ing on the face. Having well shaped the inside strokes of his letter, he deepens the hollows with the same tools; for, if a letter be not deep in proportion to its width, it will, when used at press, print black, and be good for nothing. This work is generally regulated by the depth of the counter punch. Then he works the outside with proper files till it be fit for the matrice. But before we proceed to the sinking and justifying of the matrices, we must provide a mould to justify them by, of which you have draughts in Plate 76. fig. 2 and 3. Every mould is composed of an upper and under part. The under part is delineated in fig. 2. The upper part is marked fig. 3, and is in all respects made like the under part, excepting the stool behind, and the bow or spring also behind; and excepting a small roundish wire between the body and carriage, near the break, where the under part hath a small rounding groove made in the body. This wire, or rather half-wire, in the upper part makes the nick in the shank of the letter, when part of it is received into the groove in the under part. These two parts are so exactly fitted and gaged into one another (viz. the male-gage marked in fig. 3. into the female marked g in fig. 2.) that when the upper part of the mould is properly placed on, and in the under part of the mould, both together make the entire mould, and may be slid backwards for use so far, till the edge of either of the bodies on the middle of either carriage comes just to the edge of the female gages cut in each carriage: and they may be slid for ward so far, till the bodies on either carriage touch each other: and the sliding of these two parts of the mould backwards makes the shank of the letter thicker, because the bodies on each part stand wider asunder; and the sliding them for wards makes the shank of the letter thinner, because the bodies on each part of the mould stand closer together. The parts of the mould are as follow: viz. a, The carriage. b, The body. c, The male gage. de, The mouth-piece. f, The register. g, The female gage. hh, The bag. aada, The bottom plate. bbb, The wood on which the bottom plate lies. ccc, The mouth. dd, The throat. edd, The pallat. f, The nick. gg, The stool. hh, The spring or bow. Then the mould must be justified: and first the founder justifies the body, by casting about 20 proofs or samples of letters; which are set up in a composing stick, with all their nicks towards the right hand; and then, by comparing these with the pattern letters, set up in the same manner, he finds the exact measure of the body to be cast. He also tries if the two sides of the body are parallel, or that the body be no bigger at the bead than at the foot, by taking half the number of his proofs and turning them with their heads to the feet of the other half; and if then the heads and the feet be found exactly even upon each other, and neither to drive out nor get in, the two sides may be pronounced parallel. He farther tries whether the two sides of the thickness of the letter be parallel, by first setting his proofs in the composing stick with their nicks upwards, and then turning one half with their heads to the feet of the other half; and if the heads and feet lie exactly upon each other, and neither drive out nor get in, the two sides of the thickness are parallel. The mould thus justified, the next business is to prepare the matrices. A matrice is a piece of brass or copper, of about an inch and a half long, and of a thickness in proportion to the size of the letter it is to contain. In this metal is sunk the face of the letter intended to be cast, by striking the letter-punch about the depth of an n. After this, the sides and face of the matrice must be justified and cleared with files of all bunchings made by sinking the punch. Every thing thus prepared, it is brought to the furnace; which is built of brick upright, with four square sides, and a stone on the top, in which stone is a wide round hole for the pan to stand in. A foundery of any consequence has several of these furnaces in it. As to the metal of which the types are to be cast, this, in extensive founderies, is always prepared in large quantities; but cast into small bars of about 20 pounds weight, to be delivered out to the workmen as occasion requires. In the letterfoundery under the direction of Dr. Alex. Wilson and Sons at Glasgow, we are informed, that a stock of metal is made up at two different times of the year, sufficient to serve the casters at the furnace for six months each time. For this purpose, a large furnace is built under a shade, furnished with a wheel vent, in order the more equally to heat the sides of a strong pot of cast-iron, which holds when full 15 hundred weight of the metal. The fire being kindled below, the bars of lead are let softly down into the pot, and their fusion promoted by throwing in some pitch and tallow, which soon inflame. An outer chimney, which is built so as to project about a foot over the farthest lip of the pot, catches hold of the flame by a strong draught, and makes it act very powerfully in melting lead; whilst it serves at the same time to convey away all the fumes, &c. from the workmen to whom this laborious part of the business is committed. When the lead is thoroughly melted, a due proportion