218 
APPENDIX. 
This harpoon which is made of brass or iron^ or steel, 
is morticed from a to b for the reception of the withers, in 
the same manner as the hand-harpoon, and the lockings of 
the withers are on the same principle ; but the springs for 
opening the withers are attached to the wither fc,) instead 
of to the mark of the harpoon, as in the former instru- 
ments ; from the point h to a the instrument is sharp, but 
the outer edges of the withers are blunt and square, as 
they occupy only the same breadth as the cutting part of 
the mouth. To the opening d is attached a rope platted 
of raw hide, or wire to prevent injury in the firing, and 
of about a yard in length ; with this is connected the usual 
foreganger and line. The novelty of application in this 
harpoon consists in its being fired with the part d fore- 
most : in effecting the discharge, a cylindrical cap a, of 
wood, three inches long and two inches in diameter is fitted 
on the point of the harpoon, the cap being scooped out for 
its reception. The harpoon is then thrust, point first, in 
the state represented by figure 7, into the gun. 
“ The re-action of the line in the heel of the harpoon in- 
verts it soon after it leaves the muzzle of the gun, and 
keeps its point foremost in the flight. The harpoon, 
which is cylindrical at the middle, and nine inches long 
by two inches in diameter, weighs about 5 Jibs. Captain 
Manby thinks it capable of carrying a line direct, or point 
blank, twenty-five yards, while, in the experiments he 
made, the common gun-harpoon only went nine yards 
point blank before it struck the ground with the point, and 
twenty-nine yards, when elevated 15° or 17°. The advan- 
tages of this harpoon, therefore appear, to be, its point 
