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from January, 1897, The Aero (weekly), Flying (weekly); The Aeronautical Annual (Wesley); The Aeronautical World (Glenville, U.S.A.); The American Aeronaut, edited by T. R. MacMechan, monthly (St. Louis); Illustrirte Aeronautische Mitteilungen, edited by D2 [AERONAUTICS Dr. H. Elias (Nutt); Zeitschrift für Luftschiffart (Berlin); ... Weiner ... Luftschiffart... Zeitung (Vienna); L'Aéronaute (Paris); L'Aérophile, edited by Georges Besançon (Paris); La France Aérienne (Paris); La Revue de l'Aviation; La of the new world. He may always be distinguished from the crocodile by the presence of a pit or sulcus in the upper jaw, which receives the long teeth of the lower, A COMBINED GAS-BAG AND AEROPLANE AIRSHIP.

M. César's interesting combination of dirigible and biplane. It is fitted with a 50 h.-p. Prissi and Berthard motor, and has been tested in France.

Conquête de l'Air (Brussels); Bollettino della Società Aeronautica Italiana (Rome); The Conquest of the Air, by Alphonse Berget (London: William Heinemann), 1909.

ALLIGATOR. - The alligator seems so likely to be exterminated for the sake of his skin, that any account of shooting him may become ancient history in the comparatively near future. And save for the fact that the pursuit of the saurian takes one far from the tread of man, it cannot be said that the sportsman will have much to regret when Alligator mississippiensis is as rare as the wild camel of Spain or the bison. For beyond an ordinary acquaintance with the handling of a rifle, a boat, and the knife, the most enthusiastic alligator hunter cannot claim for his hobby that it exacts much skill, patience, or nerve. As an angler for pike and one who likes the sport, I would say that alligator shooting is a sport of about the same calibre. And more, the alligator himself is by no means dissimilar to Esox lucius.

The alligator is to be found in many parts and by the fact that he has the hind feet webbed to a lesser degree. His habits and methods of capture do not appear to vary.

The personal experiences with which I shall deal are such as may at present be enjoyed at almost any time of the year in the rivers, creeks, lagoons, and cypress swamps that pour their waters into or are supplied from the Gulf of Mexico, away down by the Ten Thousand Islands.

The equipment for an alligator shooting expedition is not complex. For a land journey one needs a mule wagon, containing a flat-bottomed folding-boat-any other keelless boat would do a tent, mosquito nets, cooking utensils, small bore rifle, gun, rods, large gaffs, several bull's-eye lanterns, and some skinning knives and skin preservatives. A day's journey inland from almost any place on that portion of the Gulf Coast described will bring one to a lagoon, or pond, as they are called.

If travelling by boat or canoe, one will speedily be able to tell if one is going in the right direction. Provided an approach is made with comparative silence, the alligator ALLIGATOR] will be found basking in the reeds, or in the mud, or, as often as not, floating with the stream, a portion of his head and his eyes just appearing. At the least sound he disappears in an instant. Like almost every creature of the forest and solitudes, he is quite harmless, unless wounded or aroused.

And then one had best beware his sharp, wolf-like fangs and lashing tail.

I can best describe the method of shooting him by an account of a recent expedition.

Having spent some days in getting ready our tents, cooking utensils, tinned and other provisions, canoes, rods, cast nets (for live bait), guns, rifles, revolvers, and other impedimenta, we started at dawn from a spot somewhat south of Caximbas Bay, heading direct for the Everglades.

Our little company set out in the chill that precedes the first glimmer of morning. In Jardine snap tackle, and trailed behind our boat in fashion now very properly illegal in the Thames, speedily resulted in what at home would have been considered a fair day's sport-one channel bass, glorious in his golden scales, one sheephead, two bone fish, and many groupers.

At night we came to the shores of one of the best alligator lakes the heart of hunter could desire, pitched our tent a hundred yards from the shore, and after dinner our guides took the canoes to the lagoon and launched them, and we looked to our lanterns and rifles.

Towards eleven, when the great wilderness around us echoed with the myriad noises of a tropical night, when the fireflies were at their brightest, and the shooting stars reached right across the sky, it became time to commence our operations. First, ALLIGATOR. that region, where either rod or gun may be used every day in the year, we were busy at once. Breakfast had to be caught en route, and the simple and clumsy device of a piece of mother-of-pearl attached to an ordinary [Photo. by W. S. Berridge, F.Z.S. we filled our belts with cartridges, then we armed ourselves with Winchesters and a long iron gaff, and finally we fastened round our palmetto hats a leather band which secured our lanterns.

