ADDITIONAL HINTS. ■ 569 



put the shells through from that side, close it, lay it lid side down 

 on the table, and each shell stands ready to have the cap punched 

 out. Turn it, open the lid and re-cap. Close the lid and turn 

 again and they stand muzzles up ready to be charged. Of course 

 this contrivance is not intended to be carried while in the field, but 

 it is a great convenience in loading, and is just the thing for 

 carrying them in a wagon. If desired a neat box can be made to 

 inclose the whole. 



To Clean Brass Shells. — i. Vinegar, or a weak solution of ox- 

 alic acid will brighten the shells : but for cleaning the inside of the 

 shells, use Ronall's metal shell cleaner. 



2. Rub the shells with a mixture of two parts sulphuric acid, 

 two parts water, and one part pulverized bi-chromate potash, and 

 then wash them in hot water. This will render a green and cor- 

 roded shell as bright as new without injuring it in the least ; but 

 this recipe is of no use to those who like a verde antique appear- 

 ance inside and out of their shells. 



3. One ounce cyanuret potassum, one pint of soft water, 

 " dissolve ; " put this into a quart preserve jar with a glass cover. 

 Set it down by the fire where it will get warm, put the shells into 

 it, as many as it will hold, for twenty minutes or half an hour ; 

 take out with a stick and souse with warm water two or three times ; 

 then dry the shells before a hot fire ; they will come out perfectly 

 clean. Set this mixture away for future use and mark it " poison." 



Fulminate for Caps and Cartridges. — Dissolve by a gentle 

 heat 100 parts, by weight, of mercury in 100 parts, by weight, 

 of nitric acid of a specific gravity 1.4, and when the solution has 

 acquired a temperature of 130° F., slowly pour it through a glass 

 funnel tube into 830 parts, weight, of alcohol, of the specific grav- 

 ity of .830. When effervescence is over, and white fumes cease to 

 rise, filter through paper wet with cold water, dry (the residue) by 

 steam heat not exceeding 212°. 



The percussion composition used by the United States Govern- 

 ment consists of fulminate of mercury, 35 parts ; pulverized chlo- 

 rate of potash, 16 ; glass dust (sifted between 40 and 140 meshes 

 per inch), 45 ; gum arable solution 2 ; gum tragacanth solution, 2 ; 

 total 100. Mixed and pressed moist into a shell or cap and al- 

 lowed to dry before loading. See Ordnance Mem. No. VIII. 



