G UN P ( 
would make the gunpowder very liable to injury by at¬ 
tracting moifture, and, thereby decompofing the accu¬ 
rate mixture of the compofition, render it unfit for ufe. 
The belt fulphur is that which is imported from Sici¬ 
ly, and is refined' by melting and (kimming : themoft'im- 
pure is refined by fublimation. The charcoal formerly 
ufed- in this manufacture was made by charring wood 
in the common manner; but the method now adopted 
confifts in dittilling the wood, as it were, in iron cylin¬ 
ders, and collecting the pyro-ligneous acid, the carbon 
remaining in the cylinder or retort. The wood to be 
charred is fir if- cut into lengths of about nine inches, 
and then put into the iron cylinder, which is placed 
horizontally. The front opening of the cylinder is then 
clofely (topped: at the further.ends are pipes leading 
into cafks. ,The fire being made under the cylinder, 
the pyro-ligneous acid, attended with a large portion 
of carbonated hydrogen gas, comes over. The gas ef- 
capes, and the acid liquor, is collected in the calks. 
The fire is kept up till no more gas or liquor comes 
over, and the carbon remains in the cylinder. This, it 
is evident, is a more eligible method than the former; 
and, indeed,, the only proper one. The difference in 
the ftrength of the powder made from this fort of char¬ 
coal is lo very confiderable, that the proportion of 
powder ufed for the feveral pieces of ordnance by the 
navy, See. has been reducedone-third, in confequence 
©fi. the increafed ftrength of the compofition into which 
this cylinder charcoal enters. 
The wood;, before charring, lias the bark taken off; 
for which purpofe it is felled in the fummer feafon, 
when the fap is up, and the rind will fiow clean.. One 
reafon for taking oft' the bark is, that it would render 
the powder full of fparks ; which would be of courfe in¬ 
jurious, and .very dangerous in the ufe; a faCt mod 
clearly proved by the cmnbuftion of charcoal, with the 
hark on, in oxygen gas. The wood made ufe of is ei¬ 
ther alder, willow, or black dog-wood ; but tfie diftil- 
lation in the cylinders making the charcoal of different 
woods nearly alike, it is-not now material as to the forts 
made ufe of. 
The feveral ingredients, being thus prepared, are 
ready for manufacturing. They are, ift, ferarately 
ground to a fine powder : 2d, mixed together in the 
proper proportions: 3d, the compofition is then fent to 
the gunpowder-mill, which confifts of two ftones verti¬ 
cally placed, and running on a bed-ftone. On this bed- 
ftone the compofition is fpread, and wetted (not with 
fal-ammoniac, urine, Sec. as fome authors ftate, but) 
with as fmall a quantity ofwater as will, together with 
the revolutions and weight of the runners, bring it into 
a proper body, but not into a pajle. After the ftone . 
runners have made the proper number of revolutions 
ever it, and it is in a fit ftate, it is taken off. The pow¬ 
der-mill is a flight wooden building with a boarded roof. 
Only from forty to fifty pounds of compofition is work¬ 
ed here at a time, as an explofion will fometimes una¬ 
voidably happen.from the runners and bed-ftone coming 
in contaCf, and other accidental caufes. Thefe mills 
ate either worked by water or by horfes. 
4th, The compofition taken from the mills is fent 
to the corning-houfe to be corned or grained. Here it 
is firft preffed into a hard and firm body, broken into 
fmall lumps, and the powder then gained by thefe 
lumps being put into fieves, in each of which is a flat 
circular piece of lignum vitas. The fieves are made of 
parchment-fkins, having round holes punched through 
them. Several of thefe fieves are fixed in a frame, which 
by proper machinery has fuch a motion given to it, as 
to make the lignum-vitae runner in each fieve go round 
with a quick velocity, breaking the lumps of powder, 
and forcing them through the fieves, forming grains of 
feveral fizes. The grains are then feparated from the 
dnft by other fieves, and reels. 
