ABOUT GUNPOWDER 
The principal gunpowder mills in the United 
States are Du Pont’s, in Delaware; Hazzard’s, at 
Enfield, Conn.; La6n Smith dc Boies, at Saugerties; 
the Oriental Gunpowder Company, of Boston; and 
the Sobaghticoke Gunpowder Company, at Schagh- 
ticoke. Previous to the secession of South Carolina 
there were but two mills in all the Southern States; 
ginee that time, two more have been erected—one in 
Georgia, the other in Arkansas. 
The materials and proportions of which gunpow¬ 
der is composed, are seventy-five parts of saltpeter 
to twelve and one-balf parts of sulphur and twelve 
and one-half parts of charcoal. These proportions 
vary slightly in different varieties of powder; and 
the standard proportions of different Governments 
vary also, but the proportions generally deemed 
best or “standard,” are as we have given them. 
Saltpeter is almost entirely imported from India, 
where if is found in large quantities, and transported 
from thence to various parts of the world. Its price 
in the New York market varies from five to fifteen 
cents per pound; its average price perhaps nine 
cents. But, of course, our Southern friends get 
none from the New York market, or any other 
market while the blockade is effectual; and they 
are dependent upon the supply which they can 
gather from their own soil. The Hazzard Company 
inform us that when the saltpeter is received by 
them, it contains from six to eight per cent, of for¬ 
eign substance, but after passing through their 
cleansing process it does not contain one-tbree-hun- 
dred-thmisandth per cent, of impurities, as tested by 
chemical analysis. It is this nicety of preparation 
that constitutes much of the difference of the quali¬ 
ties of powder. 
Sulphur is almost entirely imported, and mostly 
from the Island of Sicily, where it is found on the 
central part of the southern coast It is also found 
in the craters of volcanoes; and the rebels may suc¬ 
ceed in getting some from Mexico; they may also 
gather it in small quantities in the neighborhood of 
mineral springs from which sulphuretted hydrogen 
is evolved. The other ingredient charcoal. i9 more 
readily obtained, but great care is requisite in 
selecting the wood, and In charring it after selec¬ 
tion. In England, black dogwood is used for sport¬ 
ing powder, but willow and alder are generally used 
by our Government These woods, however, are 
rendered unfit as the hardest charcoal, if they are 
charred at too high a temperature. They should be 
charred at a temperature of about,(>00 degrees, and 
when charred at this temperature, the coal will 
readily enter into combustion when heated to 
680 degrees; if, however, it is charred at a higher 
temperature, it requires still greater heat to ignite 
it; and when charred at a degree required to melt 
platinum, it will enter into combustion but slowly 
at 2,800 degrees. 
The saltpeter and sulphur having been refined, 
and the charcoal made from the right wood and 
properly charred, they are mixed together in the 
proportions already stated. The mixture is then 
placed on an iron bed, and sprinkled with water to 
prevent an explosion, and subjected to the pressure 
of large wheels weighing seven or eight tuns each, 
by means of which it is solidified into a hard, brittle 
cake. It is then passed through a mill which 
reduces it to any size required; that now used in 
firing cannon is very coarse, some of the pieces 
being nearly as large as dove's eggs, it is then 
taken to ihe dry house, and dried by the heat of 
steam or fire. Afterwards it is bolted to free it from 
dust, glazed by means of friction, and packed in 
various quantities, from half-pound canisters to 
kegs ol 100 pounds each. 
Gunpowder seldom explodes after having been 
packed. The danger lies in Ihe process of manu¬ 
facture; and even here the danger is in the liability 
of the workmen, from familiarity with the process, 
to become negligent of duty. Each process has its 
peculiar danger. The old screw press was abolished 
and the hydraulic press substituted in its place, be¬ 
cause the friction of the screw generated a heat 
which at any time was liable to explode the mill. 