of the regulus of antimony and other ingredients is put in, and some more tallow is inflamed to make the whole incorporate sooner. The workmen now having mixed the contents of the pot very thoroughly by stirring long with a large iron ladle, next proceed to draw the metal into the small troughs of castiron, which are ranged to the number of fourscore upon a level platform faced with stone, built towards the right hand. In the course of a day, 15 hundred weight of metal can be easily prepared in this manner; and the operation is continued for as many days as are necessary to prepare a stock of metal of all the various degrees of hardness. After this, the whole is disposed into presses according to its quality, to be delivered out occasionally to the workmen. The founder must now be provided with a ladle, which differs nothing from other iron ladles but in its size; and he is provided always with ladles of several sizes, which he uses according to the size of the letters he is to cast. Before the caster begins to cast, he must kindle his fire in the furnace to melt the metal in the pan. Therefore he takes the pan out of the hole in the stone, and there lays in coals and kindles them; and, when they are well kindled, he sets the pan in again, and puts in metal into it to melt: if it be a small-bodied letter he casts, or a thin letter of great bodies, his metal must be very hot; nay, sometimes red hot, to make the letter come. Then having chosen a ladle that will hold about so much as the letter and break is, he lays it at the stoking hole, where the flame bursts out, to heat. Then he ties a thin leather, cut with its narrow end against the face to the leather groove of the ina trice, by whipping a brown thread twice about the leather groove, and fastening the thread with a knot. Then he puts both halves of the mould together, and puts the matrice into the matricecheek, and places the foot of the matrice on the stool of the mould, and the broad end of the leather upon the wood of the upper half of the mould, but not tight up, lest it might hinder the foot of the inatrice from sinking close down upon the stool in a train of work. Then laying a little rosin on the upper wood of the mould, and having his casting-ladle hot, he with the boiling side of it melts the rosin and, while it is yet melted, presses the broad end of the leather hard down on the wood, and so fastens it to the wood: all this is the preparation. Now he comes to casting; in the performance of which, placing the under half of the mould in his left hand, with the hook or hag forward, he clutches the ends of its wood between the lower part of the ball of his thumb and his three hind fingers; then he lays the upper half of the mould upon the under half, so that the male gages may fall into the female gages, and at the same time the foot of the matrice places itself upon the stool; and, clasping his left-hand thumb strong over the upper half of the mould, he nimbly catches hold of the bow or spring with his right-hand fingers at the top of it, and his thumb under it, and places the point of it against the middle of the notch in the backside of the matrice, pressing it as well forwards towards the mould, as downwards by the shoulder of the notch close upon the stool, while at the same time with his hinder fingers, as afore said, he draws the under half of the mould towards the ball of his thumb, and thrusts by the ball of his thumb the upper part towards his fingers, that both the registers of the mould may press against both sides of the matrice, and his thumb and fingers press both halves of the mould close together. Then he takes the handle of his ladle in his right hand, and with the ball of it gives a stroke, two or three, outwards upon the surface of the melted metal, to scum or clear it from the film or dust that may swim upon it; then takes up the ladle full of metal, and having his mould, as aforesaid, in his left hand, he a little twists the left side of his body from the furnace, and brings the geat of his ladle (full of metal) to the mouth of the mould, and twists the upper part of his right hand towards him to turn the metal into it, while at the same moment of time he jilts the mould in his left hand forwards, to receive the metal with a strong shake (as it is called), not only into the body of the mould, but while the metal is yet hot running, swift and strongly, into the very face of the matrice, to receive its perfect form there, as well as in the shank. Then he takes the upper half of the mould off the under half, by placing his right-hand thumb on the end of the wood next his left-hand thumb, and his two middle-fingers at the other end of the wood; and finding the letter and break lie in the under half of the mould (as most commonly by reason of its weight it does), he throws or tosses the letter, break and all, upon a sheet of white paper laid for that purpose on the bench, just a little beyond his left hand, and is then ready to cast another letter as before; and also, the whole number that is to be cast with that matrice. A workman will ordinarily cast about three thousand of these letters in a day. When the casters at the furnace have got a sufficient number of types upon the tables, a set of boys come and nimbly break away the jets from them: the