Of course the better the barrels, the better it will shoot, to a greater degree even than the old gun; and it is being daily made more perfect. The weight has already been reduced, for field-guns even of No. 12 bore, to six pounds ten ounces, which is as light as any double-gun should be, and the mechanism of the parts is very fine. Of course the friction on the hinge will in the end wear it loose, but the expense of a new one is trifling, and its construction might almost be entrusted to a country blacksmith. The barrels are said to spring slightly at the discharge when the load is heavy, so that a piece of thin paper pasted across at the break-off along the ridge will be rent; and, on the other hand, Mr. Dougall, of Glasgow, claims to have made an invention called by him the “Lockfast,” that removes this difficulty. The objection, however, is not important; and Mr. Dougall’s invention, by which the barrels slip into a shoulder-cut on the face of the breech, is considerably slower in action than the other patterns: it cannot be made to spring shut like the Lefaucheux, but must be drawn back into place by a short lever. The price of a superior breech-loader, made by Jeffery of Guildford, several of whose make have been imported and given entire satisfaction, is thirty guineas, and by Dougall of Glasgow about forty guineas, although of course the price varies to suit purses; and some of the best London makers, who spare neither labor nor expense, and who turn out work that is unsurpassable, charge double these sums. It has even been asserted that Purdey has received over a hundred pounds for a breech-loader; but this is merely a fancy price, and makes the gun neither safer nor more useful than one at a third of the cost. A breech-loader to shoot creditably must be well made, and consequently is expensive; and at the best an extra quarter drachm of powder must be allowed. This is supposed to be required by the yielding of the comparatively soft material of the cartridge-case, which must fit rather loosely in the chamber of the barrel to allow of its ready insertion, and any defect of workmanship increases this difficulty materially.