Iron nails in the shoes of employes are carefully 
avoided; nor are they used in confining the heads 
of the kegs in which the powder is packed—wooden 
ones being used in their place. Although danger 
necessarily and al ways accompanies the manufacture 
of powder, the employes receive no higher compensa¬ 
tion for their labor on this account, and workmen 
are readily found at a dollar a day. Notwith¬ 
standing the amount required for the present war, 
the manufacturers assure us that the business is now 
dull, less being used by the army than ordinarily 
employed for spoiling purposes and in arts of peace. 
Our mills produce annually a surplus for export, 
amounting in some years to two or three millions of 
pounds. Their ordinary production is more than 
the Government can possibly require, and the sup¬ 
ply now on hand would suffice to send a bullet to 
the heart of every traitor in our land. 
on their silver flutes,With the autumn’s night-wind sighing,softly o- ver ni - rv lutes: 
on the isles a - far. Mu - sie in the sol-emn for-est, tun-sic in the watching star! 
Oh! there's inu-sic in the Waters, playing 
There is mu - sic in the o-cean ureak-ii 
We have listened to that 
Oli! there's music in the circle gathered round the household hearth,Laugh ofchildren,smites of parents, sweetestblessingson tlie earth 1 
There is nui - sic in the greeting of the mother, wife, or friend. Mu sic of tha tunes pro-pl»et-ic where the song shall never end! 
We have heard the household 
mu-sic, where the moon-lit waters roll, And'tis ours each tone to ech - o 
in the chambers of the soul, And "tis ours each tone to echo, in the chambers of the soul 
mu - sic, un - al-loyed by tin - sel art, How we love, we love to ecli - o, tones like those unto the heart, How we love,welovetoeehn,tone8like those unto the heart. 
niiirstoso 
Well inay the rain and sunshine nourish All he plantsaud tends with care 
Peace to thesoW-ER when lie sow-oth, Hop - iug soou a - bundant yield. 
Joy to the keap-kr when he reap-eth; Cloudless skies his la - bors bless. 
Plea - ty at-temJ him; may he gath-er Rich re-ward for no - ble toil. 
[From Asaph, a collection of Sacred and Secular Music, by Lowelt. and Wii.ltam Mason.] 
by any Assistant Treasurer or designated United 
States Depositary, in sums not less than five dollars. 
Receivable in payment of all dues to the United 
States less than five dollars. Act approved July 
17, 1862.” 
The notes will be executed in the highest style of 
the art, and every possible precaution will be taken 
to prevent counterfeiting. 
copy, besides a number of plates representing, on a 
larger scale, special parts of the surface. The gen¬ 
eral character of the moon is highly irregular, 
marked by huge mountains and pits, the height and 
depth of which have been accurately measured. 
About ODe-third part only of the surface presented 
to us is comparatively regular, this regular portion 
being plains, and not seas, as was formerly imag¬ 
ined. There is no appearance of water; and al¬ 
though astronomers are divided in opinion about 
the existence of an atmosphere, we are apt to con¬ 
clude that the moon is not in its present state adapt¬ 
ed for the abode of organized beings. With regard 
to the mountains, a great, number of them are isola¬ 
ted peaks, such as Teneriffe. Mountain ranges, of 
which some reach a great, elevation, are also present 
on its surface. At least three-fifths of its surface is 
studded with caverns, penetrating its body, and 
generally engirt at the top by a great wal 1 of rock, 
which is serrated, and often crowned by lofty peaks. 
These caverns, or craters, as they are called, vary 
in diameter from filty or sixty miles to the smallest 
visible space. And it is also remarkable that as 
they diminish in size they increase in number.— 
Selected. 
a distance which, with the opposing current, would 
make over fifty miles, found the skulker and took 
it. without a chance for a fight, as the picket guard 
skedaddled at their approach. They, however, had 
'be precaution to remove a small piece of the ma¬ 
chinery which was indispensable to steam locomo¬ 
tion, and so this little band was driven to desecrate 
the sacred soil of Mississippi, by performing a quan¬ 
tum of free labor within her limits. Accordingly, 
by dint of ‘getting out lines/ rowing and poling, 
they dragged her safely out and brought her to 
Fort Pike in just forty-eight hours. They did not 
shun the pickets so obsequiously on their return; 
but instead of this Lieut. Dickinson went ashore 
at the Jackson plantation with a small squad, 
drove in the pickets, and brought away one of their 
hats with a Yankee bullet hole through it, two 
secession flags, and a quantity of the furniture be¬ 
longing to the boat secreted there. He also took 
on the same scout 82000 worth of rope and hose 
belonging to the secesh gunboat Bienville. The 
Government will doubtless have plenty of use for 
this here. 
