PRESERVING GUNS. 485 



equal mixture of best paraffine oil and refined neat's- 

 foot. Stop up the barrels with corks or wads, and 

 place inside each a quarter of a pint of same mix- 

 ture, shaking it well over the interior. 



Again : Coat outside with mercurial ointment, 

 well-strained goose-grease, or, best of all, vaseline ; 

 inside, draw a rag soaked in one of these mix- 

 tures by a string backwards and forwards a few 

 times.* 



To send guns home a long voyage by sea, with 

 no one to look after their interests, take locks out, 

 fittings off and barrels ; put all these latter, with some 

 wadding between them, in a tin box just to fit them, 

 which fill with oil and solder up tight. The wood- 

 work also oil well, sew up in cloth, and put all 

 together in wooden case. 



Gunlocks, whether in or out of use, must not be 

 coated with a thick oil, which will only collect dirt 

 and become sticky. Paraffine, when left wet on a 

 gun and exposed to the air, evaporates rapidly 

 when by itself- in fact, creates rust. On a lock, 

 and protected from the atmosphere, it answers well, 

 and with it a lock will always " speak " with that 

 pleasant " snick " that tells it is in good working 

 order. But better than paraffine for a lock is care- 

 fully refined neat's-foot. It takes some time to 

 prepare, but almost enough for a lifetime can then 

 be done. 



The following receipt for doing this was given 

 me by an old and experienced gunner : 



* The whole principle of keeping a gun clean merely consists in 

 shutting out the air, and consequently the damp. Anything that will 

 do this, by remaining on the metal without evaporation, will answer. 



