166 THE SHOOTER'S GUIDE. 



lar means, clouded in an irregular manner, so as to 

 resemble those made of stub-iron. To prove, there- 

 fore, whether a barrel is what it appears to be, it will 

 be necessary to fix upon any part of the under side 

 that is covered by the stock ; and having cleared a 

 small space with a fine file, apply a feather dipped 

 in aqua-fortis, which, in a little time, will render the 

 fibres of the metal distinctly visible, when, conse- 

 quently, it will be easy to ascertain in what direction 

 they run. 



Spanish barrels have always been held in great 

 esteem, as well on account of the quality of the iron, 

 which has generally been considered as the best in 

 Europe, as because they possess the reputation of 

 being forged and bored with greater accuracy than 

 any others. It will here be necessary to observe, 

 that of the Spanish barrels those alone are account- 

 ed truly valuable which are made at Madrid ; and in 

 consequence of this predilection, numbers have been 

 manufactured in other parts of Spain (particularly at 

 Catalonia, in Biscay, with the names and marks of 

 the Madrid gun-makers). They have also been 

 counterfeited at Liege, Prague, Munich, &c. and 

 with that nicety too, that a person must be a very 

 good judge not to be deceived by them. 



The barrels which bear the highest price, and are 

 the most sought after by the curious in this way, are 

 those made by artists which have been dead many 

 years; though, I am inclined to think, this preference 

 has no better foundation than the common prejudice 