jets are thrown into the pots, and the types are carried away in parcels to other boys, who pass them swiftly under their fingers, defended by leather, upon smooth flat stones, in order to polish their broad sides. This is a very dexterous operation, and is a remarkable instance of what may be effected by the power of habit and long practice: for these boys, in turning up the other side of the type, do it so quickly by a mere touch of the fingers of the left hand, as not to require the least perceptible intermission in the motion of the right-hand upon the stone. The types, thus finely smoothed and flattened on the broad sides, are next carried to another set of boys, who sit at a square table, two on each side, and there are ranged up on long rulers or sticks, fitted with a small projection, to hinder them from sliding off backwards. When the sticks are so filled, they are placed, two and two, upon a set of wooden pins fixed into the wall, near the dresser, some. times to the amount of an hundred, in order to undergo the finishing operations. This workman, who is always the most expert and skilful in all the different branches carried on at the foundery, begins by taking one of these sticks, and, with a peculiar address, slides the whole column of types off upon the dressing-stick: this is made of wellseasoned mahogany, and furnished with two endpieces of steel, a little lower than the body of the types, one of which is moveable, so as to approach the other by means of a long screw-pin, inserted in the end of the stick. The types are put into this stick with their faces next to the back or projection; and after they are adjusted to one another so as to stand even, they are then bound up, by screwing home the moveable end-piece. It is here where the great and requisite accuracy of the moulds comes to be perceived; for in this case the whole column, so bound up, lies flat and true upon the stick, the two extreme types being quite parallel, and the whole has the appearance of one solid continuous plate of metal. The least inaccuracy in the exact parallelism of the individual type, when multiplied so many times, would render it impossible to bind them up in this manner, by disposing them to rise or spring from the stick by the smallest pressure from the screw. Now, when lying so conveniently with the narrow edges uppermost, which cannot possibly be smoothed in the manner before mentioned by the stones, the workman does this more effectually by scraping the surface of the column with a thick-edged but sharp razor, which at every stroke brings on a very fine smooth skin, like to polished silver; and thus he proceeds till in about half a minute he comes to the farther end of the stick. The other edges of the types are next turned upwards, and polished in the same manner. It is whilst the types thus lie in the dressing-stick, that the ope ration of bearding or barbing is performed, which is effected by running a plane, faced with steel, along the shoulder of the body next to the face, which takes more or less off the corner, as occasion may require. Whilst in the dressing-stick they are also grooved, which is a very material operation. In order to understand this, it must be remembered, that when the types are first broken off from the jets, some superfluous metal always remains, which would make them bear very unequally against the paper whilst under the printing-press, and effectually mar the impression. That all these inequalities may, therefore, bë taken away, and that the bearings of every type may be regulated by the shoulders imparted to them all alike from the mould, the workman or dresser proceeds in the following manner: The types being screwed up in the stick, as before mentioned, with the jet-end outermost, and projecting beyond the wood about one-eighth of an inch, the stick is put into an open press, so as to present the jet-end uppermost, and then every thing is made fast by driving a long wedge, which bears upon a slip of wood, which lies close to the types the whole length: then a plough or plane is applied, which is so constructed as to embrace the projecting part of the types betwixt its long sides, which are made of polished iron. When the plane is thus applied, the steel cutter bearing upon that part between the shoulders of the types, where the inequalities lie, the dresser dexterously glides it along, and by this means strips off every irregular part that comes in the way, and so makes an uniform groove the whole length, and leaves the two shoulders standing; by which means every type becomes precisely like to another, as to the height against paper. The types being now finished, the stick is taken out of the press, and the whole column replaced upon the other stick; and after the whole are so dressed, he proceeds to pick out the bad letters, previous to putting them up into pages and papers. In doing this he takes the stick into his left hand, and turning the faces near to the light, be examines them carefully; and whenever an imperfect or damaged letter occurs, he nimbly plucks it out with a sharp bodkin, which he holds in the right hand for that purpose. Those letters which, from their form, project over the body of the type, and which cannot on this account be rubbed on the stones, are scraped on the broad sides with a knife or file, and some of the metal next the face pared away with a penknife, in order to allow the type to come close to any other. This operation is called kerning. The excellence of printing types consists not only in the due performance of all the operations above described, but also in the hardness of the metal, form and fine proportion of the character, and in the exact bearing and ranging of the letters in relation to one another. FOUNDLING. s. (from found or find.) A child exposed to chance; a child found without any parent or owner (Sidney). FOUNDRESS. s. (from founder.) 