470 THE HUNTING GKOUNDS 



load almost as soon as a keeper can hand him a 

 second gun and receive the one discharged, which 

 does away with the necessity of having a man at 

 one's heels with a loaded gun — an objectionable 

 practice, as a trip or stumble might so easily occa- 

 sion an accident. 



Breech-loaders foul very little, as the thick elastic 

 mercurial waddings which enter the breech are fully 

 a size larger than the bore of the muzzle ; conse- 

 quently, being forcibly driven through the barrel 

 with the force of the powder, each discharge carries 

 away any refuse or accumulation that may have 

 been left by the one previous, and at the end of a 

 long day's shooting the barrel is just as free from 

 foulness as at the beginning ; also, the explosion of 

 the charge does not take place in the breech, but 

 in the paper cartridge, which comes out uninjured, 

 containing the d^hris ol the burnt powder, which 

 in the ordinary gun is driven into the chamber 

 and nipple every time it is reloaded, until the 

 latter becomes clogged up, and miss-fires are the 

 consequence. 



The ease of cleaning is also very apparent, for 

 nothing is required but the passing of a little tow 

 through the barrel once or twice, and afterwards 

 wiping with an oiled rod ; whereas, with an ordi- 

 nary gun, the dirt is ■ forced in the breech and 

 through the nipple, and frequent washing out of 

 the barrels is required, which is never the case 

 with a breech-loader. 