5th, They are then hardened, and the rougher edges 
) W I) E R. m 
taken off by being run a fufficient length of time in a 
clofe reel, which has a proper circular velocity given it. 
The powder for cannon, mortars, arid fmall arms; is gei 
neraliy made at one time, and always of the fame com¬ 
pofition. The difference is only in the fize of the grains, 
which are feparated by fieves of different finenefs. 
6th, The gunpowder, thus corned, dufted, and reel¬ 
ed, (which is called glazing , aS it puts a fmall degree 
ofglofs on its furface,) is lent to the ftove and dried;' 
taking care not to raife the heat fo as to decompofe the 
fulphur. The heat is regulated by a thermometer placed 
in fhe door of the ftoves, if dried in a gloom-dove. 
A gunpowder-ftove either dries the powder by fleam, 
or by the heat from an iron gloom, the powder being 
fpread on cafes, placed on proper fupports, round the 
room. But the gloom is not to "be in a heated ftate 
when the powder is taking in and out of the ftove. 
This fpecies of ftove confifts of a large caft-iroa veffel 
projecting into one fide of a room,, and heated from the 
-outfide till it abfolutely glows. From the conftnfolion • 
it is hardly poffible that fire can be thrown from the 
gloom, as it is called ; but ftoves heated by fleam pafle 
ing through fleam-tight tubes, orotherwife, ought lure¬ 
ly to be preferred; for - the moft cautious man may 
flumble, and if lie have a cafe of the powder in his 
hand, feme of it ma*y be thrown upon the gloom, and 
it is furely poffible that in this way fome of the acciden¬ 
tal blowing-up of powder-manufatlories may have been 
occafioned. 
Such is the prefent moft approved method of manufac¬ 
turing gunpowder in England. In France, thechemifts 
have been recently required, by -an arret of government^ 
to exert their utmoft energies to excel us in the mode of 
preparation, and strength, of this important article. 
In confequence thereof, the celebrated chemift M. I. A. 
Chaptal, member and treafurer of the French fenate, 
early in the year 1805; delivered to that legiflative body 
a paper, containing the principles and method of manu- 
fadluring gunpowder fuperior to that of every other 
country ; and of which the followingfis a faithful tranfa 
lation : 
MANUFACTURE of GUNPOWDER in FRANCE. 
“Gunpowder (fays M. Chaptal) is formed by the • 
accurate mixture of faltpetre, charcoal,, and fulphurj . 
and the different qualities-of this powder depend on the 
proportions between the conftituent principles, the pu¬ 
rity of the materials, and the accuracy with which they 
are triturated and mixed together. The following are 
the refults of the numerous experiments which I have 
made in the celebrated powder-manufadlure at Grenelle. 
“1. The proportion of faltpetre ought to be at lead 
about 73 per cent. 2. The proportions which produce 
the best gunpowder, are 77 faltpetre, 14 charcoal, and 
9 fulphur. The proportions moft generally employed, 
are 76 faltpetre, 12 charcoal, 12 fulphur. 3. The pro¬ 
portion of fulphur may be diminiftied, or even omitted j 
but in this laft cafe the powder is very porous, not fufo 
ficiently confident, and is injured by carriage. 
“When the proportion of fulphur is diminiftied, it is 
neceflary to triturate the other materials with greater 
care. I have obtained very good powfler by employ¬ 
ing 3 per cent of fulphur. The powder for ordnance 
requires lefs fulphur than the finer kinds. Charcoal of 
white wood is employed in the making of powder, fuch 
as that of the poplar, willow, hazel, &c. It is made of 
the young branches of only two or three years growth. 
The charcoal ought to be ufed immediately after being 
made, as it abforbs, oh expofure to the atmofphere, from 
20 to 25 per cent, of air and water, which injures its qua- 
ty. A very great difference is perceivable between the . 
charcoal prepared in trenches and that prepared in the . 
open air ; the firft is lighter, lefs.comp.a6t, and-is pre¬ 
ferred for the compofition of gunpowder. 
“ All the powder manufactured in France is prepared . 
«y • 