1. A woman that founds, builds, establishes, or begins any thing. 2. A woman that establishes any charitable revenue (Dryden). FOUNT, or FONT, among printers, a set or quantity of letters, and all the appendages belonging thereto, as numeral characters, quadrates, points, &c. cast by a letter-founder, and sorted. Founts are large or small, according to the demand of the printer, who orders them by the hundred weight, or by sheets. When a printer orders a fount of five hundred, he means that the fount, consisting of letters, points, spaces, quadrates, &c. shall weigh 500lb. When he demands a fount of ten sheets, it is understood, that with that fount be shall be able to compose ten sheets, or twenty forms, without being obliged to distribute, that is, take them to pieces. The founder proceeds accordingly; he reckons 120lb. for a As sheet, including the quadrates, &c. or 60lb. for a form, which is only half a sheet: not that the sheet always weighs 120lb. or the form 60lb. on the contrary, it varies according to the size of the form : besides, it is always supposed that there are letters left in the cases. therefore every sheet does not comprehend the same number of letters, nor the same sort of letters, we must observe, that, as in every language some sounds recur more frequently than others, some letters will be in much more use, and oftener repeated than others, and consequently their cells or cases should be better stored than those of the letters which do not recur so frequently: thus, a fount does not contain an equal number of a and b, or of b and c, &c. the letter-founders have, therefore, a list or tariff, or, as the French call it, a police, by which they regulate the proportions between the different sorts of characters that compose a fount; and it is evident that this tariff will vary in different languages, but will remain the same for all sorts of characters employed in the same language. Suppose a fount of lower case to consist of 100,000 characters, which is a common fount: here the a should have 5,000, the c 3,000, the e 11,000, the i 6,000, the m 3,000, the k only 30, and the x, See PRINTING. y, and z not many more. FOUNT. FOUNTAIN. s. (fons, Latin. fontaine, French.) 1. A well; a spring Milton). 2. A small basin of springing water (Addison). 3. A jet; a spout of water (Bucon). 4. The head or first spring of a river (Dryden). 5. Original; first principle; first cause (Sprat). FOUNTAIN, in philosophy, a spring or source of water rising out of the ground. See SPRING. FOUNTAIN, or ARTIFICIAL FOUNTAIN, in hydraulics, a machine or contrivance by which water is violently spouted or darted up; called also a jet d'eau. There are various kinds of artificial fountains, but all formed by a pressure of one sort or another upon the water, &c. viz. either the pressure or weight of a head of water, or the pressure arising from the spring and elasticity of the air, &c. When these are formed by the pressure of a head of water, or any other fluid of the same kind with the fountain, or jet, then will this spout up nearly to the same height as that head, abating only a little for the resistance of the air, with that of the adjutage, &c. in the fluid's rushing through; but, when the fountain is produced by any other force than the pressure of a column of the same fluid with itself, it will rise to such a height as may be nearly equal to the altitude of a column of the same fluid whose pressure is equal to the given force that produces the fountain. FOUNTAIN OF HERO OF ALEXANDRIA, so called, because it was contrived by him. In this (see Pl. 69. fig. 5.) the air being only compressed by the concealed fall of water, makes a jet, which,after some continuance, is considered by the ignorant as a perpetual motion; be Cause they imagine that the same water which fell from the jet rises again. The boxes CE and DYX, being close, we see only the bason ABW, with a hole at W, into which the water spouting at B falls; but that water does not come up again; for it runs down through the pipe WX into the box DYX, from whence it drives out the air, through the ascending pipe YZ, into the cavity of the box CE, where, pressing upon the water that is in it, it forces it out through the spouting pipe OB, as long as there is any water in CE; so that this whole play is only whilst the water contained in CE, having spouted out, falls down through the pipe WX into the cavity DYX. The force of the jet is proportional to the height of the pipe WX, or of the boxes CE and DY above one another: the height of the water, measured from the bason ABW to the surface of the water in the lower box DYX, is always equal to the height measured from the top of the jet to the surface of