MISCELLANEOUS HINTS. 357 



is full large, it is far less liable to foul or choke up, which is fre- 

 quently the case when very small. The exterior edge should be 

 rounded off, so that the cap, when struck by the hammer, may 

 be exploded without cutting. Pivots are made either plain or 

 with small rings running around them, somewhat similar to the 

 threading of a screw ; this arrangement is intended to hold the 

 cap more secure when placed upon it. 



THE COCK, STRIKER, OR HAMMER. 



It is of the utmost importance that the centre of the hammer 

 head should fall directly on the centre "of the nipple, and thus, 

 by an even, regular blow, explode the cap ; if slovenly made 

 in this respect, a second blow will be very often requisite before 

 an explosion takes place. 



The head of the striker should always be made tubular, that 

 is, surrounded with a ?•««, guard^ or 920.se, and this nose should 

 never be made open in front, as is too often the case. This alien- 

 ing is of no kind of use whatever, save to allow particles of 

 caps to fly out into one's hands and eyes; whereas, if the nose 

 is perfectly uniform all around, the cap becomes entirely in- 

 closed when the explosion takes place, and it is utterly impos- 

 sible for a single fragment of the cap to escape. 



It is very seldom that the recoil occasioned by the explosion 

 of a cap is sufficiently powerful to throw the hammer up ; if 

 such, however, should be the case, it has been proposed to have 

 the mainspring made adequately strong to prevent this accident. 

 As a still greater protection to the eyes from the fragments of 

 the shattered caps, the hammer is usually made with a circular 

 rim at the point where the «ose joins the hecid^ and the whole is 

 still further guarded by "a breeching ivall elevationP 



CARTRIDGES. 



Of late years, cartridges are very extensively used by Sports- 

 men, and have proved of immense advantage in many kinds of 

 shooting; in fact, some of our friends use them altogether on all 

 varieties of Game, and pronounce their general introduction the 

 most happy thought of the age. Cartridges are very simple in 



