ings of the WHOLE CONCERN; by which means I shall secure to myself the pleasure of being the first to publish what has cost me much trouble to complete; and which many are now imperfectly copying, and may perhaps be passing off for their own invention.

EXPLANATION OF MY PLAN FOR EASING THE RECOIL OF A SWIVEL-GUN, CARRONADE, OR SHIP'S SWIVEL.

The following are the dimensions of the apparatus for a swivel-gun, which carries about a pound of shot. But if the apparatus is adapted to a carronade or ship's swivel, it must be more than proportionably stronger, because a carronade, from being so very short, has such a severe recoil.

A. THE SWIVEL, on which the gun rests, and which, it may be observed, is made as short and compact, as the

working up and down of the gun will admit of, in order to avoid, as much as possible, all extra strain occasioned by lever; as of course, the longer the ears of the swivel, the more severe the strain on the neck, and on every thing else below it.

Size.

Height, altogether 9 inches.

Thickness of the ears in the thinnest part (where the pin goes

through), each one an inch.

Diameter of the upper circle, neck, or collar, 2 inches.

Diameter of the lower cylinder, or stem, 1 inch.

Weight-7 pounds.

The wooden block of the punt, or whatever the gun is fired from, receives both the neck and the stem, so that on this plan, the lever, or strain, operates only as far as the lower part of the ears..

B. THE SWIVEL-PIN.

Diameter of the cylindrical part, of an inch.

Length

(exclusive of the threads of the screw, and the head

and square shoulder), 3 inches.

C. THE LOOP, which should be forged with, and made as part of the barrel; or at all events, welded on, so that

no recoil could tear off, or loosen it, because if merely soldered on, I would never answer for its safety.

Length-altogether, 10 inches. (If longer, and therefore able to admit a longer spring, I should say all the better.)

c. A little wedge of walnut-wood, which is pushed into the mortise, c, in order to ease the jar that is occasioned by the slider, G, coming in contact with the hinder part of the loop, on re-action taking place.

This piece of wood must, of course, be replaced with a fresh one, when nearly worn level with the iron.

D. THE SPIRAL SPRING, which is closed by the recoil of the gun, and which, in the reaction, sends the gun forward, and up to its place again.

Length-6 inches (and if 8 or 10 inches, or more, in order to have so much the further play, I conceive it would be a great improvement on what is here sketched).

Diameter-outside, an inch and a half.

Substance of the wire, of which the spring is made-nearly of an inch in girth.

EE. TWO ROUNDS OF LEAD, to save the spring, the boss F, and the shoulder of the pin H, from the harder contact of iron. COPPER is BETTER; and an old penny-piece the very thing for it.

F. A BOSS, to fill up the end of the spring which has nothing to prevent it from swerving.

G. SLIDER, or solid iron, on which rests the whole weight of the gun; through which works the swivel-pin B; and

into the female screw of which goes the male screw of H, which is the next, and last compartment here shown.

H

H. A LONG PIN, to support the spring, and prevent it from swerving. The thick end, or shoulder, on the left, fits tight into the inner circle of the spring. The cylinder (where the H is marked) is a bit of box-wood, put on to fill up the inside of the spring, which when forced together by the recoil, brings the rounded end of this wood in contact with the boss, F; for which reason, I put before it a piece of thick Indian rubber, in order to ease the jar.

[When the recoil takes place, the pin is forced out through the hole in front of the loop C, for as many inches as the spring has play; and this pin, by the way, must have a square point, in order to be unscrewed with a key, when removed from the slider G.]

I shall now, to the relief of the reader, as well as myself, conclude these directions with a sketch of all the apparatus put together, for shooting.

Intricate as this may appear in explanation, I can

assure my readers that I have used it on salt water for twenty-four successive winters (1849), and had no trouble whatever in keeping it free from rust, except having to work with a brush, into every part of it, plenty of neat's foot oil (no other oil will do). Moreover, I had no occasion to take the apparatus to pieces till the end of each shooting season.

TRIAL of the great double gun, after being fresh bored by Tom Fuller and John Hussey, in presence of Mr. Joseph Manton and myself (attended by Mr. Charles Manton, Penn, Hussey, Asell, and son, and most of the best workmen), at Bayswater Shooting-ground, May 2, 1827.

Target, 26 sheets of thick brown paper, 2 feet 4 2 feet 2. Distance, 90 yards.

Shot No. 1. (but the gun was not more than two thirds loaded, for want of safe means of fixing it.)

CC