They have lost only one man in all these trans¬ 
actions, though they have had two or three skirm¬ 
ishes. At one time twenty-two men, under Lieuts. 
Thrall and Dickinson, were attacked by a mounted 
guerrilla force of one hundred and thirty-live men, 
which was repulsed with the loss of three men and 
four horses. The Vermont boys had a single six- 
pounder gun, but no fixed ammunition, so they im¬ 
provised a lew charges of canister by tying up 
twenty-two ounce bullets in a canvass bag and 
firing away in true underbrush style. Under cover 
of this fire they landed and took away a schooner 
tied up at the wharf and towed it to the fort. Lieut. 
Dickinson and one of his company were cut off by 
ihe sudden charge of the cavalry, but escaped un¬ 
injured by swimming to a pirogue and paddling 
down to the steamer with their hands, exposed all 
the way to their fire. 
Their latest enterprise is in taking up the chain 
and anchors on a boom which secesh built across 
the Rigolets to guard the approach of Yankees. 
They found there twenty large anchors and over 
twenty thousand fathoms of new chain. They had 
taken up nearly half of the boom when they were 
ordered to rejoin their regiment up the Mississippi. 
The fort is to be garrisoned by Capt, Buck's com¬ 
pany of the 13th Maine regiment." 
campon the 23d of June, and but 350 men were 
able to march a distance of six miles; the objec 
was to give them an advanced position among the 
farmers, and where there was less competition with 
blackerry picking. In one week they were ordered 
to Ripley, 35 miles, when nearly 500 men shouldered 
their muskets. During the week no restrictions 
were placed upon the men —they went and came 
at their own pleasure. Blackberries, plums, onions 
and string beans became the staple food, the efleet, 
of which was magical. The whole army here is be¬ 
ing rested from the severe labor that came near be¬ 
ing more fatal to it than the enemy, and in a>short 
time will be ready to entrench again. 
The Cnors.—The wheat and oat crops are ruined 
by the rust. The farms from Hamburg to Danville, 
Miss., a distance of thirty miles, are destitute of 
fences, and nearly all the inhabitants have left. The 
whole distance has been skirmished over by the 
contending armies. To the west of Danville the 
farms are nndistnrbed, and more than the usual 
amount of grain has been planted, but there is very 
little cotton, six acres being the largest field that 1 
have seen. The farms are all small, and at least 
three-fourths of the last year’s crop of cotton is yet 
on hand, the cotton burners not being able to find it, 
or being met. with resistance. Not a farmer could 
be found who would burn his cotton, and thousands 
of bales were secreted, and are now finding their 
way to market. Yesterday not less than twenty tuns 
passed this point for Hamburg. 
Will the People Starve?— One of the most 
foolish and ill-starred projects is to send food to 
Corinth for the starving rebels. It is true many 
families are short of food, but if they would work 
they can purchase all they need. From the first 
settlement of this section of the. State thirty years 
since, there has not been a sufficient supply of food 
to subsist the inhabitants, nor will there be this year, 
but they have an abundant supply of cotton with 
which to purchase all they want. Of course the 
rebel who will not take the oath must starve, for he 
will keep his cotton hid. These rascals come up 
boldly and beg for some mythical starving widow 
or relation. I say, out upon such mawkish charity. 
Chivalry — Old and New. 
