134 COLONEL HANGER TO 



or holding your rifle fast between your leg^ 

 and thighs, place the wpper part of the heel- 

 plate on the butt, on a polished, smooth 

 board, quite at the extremity of the butt, 

 where it is somewh'ftt round ; then raise the 

 lower part of the butt about half an inch 

 from the board; then place both your hands 

 to the ramrod, ram the ball down, and, as 

 your gun is rifled either a quarter-turn, half 

 a turn, three-quarters turn, or a whole turn, 

 you will observe your gun turn round on 

 the upper end of the butt, placed on the 

 smooth board. If this is n6t received as a 

 convincing practical proof, that the ball, 

 w^hen it is shot out, does receive a rotatory, 

 or whirling motion, round its own axis, by 

 means of the spiral grooves in the rifle, I 

 shall be greatly surprised ; for it appears to 

 me as evident, as that the sun shines at 

 noon-day. Yet the author of the Scloppe- 

 taria asserts, that the spiral grooves of the bar- 

 rel are of no utility y tcitli respect to generating 

 the rotatory motion of the ball. Now, pro- 

 vided the ingenious author (for he certainly 

 shews much ingenuity in his theoretical ar- 

 guments) w\\\ have a ball cast, and such a 



