J(J MATCHES FOR ARTIIXEItV. 



his excellency the minister at war, for the instruction of the 

 artificers employed in our arsenals. 



Method of preparing the combustible zcooden Matches for 

 Artillery. — Shape of tlie Matches and Choice of Wood. 



flhape of the The matches should be parallelipedons, half a yard long, 



choke of d the and nalf an inch s( l uare - Thc best wood for them is that 



wood. of the lime tree, or birch ; but for want of these, poplar 



or fir may be used. Any white and soft wood might be 



taken, if necessary ; but those above-mentioned are to be 



preferred. 



Round inferior The shape might be supposed of no consequence : yet 



19 square. experience proves, that round matches do not furnish so 



good a fire as the square. The angles of the latter keep 



the coal in the centre burning vividly, and the match al- 



ways terminates in a burning cone two inches long. 



Drying the Wood. 

 The wood must Before the matches are saturated with nitrate of lead, 

 e loroug y ^ w00( j mus t be perfectly dry. For this purpose the 

 wood should have been cut and stored at least a twelve- 

 month ; and the matches, after they are shaped, be exposed 

 for half a day to the heat of a stove at 30° (by what ther- 

 mometer is not mentioned ; probably 90°, or perhaps 

 100° Fh.) For want of a stove they may be put into a 

 baker's oven, when, the bread is drawn. 



Furnaces and Boilers. 

 ^• !trg The fabrication of the matches requires two furnaces and 



two boilers. The shape of the boilers should be that of a 



fish-kettle, narrow, and three quarters of a yard long. 



Their size should be proportional to the quantity to be 

 Furnaces. made at a time. Thc furnaces should be constructed so 



that the heat may act uniformly on every part of the bottom 

 First boiler. of tIlfi boiler. The first boiler must be of copper, well 



tinned, and provided With a plate of the same metal, to 



press down the matches, and keep them immersed in the 

 Second Boiler, boiling solution. The second boiler may be either of 



copper or of cast iron, placed on a sand bath, and having 



no 