That we should puzzle primitive fourfooted creatures and paralyse all manner of fowl was not to be wondered at, for the effect of a number of human beings stalking through such surroundings in the dead of night with great beaming lanterns where their heads ought to be was startling even to the initiated onlooker. It was all new to us then, and we tingled with pleasurable excitement. Twice, as we made our way as noiselessly as possible, we stopped suddenly, involuntarily. Once to make way for something large, heavy, and cumbrous, yet active, that moved from us, and went rustling through the reeds into the distance, till with a splash it tumbled into water: it was an alligator, a big bull alligator. And again, when close by we saw two gleaming opals that came slowly towards us. But crash! on a sudden the deer had recognised its enemy man, and was off and away.

A minute more and we divided and took to the boats. We had already seen the effect of the beam of light on a deer, and we were now to witness something indescribably ghostly. We pushed silently and slowly on to the waters, one party taking the right side of the lake and the other plashing gently in an opposite direction. In the strange silence, broken by the noises of frightened birds and the occasional swirl of some rising fish, moments seemed hours, and at least one of the party thought that the sport would never begin. We had got what I imagined to be a hundred yards or so out into the lagoon when our guide turned slowly inshore, telling me to take up my station in the bow of the canoe. Rifle in hand I knelt. Following the directions of our instructor I flashed my light from side to side. When we got accustomed to the weight of the lantern and the darkness, it became evident that the fringe of the lake was jewelled with small, twinkling, and starlike orbs. "Them's 'gators, sirree." Presently some of the twinkling lights came nearer, or we travelled nearer to them. "Wait till a pair gets as close as possible and fire between the widest pair you can see."

These were alligators' eyes, and the widest pair would necessarily belong to the biggest Caiman. When the eyes had come quite close, "Crack" I fired.

There was a splashing all about us, and the eyes disappeared. It was an anxious moment, and, as it proved, a disappointing one. For, though our guide tried to console me by the reflection that I had probably hit him in the body (they can carry any amount of metal) instead of between the eyes, I had my doubts. We searched the spot, our [ALLIGATOR guide displaying a good deal of polite and unnecessary zeal, I thought, and in a minute or two resumed operations, for the bright orbs were re-appearing all around us.

My next shot was more successful. Hit clean through the middle of the brain, the quarry convulsively lashed the water with his unpleasantly powerful tail. That night we came back freighted with a great store of skins, and to-day I have about me in many useful shapes abundant testimony to the efficacy of the simple plan of arousing the curiosity of Alligator mississippiensis by means of a bull's-eye carried in the hat.

This, then, is Alligator shooting en battue.

One can also, as I did, carry a rifle on fishing excursions and pot any particularly big specimen approachable.

I had read somewhere that at hibernating time the negro loves to catch the alligator, who falls an easy victim, and that the tail is considered a great delicacy by these native epicures. We tasted him, but we were fain to confess to our inability to agree with their estimate of this curious musk-flavoured and fishy meat.

NORTHCLIFFE.

AMBULANCE.- [See FIRST AID.] AMMUNITION. - This subject may, for convenience' sake, be divided into two parts: the first section dealing with the ammunition required for shot guns, whilst the second treats of that used with sporting rifles.

SHOT-GUN AMMUNITION.

Powders. In treating of ammunition, gunpowder naturally occupies the premier position. Black powder for shot guns, if not indeed already obsolete, probably will soon be entirely superseded by the more modern forms of explosive, except perhaps in very hot climates, and there is therefore no necessity to investigate that particular part of the subject. There are many welltried smokeless powders on the market for the sportsman to choose from, and fresh ones are constantly being brought to his notice. The earliest form of smokeless powder was designed to occupy, power for power, the same space in the cartridge-case as did black powder.

Nitric acid is the active agent in all smokeless powders at present in use. The principal absorbents are wood pulp, cotton wool, and glycerine. These substances, after treatment with the acid and combination with other ingredients, are so manipulated that the combustion is retarded to such extent as to insure that on explosion the pres- AMMUNITION] sure set up in the gun shall not exceed three tons per square inch, or about the pressure given by a full charge of black powder, which was taken as the standard of comparison. If it is desired to use smokeless powders in shot guns exceeding 10-bore, one of the primary types of powder first mentioned, which comprise Schultze, E.C., and Amberite, should be chosen, for the reason that sufficient experience has not as yet been obtained to determine satisfactorily as to the action of the concentrated powders in guns of greater calibre.

