ay what the effect of this manoeuvre
was, although it may have accounted for some of the wounds of the calf
such as are mentioned below.

Some odd missiles were met with during the campaign; thus, at Ladysmith,
I was told ball bicycle bearings were at one time in use amongst the
Boers.

_Anatomical characters of wounds of irregular type._--It will be seen
from the above that in dealing with wounds of irregular type we have to
consider those due to irregular impact of normal regulation bullets, to
bullets deformed by contact with bone, to ricochet bullets, and lastly
to bullets of the expanding type.

No further mention of those due to irregular impact is needful beyond
what has already been said under the heading of wobbling, except to
point out that, given a fair degree of velocity, these injuries may
assume an actual explosive character, especially in the case of skull
fractures. The description of extensive wounds accompanying comminuted
fractures finds its most appropriate place under the heading of injuries
to the bones, and will be there considered (Chapter V. p. 155).

'Explosive' exit apertures are, however, described as occasionally
occurring in injuries involving the soft parts only. I saw no cases
substantiating this belief, but several were described to me as having
been met with in abdominal injuries, which terminated fatally at an
early date.

[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Four Soft-nosed Bullets of small calibre shown
in fig. 37. Twenty large-calibre leaden carbine and rifle bullets from
cartridges found in Boer arsenals. These were not very extensively used,
but specimens of most varieties were at times removed from our wounded
men. It will be noted that some are of great weight, and a large
proportion either cupped or flattened at the apex to increase area of
impact and consequent resistance. The 'express' bullet with a copper
core is included in this series. It is worth remarking that all the
bullets of this nature in the Pretoria Arsenal were waxed, and that the
wax retained its white colour on the lead.]

I still, however, incline to the opinion that the bullet in these cases
had come into contact with some bone, or was one of the larger varieties
of projectile. A few cases of wound of the calf did, however, come under
my observation which presented fairly typical 'explosive' characters
without evidence of solution of continuity of the bones. I will shortly
recount two of them. In the first the exi