Show I 1 costly gun dun barrel the united states consul in liag lc scribes in a recent report the inai n facture of and trade in damasa us gun barrels wholly hand made in the val ley lev of the veldre in liege province says the new york times these bar I 1 aels are for sporting guns and the in austry is many years vear sold old the work workmen mei I 1 in the villages in the valley 1 air eig g almos I 1 all zun e un barrel makers and the trade decel s rig ng from father to zon son ine best barrels are a combination of of the he best primary substances welded and forged by the mar martel cige a froid pro cess the steel comes from westphalia the iron Is manufactured at couvin bouvin in belgium the coal which is especially suited for the work from the herve hern e highlands in belgium while the mo tive five power of the factories is obtained from the river veldre the industry has increased greatly in in recent lecent years i these armes de as they are called i I 1 are made by bv men working in pairs each pair in its ov own n little factory quite iride inde I 1 all others the they are paid by bv I 1 the piece the wages being good and about 2000 2 men are engaged on the I 1 work in the valley medium quality barrels are made of coke coap iron and steel while tp superior quality which are produced in the veldre eldre lalle valley are made of charcoal iron and steel an ingenious I 1 marriage of chese metals gives gies a composition which when aured guarantees the required solidity and resistance I 1 the improvements in these the damascus barrels dates from the introduction of percussion caps in place of the old flint lock formerly For meil iron barrels alone were produced now to manufacture the curled damascus the ingot is composed of thirty sheets of iron and steel ach having a thickness of four ars which are enveloped enN eloped in a shet aror box placed in an oven and welded to gether at the lowest possible tempera ture each barrel receives welding beats while being forged and if a single in one of these is unsuccessful the bar rel may mav be a failure either eight r by bv aldeia tion of cf the damascened damascene worl work or an imperfection in the th welding there is is no official test of these arme de but they are thoroughly thorough tested by bv the manufacturers before delav delivery cry the annual production of damas damace c I 1 I 1 barrels in the veldre valley is is about abou bairs bairs of a value of about 3 of this the wa basea alone for au all the guns are hard made amount to about 2000 the principal mai markets bets are great britain and the united I 1 cited states about half the barrels made in the yes ves valley allea are sold to manufacturers of arms in liege to be mount d |