the water in the midalle cavity at CE. Now, since the surface CE is always falling, and the water in DY always rising, the height of the jet must continually decrease, till it is shorter by the height of the depth of the cavity CE, which is empaying, added to the depth of the cavity DY, which is always filling; and when the jet is fallen so low, it immediately ceases. The air is represented by the points in this figure. To prepare this fountain for playing, which should be done unobserved, pour in water at W, till the cavity DXY is filled; then invert the fountain, and the water will run from the cavity DXY into the cavity CE, which may be known to be full, when the water runs out at B held down. Set the fountain up again, and, in order to make it play, pour in about a pint of water into the bason ABW; and, as soon as it has filled the pipe WX, it will begin to play, and continue as long as there is any water in CE. You may then pour back the water left in the bason ABW, into any vessel, and invert the fountain, which, being set upright again, will be made to play, by putting back the water poured out into ABW; and so on as often as you please. FOUNTAIN, with regard to architecture, is an assemblage of masonry, sculpture, &c. connected with an hydraulic fountain, either for convenience or decoration: these acquire various denominations, according to their form and situation, as pyramidal fountain, bason fountain, rustic fountain, covered fountain, &c. FOUNTAIN PEN. See PEN. FOUNTAINLESS. a. (from fountain.) Having no fountain; wanting a spring (Milt). FOUNTFUL. a. (fount and full.) Full of springs (Chapman). To FOUPE. v. a. To drive with sudden impetuosity : out of use (Camden). FOUQUIERES (James), a Flemish painter, born at Antwerp in 1580. He was the disciple of Velvet Breughel, and became so excellent in painting landscape as to be ranked with Titian. He died in 1659. FOUR. . (Feopen, Saxon.) Twice twoFOUR-CLEFT LEAF. In botany, quadrifid, Folium quadrifidum. See CLEFT. FOUR-CORNERED STEM OR PEDUNCLE. As in verticillate plants. A four-cornered silique, as in sinapis nigra. FOUR CORNERS, in the manage, or to work upon four corners, is to imagine the colt to be divided into four quarters, so that upon each of them the horse may make a round or two in a trot or gallop; which being done he has made the four corners. FOUR-FOLD LEAVES. Folia quaterna. In botany, quaternate; four together, or by fours, at each joint or whorl; as in sherardia fruticosa, asperula taurina, cynanchica, &c. several of the galiums, erica herbacea, &c. FOUR-LEAVED TENDRIL. Cirrus tetraphyllus. A tetraphyllous tendril; four leaves to each tendril; as in lathyrus sativus. FOUR-LOBED LEAF. Folium quadrilobatum. In botany, quadrilobate. See LOBATUM. FOUR-PARTED LEAF. Folium quadripartitum. In botany, quadripartite. See PARTED. FOURBE. s. (French.) A cheat; a tricking fellow : not in use (Denham). FOURFOLD. a. (four and fold.) Four times told (Samuel). FOURFOOTED. a. (four and foot.) Quadruped; having four feet (Dryden). FOURSCO'RE. a. (four and score.) Four times twenty; eighty (Sandys). FOURSQUARE. a. (four and square.) Quadrangular (Raleigh). FOURTEEN. a. (Ƒeoperzyn, Sax.) Four and ten; twice seven. FOURTEENTH. a. (from fourteen.) The ordinal of fourteen; the fourth after the tenth. FOURTEENTH, in music, the octave of the seventh. FOURTH, or PERFECT FOURTH, a musical interval, comprising two tones and a semitone. Its extremes are two sounds in the ratie of 4: 3. The ancients reckoned this interval as a principal concord: but some, though not a majority, of the moderns, think it cannot be ranked among the concords at all. FOURTH (Imperfect), contains four semitones, as from G sharp to C natural. FOURTH (Redundant), is a discord composed of the ratios of 27: 20, and of 4 : 5. FOURTHLY. ad. In the fourth place (Bacon). FOURWHEELED. a. (four and wheel) Running upon four wheels (Pope). FOUTRA. s. (from foutre, French.) A fig; a scoff (Shakspeare). FOWEY, a borough and seaport in Cornwall, with a market on Saturdays, and a considerable share in the pilchard fishery. It is seated at the mouth of the river Fowey, and sends two members to parliament. Lat. 50. 19 N. Lon. 4. 35 W. FOWL. s. (Fuzel, Fuhl, Saxon.) A winged animal; a bird. Fowl is used collectively: as we dined upon fish and fowl (Bacon). To FowL. v. n. To kill birds for food or game. FOWLER. s. (from fowl.) A sportsman who pursues birds (Philips. Pope). see the articles under each particular kind in their proper places. See also SHOOTING. FOWLING-PIECE, a gun for shooting game of all kinds, whether of course or feather. On the perfect construction of this depends, in the sportsman. We shall therefore enter at some a great degree, the success and even the safety of length into its form and requisites, whatever be the sport for which it is immediately designed. FOWLER (Edward), an English prelate, was born at Westerleigh in Gloucestershire, in 1632, and educated at Corpus Christi college, Oxford. At the restoration he scrupled conformity, having been bred wholly among the puritans; but at length he complied, and in 1073 he was presented to the rectory of All--To form a gun-barrel in the manner generally hallows, Bread-street. In 1675 he was made prebendary of Gloucester, and in 1681 vicar of