Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 111

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and cut them off into small grains. Place these grains on a sheet of paper in a warm place where they will soon dry, but away from a fire.

During granulation the dough must be prevented from sticking by using a little of the dry compound powder. This mode of granulation, though tedious, is the only one to be used for so small a quant.i.ty for the sake of experiment. In making powder in a large way it is granulated by pa.s.sing the composition through sieves.

HOW TO MAKE TOUCH-PAPER.

Dissolve in a little spirits of wine or vinegar a little saltpetre, then take some purple or blue paper, and wet it with the above liquor and it will be fit for use. When pasting paper on any of the following works take care that the paste does not touch that part which is to burn. The method of using this paper is to cut it into slips long enough to go once round the mouth of a serpent, cracker, &c.

CASES FOR SQUIBS, FLOWER-POTS, ROCKETS, ROMAN CANDLES, ETC.

Procure a hard wooden cylinder, or, if possible, one made of metal, whose diameter corresponds with that of the interior of the proposed case. Roll round it several folds of cartridge paper, and paste the edges well, so that it may be held securely. Tie it round until dry.

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TO CHOKE THE CASES.

When the cases are thus made they will require to be tied at the lower end. This is called choking them, and as much force is required it is necessary. Fix a wire into a small solid cylinder (_d_). Take another short piece (_b_) an inch or two long, with a hole up it to admit the other end of the wire, fit it on and pa.s.s it up the case. Then having fastened a piece of whipcord to a post, wind it round the part left hollow by the wire, which should be about half an inch from the end; pull it tight with the right hand and work the case round with the left.

Cut out a piece of touch paper two inches long and an inch and a half broad, wind it round the choke, and tie it on with a piece of fine string--twist it to a point. The cases are best choked while damp.

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COMPOSITION FOR SQUIBS, ETC.

Gunpowder half a pound, charcoal 1 ounce, brimstone 1 ounce, or in like proportion; grind them in a muller or pound them in a mortar. Or you may take 1 part steel filings, 1 charcoal, 1 sulphur, and 4 powder, which is a very good mixture, and can be rubbed together in a mortar.

HOW TO FILL THE CASES.

Your cases must be very dry when ready, and should be put into an iron or wooden mould; first put in a thimble full of your powder, and ram it down very hard with your ruler, then put in a little more till the case is full, ramming it down hard every time. If you have no mould, hold the case in your left hand with the twisted touch-paper downwards, and fill it after the same manner. When you have filled within an inch of the top, fill up this with loose powder not rammed, for a bang, and fold in the ends; after filling a dozen or two melt some pitch in a small ladle, and smear the ends of the case with it by means of a small brush.

TO MAKE CRACKERS.

Cut some stout cartridge-paper into pieces three inches and a half broad and one foot long, fold down one edge of these pieces lengthwise about three quarters of an inch broad, then fold the double edge down a quarter of an inch, and turn the single edge back half over the double fold. Open it, and lay all along the channel which is formed by the folding of the paper some meal powder, then fold it over and over till the paper is doubled up, rubbing it down at every turn; this being done bend it backwards and forwards two inches and a half, or thereabouts, at a time, as often as the paper will allow. Hold all these folds flat and close, and with a small pinching cord give one turn round the middle of the cracker and pinch it close; bind it with packthread as tight as you can, then in the place where it was pinched prime one end and cap it with touch-paper.

When these crackers are fired they will give a loud report at every turn of the paper; if you want a great number of these, you have only to cut the paper longer, or join it on to a greater length; but if they are made very long you must have a piece of wood with a groove in it deep enough to let in half the cracker, which will hold it straight while you are pinching it.

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ROMAN CANDLES AND STARS.

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These are best made with the following ingredients: 1 ounce of powder, 1 ounce of sulphur, and 2 ounces of nitre. Some persons, however, prefer 1 part sulphur, 1 charcoal, 1 iron filings, 4 of powder, and 8 of nitre.

The composition being made, in filling the cases fill the contrary way to a squib--stop up the choke by driving down a piece of paper. Put in 1 quill of gunpowder loose and 1 star made in the following manner: 1 ounce of camphor, 1 of sulphur, 2 of meal powder, 1 ounce of the coloured fires, moisten them with oil of turpentine, and work them into little round b.a.l.l.s. Having placed a star within the case, put in above it 3 quills of the composition, ram down, then powder, star, and composition alternately, till the case is full. Paste touch-paper round the top and twist to a point.

ROCKETS.

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There are several recipes for making rockets, the best of which is 3 ounces of charcoal, 6 of sulphur, 8 of nitre, 32 of meal powder. Another very good one is, 3 ounces of iron filings, 4 of powdered charcoal, 8 of sulphur, 16 of nitre, and 64 of meal powder. If a smaller quant.i.ty is wanted divide each proportion by 2, if a still smaller divide by 4. In this cut _s_ is the loose gunpowder with eight or ten stars upon it; _c_ is that part of the rocket in which the composition is to be rammed hard, _p_ the priming or quick match, _t_ the touch paper. The cases are to be put into a mould and the composition must be well rammed. The cases should be four times the thickness of those for squibs.

RAINS.

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Sometimes gold or silver rains are added to rockets, which give them a very beautiful appearance. A gold rain is made of 2 parts sawdust, 4 sulphur, 4 meal powder, 6 gla.s.s dust, 16 nitre, in all 32 parts. A silver rain may be made of 2 parts salt prunella, 8 sulphuret of antimony, 8 sulphur, 8 meal powder, and 14 nitre, in all 32 parts.

CATHERINE WHEELS.

These are very pretty fireworks, and are made to turn on a pivot. There are many recipes for the composition of which they are formed; 1 part camphor, 1 sulphur, 1 nitre, 2 meal powder. Another is, 3 parts iron filings, 4 sulphur, 12 nitre, 16 meal powder. This composition is to be rammed into small cases, and bound round a small wheel, having a hole for a pivot in the centre.

VARIOUS COLOURED FIRES.

The following recipes will give the young firework maker a great variety of the most beautiful fires. They should never be fired in a room, however, and always away from a dwelling.

CRIMSON FIRE.

The princ.i.p.al ingredient in this is nitrate of strontium, of which 40 parts are taken, with 13 of sulphur, 15 of chlorate of pota.s.s, 4 of sulphuret of antimony, and 2 of lamp-black. These, as all the ingredients for the other fires, should be rubbed in a ladle, and they may be used in a ladle or iron dish set on the ground.

BLUE FIRE.

The ingredients of blue fire are 20 parts; 12 of nitre, 4 of sulphur, 2 of sulphuret of antimony, and 2 of lamp-black.

GREEN FIRE.

The ingredients for green fire are in 54 parts; 42 of nitrate of barytes, 8 of sulphur, 3 of chlorate of pota.s.s, and 1 of lamp-black.

PURPLE FIRE.

The best recipe for purple fire is of 60 parts; 25 of nitre, 25 of nitrate of strontium, 7 of sulphur, 2 of realgor, and 1 of lamp-black.

WHITE FIRE.