Voltaire relates that, in the great battle of 
Fontenoy, fought in 1745, between the French on 
one side and the English and their allies on the 
other, when the English Guards had advanced to 
within fifty paces of the position of the French 
Guards, the English officers raised their hats in 
salutation, which tha French officers returned in 
the same style. Lord Charles Hay, who commanded 
the English Guards, then advanced to the front and 
called out, “ Gentlemen of the French Guards, fire!” 
To which Count d'Auteroche replied, “Gentlemen, 
of the English Guards, we never take the first shot; 
do you fire.” 
At the late battle of Fair Oaks, before Richmond, 
Gen. Richardson, who was thrown forward to the 
support of Casey’s division, says;—“Along toward 
the middle of the day the enemy, preceded by a 
column of thirty thousand of the best troops, with 
the dashing corps of G. W. Smith and Longstreet 
at its head, commenced a furious assault upon the 
most salient point of our whole line, viz., the redoubt 
and entrenched camp of Casey’s division. * * A 
singular circumstance occurred in this battle, which 
deserves particular mention. The first regiment of 
the enemy which came into action, wore blue clothes 
like our men, aud as they came into action opposite 
the 81st Pennsylvania regiment, Col. Miller, they 
said, ‘Do not fire, we are Owen’s men.’ Owen’s 
regiment is one of Birney’s brigade on my left. 
Col. Miller had his regiment at an aim, and now 
recovered arms. The enemy instantly poured in a 
deadly volley, by which Miller was killed. The 
left wing of the 81st poured in their fire, by which 
that regiment fell in piles. The Colonel, Lieuten¬ 
ant-Colonel, Major and Adjutant all fell; the balance 
of the regiment fell and broke.” 
Lord Charles IIay and the Count d'Auteroche 
were among the bravest of the brilliant chivalry of 
their day. G. W. Smith and Longstreet are looked 
upon as among the preux chevaliers of the Southern 
chivalry of our own. But chivalry is changed. 
Hark! H 
And the 
fhout of the lation rings out, 
iong like an i.eean is swelling; 
her night 
Breaks u beam 
<lf the light, 
1 weary, wan watchers if morning are telling 
From the sea to the lrkes 
Every freeman awak.'S 
To hail the bright mom of her might as it breaks, 
And shout by the banner that Treason forsakes— 
‘ The Union—Now and Forever!’” 
The New Hostage Stamp Currency. 
The scarcity of specie,— caused by foreign 
drafts made through those who have invested in 
American stocks, and who are fearful concerning 
the stability of our government and the consequent 
value ot their purchases — has compelled the au¬ 
thorities in the National Capital to issue a new cur¬ 
rency, a description of which we Copy from the 
Washington Republican of the 31st ult, as follows: 
The designs for the postag«-3tamps to be used as 
currency were adopted on Wednesday last, and are 
now in the hands of the engraver. They are to be 
of four denominations, viz:—Five, ten, twenty-five, 
and fifty cents. They will be printed on the same 
paper that the Treasury notes are printed on, and 
will be ready for delivery in ten or twelve days. 
The five-eent will be two.and five-eights inches 
long, aud one inch and three-quarters wide—color 
brown. On the upper corners will be the denom¬ 
ination, in white figures on a dark ground. In the 
center, occupying the position of a vignette, will be 
the five-cent postage stamp, with a figure “5” in 
geometrical lathe work on each side. 
The twenty-fives will be the same as the above, 
except that the vignette will be five live-centstamps 
overlapping each other, and the bill be three inches 
long. 
The ten-cent will be the same length and breadth 
as <he five — color, green. The ten-cent stamp will 
form the vignette, with “10” on each side, the same 
as on the five-cent bill; and in all other respects it 
will be the same. 
The fifties will he more in conformity with the 
tens, and the vignette will be five ten-cent stamps 
overlapping. 
Over the designs, as above described, will be the 
words “Postage stamps furnished by the Assistant 
Treasurers, and designated Depositaries of the 
United States;” and under them, “Receivable lor 
postage stamps at any Post-Office.” In the middle 
of the lower part of the notes will be “ U. S.,” in 
large letters. Large figures (in lathe work) denot¬ 
ing the denomination will be in Ihe center of the 
back of each “stamp - ' or “note.” sunounded by 
the words “Exchangeable for United States notes 
Item* and Incidents. 
