34 EQUIPMENT. 



is not to be overlooked by the poorer sports- 

 man. 



I have seen an objection made to the metallic 

 shell in the columns of ^the Turf^ Field, and 

 Farm, 1 believe, by a paper-shell man, to the 

 effect that they were dangerous to use. In sup- 

 port of this he goes on to say that, having had 

 one miss fire, he put the shell into a vise, and was 

 punching a hole in the cap for the purpose of 

 prying it off" with an awl, when it exploded, and 

 he narrowly escaped serious injury. This reminds 

 me very much of the boy who, to discover whe- 

 ther his gun was loaded or not, commenced to 

 blow in the muzzle. Seeing the hammer was down, 

 and thinking perhaps that prevented the air from 

 escaping, he endeavored to cock the gun Avith his 

 toe, which slipped, but not until he had rafsed 

 the hammer sufficiently, however, to convince him 

 undeniably that the gun mas loaded. Had he 

 been permitted to live a few moments longer, he 

 perhaps might have been led to remark, in the 

 simplicity of his spirit, that '^ loaded guns were 

 dangerous." 



I have known two cases of shells being ex- 

 ploded accidentally — one a paper, the other a 

 metallic shell — both in capping after the shells 



