150 DANA— NOTES ON CANNON. [April 20, 



A few more words on gunpowder. In early days saltpeter was 

 most difficult to procure ; it was collected from cellars and caves ; 

 later, depots were established for its reception, while strict laws 

 were passed to ensure its purification and baking. Costing much, 

 saltpeter was very sparingly used, much to the detriment of the 

 gunpowder of course. The proportions differ greatly according to 

 the kinds of powder — whether, for cannon, priming, hand gun, etc., 

 from equal parts of each; to, saltpeter, 3, sulfur, i Yj, charcoal, i y-2 

 to 4: I : I. and 6: 2: i. The formula of today being about 6: i : i. 



The price of gunpowder in the fourteenth century seems to have 

 been almost prohibitive. Assuming that my figures are correct, 

 which is more than doubtful, for there is no real standard of value, 

 the price was, in money of to-day, rarely as low as twenty-five dol- 

 lars, and quite possibly, occasionally, as high as fifty dollars a pound ; 

 now it costs a quarter of a dollar or less a pound. These prices 

 rapidly decreased with the systematic collecting of saltpeter. 



In a campaign the ingredients for making powder were carried 

 separately, and mixed only when need came. Here is a note or two 

 from an authority of about 1465. Keep the three ingredients sepa- 

 rate, as the niter and sulfur if mixed soon spoil. Better carry the 

 willow wood unburned, as charcoal absorbs the damp. A secret 

 process for the preservation of powder : Take clear and very strong 

 vinegar, make the powder into a paste ; form cakes of four to eight 

 livres {I'xvrc, about a pound), dry in the shade, sun, or even in an 

 oven. We are getting close to granulated powder. As the usual 

 powder was in the form of a very fine dust, the ignition must have 

 been slow, and much of it was, in all probability, blown out at the 

 muzzle. 



The next mention of cannon is in an "indenture" of 1338, be- 

 tween John Starylyng, former keeper of the " King's vessels" (Ed- 

 ward III.) and Hemyng Leget. " Ij [ij] canons de ferr sanz estuff," 

 presumably, without ammunition. Also '" un canon de ferr ove ii 

 chambres, un autre de bras ove une chambre." The cannon with 

 two chambers was the form of breech-loader often used even for 

 large bombards until the early part of the next century, and for 

 smaller iron and brass cannon until the art of casting iron guns was 

 well understood (in England not until c. 1545), and even into the 



