196 THE SHOOTER'S GUIDE. 



Gunpowder. 



I am well aware that sportsmen, in general, do not 

 pay that attention to gunpowder, which the nature 

 and utility of it so obviously demand. It is an arti- 

 cle which requires the greatest care and circumspec- 

 tion ; and I have no doubt but the gua-smith is fre- 

 quently blamed, for what has been caused by the 

 sportsman's neglect. 



Gunpowder is composed of very light charcoal, sul- 

 phur, and well-refined saltpetre. The charcoal is 

 made from elder. The powder used by sportsmen in 

 shooting game, is generally composed of six parts of 

 saltpetre, one of charcoal, and one of sulphur; but 

 these proportions, as well as the introduction of seve- 

 ral ingredients, and the sizes of the grains, are un- 

 doubtedly varied by the different manufacturers in the 

 composition of the powders of the same denomina- 

 tion, and are always kept profoundly secret. 



Powder, -however well dried and fabricated it may 

 have been, loses its strength, when allowed to become 

 damp. The truth of this observation may be demon- 

 strated by the following experiment: Let a quan- 

 tity of w l'-driev powder be nicely weighed, and 

 put into a close room, where the air is temperate, and 

 seemingly dry, and be left for three or four hours ; 

 on weighing it again, its weight will be increased. 

 This same powder, exposed to an air loaded with va- 

 your, acquires much additional weight in a short 



