Picrate of potash was at one time supposed to combine an enormous explosive power with perfect safety in carriage, as the detonating shells were proof against the blow of a hammer, and would only explode upon impact through the extreme velocity of their discharge from a rifle-barrel. These were useless against an elephant, as they had no power of penetration, and the shell destroyed itself by bursting upon the hard skin. I tried these shells against trees, but although the bark would be shattered over an extensive area, upon every occasion the projectile failed to penetrate the wood, as it had ceased to exist upon explosion on the surface. My half-pound shell was exceedingly simple. A cast-iron bottle, similar in shape to a German seltzer-water, formed the core, around which the lead was cast. The neck of the iron bottle projected through the pointed cone of the projectile, and formed a nipple to receive the percussion-cap. In external appearance the shell was lead, the iron bottle being concealed within. Half an ounce of the finest grained powder was inserted through the nipple by means of a small funnel; this formed the bursting charge. The cap was only adjusted previous to loading, as a necessary precaution. This half-pound shell was propelled by a charge of 16 drams of coarse-grained powder. I never fired this rifle without killing the animal, but the weapon could not be claimed as a pleasant companion, the recoil being terrific. The arrangement of the cap upon a broad-mouthed nipple prevented the instantaneous explosion that would have taken place with a picrate of potash shell. A fraction of a second was required to explode the cap upon impact, and for the cap to ignite the bursting charge; this allowed sufficient time for the shell to penetrate to the centre of an elephant before the complete ignition had taken place. The destruction occasioned by the half-ounce of powder confined within the body of an elephant may be imagined. I tried this shell at the forehead of a hippopotamus, which was an admirable test of penetration before bursting. It went through the brain, knocked out the back of the skull, and exploded within the neck, completely destroying the vertebrae of the spine, which were reduced to pulp, and perforating a tunnel blackened with gunpowder several feet in length, along which I could pass my arm to the shoulder. The terminus of the tunnel contained small fragments of lead and iron, pieces of which were found throughout the course of the explosion.