BARRELS. 21 



barrel, which is everywhere tolerably stout, is not so 

 liable to expansion, and, consequently, will shoot stronger, 

 and last many more years, than one which is rendered 

 so by being in any part too thin. A gun, thus sub- 

 stantial, can always be made to mount well, by being 

 properly balanced with lead under the heel-plate,, which 

 will be far more convenient and neat in appearance than 

 a huge piece of wood for the but, and will thus admit 

 of the stock being made light and elegant. 



In choosing the size of a caliber, it may be con- 

 sidered, that a fourteen gauge is at all events the best 

 for a bungler, and, on the whole, the most destructive 

 gun. But, with a very accurate shot, the size is not of 

 so much consequence for killing game, as the necessary 

 substance to prevent the recoil of a large bore cannot 

 be brought to bear so quick as a somewhat lighter gun ; 

 and, therefore, what is gained by weight of metal might 

 be lost in time. 



The original and celebrated London barrel-maker is 

 Mr. Fullerd. Mr. Lancaster no longer serves the trade 

 in barrels: now he is established as a gunmaker. 

 Mr. Lancaster receives his barrels, in the rough, from 

 Birmingham ; and then uses a self-acting machine for 

 turning the outsides of them from encTtcTen'd, and pro- 

 ducing, mathematically true, the proper shape and curve 

 from the muzzle to the breeching. This apparatus has 

 cost him immense pains and expense, and is, no ques- 

 tion, the best invention that has ever been adopted ; as 

 regular shooting must, in a great degree, depend on 

 the regular thickness and regular tapering of the barrel. 

 While only known as a barrel-finisher, Mr. Lancaster 

 was in the habit of " ribbing," " breeching," and putting 

 together the barrels ; then " boring" them " for shoot- 



