Barrel (unit)

“ This diagonal line now is reflected by the mirror into the bore of the barrel, and then it is reflected again to the eye of the observer; for the surface of the iron on the inside of the barrel is left in a most brilliantly polished condition, by the boring and the operations connected therewith. Now the [Pg 9] workman, in some mysterious way or other, detects the slightest deviation from straightness in the barrel, by the appearance which this reflection presents to his eye, as he looks through the bore in the manner represented in the drawing. ”

“ The barrel fast gathered headway. It crossed the road like some live thing, to bring up against the farmhouse with a terrific smash.
Instantly the barrel fell into a dozen pieces as its staves caved in. ”

“ Into this barrel she was plunged and under it the valiant horsemen rode as gayly as the English ride to a fox-hunt even yet, striking it tremendous blows with clubs and wooden hammers. If any life was left in the bruised and mangled cat, after the destruction of the barrel, the man who put an end to her by some spectacular novelty of barbarity was the hero of the day. ”

“ This time, instead of following my merchant through the town, I went direct to the barrel, and, hiding myself behind a bush near by, prepared to wait there all day and see what happened.
'I had not made myself comfortable many minutes before I saw two old men coming along the road from the town; so old were they indeed, that they could only creep along by leaning one against the other. Right up to the barrel they crawled, and then, to my surprise, they scrambled over its sides and disappeared. ”

“ What a mass of carts, drays, buggies, wheelbarrows, handbarrows, and many queer makeshifts for carrying goods—the strangest of all a large barrel set on an axle, and dragged or shoved by means of two long handles, the proud possessor's belongings turning round and round inside until they must surely be churned into a most confusing jumble. ”

“ Often the paths were so narrow that but one man could get hold of the end of a barrel and lift it, while another hauled it from above, their feet sinking deep at every step. Imagine a gang of forty or fifty men engaged in landing boxes, casks, sacks of corn and salt, wagons, live-stock, ploughs; hurrying, crowding, working in each other’s way, sometimes slipping and falling, the lost barrel tumbling down upon those below ”

“ One o'clock on Yule morning having struck, the young men turn out in large numbers, dressed in the coarsest of garments, and, at the double-quick march, drag huge tar barrels through the town, shouting and cheering as they go, or blowing loud blasts with their 'louder horns.' The tar barrel simply consists of several—say from four to eight—tubs filled with tar and chips, placed on a platform of wood. It is dragged by means of a chain, to which scores of jubilant youths readily yoke themselves. ”

“ The barrel passes directly through the centre, and is kept cold by constantly throwing cold water over it. The fresh water runs out through the hole from which the nipple is unscrewed, and is caught in any suitable vessel; and the waste salt water through holes bored in the bark for the purpose. Many modifications of this plan might, of course, be had recourse to, but this will be found about as convenient as any. Barrels, or hooped vessels of any kind, are about the very worst that can be taken into a wild country, as the hoops come off as the wood shrinks, causing leaks and endless trouble. ”

“ A powder barrel is a common barrel, filled with powder, to roll from the top of a breach, or upon the head of a sap from the glacis. The barrel contains from 100 to 200 pounds of powder, and is covered with a cloth. A hole is made at each end, in which a fuse may be fixed, of such a size, that the fire may be communicated to the powder, at the moment when the barrel, rolled from the top of the breach, is met by the troops mounting to the assault. ”

“ You could see a fellow's head and feet, and whenever one of the barrels would pass, you would hear the universal cry, "Come out of that barrel, I see your head and feet sticking out." There might have been a mortification and a disgrace in the pillory and barrel shirt business to those that had to use them, but they did not bruise and mutilate the physical man. ”

“ In those days many American matches were shot from plunge traps, and with the single barrel.
"I'm more used to the use of both barrels," suggested Orme, "but I do not insist."
"It is the same to me," I said. So finally we decided that the rise should be at twenty-eight yards, the use of both barrels allowed, and the boundary at fifty yards—such rules as came to be later more generally accepted in this country.
"Gentlemen, I suggest that you agree each bird to be gathered fairly by the hand, each of you to select a gatherer. ”

“ Fitting Barrels Together.—When selecting a pair of gun barrels, preparatory to joining them for the purpose of making a double-barreled gun, it is necessary to ascertain if the barrels be of the same length, and have the same size at breech and muzzle, and also at points between the breech and muzzle. Nearly all shot-gun barrels are ground, or made some smaller at the centre of their length than at other portions. Any one who is not conversant with this may be somewhat surprised on placing a straight-edge along the side of a barrel, a common musket barrel, for instance. ”

“ And the homesteaders continued their battle for the thirsty land. Whisky barrels and milk cans were the artillery most essential to keep this valiant army from going down in defeat. They were as scarce as hen's teeth and soared sky high in price, so great was the demand on the frontier. Barrel and can manufacturers must have made fortunes during the years of water-hauling in the homestead country.
The size of a man's herd, and thus his rank as a farmer, was judged by the number of barrels and cans surrounding his shack or barn. ”

“ The wind is thereby forced into a reservoir, whence it passes into the wind-chest, on the sides of which are grouped the pipes. The barrel revolves slowly from back to front, each revolution as a rule playing one complete tune. A notch-pin in the barrelhead, furnished with as many notches as there are tunes, enables the performer to shift the barrel and change the tune. The ordinary street barrel-organ had a compass varying from 24 to 34 notes, forming a diatonic scale with a few accidentals, generally F♯, G♯, C♯. ”

“ For an ordinary military barrel, 39 inches long, I proposed a .45-inch bore, with one turn in 20 inches, which is, in my opinion, the best for this length. The rotation is sufficient, with a bullet of the requisite specific gravity, for a range of 2,000 yards. The gun responds to every increase of charge, by giving better elevation, from the service charge of 70 grains up to 120 grains ”