St. Giles's, Cripplegate. The same year he took his doctor's degree. He was a very active promoter of the revolution, for which he was promoted to the see of Gloucester in 1691. He died at Chelsea in 1714. He published several religious books; the best known of which is that intituled, The Design of Christianity; or a plain Demonstration and Improvment of this Proposition, viz. that the enduing man with inward real righteousness and true holiness was the ultimate end of our Saviour's coming into the world, and is the great intendment of his blessed gospel, 8vo. This excellent book has been frequently printed, and deserves a serious perusal. FOWLING: a sporting term applied in different counties, and by different sportsmen, to different pursuits. It is equally applicable to land or water birds of certain descriptions, or to the apparatus of net or gun; or to enticement or decoy by pipe, whistle, or call. Water fowls are naturally the most subtil and cunning of birds, and most careful of their own safety; whence they have, by some authors, been compared to an orderly and well governed camp, having scouts on land afar off, courts of guards, centinels, and all kinds of other watchful officers, surrounding the body, to give an alarm upon the approach of any seeming danger. And in fact, you will always find that there are some straggling fowls which lie aloof from the greater number, which will call first. Now it is the nature of water fowl to fly in great flocks, having always a regard to the general safety; so that if you see a single fowl or a couple fly together, you may imagine they have been affrighted from the rest by some sudden disturbance, or apprehension of danger; but so naturally are they inclined to society, that they seldom leave wing till they meet together again. And this is occasioned not only by the near approach of man, but also by the beating of haggards upon the rivers, as well as by the appearance of the bold buzzard and ring-tail. Of water-fowls there are two kinds, the one such as live off the water, or on it but without swimming in it; wading, and diving alone with their long legs, constituting the grallæ order: the other, the web-footed that are peculiarly formed for swimming, as the swan, goose, mallard, and indeed all the anseres tribe. As to the manner of fowling, or taking fowls, Of the manufacture and perfection of a fowling-piece. practised for those denominated common, the workmen begin by heating and hammering out a bar of iron into the form of a flat ruler, thinner at that for the breech; the length, breadth, and the end intended for the muzzle, and thicker at the intended length, diameter, and weight of the thickness, of the whole plate, being regulated by barrel. This oblong plate of metal is then, by repeated heating and hammering, turned round a cylindrical rod of tempered iron, called a mandril, whose diameter is considerably less than the intended bore of the barrel. The edges of the plate are made to overlap each other about half an inch, and are welded together by heating the tube in lengths of two or three inches at a time, strokes, upon an anvil which has a number of and hammering it, with very brisk but moderate semicircular furrows in it, adapted to the various is, the bright white heat, which immediately presizes of barrels. The heat required for welding cedes fusion, and at which the particles of the metal unite and blend so intimately with each other, that, when properly managed, not a trace is left of their former separation: this degree of heat is generally known by a number of brilliant sparks flying off from the iron whilst in the fire; although it requires much practice and experience to ascertain the degree of heat required for welding iron, which possesses various qualities, and is from the forge, the workman strikes the end of it seldom alike. Every time the barrel is withdrawn zontal direction: this operation, which the Enonce or twice gently against the anvil in a horiglish artists term jumping, the French, estoquer, serves to consolidate the particles of the metal more perfectly, and to obliterate any appearance of a seam in the barrel. The mandril is then introduced into the bore or cavity; and the barrel, being placed in one of the furrows or moulds of the anvil, is hammered very briskly by two persons besides the forger, who all the time keeps turning the barrel round in the mould, so that every point of the heated portion may come heatings and hammerings are repeated until the equally under the action of the hammers. These whole of the barrel has undergone the same operation, and all its parts are rendered as perfectly continuous as if it had been bored out of a solid piece. The imperfections to which a gun-barrel is liable in forging are of three kinds, viz. the chink, the crack, and the flaw. The chink is a solution of continuity, running lengthwise of the barrel. The crack is a solution of continuity, more irregular in its form than the chink, and running in a transverse direction, or across the plate or scale, which adheres to the barrel by a narrow base, from which it spreads out as the head of a nail does from its shank; and, when separated, leaves a pit or hollow in the metal. With regard to the soundness of the barrel, the barrel. The flaw differs from both: it is a small |