The man capable of becoming a good gunsmith will require no special rules for his government in this matter. He will know that a steel gun is preferable to an iron gun, and he will be able to readily distinguish between steel and iron. He will also know that a gun finely finished in every particular, is, undoubtedly, a better gun than one put together in the rough, and his own eyes will quickly tell him as to the finish. Prompted by these considerations, the muzzle-loading shot-gun is turned over to the good sense of the gunsmith for adjudgement as to superior or inferior qualities, leaving him to decide upon it, unbiased by any rules that could be given, which is the most rational course to pursue, since, under existing circumstances it would be impossible to make rules that would be entirely reliable. _The Muzzle-loading Rifle._—In the case of the old-fashioned Kentucky rifle, still on the market in limited numbers, eyesight and test, if necessary, will have to be the main reliance of the gunsmith in judging of quality. The barrel of a first-quality gun of this character is wrought iron, made eight-square, and finely finished. The lock is steel, well put up, and provided with double or set triggers. The stock is either black-walnut or maple highly polished and oil-finished. The bore is given as perfect a degree of finish as iron is capable of taking, and the rifles are deeply-cut and entirely regular all the way through. The sights are made with great care, some of the finest guns having an elevating hind-sight to be changed for long or short range—say, for 500 or 50 yards. In some of the older made guns the foresights are silver, though as a general rule they are made of some kind of white metal compound not so liable to glimmer as silver. The tube-cylinder has a vent screw in the end of it, which may be taken out for the purpose of working in powder in case a ball should have been accidently put down without powder, which accident, without this provision, would be apt to necessitate an unbreeching of the gun. The barrels are of different lengths, ranging from 26 to 40 inches, and the size of bore is equally varied. It is usually estimated by the number of round bullets a pound of lead will cast to fit it, as 200 (smallest bore), 175, 100, and so on down to 50, which is considered the largest bore in common use. The weight of the gun complete usually ranges at from six to twelve pounds. A steel-barrel rifle made on the Kentucky plan may be met with occasionally, though not often. The steel barrel generally adds about five dollars in cost over that of the iron barrel finished in the same way, and is supposed to be at least that much better on account of less liability to wear and roughen in the bore.