off pure. 



The very best oil in the world for this 

 purpose, however, is got by paring away, 

 with a very keen knife, the thick layers 

 of fat which line the skin of a loon, or 

 any other rank fat aquatic fowl ; fry it 

 out precisely as you would lard, and you 

 have a gun-oil most impervious to water 

 and absolutely rust-proof. 



For preserving gun barrels and pre- 

 venture against sea air, the best and 

 simplest method I know of is to give all 

 the iron work two or three coats of paint, 

 which can easily be removed at any mo- 

 ment with turpentine. For large coarse 

 swivel gtms, or fine stocked ducking 

 pieces of any kind, I would give the 

 whole two coats of the new zinc paint, 

 which has a peculiar affinity to iron, and 

 in fact incorporates itself with it. For 

 gunning skiffs the same paint would be 

 invaluable. 



Never let your gun, loaded or unloaded, 

 cover anything except the object it is 

 legitimately to be aimed at. 



This rule steadily observed is worth 

 all the gravitating stops ever invented. 



Never let the muzzle of your gun point 

 so directly downward that in case of a 

 fall its muzzle would be buried in the 

 soil. An accidental discharge at such a 

 moment must burst the barrels, and 

 would probably kill its owner. 



When possible, carry your muzzle up- 

 ward and forward. 



In falling, always withdraw the finger 

 from the trigger and elevate the muzzle 

 perpendicular. 



Practice and presence of mind will 

 soon make this precept second nature. 



Never allow your hammers to be down 

 on 3"0ur nipples, when they are capped. 



I know no rule more important than 

 this or more difficult to knock into the 

 hard heads of people. Country shooters 

 especially zvill carry their hammers 

 down on the caps — of course quick shoot- 

 ing is impossible — and what more ? 



A stidden blow by a fall, or otherwise, 

 on the back of the hammer surely ex- 

 plodes the charge. 



Let a twig catch the hammer, when 

 down on the nipple, draw it short of the 

 half-cock and release it — it surely ex- 

 plodes the charge. 



Whereas, carry it half-cock — let the 

 same thing occur, and the lock is either 

 full-cocked or it catches again, at the 

 half-cock, in both cases safely. 



A full-cock is safer than the hammer 

 down, as a fall only can easily explode 

 that. A twig does not catch the trigger 

 once in a thousand times, owing to the 

 protection afforded by the trigger guard. 



I have certainly seen fifty guns ex- 

 ploded by twigs catching the snake's 

 head of the hammer, but never one by 

 twigs pulling the trigger, 



I am satisfied that two-thirds of the 



