Composition for the white lances: nitre, 16; sulphur, 8; gunpowder, 4 or 3. For a bluish-white : nitre, 16; sulphur, 8; antimony, 4. For blue lances : nitre, 16; antimony, 8. For yellow : nitre, 16; gun powder, 16 ; sulphur, 8; amber, 8. For yellvwer ones : rntre, 16 ; gunpowder, 16; sulphur, 4; colophony, 3; amber, 4. For greenish ones : nitre, 16; sulphur, 6; antimony, 6 ; verdigris, 6. For pinklan ces : nitre, 16; gunpowder, 3; lampblack, 1.
The Bengal flames rival the light of day. They consist of, nitre, 7 ; i sulphur, 2 ; antimony, 1. This mixture s pressed strongly into carthern porringers, with some hits of quick match strewed over the surface. These flames have a fine theatrical effect for conflagrations.
Revolving suns are wheels upon whose circumference rockets of different styles are fixed, and which communicate by conduits, so that one is lighted up in suc cession after another. The composition of their common fire is, for sizes below of an inch : gunpowder meal, 16; char coal, not too fine, 8. For larger sizes : gunpowder, 20; charcoal, not too fine, 4.
For fiery radiations : gunpowder, 16 ; yellow micaceous sand, 2 or 3. For mixed radiations: gunpowder, 13; pit. coal, 1 ; yellow sand, 1 or 2.
The waving or double Catharine wheels are two suns turning about the same axis in opposite directions. The fusees are fixed in obliquely, and not tangentially to their. peripheries. The wheel spokes are charged with a great number of fa sces ; two of the four wings revolve in the one direction, and the other two in the opposite ; but always in a vertical plane.
The rockets which rise into the air with a prodigious velocity are among the most common, but not least interesting fire works. When employed profusely, they form those rich volleys of fire which are the crowning ornaments of a public fête. The cartridge is similar to that of the other jets, except in regard to its length, and the necessity of pasting it strongly, and planing it well ; but it is charged in a different manner. As the sky-rockets must fly off with rapidity, their compo sition should be such as to kindle instant ly throughout their length, and extricate a vast volume of elastic fluids. To effect this purpose, a small cylindric space is left vacant round the axis ; that is, the central line is tubular. The composition of sky-rockets is as follows :— The cartridge being charged as above described, the pot must be adjusted to it, with the garniture ; that is, the serpents, the crackers, the stars, the showers of fire, &c. The pot is a tube of pasteboard
wider than the body of the rocket, and about one third of its length. After be img strangled at the bottom like the mouth of a vial, it is attached to the end of the fusee by means of twine and paste. These are afterwards covered with paper. The garniture is introduced by the neck, and a paper plug is laid over it. The whole is inclosed within a tube of paste board terminating in a cone, which is firmly pasted to the pot. The quick match is now finally inserted into the soul of the rocket. The rod attached to the end of the sky-rockets to direct their flight is made of willow or any other light wood.
The garnitures of the sky-rocket pots are the following : 1. Stars are small, round, or cubic solids, made with one of the following compositions, and soaked in spirits. White stars, nitre, 16 ; sulphur, 8 ; gun powder, B. Others more vivid consist of nitre, 16; sulphur, 7; gunpowder, 4. Stars for golden, showers, nitre, 16; sul phur, 10; charcoal, 4; gunpowder, 16; lampblack, 2. Others yellolver are made with nitre, 16 ; sulphur, 8; charcoal, 2; lampblack, 2 ; gunpowder, 8.
The serpents are small fasces made with one or two playing cards • their bore be ing less than half an inch. The lardons are a little larger, and have three cards ; the vetilles are smaller. Their composi tion is, nitre, 16; charcoal, not too fine, 2 ; gunpowder, 4; sulphur, 4 ; fine steel filings, 6.
The cracker is a round or square box of pasteboard, filled with granulated gun powder, and hooped all round with twine.
Roman candles are fasces which throw out very bright stars in succession. With the composition (as under) imbued with spirits and gun-water, small cylindric masses are made, pierced with a hole in their centre. These bodies, when kin dled and projected into the air, form the stars. There is first put into the cartridge a charge of fine gunpowder of the size of the star ; above this charge a star is placed ; then a charge of composition for the Roman candles.
Raman candles, nitre, 16; charcoal, 6 ; sulphur, 3. When above I of an inch, nitre, 16; charcoal, 8; sulphur, 6.