214 VARIETIES OF SHOT-GUNS, ETC. 



stronger than it; but this opinion is in opposition to the gene- 

 ral verdict of those who have used the two kinds, and which is 



fig 10. 



BAR OF DAMASCUS IRON. (FULL SIZE.) 



certainly in favour of Damascus iron. All figured barrels 

 are produced on this principle, modified according to the 

 kind of pattern required; but there are some made by un- 

 principled persons, which on the surface present it, without 

 extending any deeper, and being therefore in no wise more 

 safe in consequence. This is effected by plating or veneering 

 on a thin layer of this twisted iron, the substance of the barrel 

 being of a very inferior quality. This fraud it is almost 

 impossible for the amateur to discover, and he is therefore 

 entirely in the hands of his gunmaker, unless he is able to 

 brown a small portion of the interior at the muzzle, when 

 the nature of the two kinds is at once visible. 



The proportion of steel which is adopted in the making of 

 gun barrels varies greatly among the different makers, some 

 going so far as to use three-fourths of steel to one of iron, 

 while others reject the steel altogether. But the old- 

 fashioned soft barrels are now seldom used, and the great 

 majority are made with from one-third to one-half of steel 

 in them. When the soft iron in this is condensed by cold 

 hammering, the result is a material which, while it is suf- 

 ficiently tough to resist the force of the explosion, is also 

 elastic enough to react upon the charge, and drive it out 

 with all the force which can be desired. 



The following are the CHIEF VARIETIES of iron which are 

 used in this country for first-class guns namely, 1st, "Da- 

 mascus Iron;" 2nd, "Wire Twist," or "Stub Twist;" 

 3rd, "Laminated Steel;" 4th, "Stub Damascus." Inferior 

 guns are manufactured of, 1st, "Charcoal Iron;" 2nd, 

 "Threepenny Skelp;" 3rd, "Twopenny" or "Wednesbury 



