213 



THE BARREL. 



The Barrels of all shot-guns are made of iron, either in its 

 most malleable form, or in the shape of steel, or of a mixture 

 of the two. For a long time the iron obtained from old 

 horse-shoe nails was considered the best for the purpose, but 

 as a great proportion of these are now produced of very in- 

 ferior iron, they are not so much to be relied on as formerly. 

 Germany, Russia, and Sweden still make their nails of the 

 best iron, and if they can be obtained with certainty, there 

 is nothing better. Mr. Adams, of Wednesbury, now pro- 

 duces a quality of iron which has almost entirely superseded 

 the use of " stub" nail-iron, and in the trade it is that known 

 as " Wednesbury stub-iron." He also manufactures two 

 kinds of steel known as " silver steel" and " common twist 

 steel," which are employed either alone or mixed with stub- 

 iron. These two kinds differ in the mode of their manufac- 

 ture, the former being twisted and the latter rolled, but both 

 being made from the clippings of steel springs, saws, &c. 

 Mr. Greener is celebrated for his laminated steel, which he 

 makes as follows : " I generally have the metal required cut 

 into short pieces of six inches long. A certain number are 

 bundled together and welded, and then drawn down again 

 in the rolling mill. This can be repeated any number of 

 times, elongating the fibres and multiplying their number to 

 an indefinite extent, as may be required." Gunnery in 1858, 

 p. 154. 



This quality of metal no doubt produces excellent barrels ; 

 but, as Mr. Greener remarks, it requires great care in the 

 working. " Damascus iron" and " wire twist" are both made 

 from a number of alternate bars of iron and steel forged 

 together into one rod which, for Damascus, is exactly three- 

 eighths of an inch square. This is then twisted while at a 

 high temperature, and shortened thereby one-half. The 

 next process is to weld three of them together, in such a 

 way that the twist of the middle one shall run the reverse 

 way to those on the outside, thus : which gives an exact idea 

 of a pickled piece of Damascus iron in the rough. The 

 common twist is not so much twisted as the Damascus ; and, 

 according to the high authority of Mr. Greener, is therefore 



