possibly be so reliable as a gun whose every part is made in the same establishment, and under the eye of the same general superintendent. England has gone largely into the putting up of these patchwork guns, simply for the reason that she can buy the Liege materials much cheaper than she can make them at home. This cheapness is due to the inferior materials used by the Liege manufacturers, and to the extremely low rate of wages in Belgium. It is asserted, upon good authority, that the English “manufacturer” can get his finished materials from Liege, paying regular Government duty, and put together what would appear to be a fair quality of double-barrel breech-loading shot-gun, at the cost of about seven dollars. And he does it, giving the gun to the market under his own brand, or surreptitiously under that of some other house known to be more reliable than his own. As a consequence, English reputation is sadly injured as regards the business of making the best guns, and gunsmiths can no longer trust to English brands as a sure guarantee of first-class quality. Of course there are some English manufacturers whom it will always do to trust, provided one knows to a certainty that the gun is really genuine. If that patchwork game is played in this country at all it is on a small scale as yet, and is confined to the cheapest guns. A gun from any of our prominent houses is quite sure to be as represented; and, until the gunsmith becomes so familiar with all the requirements of a good gun, the maker’s price may be taken as a pretty safe rule by which to judge of quality. Each manufacturing house is apt to have its guns graded, and priced accordingly—the higher the price asked the better the gun in every case, for it is as much the desire of the prominent manufacturer to make a good name as it is to make a good gun. Of course this rule can only be considered entirely safe in case where the scale of prices has been obtained directly from headquarters. Passing through half a dozen or so of middle houses might work important changes from the original price list. Where none of these rules can be brought to bear it is but natural that the inexperienced gunsmith should turn to his MANUAL for aid in forming judgment upon the quality of the gun. A few general ideas may not be out of place.