THE TATE CENTRAL LIBRARY BRIXTON, S.W. shot are generally used for wild fowl, against the strong feathers and tough bodies of which they are very effective, often at ranges exceeding one hundred yards. The choice of size of shot is usually regulated by the size of the game and the distance at which it is to be killed. No. 6, of 270 pellets to the ounce, is the size most generally used for ordinary purposes of game shooting in England.

Smokeless powder may be kept for any length of time without deterioration in a cool dry place, if the temperature is within from 40° to 60° Fahr. In cold weather better results will be obtained if the cartridges are kept in a warm room for a few hours before use, so as to bring their temperature up to about 60°. LG 00 BB B 1 2 3 4 MG SG Shot. The shot in general use varies in size from about 40 to 1,000 pellets to the Special SG ounce, as may be seen by reference to the 1-21-2 42 5 5½ 6 6½ 7 BB B I 2 3 4 table annexed:

SSG WALKER'S, PARKER & CO.

Drop Shot. 4½ 55½ 6 6½ 7 LONDON.

A A 40 SSS G No. of pel- A 50 Size. lets per oz.

BB 58 B 75 SSSS G Mould Shot.

I 82 [12 LG 5 MG 8½ 135 SSSSS G 177 SG II 218 SSG 15 AAA 270 SSSG 17 341 600 AA 984 1726 A BBB 8 9 10 11 12 D 4 2 3 6 7 9 8 5 10 From the foregoing tables it will be gathered that in some sizes the number of pellets to the ounce varies considerably as between the makers, and although the anomaly has often been pointed out, no revision has as yet been effected. There are two kinds of shot made; "soft," which is composed of nearly pure lead, and the so-called " chilled," which is in reality an alloy, with lead as the principal ingredient. Chilled shot possesses many advantages over the soft kind, for, as its name implies, the pellets are harder, and for this reason they do not lose to so great an extent their spherical form in the cartridge or bore of the gun, and in consequence they keep a more correct line of flight. The pellets are formed by pouring the molten metal through a perforated plate fixed at the top of a high tower. The height of the drop gives time for the naturally formed globules of metal to harden before falling into a tank of water, which is placed in the base of the tower to receive them. The larger sizes of ELEY STANDARD AND CHILLED SHOT. ACTUAL SIZES.

Cartridge Cases. For shot guns these are sometimes made of solid drawn brass; but this more particularly applies to the larger sizes used for wild-fowling purposes.

For guns of ordinary size, i.e., 20- to 12-bore inclusive, paper cases are almost universally employed. The principal objection to brass cases is that the sharp edges are liable to cut the fingers of the shooter.

Concentrated powders require a special form of cartridge case, having the interior of the base, that is to say the powder chamber, of a conical shape. These bases vary somewhat in form for the several powders, as also do the cap domes, which have one or more flash-holes of various sizes. The fulminate in the percussion cap is somewhat different in composition and in action from that required to ignite the older type of smokeless powder. A question of vital importance bearing on the action and behaviour of present-day explosives is the inequality of power of the percussion caps, many serious accidents having resulted from this cause. In some instances, owing to the small quantity of fulminate in the cap, the shot charge has been moved only a very short distance up the barrel and the next charge fired has burst the gun. An excess of fulminate in the cap gives rise to high gas pressure in the breech, which is likely to injure the weapon, and in any case irregularities of the sort indicated are a barrier to good and regular work.

Wadding. In the shot cartridge the wadding is a very important item, as it must fulfil several requirements. It must act as an effectual gas check, not only at the instant of explosion but also while the charge is passing from the cartridge into the bore of the barrel, thus effectually bridging over that part of the bore of the gun termed the "cone."

From numberless experiments it has been found that in a 12-bore a card wad of medium thickness over the powder, next to which is a 3/8 in. soft felt, with a grey cloth under the shot, gives the best results; the wad over the shot should only be sufficiently stout to keep the pellets from shaking loose during transit.

RIFLE AMMUNITION.

