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PYROTECHNY. 



Pyrotech- folds of paper at the open part are turned down upon 

 ">' the charge in succession, and pressed firmly on it with 

 "~ Y ~"" the aid of a little glue, so that it is entirely closed. It 

 is then covered with numerous turns of waxed twine 

 and paper in succession, till it becomes a ball as strong 

 and thick as the operator chooses. The loudness of 

 the report depends on this circumstance. As maroons 

 are generally used for the purpose of firing salutes, 

 they must be connected together to the requisite num- 

 ber, and in such a way that they may fire in succession 

 without the risk of disabling each other. To do this 

 conveniently, a priming hole must be bored in each 

 with a small gimblet, and a piece of quick match in- 

 serted and properly secured in a paper tube, tied on 

 with a string and pasted paper to the maroon. A 

 single leader is then made, so as to burn for any length 

 of time that the operator pleases, that a sufficient in- 

 terval may be allowed for the explosion of each cracker. 

 This must first be well secured to a wooden frame by 

 nails or twine ; and holes being then made in it at pro- 

 per distances, the leader of each maroon is fixed to one 

 of these by a sufficiently strong joint of pasted paper. 

 The most convenient way is to allow each maroon to 

 hang loose by means of its own tail or leader from the 

 main conductor. Thus, when this is fired, each ma- 

 roon is detached in succession as it explodes, so as not 

 to burn or disturb the rest ; and thus the whole may 

 be caused to make their reports at very regular inter- 

 vals, provided the main leaders be well made. The 

 match for this leader must be intermediate in quickness 

 between slow and quick match, and is easily made by 

 a mixture of three parts of saltpetre to one of charcoal ; 

 or else the leader may be filled in the manner of a case, 

 with a charcoal composition of moderate force, which 

 may be rammed down sufficiently hard without a 

 mould, by means of an iron wire. The leader case 

 must not be too strong if it is of any considerable length, 

 that it may burst occasionally without much effort, at 

 each joint or thereabouts, so as to give vent to the fire 

 without any disturbance. 



Crackers and maroons may be attached to all sorts 

 of cases, such as line rockets and water rockets, by 

 means of leaders properly inserted into them at the 

 periods when it is wished that they should take fire. 



Of Compound Crackers. 



Of com- These are the most amusing of the tribe, but are 



pound rather considered vulgar by the great pyrotechnists. 



crackers. They are, however, very convenient for attaching to 



other fixed fireworks of various kinds, as well as for 



blowing out of mortars ; as they produce a great many 



reports at less expence and less trouble than can be 



done in any other way. This firework nevertheless is 



not very easy to make well. 



The cartridge paper intended for it is to be about 

 four inches broad and a foot long, as that is as much 

 as can conveniently be folded at once. Being folded 

 with one fold a quarter of an inch broad, a train of 

 powder is to be laid along the groove thus produced, 

 when the paper is to be folded over until it is entirely 

 enclosed, after which the ends must be turned over, 

 and beat down, to prevent it from running out. The 

 tube must not be too full, or it will crack in the bend- 

 ing. When bent, this is done alternately backwards 

 and forwards at distances of about two inches or more. 

 The middle of each bend is then to be secured separately 

 by a strong twine, and a half hitch or two, in the choking 

 engine, so that the communication between each joint 

 may be as much cut off as possible, without which two 



joints might only make one report. Each place where" Pyrotech. 

 this choke is made, should also be firmly beat down "X- 

 with a hammer, to bruise the powder, and check its S """V"'' 

 velocity, as otherwise the several reports are apt to fol- 

 low too quick upon each other. After this, every turn 

 is to be fastened to the next, with the same twine, and 

 the whole finally brought together in the choking en- 

 gine, so that it may be as much compressed in the mid- 

 dle as possible. As each bend makes one report only, 

 there can only be five or six in a foot of paper, and it 

 is often desirable to have many more. But as it is 

 scarcely possible to fold up more than a foot of paper 

 at a time, it is better to attach two or three, or more, if 

 the operator thinks fit, together. For this purpose, the 

 cut end of one must be inserted into the other, together 

 with a bit of quick-match, and the two tubes connect- 

 ed with pasted paper ; after which, by means of more 

 twine, the whole are formed into one mass. Lastly, a 

 proper quick-match leader must be tied with twine 

 into one of the ends, for the purpose of lighting it. 



These crackers may also be made, and somewhat 

 more easily, in tubes pasted up in the usual manner ; 

 and in this way they may be made of any length at 

 once by the following process. Care must be taken in 

 the first place, that the tube may be flattened on a flat 

 stick from one end to the other, so as that it may 

 hold but a given quantity of powder, and that this may 

 be distributed as equally as possible through it. If 

 there is too much powder, it will crack in the bind- 

 ing ; but the artist will soon discover how much a case 

 like this will bear. To bend it without disturbing the 

 charge, it must next be tied down to a stick, in a hori- 

 zontal position, by bits of twine at each place where 

 there is to be a turn. Thus it may be bent and secured 

 in succession as often as is necessary, without the risk 

 of displacing the contents ; a string being passed round 

 it, separately from the stick, so as to choke each joint 

 completely, before any attempt is made to bend up the 

 different turns. 



We remarked formerly, that these crackers may be 

 attached to any kind of fixed or moving cases, such as 

 a line rocket or a Roman candle. But as the princi- 

 pal amusement which it affords arises from its breaking 

 loose among the spectators, it must be attached so 

 lightly by its leader, that it may easily disengage itself 

 at the first explosion. We may add, that the break- 

 ing loose of these in this way, while it is amusing, ig 

 attended with no danger; whereas serpents, which ex- 

 cite less alarm, are exceedingly dangerous, as they are 

 apt to set fire to women's dresses. They ought never, 

 therefore, to be allowed to fly among a promiscuous 

 crowd. 



Of Scrolls. 



This is a pleasing ornament, either for sky rocket Of serolli. 

 heads, or for the purpose of discharging from pots or 

 mortars on the ground. Indeed, they are chiefly cal- 

 culated for this latter purpose, as their difference from 

 a serpent, in point of effect, is not very sensible at a 

 great distance, although sufficiently visible when near 

 at hand. In effect, it is a sort of tourbillon on a small 

 scale, but provided only with a rotatory motion. 



The cases may be from four to six inches long, and 

 the interior diameter half an inch. They must be fill- 

 ed with a lively composition, either of charcoal or iron, 

 and driven hard in a mould. The open end of the 

 case must be then beat down hard, and secured with 

 glue in the manner often mentioned before. When 

 they are thus far made, a hole must be bored at each 



