420 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Union Metallic Cartridge Co. 
The exhibit of the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, 
of Bridgeport, Conn. , is altogether unique. As the title of 
the company suggests, it (the exhibit) deals almost entirely 
with ammunition for rifles and shotguns. The space occu- 
pied, some 500sq. ft. of the floor, has enabled the company 
to give visitors to the Sportsmen's Exposition some idea 
of the magnitude and comprehensiveness of its manu- 
factures. 
The design itself is original and taking. On a platform 
raised some 6in. from the floor, covered with a sea green 
carpet and surrounded by a gilded rope which runs 
through standards also coated with gold paint, stand three 
pagoda-like structures of ebonized wood picked out with 
gold. The bases of these stands, as they may be termed, 
are hexagonal, and upon these bases stand six-sided cones 
which reach up to the top of each stand, being crowned 
at the apex with electric lights of an artistic shape. It is 
on the sides of these cones that the U. M C. Co. displays 
a portion of its products. It is unnecessary to add that 
the effect of the brass and copper of the cartridges and 
the colored paper of the shot shells, with a background of 
solid black, add greatly to the attractiveness of the ex- 
hibit. A reference to the photograph of the exhibit itself 
will readily explain all the above details. 
In order that some idea may be gained regarding the 
nature of this exhibit, it is better to take each of the 
stands in order. Naturally, the center one attracts the 
Sharp's, medium range; .44-77 Remington, medium range; 
.40-3i Sharp's and Remington, long range; .40-2^ Sharp's 
and Winchester; also a .40-l|in. of the same class; the top- 
most row of all being cartridges for the .44 Evans, about 
one of the first repeaters ever gotten out. 
On one of the Bides next the one above described are 
displayed sporting cartridges suitable for almost all sorts 
of rifles. In all twenty-eight different kinds of cartridges 
are exhibited. These are: .50-110, .50-95 and .45-125 
Winchester express; .45-90, .45-75 and .45-60 Winchester; 
.45-90 and .40-82 Winchester, with metal-cased bullets; 
.38-55 and .32 40 Ballard and Marlin, metal-cased; .38-90 
Winchester express; .40-83, .40-65 and .40-60 Winchester; 
.38-56 Winchester and Colt; .45-70 Marlin; .45-85 Marlin 
and Colt; .40-60 Marlin; ,38-55 Ballard and Marlin. long 
and short range, and the ^32-40 of the same style; .38 50, 
.38 40, .32-40 and .32 30 Remington; .32-35 Stevens and 
the. 32 Ideal. 
Another panel of the cone shows forty-two other kinds 
of cartridges; these ai - e for sporting rifles and for revol- 
vers. Among them are the Winchester sizes, the cele- 
brated .25cal. cartridge, Smith & Wesson's self-lubricating 
cartridges, Smith & Wesson's smokeless, Marlin's smoke- 
less and shot cartridges. The next panel shows the 
empty brass shells for military and sporting rifles; thirty- 
two different varieties are on exhibition. 
Bullets patched and unpatched, bullets for military 
and sporting rifles, and for revolvers, bullets for the 
,30cal. army lifle and for the .236cal. arm of theU. S. N,, 
EXHIBIT OF THE UNION METALLIC CARTRIDGE COMPANY. 
most attention. Everybody appears to be more interested 
in cartridges for revolvers and rifles rather than in paper 
shot shells, which have charms chiefly for devotees of the 
shotgun. For the sake of simplifying the description of 
the whole exhibit it will be as well to call each of the 
three separate portions of it by a title that is borne out 
by its contents. The center- one, therefore, should be 
called the "cartridge and bullet exhibit;" the one at the 
Madison avenue end of the U. M. C. Co.'s space would be 
the "shell and wad exhibit," the third, at the Fourth 
avenue end, would be the "primers, caps and brass shot 
shells exhibit." Before entering into details of the ex- 
hibit as a whole, further mention should be made of the 
bases of the separate exhibits mentioned above. The 
panels of the center or "cartridge and bullet" exhibit 
are filled with cut glass, upon which are written, in let- 
ters of gold, such mottoes as "U. M. C. Co.," "Govern- 
ment Contractors" and "Metallic Ammunition;" a motto 
in each panel. In similar panels on the shell and wad ex- 
hibit are the mottoes: "U. M. C. Co.," "Primers," "Per- 
cussion Caps," "Gun Wads," "Paper Shot Shells" and 
"Loaded Paper Shot Shells." On the third exhibit the 
mottoes are: "Bullets," "Loaded Paper Shot Shells." "U. 