The Federal Licenses Due on the 1st of 
September.—O n the first day of September next, 
the annexed account of license money will be due 
by the following described persons to the general 
Government: 
Apothecaries..$ 10 Lawyers .....--—..$10 
Auctioneers. 20 Livery stable keepers ... 10 
Bankers. 100 Manufacturers. 10 
Billiard tables (each)_ 5 Peddlers from .....$5 to 20 
Cattle brokers. 10 Photographers,. 10 
Claim agents __ 10 Pawnbrokers . 50 
Coul oil distillers. 50 Physicians. 10 
Commercial brokers_ 50 Retail dealers. 10 
Confectioners... 10 ** “ in liquors.. 20 
Circuses. 50 Surgeons.. 10 
Dentist* . 10 Tobacconists. 10 
Eating houses.. 10 Soap makers. 10 
Horse dealers.. 10 Wholesale dealers__ 50 
Theaters......._100 “ “ in 
Tallow chandlers ___ 10 liquors_ 100 
Jugglers___ 30 
Rectifiers, for each liceuse to rectify spirituous liquors 
in quantities not exceeding 500 barrels, of 40 gallons 
each......-.----$ 25 
For each additional 500 barrels, or any fraction thereof.. -5 
In addition to this, hotels must pay from Jo to $200 
license, and steamers on which passengers are fed 
aud lodged...-.-. 25 
These licenses are all annual, and they embrace 
nearly every class in the community. 
Hard Times among the Rebels. —The Rich¬ 
mond Examiner says. “Desertions are reducing 
our (the rebel) army, defying Us discipline, cor¬ 
rupting the spirit and morals, and seriously endan¬ 
gering the fortunes of our cause.” It calls upon 
“ all ages and sexes in the country to assist the Gov¬ 
ernment iu reclaiming deserters and stragglers, and 
in maintaining the integrity of our army.” 
Cool.—G en. Howard’s right arm was shattered 
by a ball during the recent battles, and was ampu¬ 
tated above the elbow. While being borne on a 
litter, he met Gen. Kearney, who lost his left arm 
in Mexico. “ I want to make a bargain with you, 
general,” said Howard, “ that hereafter we buy our 
gloves together.” 
Bkaurbgard’s bells, sent to Boston by General 
Butler, were sold in that city at public auction, 
July 30th. Among them were several cathedral 
bells, cast in France eighty or ninety years ago. 
The proceeds of the sale were upward of $24,000. 
The Vermonters in New Orleans. 
An article in the Sunday Delta, of New Orleans, 
headed “ Paying their Way,” furnishes testimony 
that the 7th "Vermont regiment have carried South 
with them into the war, the zeal and industry with 
which they prosecuted their business affairs among 
the Green Mountains of their own gallant State. 
This is the record; and Uncle Sam will please note 
that he has no better or more profitable workmen in 
his immense gang: 
“A small detachment of the 7th Vermont took 
possession of Fort Pike on May 5th, when they 
found the fort dismantled aud robbed of everything 
movable, the guns dismounted and spiked, and all 
the buildings either toru down or burned. During 
the two months they have garrisoned the fort, they 
have removed the spikes from all the guns, mounted 
them as far as they had the carriages, cleaned up the 
rubbish, retaken large quantities of the ordnance, 
quartermaster and commissary stores stolen during 
the interregnum, and captured any number of small 
boats, one launch, one schooner, one steam pile- 
driver, the steamer J. Morgan Brown, and were a 
party to the capture of the steamer Gray Cloud. 
These two steamers are valued at $30,000 each, aud 
are now used by Government as transports. 
The capture of the J. Morgan Brown had some¬ 
what of the ‘daown east’ enterprise and novelty 
which characterized the movements of the Green 
Mountain boys under old Ethan. The steamer be¬ 
ing in the service of the Confederates, was stowed 
away by its owners seven miles up a narrow, 
crooked bayou of Pearl river, hidden by over¬ 
hanging trees, and forty miles from Fort Pike. 