Twenty years ago the subject of ammunition for sporting rifles was a very large one. At that period rifles were made by rule of thumb, no two being exactly alike, and as each maker had his own particular charge of powder, shape, and weight of bullet, &c., the varieties of ammunition in use were innumerable. In the event of a bullet mould being lost or injured, only the original maker of the rifle could supply a new one, so that the difficulties under which sportsmen laboured (especially in foreign countries) were considerable. This unsatisfactory state of affairs has for several years past ceased to exist, and rifles are now made to take ammunition of standard sizes.

Powder. The remarks previously made with respect to the use of black powder in shot guns are applicable for the most part to the employment of this form of explosive in rifled arms, though it is still preferred for large bore rifles and modern ball guns of the "Paradox" type. Indeed, owing to the difficulty of obtaining a good smokeless powder abroad, the care with which it must be transported and kept, and the necessity of using a powder easy to load and invariable in its results, many big game shooters [AMMUNITION still rely on black powder only. But improvements in the manufacture of smokeless rifle powder make it unlikely that this will always be the case.

As stated in the previous section, smokeless powders are of two distinct varieties: first, those that, power for power, bulk the same, or nearly the same, as black powder, and, second, those explosives of the concentrated type which occupy a much smaller space in the cartridge case. None of the powders of the former class really deserve the appellation smokeless; and they are all more or less hygroscopic. On the other hand, the majority of the concentrated powders are absolutely smokeless and impervious to damp, whilst the flame emitted from the muzzle of a rifle on firing a charge of one of these powders is scarcely perceptible. Concentrated powders may be divided into two classes; those that are composed almost entirely of nitro-cellulose or gun-cotton, and those that consist of nitrocellulose combined with nitro-glycerine. Each of these has it own peculiar advantages and disadvantages, which may be briefly summed up as follows:-Those powders containing nitro-glycerine give low and regular gas pressures, and for any given weight of charge the ballistic properties are excellent. The heat of combustion, however, is exceedingly high, and causes severe erosion of the bore, a matter of much importance in the case of a rifle, as the accuracy of shooting rapidly deteriorates in consequence. Powders of the nitro-cellulose class generally give higher and more irregular gas pressures, but the heat of combustion is comparatively low; therefore they do not so quickly destroy the interior of the rifle, and the barrel remains cooler during quick firing. As an example of the lastnamed class Rifleite, and of the former kind Cordite may be taken. Ballistite holds an intermediate position, as it is principally composed of nitro-cellulose with only a small percentage of nitro-glycerine. Two of the principal advantages accruing from the use of concentrated powders are (1) the great power that can be stored in a small cartridge case, and (2) the considerable reduction in recoil as compared with black powder.

Projectiles.--Almost every sportsman holds a different opinion as to the kind of bullet that should be employed on big game.

Some hold that a 4-bore elongated bullet weighing 1,880 grs., propelled by 12 drs. of black powder, is the proper projectile to use.

The muzzle velocity of such a bullet is about 1,330 feet per second, and the striking energy at short ranges about 7,000 foot- AMMUNITION] pounds. Others are in favour of a 4-bore spherical bullet weighing 1,250 grs. This projectile when propelled by 12 drs. of black powder would have a muzzle velocity of about 1,460 feet per second, and a striking energy of nearly 6,000 foot-pounds. Some sportsmen of experience consider that an 8-bore "Paradox" bullet is powerful enough for anything in the way of dangerous game, for at ordinary sporting range it gives such a smashing blow that the animal is killed or turned over at once; consideraa tion of much importance when an (Steel bullet coated with lead.) infuriated animal is 8-BORE PARADOX BULLET.

Cut out of an elephant. as charging. The IObore brass case "Paradox" is almost as powerful as the foregoing, for it is practically a 9-bore, the projectile used is only slightly inferior in weight and smashing power, whilst the arm itself is considerably lighter.

At the trial of an 8-bore "Paradox" ball and shot gun made by the editor of the Field some few years ago, six bullets were placed within a space measuring 13/8 in. by 21 in., the range being fifty yards. The charge used was IO drs. of Curtis and Harvey's No. 6 grain powder and a hardened cylindroconoidal bullet of 1,150 grains. The weight of this particular gun was 14 lb., and length of barrel 28 in.

Some sportsmen prefer to have heavy bullets made with a hardened steel point so as to obtain great penetration; others choose 577 CARTRIDGE. 577 BULLETS. (Cut out of an elephant.) a hollow-pointed bullet that will expand on striking, thus expending the whole of its energy in shock. The general consensus of opinion is that an 8-bore, or the No. IO brass case bullet of the "Paradox" type of weapon, is the most satisfactory projectile to use on dangerous game at any range within one hundred yards.

