A:N' exploration in the far east. 447 



him up to every sort of game ; while his monthly 

 expenses would not exceed £10 or £15. Saddlery, 

 hunting implements of all sorts (excepting boar spears, 

 which are made better in India), ammunition, and 

 clothes, should be brought from England. 



In the matter of guns and rifles, improvements are 

 still so rapidly progressing that the dicta of one year 

 are very likely to be upset before the next. Regarding 

 breech-loading it is sufficient to say that by the universal 

 consent of sportsmen, the use of the muzzle-loader is now 

 confined to exceedingly remote countries where the 

 cartridge cases cannot be carried. No part of India 

 answers to this description, and a muzzle-loader is 

 now rarely seen there. The "Express" system consists 

 in the use of a short conical bullet, hollowed at the 

 point like a shell, but without any bursting charge, and 

 propelled by a very great charge of powder in pro- 

 portion to its weight. The first result of this is that 

 the bullet, striking with extreme velocity, has its hollow 

 point opened out by the shock into the shape of a 

 mushroom, or even, when the hollow is very deep 

 and the speed great, broken altogether into fragments, 

 which take different courses through the animal and 

 inflict a terrific wound. This complete breaking up 

 of the bullet has as yet been effected only with very 

 small gauges, not larger than the half- inch ('500) 

 diameter ; but projectiles of even this size have been 

 found to be amply sufficient to kill effectually all 

 animals of the deer class, and hardly any other de- 

 scription of rifle is now used for that purpose. 



Their only serious disadvantage is the smallness of 

 the hole they make on entering, while they rarely pass 

 through an animal of any considerable size, rendering 

 the work of tracking, should the animal leave the spot, 



