naturally curved horn on its inner face, and a thin core of wood between the horn and sinew.

Though the range of the Turkish bow- whether with a flighting or with a war arrow - far exceeds that of the other bows depicted, yet the Persian and Indian weapons are capable of shooting to a long distance, certainly much farther than any European longbow.

The great Chinese or Tartar bow requires a very long arrow, which from its length is, of necessity, a heavy one with a thick shaft It cannot be propelled, as a result, farther than from 250 to 260 yards. One distinctive feature of Chinese, Tartar, Persian or Indian bows is the formation of their bow-strings. These are invariably from 1/4 to 5/16 in. in thickness, and are always closely wrapped round, from end to end, with soft cord or coloured silk of about the substance of worsted.

The Turkish bow-string is 1/8  in. thick, and is merely served round with fine silk for 3 in. at its centre of length, with three or four shorter lashings at intermediate points.

¹ The long Turkish war arrow was drawn to the head as in an ordinary bow. The grooved horn was only used with the short and light flight arrow.