THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
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3000 rifles a week ; were more required in case of an emergency they 
could be obtained from private gun-makers, but they would be gauged 
by the Government viewers, in order that the various parts should be 
interchangeable with those made at Enfield. 
Bayonets and ramrods are also manufactured at Enfield. 
{Swords —see Table III.—and pistols are procured from the trade, 
but tested by Government viewers). 
The bands, nose-cap, heel-plate, swivels, &c., &c., are called the furni¬ 
ture of an arm. 
Putting all the parts together is called “ assembling,” and taking them 
asunder is called “ stripping.” 
The Stock is made of walnut—a wood light, tough, and close of grain, 
durable, and not liable to warp. The stocks come principally from Italy, 
and are supplied in the rough at Enfield by the contractor. 
The wood on arrival is examined, and must be perfectly free from 
(1) “ shakes,” caused by the action of the wind on the heavy branches, 
(2) knots, (3) “ galls,” arising from injury to the bark, (4) cross grain, 
(5) fly-holes, and (6) injury by sea water. 
Ely-holes, though like minute pin-holes on the exterior, may lead to 
considerable cavities inside, where the fly has grown and lived. A fly 
is preserved at Enfield which was known to have been five years in a 
stock. 
The injury by the sea water is detected by discoloration, and tested 
by nitrate of silver, which forms a white precipitate with the chloride 
of sodium, or common saljb. 
All the other defects weaken the stock itself, but damage by sea water 
affects the barrel, as the salt causes it to rust. 
The stock for the Martini-Henry is in two parts—the butt and the 
fore-end. (They are joined by means of the body of the lock, to which 
they are attached by screw bolts). Those required for the repair of 
the Snider and other arms are, of course, full length. 
All stocks must be seasoned or desiccated, to obviate warping. 
The older a tree is the less seasoning it requires, as it is naturally 
dryer than a younger tree; so the time of seasoning varies from one to 
two years. Seasoning is effected by simply stacking the stocks in well 
ventilated rooms in such a manner that the air can permeate the 
stacks. The windows of the building are closed in damp weather, and 
the stocks are always kept free from dust and insects. 
Should time be an object desiccation is employed, by which means 
the stocks are ready for use in six weeks. This is accomplished by 
placing the stocks, one by one, on tiers of benches in a chamber into 
which a constant stream of hot air—from 80° to 90° Fahr.—is allowed 
to enter at the ceiling and escape at the floor. 
The parts of the stock being properly dried, are readily brought to 
correct size and shape in copying lathes. 
The Lock. —The Martini lock, or breech-action, consists principally 
of the “body,” which encloses the whole; the “block,” which closes 
the breech and contains the “ striker ” and its “ main spring;” the 
empty cartridge extractor, the tumbler, tumbler rest, trigger, trigger 
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