M. C. Co.," "Gun Wads," "Primed Shells" and "Paper 
Shot Shells." These mottoes, besides calling attention to 
the firm itself, and to its manufactures which are placed 
on exhibition, also add greatly to the appearance of the 
exhibit as a whole, by removing whatever traces of heavi- 
ness there might be about the bases of each of the stands. 
As stated above, the center portion of the exhibit is the 
one which attracts general attention. One side of the 
cone is devoted to military ammunition, with but few ex- 
ceptions. Commencing from the bottom, the first row of 
cartridges consists of Martini-Henry, the old English 
model. Next comes the Peabody-Martini, the Turkish old 
model. The third row is the Gras, an old model that was 
used by the French. The next three rows are the old U. 
S- Government cartridges, the .50-70, .45-70-405, and .45- 
70-500. Above the latter is the new U. S. Army cartridge, 
,30cal., for the Krag-Jorgensen rifle. This cartridge is 
loaded with 85£grs. of Troisdorf powder, and carries a 
220-grnin steel-cased bullet of about one inch in length, 
with an initial velocity of about 2,000ft. The penetration of 
this bullet is 30in. of yellow pine. The next row is the 
.236cal. cartridge adopted by the U. S. Government for 
use in the navy. This cartridge is loaded with 33igrs. of 
Troisdorf powder, and carries a steel-cased bullet that 
weighs 135grs., with an initial velocity of 2,400ft. The 
penetration of this bullet has been proved to be 41in. of 
yellow pine! The U. M. C. Co. has on exhibition blocks 
of yellow pine showing the penetration of both the .30 and 
the .236, as given above. The cartridge on the next row 
is the ,30cal. Savage, a cartridge made for a new maga- 
zine sporting rifle that will soon be put upon the market. 
The fourteen remaining rows contain specimens of the 
following cartridges: .30-187-29, carrying a steel-cased 
bullet; the .45-70 U. S. Government, short range; .45 
Accles; .43 Mauser, an old German model; .42 Russian and 
.43 Spanish, also old models; .45-70 Gould, a sporting car- 
triage; ,4.5-3Jin, Sharp's for target, long rang, and ,45-70 
metal-cased bullets, mushroom bullets, Smith & Wesson's 
self-lubricating bullets; in fact, bullets of fifty-five differ- 
ent kinds are displayed on the fifth panel of this exhibit. 
The sixth and last panel shows rim-fire cartridges of all 
sizes from the .56cal. Spencer down to the comparatively 
harmless BB cap; this includes the .25 10. .22 long rifle 
and .22 smokeless, for which the U. M. C. Co. are cele- 
brated. Blank cartridges of several different kinds find 
a place on this panel, which is one of the most interest- 
ing of the six panels of the cone, although perhaps not 
as attractive to the eye as one or two of the other panels. 
The second portion of the exhibit, the "shell and wad 
exhibit," naturally comes next. This is at the Madison 
avenue end of the whole exhibit. One panel of this cone 
consists of a series of loaded shells, specialties of the U. 
M. C. Company. Sportsmen and shooters will readily 
recognize them by the names of "Trap," "Smokeless," 
and "Walsrode." The green color of the "Trap," the 
bright red of the "Smokeless," and the maroon of the 
"Walsrode" make this panel extremely pretty to look at. 