“ There is one advantage derived from grinding barrels, namely, that the friction of the stone being continuous, the temper of the barrel is not so much affected as where the tool in the slide-rest is cutting a considerable portion at once; for all barrels are best, and superior to their compeers, which require least metal to be either ground or turned off their surface, as there is a density on the outer which is not in the interior portion. ”

“ I said.
“Or ideas for advertisements for Julian,” said Malim. “Anyway, I’ll introduce you to him. Have you ever been in the Barrel?”
“What’s the Barrel?”
“The Barrel is a club. It gets the name from the fact that it’s the only club in England that allows, and indeed urges, its members to sit on a barrel. John Hatton is sometimes to be found there. Come round to it tomorrow night.”
“All right,” I replied. “Where is it?”
“A hundred and fifty-three, York Street, Covent Garden. First floor.”
“Very well,” I said. “I’ll meet you there at twelve o’clock. ”

“ Septimine continued to read as Bonaik wrote:
"When the barrel is near enough to the air-hole, you will take firm hold of a rope that is wound around the barrel and throw yourself into the water. You will push the barrel, and we will pull it gently toward the window, which you will then be able to scale easily with our help. ”

“ Before an empty barrel reaches the packing room, it is weighed and the weight (generally from nineteen to twenty-five pounds) is stamped on its side. The gross weight of the filled barrel is determined by the packing-room scales. The weight of the empty barrel is deducted and the net weight of the sugar stenciled on the head. The full barrel is then sent down a chute to the waiting freight car or to the dock for steamer shipment, or to a conveyor that automatically delivers it to the storage warehouse. ”

“ How much does he receive in payment for each barrel? Just five cents. The most expert of these “Old-timers” make as many as eighty barrels a day, or enough to keep one skilful apple-picker busy from sunrise to sunset, enough to ensure two full loads to the old cart that looks like some strange tortoise on the highway. ”

“ This furnished a barrel having a thickness of metal in all parts of the arch equal, or 3-16ths of an inch thick, capable of bearing an internal pressure of 6,022 lbs. to the inch of the tube.
[8] Dr. Ure falls into an error in describing the process of barrel boring: he says “the barrel is first properly annealed, and allowed to cool gradually,” &c. The barrel-maker that would take such a proceeding with a barrel of ours should never do so to another. The Doctor ought to have pointed out the evil tendency of this. ”

“ The barrel, made of a strong alloy of nickel, has its cartridges fed in by means of belts coiled in boxes attached to the breech-casing, the boxes moving with the latter so that the movements of the gun do not affect it. ”

“ The barrel was only 2 feet 6-in. long, and the projectile cylindro-conoidal, with an iron cup weighing 620 grains; thus proving that great length of barrel is not absolutely necessary in a rifle; but a certain length of barrel is required to fire in double ranks, and so that the weapon may be effectually used as a pike. Advantage of small bore.With a small bore, a greater number of rounds of ammunition may be carried, greater penetration, velocity, lower trajectory, and more accuracy, than with larger projectiles of equal weight. ”

“ The barrel is best adapted as a package for large commercial quantities of fruit and where labor could not be had to pack apples in boxes even if the trade wanted them. The barrel permits the packing of a greater variety in size and shape than does the box, and these can be more easily and cheaply handled in packing. ”

“ You talk of the Great Tun of Heidelburg, or of those monstrous Vats that stand in cool sheds in the Napa Valley, or of the vast barrels in the Catacombs of Rheims; but all these are built in situ and meant to remain steady, and there is no limit to the size of a Barrel that has not to travel. The point about this enormous Receptacle of Bacchus and cavernous huge Prison of Laughter, was that it could move, though cumbrously, and it was drawn very slowly by stupid, patient oxen, who would not be hurried. ”

“ You will frequently hear them heaping anathemas on a hard barrel, when floating it, and wishing the man who invented steel barrels “in the shades below.” Ask these men’s opinions, [198] and if they expect to have the job of filing the barrels, they will surely recommend you soft iron, stub-twist, or charcoal-iron.
Boring and grinding gun-barrels generally take place under the same roof; the borer occupying a very small shop, the grinder a large one. Two men and two boys are generally found in a shop. ”

“ The barrel having been for some time turned rapidly round to shuffle the numbers, the orphan takes off his hat, makes the sign of the cross, and having waved his open hand in the air to show that it is empty, inserts it into the barrel, and draws out a number, giving it to the Monsignore, who opens it and hands it to the crier. ”

“ This barrel differs from the thundering barrel, which we shall describe in the following section, only in having no grenades; and when it is placed upon a glacis, it lights up or discovers the works of the besieger. It has a fuse in only one of its ends.
When shavings are boiled in the composition for links and [504] fascines, or of tourteaux, and arranged layer by layer, scattering, over each stratum, some priming-powder, the combustion must be rapid, when the barrel is set on fire. ”

“ But what if the gun-barrel does become hot? The real trouble is not that the cartridge will explode prematurely, but that the barrel will expand as it grows hot, so that the bullet will fit too loosely in the bore. Inside the barrel the bore is rifled ”

“ A bit, of larger dimensions, is next introduced and passed through; then others of still larger dimensions, until the whole of the scales or blacks are entirely bored out; or until the barrel has become so large in the bore, as to preclude any further boring with safety. If the scales are of great extent, the fault is the forger’s, and the loss will consequently be his. If the barrels be found perfect, they are sent back to the filer, or he comes to inspect them, in order to ascertain whether they be perfectly straight in the inside ”

“ The 223horse within the shafts has fallen on the side of a steep hill, and the cart with its great barrels is overturned. Death springs up behind, and untwists the stick by which the cord which fastens the barrel is kept taut. ”