300 SHOOTING. 



sports peculiar to the countries to which they are 

 proceeding, a theoretical knowledge of which may 

 be gleaned from the volumes which annually proceed 

 from the pens of our travelled countrymen. 



THE RIFLE. 



The fire-arms chiefly used by the sportsman are 

 the rifle, and the fowling-piece ; the latter may be 

 classified into the swivel-gun, which is fired from a 

 rest, and the shoulder-gun. A short, wide-bored 

 musket, charged with a round or oval iron ball, was 

 formerly used for the destruction of such animals 

 as the lion, tiger, or bear. In modern times, the 

 musket has been superseded by the rifle, and the 

 iron ball by a leaden one, hardened with tin or zinc, 

 and weighted with quicksilver. A short piece is 

 said to be preferred to a long one for shooting tigers, 

 bears, and the like, as it may be more readily loaded, 

 and is more easily managed in cases of emergency ; 

 indeed, we apprehend the shooter should seldom 

 fire, except when the animal is so near to him that 

 if he aim coolly he cannot fail to lodge a ball 

 effectively. 