For shooters, whether experts or amateurs, the panel has 
additional interest. On it are displayed shells of the 
above varieties, loaded and wadded in the manner which, 
by infinite research, the experts of the company have 
found to give them the most satisfactory results. In 
order that the powder, wadding and shot may be seen at 
a glance, a few rows of each kind of shell are exhibited 
with a slice of shell removed, a piece of transparent cellu- 
loid being inserted, acting as the part of the shell that has 
been removed. These shells are loaded with Schultze, 
E. C, Troisdorf, DuPont, S. S., American Wood and 
Walsrode, the powder, wadding and shot being placed 
thus before the eye. These shells are what are known as 
the U. M. C. Co.'s "factory-loaded" ammunition, and are 
prepared epec'ally for live birds, inanimate targets, and 
for field and brush shooting. 
Another panel contains all sizes of black powder shells 
from the yacht gun shell and "new club" shell down to 
the 20-gauge. These shells are also loaded, and the 
method of wadding is shown as in the nitro powder 
shells. Next to this panel comes one that showB the 
nitro powder shells manufactured by this company, the 
"Trap," "Smokeless," "Walsrode," and the new maroon- 
colored shell "Nitro," from which the company expects 
great results. 
The next two panels show the wads used and manu- 
factured by the company. These wads are arranged in 
all sorts of devices that attract attention. One panel 
shows the "black edge," "pink edge" and the "card" 
wads; the other shows "salmon," "express," "white felt," 
"trap" and "top-shot" wads. The bright colors of the 
latter wads, the "top-shot," althdugh at the apex of the 
cone, are bound to catch the eye of even a casual 
observer. To the shotgun men, as distinguished from 
the men who devote themselves to the rifle, this portion 
of the U. M. C. Co.'s exhibit is of infinite interest. 
At the other or Fourth avenue end of the exhibit is the 
"primers, caps and brass shot shells exhibit." This 
portion undoubtedly occupied a great deal of time in the 
arrangement of the different articles exhibited on ite 
panels. On one are the one-powder, rapid-fire, short and 
long cartridges. The shell itself is shown in sections, as 
well as the fuses for the same, the mechanism of each 
being easily examined. The primers also for the brass 
cases are shown, as well as the old-time cannon primers. 
The next panel contains first-grade brass shot shells, in- 
cluding all sizes from a No. 4 to a No. 20. Another panel is 
made up of "club" brass shot shells in all lengths for 10 
and 12-gauge guns. 
The other three panels are given up to primers and 
caps, the boxes containing the same being placed at the 
base of each panel, while the name and number of each 
primer or cap is worked on the black' cloth in letters and 
figures formed by the primers and caps themselves. One 
panel shows all kinds of nitro primers for caitridges and 
shot shells; the numbers by which these primers are 
known being 3, 5, 6, 6^, 7 and 7k The No. 5 primer is 
a new product of the company and is us?d in the "nitro" 
shell mentioned above. Another panel is devoted to 
primers for black powder, Nos. 0, 1, H, 2, 2i; also Nos. 1 
and 1+ Berdan primers, No. 1 being a military primer, l£ 
for shot shells The last panel contains caps of all kinds: 
Colt's pistol, F. G, central five, double waterproof caps, 
market caps, etc. 
Ike above account tells in detail what is to be seen in 
the three main portions of the U. M. C. Co.'s exhibit; it is 
impossible to convey accurately an idea of the artistic ap- 
pearance o* the whole. That must be left to the photo- 
graph that accompanies this description. It should be 
added that the name of each article is given on a card 
that is tacked up beneath it. This aids considerably in an 
intelligent examination of the exhibit. 
It remains now to mention two other articles placed on 
exhibition by the company. Though both are of the 
same nature, yet one is the exact opposite of the other. 
At the Madison avenue end was shown a relic of the 
Revolutionary War. This was a cannon, period 1740- 
17SjO, found at Germantown, Pa., and loaned for the pur- 
poses of the Exposition by the owner, F. Banhorman, 27 
Front street, New York city. Alongside this cannon was 
a pyramid of 121b. balls, the size and weight of those that 
were used in this cannon. 
