66 SPORTSMAN'S HAND BOOK. 



some mercurial ointment; wipe off your gun properly and 

 carefully, and you will have no trouble with the outside. 



Now, for the benefit of those very nice men who say to 

 leave your gun without cleaning after shooting, is a very 

 shiftless, slovenly way of doing things, I will say that if 

 some ingenious man would get up a preparation of the resi- 

 due of burnt powder, put it up in very small bottles, and 

 labeled in gilt letters, some outlandish name, ending with 

 "rust preventive," these men would buy it at the rate of 

 fifty cents per bottle, and go to the trouble of wiping out 

 their guns with it, and swear it was perfection. 



No man, using a medium grade of powder, will ever 

 have any regret for putting his gun away without cleaning 

 the inside if he will try the experiment. 



Will some one, familiar with the manufacture of pow- 

 der, give some items through the columns of Forest and 

 Stream, as to whether the best grades are strictly nitre, salt- 

 petre and charcoal, and whether the lower grades contain 

 soda in any form. If by using soda, gun barrels will be bet- 

 ter protected from "scabbing," I think it would be well 

 to know it. These discussions are valuable; let the good 

 work go on. CALIFORNIAN. 



