THE FOWLING-PIECE. 189 



also may be too hard or too soft; the former is known 

 by the flint making scarcely any impression upon it, 

 and the sparks being few and very small; the latter, 

 by the flint cutting into the hammer ftt every stroke, 

 whilst the sparks also are few in number, and of a 

 dull-red colour. When the strength of the springs, 

 and the temper of the hammer, are in their due de- 

 gree, the sparks will be numerous, brilliant, and ac- 

 companied with a whizzing noise. 



In order to explain these differences, it will be ne- 

 cessary to observe, that the sparks produced by the 

 collision of flint and steel are particles of the metal 

 driven off in a strongly-heated state, and which, fall- 

 ing among the powder, kindle it instantly. By snap- 

 ping a gun or pistol over a sheet of white paper, we 

 may collect these sparks; and, by submitting them 

 to a microscope, demonstrate the truth of this asser- 

 tion. If the sparks are brilliant, and accompanied 

 with a whizzing noise, we >hall find the particles col- 

 lected on the paper to be little globules of steel ; 

 which were not only melted, but have actually un- 

 dergone a considerable degree of vitrification from 

 the intensity of the heat excited by the collision. 

 When the face of the hammer is too hard, the parti- 

 cles which the flint strikes off are so small, that thej 

 are cooled before they fall into the pan ; and when 

 the hammer is too soft, the particles driven off are 

 so large as not to be sufficiently heated to kindle the 

 powder. 



Por my own part, I prefer a lock, the springs of 



