70 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



period of transition from black powder to the smokeless 

 explosives, and we now appear to be involved in the 

 momentous question of choice between the old and the 

 new forms of the last-named explosive. We may trust 

 to time to adjust this matter. Probably, the chief 

 obstacle to the adoption of the small bulk or con- 

 centrated nitro has been the conservatism of the gun- 

 maker and the cartridge-case manufacturer. These 

 autocrats of the gun world said in effect : " We will 

 not suffer this thing, for it will upset our most cherished 

 notions and the law that we have laid down that all 

 nitros shall occupy the same space in the cartridge 

 as did our dear departed friend black powder." Still, 

 after all, a policy of progression is not antagonistic 

 to a proper spirit of conservatism, we must not sit down 

 and mourn the King dead and neglect to crown the 

 King living. As time progressed, it became apparent 

 that the period of mourning for good old black powder, 

 as evidenced by the too slavish following of his bulky 

 proportions, must be ended, the calls for attention made 

 by the newest, the concentrated form of explosive, 

 becoming altogether too loud and too frequent to be 

 longer ignored. Then the first compromise with the 

 inevitable was effected in the shape of the coned-base 

 case and by the introduction of the 2-inch cartridge. 

 This, of course, is but a make-shift expedient, gun- 

 makers hesitating to boldly declare themselves in favour 

 of the nitro powder of lessened bulk and discard its 

 immediate predecessor of large proportions. 



I know that there is a feeling averse to the general 

 adoption of the 2-inch standard of length for the 

 chambers of game guns. But, I would ask, why not 

 dispense altogether with chambers which are an obvious 



