constituent Parts of Gunpowder, 357 



Saltpetre - 75,7 



Charcoal - 14,4 



Sulphur - 9,9 



Total 100 

 If this is the case, it will be seen that their proportion dif- 

 fers very little from the English proportion. 



Having thus given a brief account of the invention, I shall 

 now proceed concisely to give the 



Process of manufacturing Gunpowder, 



Gunpowder is made of three ingredients, saltpetre, char^ 

 coal, and brimstone. They are combined in the following 

 proportions: to each 100 parts of gunpowder, saltpetre 75, 

 charcoal 15, and sulphur 10. 



The first thing to be attended to, it is evident, is the purity 

 of these articles; for, if they are defective, the gunpowder can 

 never be good, though ever so well manufactured. 



The saltpetre is either that which has been imported, 

 principally, from the East Indies, or that which has been 

 extracted from damaged gunpowder. It Is refined by solu- 

 tion, filtration, evaporation, and crystallization ', after which 

 it is fused, taking care not to use too much heat, that there 

 may not be any danger of decomposing the nitre; by this 

 means it is not only rendered more pure, but the water of 

 crystallization more certainly got rid of. The principal object 

 in refining th^ nitre is, to get it free from the earths and salts 

 it is combined with in its grough^ state, and which by de- 

 liquescing would render the gunpowder liable to injury by 

 attracting moisture, and, thereby decomposing the accurate 

 mixture of the composition, rendering it unfit for use. 



The sulphur used is that which is imported from Sicily, 

 and is refined by melting and skimming : the most impure 

 is refined by sublimation. 



The charcoal formerly used in this manufacture was made 

 by charring wood in the usual manner. This mode is called 

 charring in pits. It consists in the wood being cut into lengths 

 of about three feet, and then piled on the ground in a circular 



* This is the term used for the nitre as iuiportetl. 



form 



