Artificial fire-works : $b improved to the modern practice, from the minutest to the highest branchesJones, Robert
History
Artificial fire-works : $b improved to the modern practice, from the minutest to the highest branches
Jones, Robert
Fireworks -- Early works to 1800
Plate 6th. Fig. 1st, represents a fountain of thirty rockets; let A,
be a perpendicular post, sixteen feet high from the ground, and four
inches square. Let the rail or cross piece C, be one foot six inches
in length, three inches broad, and one thick. The rail D, at bottom,
must be six feet in length, one foot broad, and an inch thick. F, and
G, are the two sides which serve to supply the rails D, E, H, I, C;
these sides are one foot broad at bottom, and cut in the front with a
regular slope, to three inches at top, but their back edges must be
parallel with the front of the pots A. The breadth of the rails E, H,
I, will be determined by the breadth of the sides; all the rails must
be fixed at two feet distance from each other, and at right angles
with the pots; having placed the rails thus; bore in the bottom rail,
ten holes at equal distances from each other, large enough to receive
easily the stick of a one pound rocket; in the back edge of this rail
cut a groove from one end to the other, fit to contain a quick-match,
then cut a groove in the top of the rail, from the edge of each hole,
into the groove in the back; in the same manner cut in the second rail
E, eight holes and grooves; in the third rail H, six holes and
grooves; in the fourth rail I, four holes and grooves; and in the top
rail two holes and grooves; B, a rail with holes in it to guide the
ends of the rocket sticks, this rail must be fixed six feet from the
rail D; the fountain frame being thus made, prepare your rockets thus;
tie round the mouth of each a piece of thin paper, large enough to go
twice round, and to project about an inch and a half from the mouth of
the rocket, which must be rubbed with wet meal-powder; in the mouth of
each Rocket put a leader, which secure well with the paper that
projects from the mouth of the case; these leaders must be carried
into the grooves in the back of the rails, in which lay a quick-match
from one end to the other, and cover it with pasted paper; holes must
be made in the rail D, to receive the ends of the sticks of the
rockets, in the rail E, and so on to the fourth rail, so that the
sticks of the rockets at top, will go through all the rails; the
rockets being so prepared, fix a gerbe or white flower-pot on each
rail before the post, with their mouths inclining a little forwards;
these gerbes must be lighted all at once; behind or before each gerbe,
fix a case of brilliant or slow fire, these cases must be filled so
that they may burn out one after the other, to regulate the fountain,
which may be done by carrying a leader, from the end of each slow or
brilliant fire, into the groove in the back of each rail; different
size rockets may be used in these fountains, but it will be best to
fill the heads of the rockets on each rail with different sorts of
things, in this manner, those at top with crackers, the next with
rains, the third with serpents, the fourth with tailed stars, and the
last flight with common or brilliant stars.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account