216 



ON THE WING. 



and iron shall be outermost ; so that when the barrel 

 is finished and browned it shall have the appearance 

 of being welded of pieces the size of wires, the whole 

 length of the barrel. A portion of the rod, pickled in 

 sulphuric acid, exhibits the following appearance, the 

 bright parts being the steel, the other the iron. 



When about to be converted into Damascus, the 

 rod is heated the whole length, and the two square 

 ends put into the heads (one of which is a fixture) 

 of a kind of lathe, which is worked by a handle 

 similar to a winch. It is then twisted like a rope 

 (or, as Colonel Hawker says, wrung as wet clothes 

 are) until it has from twelve to fourteen complete 

 turns in the inch, when it presents this appearance. 



By this severe twisting, the rod of six feet is shortened 

 to three, doubled in thickness, and made perfectly 

 round. . Three of these rods are then placed together, 

 with the inclinations of the twists running in oppo- 

 site directions; they are. then welded into one, and 

 rolled down into a rod n-i6ths of an inch in 



