DISCHARGING OF ORDNANCE, 477 



sometimes to fire the gunpowder ; but they left a 

 cake of crocus behind, which stopped up the holes, 

 and could not easily be removed. The following 

 substances, and a variety of other inflammables, 

 were used, mixed with an equal weight of super- 

 oxymuriate of potassa : 



Golden sulphuret of antimony ; 

 Black sulphuret of antimony ; 

 Red precipitate of mercury ; 

 Chinese vermilion ; 

 Muriate of mercury ; 

 Red oxide of mercury ; 

 JEthiops mineral ; 

 Red oxide of lead ; 

 Flowers of sulphur ; 

 Rosin ; 



Gum Arabic ; 

 Gum gamboge. 



None of these, however, produced any regular efe 

 feet ; and several of them gave no inflammation at 

 all. I shall now add a list of powders, all of which 

 occasionally pierced the flannel, and inflamed the 

 gunpowder below it. Very few of them, however, 

 did so twice successively. 



1. Super-oxymuriate of potassa, - 5 



Sublimed sulphur, 2 



Charcoal powder, - - - 1 



This and No. 3. are the worst on the list. 



