P Y R 
PY R 
P Y T 
S33 
through which make a small .hole to the 
charge ; then till the case within halt’ a dia- 
meter with corn-powder, on which turn down 
two or three rounds of the case in the inside ; 
then pinch and tie the end very tight : hav- 
in'* tilled your rockets according to tiie above 
directions, dip their ends in melted rosin or 
sealing-wax, or else secure them well with 
grease. When you tire those rockets, throw 
xu six or eight at a time ; but, if you would 
have them all sink, or swim, at the same 
tune, you must drive them with an equal 
quantity of composition, and lire them all to- 
gether. 
58. To make pipes of communiction, which 
may be used, under water. Pipes for this 
purpose must be a little thicker of paper than 
those for land. Having rolled a sufficient 
number of pipes, and kept them till dry, wash 
them over with drying oil, and set them to 
dry ; but when you oil them, leave about 
inch at each end dry, for joints: if they 
were oiled all over, when you come to join 
them the paste would not stick where the 
paper is greasy. After the leaders are joined, 
and the paste dry, oil the joints. These pipes 
will lie, many hours under water, without re- 
ceiving any damage. 
59. Horizontal wheels for the zvater. First 
get a large wooden bowl without a handle ; 
then have an octagon wheel made of a flat 
board : 8 inches in diameter, so that the length 
of each side will be near seven inches : in all 
the sides cut a groove for the cases to lie in. 
This wheel being made, nail it on the top of 
the bowl; then take four 8-oz, cases, filled 
with a proper charge, each about six inches 
in length. * Now, to clothe the wheel with 
these cases, get some whitish- brown paper, 
and cut it into slips four or live inches broad 
and seven or eight long. These slips being 
pasted all over on one side, take one of the 
cases, and roll one of the slips of paper about 
1§ inch on its end, so that there will remain 
about '2\ inches of the paper hollow from the 
end of the case : this case tie on one of the 
sides of the wheel, near the corners of which 
must be holes bored, through which you put 
the packthread to tie the cases. Having tied 
on the first case at the neck and end, put a 
little meal-powder in the hollow paper ; then 
paste a slip of paper on the end of another 
case, the head of which put into the hollow 
paper on the first, allowing a sufficient dis- 
tance from the tail of one to the head of the 
other for the pasted paper to bend without 
tearing ; the second case tie on as you did 
the first, and so on with the rest, except the 
last, which must be closed at the end, unless 
it is to communicate to any thing on the top 
of the wheel, such as fire-pumps or brilliant 
fires, fixed in holes cut in the wheel, and 
fired by the last or second case, as the fancy 
directs ; six, eight, or any number, may be 
placed on the top of the wheel, provided they 
are not too heavy for the bowl. Before you 
tie on the cases, cut the upper part of all 
their ends, except the last, a little shelving, 
that the fire from one may play over the 
other, without being obstructed by the case. 
Wheel-cases have no clay driven in their 
ends, nor pinched, but are always left open ; 
only the last, or those winch are not to lead 
fire", which must be well secured. 
q’he devices in fire-works are endless, vary- 
ing with the fancy of the operator ; but in the 
above sketch we have given all the theory, 
and enough of the practice to enable any 
person to adopt with ease whatever in the art 
he may chance to see practised by others. 
PYllUS, the pear-tree, a genus of the 
pentagynia order, in the icosandria class of 
plants, and in the natural method ranking 
under the 36th order, pomaceae. The calyx 
is quinquefid ; there are live petals ; the fruit 
is an apple, inferior, quinquelocular, and 
polyspermous. To this genus Linnaeus has 
joined the apple and quince. There are 13 
species ; the most remarkable are : 
1 . lire communis, or common pear-tree. 
Under this species are comprehended almost 
endless varieties. They bear their flowers 
and fruit upon spurs, arising from the sides of 
the branches from two or three’years old and 
upwards ; the same branches and spurs con- 
tinuing fruitful for a great number of years. 
The different varieties furnish fruit for use 
from the beginning of July till the months ot 
May and June next year; which, according 
to their times of ripening, may be divided into 
three classes, summer-pears, autumn-pears, 
and winter-pears. The summer-pears ripen 
in different sorts from the beginning of July 
until the middle or end of September, and 
are generally fit to eat from the tree, or at 
least do not keep a week or two before they 
rot.. The autumn-pears come to their per- 
fection in October, November, and Decem- 
ber ; some ripening nearly on the tree in 
October and the beginning of November, 
others requiring to lie some time in the 
fruitery, while some will keep two months; 
but all" the winter-pears, though they attain 
their full growth on the tree by the end of 
October and in November, yet do not acquire 
perfection for eating till from the end of No- 
vember to April and May. Those ot each 
class have different properties; some being 
melting, others breaking, some mealy, and 
some hard and austere fit only for kitchen 
uses. As many of the finest sorts were first 
obtained from France, they are still continued 
inmost catalogues hy French ‘names. 
