I92 ON THE WING. 



SCIENTIFIC MATTERS. 



THE object of these remarks is to lead the in- 

 telligent sportsman to think for himself, devise 

 plans of his own, and make such trials as may grow 

 out of the study of the gun and its discharge. The 

 gun, in all its separate and combined functions, is the 

 result of much more scientific study than is usually 

 supposed \ embracing, as it does, the laws of strength, 

 projectile force, elasticity, contractile force, and com- 

 bustion. All this makes it a more complicated ma- 

 chine than almost any other engine of the same size. 

 At the present time it demands all the scientific 

 knowledge which the sportsman may possess, to fully 

 understand its various parts, and to bring its execu- 

 tion up to the highest possible standard. 



The question is often asked, Why is the chamber at 

 the lower end of the barrel, running into the breech- 

 pin, made in a concave or conical shape ? One reason 

 is, that this form helps to prevent what is called the 

 burning of the breech-pin. When the old-fashioned 

 square and even-surfaced pin was used, before the pat- 

 ent chamber was invented, we often heard the remark, 

 as an excuse for a gun which did not shoot up to the 

 mark, that " it must be breech-burnt." At present, 

 with our patent chambers, we are not much troubled in 

 this way ; and my opinion is that, in former times, rust 



