38 LOCK. 



powder. For quick firing in a damp atmosphere, 

 the best of all the flint locks I have yet tried is one 

 of Mr. D. Egg's, on the hammer of which he puts 

 an oval of platiiia, and, into that, dovetails a sharp 

 edge of the pan. This, with coarse 'powder and a 

 lock-cover, I have used on salt water, for several 

 winters, and it scarcely ever failed, while the deton- 

 aters were repeatedly missing fire ! This happens to 

 be a self-primer, and the only one that I have ever 

 yet seen that does not go slow. Two other kinds of 

 self-primers were brought out by two great makers, 

 and, as a third observed, if " you owe a man a grudge, 

 advise him to have one of them." 



Since the short time ago when the foregoing ob- 

 servations were made, it appears that almost every 

 gunmaker has been studying to complete some water- 

 proof lock or other, at the expense of sacrificing quick 

 shooting, and many other advantages, that are of 

 more consequence than a guard against rain. For, 

 after all, what is the object to be gained? If you 

 shoot in the rain, neither partridges nor snipes will, 

 in general, lie well ; and if you shoot in covert, your 

 dogs are soon cowed by the wet, and the sport is any 

 thing but pleasure ; and if you go after wildfowl you 

 cannot choose a worse time for your sport or your 

 health, than in wet weather. 



I formerly observed, that if a man was so destitute 

 of resources within himself as to be miserable unless 

 he was shooting, he had only to provide himself with 

 one of Mr. Forsyth's fulminating locks, which cer- 