Some cloudy intimations of her whereabouts being 
obtained from contrabands, an expedition of thirty 
men, in live small boats, under the joint command of 
Lieuts. Parker and Dickinson, was fitted out to 
search the wilderness. Thsy stealthily passed the 
guerrilla pickets at Pearlington and the Jackson 
plantation, and rowed, betweea sunset and sunrise, 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., AUGUST 16, 1862. 
THE WAR’S PROGRESS 
WHAT IS THE MOON? 
From ihe Army of the South-West. 
A correspondent writing from the South- 
Western army to the Chicago Tribune, speaks thus 
of the health of the men, the crops and the country: 
Near Farmington the water is highly charged with 
sulphate of soda (epsom salts.) In fact, the water 
through this whole regiou is more or less of this 
character. In washing the hands it is similar to 
water prepared with sal soda lor washing. It baa a 
sweet, pleasant taste, but not over conducive to 
health. The springs are the least objectionable. 
The clearings and road-sides are flanked with 
blackberries, and hundreds of bushels are gathered 
daily, five men being detailed from each company 
daily for this purpose, and which is having a decided 
effect on the sanitary condition of the men. 
What is Wanted, — The army needs potatoes, 
but more especially onions, as scorbutic symptoms 
are becoming too prevalent, and if not promptly 
arrested will seriously affect the efficiency of the 
army. A large number of basswood quartermas¬ 
ters and commissaries need weeding out, and their 
places supplied with active, business men. The 
Government supplies are abundant, but many 
of the regiments are suffering for want of them, 
on account of tho inefficiency of these worth¬ 
less scamps. In one regiment they had been 
without fresh beef for eight days, when there was 
plenty of it at Pittsburg Landing, only 25 miles dis¬ 
tant. To-day a supply arrived. Fortunately, ihe 
clamors of the regiment have compelled the resig¬ 
nation of the official, and a live man has been 
appointed, who will take his place as soon as bis 
commission arrives. This regiment moved to a new 
The comparative proximity of our own satellite, 
the moon, has necessarily rendered it an object of 
the greatest interest, and it has, perhaps, in a greater 
degree than the celestial orbs, been subjected to the 
scrutinizing observations of the telescope. Since the 
completion of the great instrument of Lord Rosse, 
that nobleman has frequently observed it; and its 
appearance, as seen by the great telescope, is thus 
described by Dr. Scoresby: 
•• It appeared like a vast globe of molten silver, aud 
every object of the extent of one hundred yards was 
quite visible. Edifices, therefore, of the size of York 
Minster, or the ruins of Whitby Abby, might be 
easily perceived if they had existed. But there was 
no appearance of anything of that nature; neither 
was there any indications of anyihing like water, or 
of an atmosphere, 
There was a vast number of ex¬ 
tinct volcanoes, several miles in breadth. Through 
one of them was a Hue in continuance of about one 
hundred and fifty miles in length, which ran in a 
straight direction like a railway. The general ap¬ 
pearance, however, was like one vast ruin of nature; 
and many of the pieces of rock, driven out of the vol- 
[■ canoes, appeared to be laid at various distances." 
^ We have here a strong, nay a complete oontiriua- 
; ;rj tiou of tho most interesting recent discoveries of the 
,‘Sl continental philosophers, Madder of Dorpat, and 
Baer of Berlin. The result of their curious aud 
. elaborate observations has been a map of what may 
' P. Q0W > without a figure, be called the geography of 
- V the moon, in which the surface of that satellite has 
& been 'aid out with as much accuracy as that of our 
fY own globe. Of this map, a singular contrivance of 
t £ human ingenuity, Dr. Nichol has given a reduced 
OH! THERE S MUSIC. — HEARTH TO THE FARMER 
OH 1 THERE’S MUSIC. To be sung in as quick time as a distinct articulation will permit. 
