a huge press in which the band is
placed. The broach consists of a steel tool about ten inches in length,
and of the exact diameter and form of the interior of the band, and is
armed upon its entire length with concentric rings composed of very
short and sharp knives. The broach, being placed over the cavity of the
band, is slowly subjected to the pressure of the two-ten press, and is
thus forced completely through the band, cutting it out as smoothly and
easily as if it were composed of lead. The bands are then milled upon
the outside by a process called profiling, drilled for the rings, placed
upon mandrels to insure the exact shape required, filed, polished,
case-hardened, and thus finished.

The hammer passes through a great number of processes before it is
completed. It is first forged, then dropped, trimmed, punched, drifted,
milled, turned, filed, and lastly case-hardened.

The cone, although one of the smallest pieces in the musket, is yet one
of the most important, and requires a great many separate operations in
its manufacture. It is first struck in a die, then
clamp-milled,--passing through a machine having clamps which hold short
knives that shave the entire outer surface of this very irregular-shaped
piece; then the thread is cut upon the screw, and both ends are
drilled,--this process alone requiring fourteen separate operations. It
is then squared at the base and case-hardened.

All the various portions of the lock are made by machines which perform
their multitudinous operations with the most wonderful skill, precision,
and grace; but it would be impossible to convey to the reader by a
simple description upon paper the various processes by which these
results are obtained.

Every portion of the musket is subjected to tests different in
character, but equally strict and rigid in respect to the qualities
which they are intended to prove. The bayonet is very carefully gauged
and measured in every part, in order that it may prove of precisely the
proper form and dimensions. A weight is hung to the point of it to try
its temper, and it is sprung by the strength of the inspector, with the
point set into a block of lead fastened to the floor, to prove its
elasticity. If it is tempered too high, it breaks; and if too low, it
bends. In either case it is condemned, and the workman through whose
fault the failure has resulted is charged with the loss.

The most interesting process, perhaps, in the manufacture