At the other end of the exhibit was a splendid specimen 
of modern gun-making, a. six-paundtr Driggs-Sc^roeder 
rapid-fire gun, built by William Cramp & Sons, Phila- 
delphia, Pa., fitted with all modern improvements and as 
perfect as a skilled workman could make it. Big as this 
weapon is, it can be depressed or elevated, moved to the 
right or left, and fired with almost as much ease as an 
ordinary shotgun. Alongside was a chest of ammunition 
for use in the gun. In front was another portion of the 
U. M. C. Co.'s exhibit which attracted a lot of attention 
during the Exposition, a 4in. wrought iron plate show- 
ing ten clean perforations made by projectiles fired out of 
a six-pounder similar to the one on exhibition. A pro- 
jectile that had made one of the holes in this 4in. plate 
was also exhibited. How well it had stood the test may 
be judged from the fact that it was practically uninjured. 
With the above must be brought to a close the descrip- 
tion of the Union Metallic Cartridge Company's exhibit. 
To Mr. J. A. H. Dressel, manager of the New York branch 
of the U. M. C. Co., and to Mr. W. M. Thomas, the com- 
pany's chief inspector, of Bridgeport, Conn., must be 
given the credit of designing and carrying out the general 
idea of the exhibit. To Mr. Thomas also belongs the 
credit of arranging the various articles on each portion 
of the exhibit in the artistic and telling manner so much 
admired by visitors to the First Sportsmen's Exposition. 
The Parker Gun. 
Mr. James Fadden, it may be remembered, was much 
surprised and perturbed when first he came into the pres- 
ence of an actual gentleman. Perhaps he was looking 
for an individual with large plaids in his trousers and a 
shirt front adorned with diamonds of great size and brill- 
iancy, and whose usual converse should smack of the 
Roman emperor returning from successful* war. Instead 
of this he found a man dressed as plainly and Bimply as 
possible, with conversation mild and modest, and display- 
ing no ostentation whatever. Unused to inquiring into 
fields out of his daily experieLce, it may be that Mr. 
Fadden did not at first credit his eyes. Perhaps he re- 
served in favor of the plaids and jewels his opinion of 
what made a gentleman. 
That was because Mr. Fadden was ignorant. 
In ignorance some men are often misled by display or 
by pretense. They may be slow to realize the merit of 
the simple, the modest, the plain, the severe. They may 
misapprehend the men who are really at the top, because 
these men, being at the top, do not find it necessary in 
their own creed9 to proclaim continuously the fact that 
they are at the top. The gentleman has no need to boast, 
and does not boast. Yet a gentleman may be good com- 
pany when it comes to an awkward place or a hard emer- 
gency. It is best not to be misled by swagger or haughti- 
ness, but to look carefully at the simple, the plain, the 
unaffected, the genuine. Having found such a character, 
be sure It will know how to give itself proper dress when 
the time comes. 
For thirty years the Parker has been the gentleman of 
guns. In that time there may have been a few who did 
not recognize it as such. That was because they were ig- 
norant. It is recorded that Mr. Faddpn learned to admire 
the type he first viewed in the disbelief borne of ignor- 
ance. He came to recognize actual superiority. For 
thirty years the Parker gun has known itself a gentle- 
man, and so have many thousands of its friends known. 
At the Exposition one could see the Parker (in its simple 
but elegant home) in all sorts of clothes, depending upon 
the work in band — in rough clothes, in business clothes, 
in morning dress, in half dress, in evening clothes. 
Every time (if you know gentlemen yourself when you 
see them) you could see the gentleman beneath the cloth- 
ing, simple, plain, dependable, honorable, thoroughbred. 
This is how we should describe the Parker. It is a 
gentleman, not only a part of the time, but all the time 
and in every situation. You can depend upon it. 
Capt. A. W. du Bray — whom all the country knows as 
the most generous-minded of enthusiasts on the gun — was 
in charge of the Parker exhibit, and a happier arrange- 
ment than this could not have been devised, for he has 
been a devoted admirer of the Parker gun for these many 
years, and his ardor knows no cooling. Perhaps — one 
does not know but only guesses — it was his enthusiasm 
which suggested many recent improvements in outline 
and ornamentation in tne higher grades of this standard 
arm, 
