G U N. 107 
walnut-tree; and the only choice in this is, that the 
grain be even and clofe* and as free as poffible from 
knots and burrs, which, though they may add to the 
beauty of the flock, feldom fail to take away from its 
flrength, unlefs they are confined' entirely to the butt 
part. As to the^curvature, no particular degree can be 
afligned as a ftandard : different perfons requiring dif¬ 
ferent degrees, according to the length of their neck, 
and to the manner in which they hold their head whilft 
taking aim. This, therefore, as well as the length of 
the butt, which depends partly upoijt the circumflances 
juft mentioned, but chiefly upon the length of the 
arms, can be determined with great accuracy' by the 
gunfmith, from obferving the manner in which the 
/hooter prefents his piece, and takes his aim. 
With regard to the choice of gunlocks, the genius 
and induftry of the Englifii workmen have brought 
them to fuch a degree of perfedtion, that we have- 
fcarcely any thing farther to remark, than that every 
fportfman might ufe his own difcretion, fince no one 
need fear much difappointment in the effential qualities 
of a gun-lock, provided he goes to the price of a good 
one. It is of more confequence to the excellence of a 
lock, that the fprings be proportioned to each other, 
than that they fliould all be made very ftrong. A mo¬ 
derate degree of force is fufficient to produce the re¬ 
quired effedl; and whatever exceeds this proves detri¬ 
mental, by rendering the trigger difficult to draw, or 
producing fuch a ftroke as breaks the flints, or throws 
the piece from the diredtion in which it was pointed. 
If the main-lpring be very ftrong, and the hammer- 
fpring weak, the cock is often broken for want of fuf¬ 
ficient refiftance to its ftroke, until it is flopped all at 
once by the check of the lock-plate. Whilft, on the 
other hand, if the hammer-fpring be ftiff, and the main- 
fpring weak, the cock has not fufficient force to drive 
back the hammer. And, in both cafes, the collifion 
between the flint and fteel is too flight to produce the 
neceflary fire. The face of the hammer, alfo, may be 
too hard or too foft. , The former is known by the flint 
making fcarcely any impreffion upon it, and the fparks 
being few and very fmall. The latter is known by the 
flint cutting deep into the hammer at every ftroke, 
whilft the fparks are alfo few in number, and of a dull- 
red colour. When thellrength of the fprings, and the 
temper of the hammer, are in their 'due degree, the 
fparks are numerous, brilliant, and accompanied with a 
confiderable whizzing noife. 
To explain thefe differences, it is, neceflary to ob- 
ferve, that the fparks, produced by the collifion of flint 
and fteel, are particles of the metal driven off in a 
flongly-heated ftate, and which, falling among the pow¬ 
der, inflame it inftantly. By fnapping a gun or piftol 
over a flieet of white paper, we may collect thefe 
fparks, and, by fubmitting them to a microfcope, de- 
monftrate the truth of this remark. If the fparks are 
very brilliant, and accompanied with a whizzing noife, 
we lhall find the' particles colledled on the paper to be 
little globules of fteel, which were not only melted, 
bqt have actually undergone a confiderable degree of 
vitrification from the intenfity of the heat excited by 
the collifion, their furface exadtly refembling the flag- 
thrown out from an iron foundery. When the face of 
the hammer is too hard, the particles which the flint 
ftrikes off are fo fmall, that they are cooled before they 
fall into the pan ; and, when the hammer is too foft, 
the particles driven off are fo large as not to be fuffi- 
ciently heated to fire the powder. 
We think the conical form of the touch-hole a real 
improvement ; but do not approve of its widening fo 
much as it lometimes does in the patent-breech, as the 
force of the fule againft the opening into the pan is 
greatly increafed by it. Gold pans are of very little 
advantage ; for, as the iron muft be foftened before 
they can be applied, it is very liable to ruft, and thus 
deftroy its connection with the gold ; the tin,’ alfo, by 
means of which the gold lining is fixed, is frequently 
melted by the fire of the fufe being directed upon the 
bottom of the pan, and the gold thereby'detached from 
its hold ; this will happen mpre readily when the 
touch-hole is placed very low, and when, from its form 
or width, the fire of the fufe is confiderable. A great 
improvement, however, has lately been made in the 
manner of putting in the gold pans; they are now 
dove-tailed in before the lock-plate is hardened, by 
which means they feldom or ever blow out ; and it is 
now found that they will ftand better than any other 
fpecies of pan, provided that the lock is eafed from the 
touch-hole, or taken off when the barrel is taken out 
of the flock. Still we are of opinion that the fteel 
pan will be found, with common care in cleaning it, to 
laft as long, and to anfwer every purpofe as well, as 
when lined with gold ; but in an age of tafte and ele¬ 
gance, external ornaments feem not to be di (periled with. 
Much injury and inconvenience is apt,, to be expe¬ 
rienced in wet weather, and in covert-fhooting, by the 
water finding its way into the pan, and converting the 
gunpowder into a pafte, which’totally prevents it from 
exploding. This, to be fure, only occafions a tempo¬ 
rary intermiffion of our fport ; but the cafe is extremely 
different where an army is going info aCtion, or is at¬ 
tacked, in wet weather, or during a fall of fnow, which 
in fpite of every care will infinuate itfelf between the 
barrel and the gunloclc entering the pan, and thus pre¬ 
vent the mufket'from firing, to the great difadvantage 
of the troops, and in fome cafes, perhaps, fatal to the 
views of an army; as was precisely the cafe with the 
Ruffians under the czar Peter the Great, when attacked 
during a heavy fall of fnow, by Charles XII. king of 
Sweden. To remedy this defeat, Mr. John Proffer, of 
Charing-crofs, London, has recently produced a very 
ingenious contrivance, confifting of the mere addition 
of a fmall ward to the gun-lock, by means of which 
the admiffion of water between the barrel and the pan 
is utterly prevented, either by rain, fnow, or exudation 
from damp and foggy weather. This invention is con- 
fidered fo valuable, that his majefty has granted letters 
patent to Mr. Proffer, dated December 9, 1800, to jfe- 
cure the profits of it exclufively to himfelf and family, 
for the term of fourteen years. 
There are two other very recent improvements of the 
gun-lock, which highly claim public attention and re¬ 
gard. The firft is a contrivance calculated to prevent 
the fatal accidents which fo often attend the unexpected 
difeharge of fire-arms; and which may be eafily applied 
to the gun-locks now in common ufe. It is conftrudled. 
on fuch a principle, that when the gttnlock is at full 
cock, and the trigger pulled in the common manner, it 
returns to the half cock only, unlefs, at the fame time 
that the trigger is pulled, the preffure of the thumb 
be applied on a fpring placed upon the butt or flock of 
the gun; in which cafe it infallibly gives fire in the 
ufual manner. The intent of this invention is not only 
to guard againft the cafualties which arife when fire¬ 
arms are left in a carelefs manner loaded, but alfo from 
the misfortunes which frequently happen from twigs of 
trees or bufhes catching the trigger when fportfmen are 
palling through coverts, or over hedges.—This im¬ 
provement was made by Mr. John Webb, of'Dorring- 
ton-flreet, London, for which the fum of twenty gui¬ 
neas was prefented to him by the Society for the Encou¬ 
ragement of the Arts, in 1802, and a complete model of 
the gun-lock is referved in the fociety’s r^pofitory. 
The annexed engraving corredlly exhibits its conftruc- 
tion: Fig. 1. prefents an interior view of the lock at 
full cock. A, is the cock. B, the hammer. Fig. 2, 
fliews the fame lock at half cock, with an outline of the 
works: C, the main fpring. D, the tumbler. E,. the 
. large 