A 577 bullet weighing 591 grains and propelled by 164 grains of black powder is largely used by those still preferring black powder. It is particularly suited for shooting the largest kinds of African deer, as well as lion, tiger, and giraffe, and even heavier game such as elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, and other Indian and African large game. The muzzle velocity of this bullet is about 1,660 feet per second, and the striking energy about 3.600 foot-pounds.

The smaller 500 bullet weighs 444 grs., and propelled by 138 grs. of powder it has a muzzle velocity of 1,780 feet per second, and a striking energy of 3,134 foot-pounds. A bullet of this kind is suitable for smaller and less dangerous game than that before mentioned. Both the 577 and the 500 bullets occasionally used with envelope, which, by preventing deformation are ،، *303 SPORTING CARTRIDGE. express دو a copper *303 SPORTING BULLET. (Cut out of red deer.) on striking, adds greatly to their penetrative power. A few years ago the 450 and the bullets were in great 400 favour, but they are now being superseded by the 303 Lee-Metford with a nickel envelope, and the 256 Mannlicher with a steel envelope. These bullets on account of their extreme velocities possess enormous striking enera a gies. For instance, the 303 with muzzle velocity of about 2,000 feet per second, has a striking energy of about 1,907 foot-pounds, although the bullet only weighs 215 grs. The 256 Mannlicher bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,456 feet per second has a striking energy of 2,070 foot-pounds with a bullet weighing only 155 grains. When these high-speed bullets are made to expand on striking, they are very effective against deer and other game which do not require a very weighty blow to kill them. Undoubtedly big game have been killed with projectiles of this class, but apart from the consideration of danger to the sportsman, the chief objection to their employment for the work is the fact that an immense amount of wounding must be done when shooting big game with very small bullets. Notwithstanding the high velocities attained by these small-bore projectiles, their shock-giving properties are not such as to insure the immediate collapse of the larger game, unless hit in heart or brain.

The bullets in general use for rook and rabbit shooting are the '295, 250, or the 220, but most sportsmen are of opinion that the 250 is the smallest bullet that should be used for rabbits.

The following table gives the weights of these bullets with their powder charges :- WEIGHT OF BULLET.

CHARGE OF POWDER. *295, hollow-pointed, 80 grs. *295, solid, 80 grs. .... 56 ... ...

Io grs. ... ... ...

IO 7 short, 30 grs. long, 30,, 250, 220, 220, 220, وو وو وو وو دو ... extra long, 40 grs. ... ... ... ... وو 7 " دو 3 4,, 5,, Cartridge Cases. For rifles, of whatever bore, these should be of brass and solid drawn. For ball and shot guns of the "Paradox" type it is permissible to use paper cases if thought desirable. The selection and mixing of metals for the metallic cases require the utmost care to insure a high degree of elasticity in the finished cartridge case, so that after it has been expanded by the explosion to fit the chamber of the rifle it will resume its original dimensions, or nearly so. If this important point is not attended to, difficulties will arise with the extraction of the empty cases, When, however, the cases are made of suitable metal, they may be resized and reloaded repeatedly without fear of their jamming in the chamber. The cap-dome in the base of the cartridge case is made to suit the nature of the powder to be used. Some have a large or small central flash-hole, whilst others are provided with two or more flash-holes, which are placed round the apex of the dome. The percussion caps are also made suitable for the different powders.

Some powders, such, for instance, as black, merely require a heating flash; whereas smokeless powders, especially those of the concentrated type, require a special cap composition. The question of percussion caps is at the present time a very vexed one, the igniting agent not having received the attention it deserves in face of repeated issues of new or improved powders.

Wadding. In most cases the wadding made of soft felt and saturated with grease is to be preferred for rifle ammunition, but [AMMUNITION a greaseproof wad should, in every instance, be interposed between it and the powder.

In many kinds of rifle cartridge, the felt wad is dispensed with and a wad formed of a mixture of bees'-wax and tallow, with a thin jute wad to prevent the grease from injuring the powder, is used in its place. No wadding whatever is used with the '303 Lee-Metford and the 256 Mannlicher, the bullet being made large enough in diameter to act as its own gas check. [See also