Alarm Guns. 67 



indicating the locality in Avhich they are pursuing their depre- 

 dations. One of the best, and certainly the cheapest, alarm 

 guns with which I am acquainted is that devised by Captain 

 Darwin, and described in his useful manual on Game Preserving, 

 which has been too long out of print. The author writes : 

 " I have constructed an alarm gun which combines the 

 desiderata of cheapness and simpHcity more completely than 

 any I have yet seen. I do not lay claim to the invention of 

 this gun, but I certainly find I can adopt materials in its con- 

 struction that will come to a tenth part of the money usually 

 charged ; in fact, any tolerable mechanic ought to make it in 

 :an hour. It is formed as follows : get a piece of iron gas-pipe, 

 three inches long and three-quarters bore. At the threaded 

 ■end make a plug of iron a quarter of an inch thick, and tapped 

 in the centre for a nipple. Drive this plug into the barrel, 

 .and braze it. The nipple is then screwed in. Then get a 

 •corresponding piece of the gas-pipe, from two feet six inches 

 ■to three feet long, also threaded at the end. Screw the collar 

 .(that always goes along with this sort of gas-pipe) on to the 

 Jong piece as tight as it will go. The gun is now complete 

 with the exception of the hammer, which is a piece of round 

 iron about a foot long, and shpping easily down the barrel. 

 To set the gun you must tie the long barrel fast to the stem 

 •of a tree in the plantation, with the short barrel downwards. 

 Unscrew the latter and load it with a couple of charges of 

 ]30wder, and put on the cap, which you should cover with some 

 .beeswax and suet mixed. Then screw the short barrel into the 

 Jong one. Drill a small hole through the loose piece of iron 

 .about four inches from one end, and put it in the barrel with 

 .a nail or peg in the small hole, and a string from the nail going 

 down the side of the tree in the direction you may choose. 

 Mind and not have the wire so low that a dog can let it off. 

 When the wire is touched it draws the nail, and the hammer 

 ialhng down on the barrel, lets the cap off. Being fastened 

 up in a tree, and close to the stem, it can catch the eye of no 

 .one, and merely has to be shifted occasionally, though of course 