2. The malus, or common apple-tree. The 
varieties of this species are amazingly great 
with respect to the difference of the fruit. 
The botanists contend that the wilding, or 
crab-apple of the woods and hedges, is the 
original kind, and from the seeds of which the 
cultivated apple was first obtained. The va- 
rieties of this last no doubt are multiplied to 
some hundreds in different places, having 
been all first accidentally obtained from the 
seed or kernels of the fruit, and the approved 
sorts continued and increased by grafting 
upon crabs or any kind of apple-stocks ; but 
although the number of varieties is very con- 
siderable, there are not above 40 or 50 sorts 
retained in the nurserymen’s catalogues. These 
varieties arrive at full growth in successive 
order from July to the end of October, im- 
prove in perfection after being gathered, and 
several of the -winter kinds in particular keep 
good for many months, even till the arrival ot 
apples the next summer. 
Among these various kinds of apples, some 
are used for the dessert, some for the kitchen, 
and some for cyder-making. I hose used for 
the dessert are the following, placed as they 
successively ripen after one another. 'The 
white genneting, the margaret apple, the sum- 
mer pearmain, the summer queening, the 
embroidered apple, the golden rennet, the 
summer whjte calville, the summer red 
calville, the silver pippin, the aromatic 
pippin, la reinette grise, la haute bonte, 
the royal russeting, Wheeler’s russet, Sharp’s 
russet, the spine apple, the golden pip- 
pin, the nonpareil, and the Tapi or ponune 
d’api. Those for the kitchen use, in 
the order of their ripening, are these : the 
codlin, the summer marygold, the summer 
red pearmain, the Holland pippin, the Kent- 
ish pippin, the courpendu, Loan’s pearmain, 
the French rennet, the French pippin, the 
royal russet, the monstrous rennet, the winter 
pearmain, the pome violette, Spencer’s pip- 
pin, the stone pippin, and the oaken pippin. 
Those most esteemed for cyder are, the De- 
vonshire royal wilding, the redstreak apple, 
the whitsour, the Herefordshire under-leaf ; 
and the John apple, or deux annes, everlast- 
ing hanger, and gennet moyle. 
The juice of apples is a menstruum for 
iron. A solution of iron in the juice of the 
apples called golden rennets, evaporated to a 
thick consistence, proves an elegant chaly- 
beate, which keeps well. 
The best method of preserving apples for 
winter use, is to let them hang upon the trees 
until there is danger of frost, to gather them 
in dry weather, and then to lay them in large 
heaps to sweat for a month or six weeks. 
"They ought then to be carefully looked over, 
all which have the least appearance of decay 
taken out, the sound fruit wiped dry, and 
packed up in large oil-jars, which have been 
thoroughly scalded and dry, and then stopped 
close to exclude the air. If this plan is duly 
observed, the fruit will keep a long time 
sound, and their flesh remain plump ; whereas, 
when exposed to the air, their skins will 
shrivel, and their pulp soften. 
3. The coronaria, or sweet-scented crab of 
Virginia, grows 12 or 15 feet high, having 
angular, serrated leaves, pedunculated umbels 
of whitish-red, sweet-scented flowers, suc- 
ceeded by small round crabs, remarkably 
sour and austere. There is one variety, called 
the evergreen Virginian crab-tree. 
4. The cydonia, or quinces, of which there 
are three varieties. 
All the varieties of the pear-tree are hardy, 
and will succeed in any common soil of" a 
garden or orchard. They are propagated by 
grafting and budding upon any kind of pear- 
stocks ; also occasionally upon quince-stocks, 
and sometimes upon white-thorn stocks ; but 
pear-stocks are generally preferable to all 
others for general use. All kinds of apples 
are propagated in the same manner, using 
apple-stocks instead of pear-stocks. They 
will succeed in any common soil of a garden 
or orchard, and in any free situation, except 
in a low and very moist soil, in which they 
are apt to canker, and very soon go off. In 
a friable loam they are generally very suc- 
cessful. 
PYTHIAN games, in antiquity, solemn 
games celebrated near Delphi, in honour of 
Apollo, and in remembrance of his having 
killed the serpent Python. 
These were held every two years, abou 
the month of Elaphebolion, which answeet 
to our February. The celebration of these 
games was attended with the Pythian song, in 
which was celebrated the fight of Apollo and 
the serpent. The victors were crowned with 
branches of laurel ; though, at the first in- 
stitution, the crown was of beech-leaves. See 
Game., 
11 
