Part 2

But, notwithstanding all this improvement and progress, it is a remarkable fact that no work has been published in England upon this subject since the year 1830. We have not even kept pace with neighbouring nations in this respect, for an excellent work has appeared through the French press, entitled, “M. Chertier sur les Feux d’Artifice” (the book, however, is now out of print, I believe), and there is also a very capital manual of the art in German, “Martin Websky’s Lustfeuerwerkerei.”

It is true that articles have appeared from time to time in encyclopædias and books of that class, but these for the most part have been copied out of one into another, and of all that I have been able to see the best are so condensed as to be to those uninitiated in the art simply unintelligible and useless, and to the initiated often very confusing. Moreover, the professional pyrotechnists have thrown no small mystery over their work, and have done a great deal to further the idea that the awful Promethean rites to which they have been admitted are not to be thrown open to ordinary mortals, and I cannot help thinking that they have thus thwarted the very interests which it was to their advantage to forward. Let any one only enquire of professional photographers whether the practice of their art by amateurs has injured their business, and has not rather increased the demand upon them; and I see no reason why the same should not be the case with Pyrotechny, though not, of course, to the same extent, because its study is never likely to become so popular.

The fact, then, that no work in English upon this subject has appeared during the last thirty years will, I trust, be regarded as a sufficient apology for the present publication. From its perusal, however, there will be derived nothing new to those who have already acquired a proficiency in the practice of firework-making, and, for aught I know, the professional pyrotechnist may even be puzzled by the absence of technical terms. But, on the other hand, I would have it understood that I am not writing with the purpose of describing for the benefit of little boys the mode of making squibs and crackers, nor am I going to tire my readers’ patience, nor to consume my own time, by drawing up an historical account of the pyrotechnic art in its successive stages; nor is it my intention to enter into abstract and abstruse discussions upon the mathematical proportions proper for the artist’s tools and apparatus; nor to trace, as has been so frequently done, the true and lineal pedigree of gunpowder. My object is simply this:—to furnish, for those who are unacquainted with the subject, such information as shall put them in the way of providing at any time for family parties, or school treats, an exhibition of fireworks, capable of affording an hour’s real amusement to any number of people. I say to any number of people, because it costs no more to exhibit such a display to one hundred than to ten, and because I believe that it is difficult to find the person who would rather not see a good exhibition of fireworks, or who would stigmatise the hour spent in looking at them as “slow.” It is evident that the public demand for exhibitions of this kind is greater and more widely spread than it was, and is still on the increase; and the only wonder is that, under these circumstances, no more practical system of Pyrotechny should have appeared through the press. I am not saying that this work will supply the want that many have experienced, for it will be entirely elementary; but I hope at some future time to bring out a more advanced and extensive work, should I discover that anything worth calling an interest in my subject is abroad. This work, however, will be thoroughly practical, and that with the special object of showing how exhibitions may be provided at a little cost.

Now, there are three things which have been generally alleged and admitted as sufficient reasons against the practice of Pyrotechny; these are, danger, dirt, and expense. Upon each of these three subjects I will state what experience has taught me to be the truth.

First, as to danger. The explosion of firework factories from time to time has given a high colour to the risk which the public considers inseparable from any such manufacture. Some time ago I had the curiosity to inquire as far as I could into the cause of these large explosions, and in no one instance could I discover that the accident arose from anything but carelessness on the part of workmen or some wilful and unwarrantable defiance of danger; and I am quite convinced that danger depends far more upon the operator himself than upon the materials used in his work. A barrel of gunpowder is not the thing one would choose for a seat while smoking a cigar or toasting a muffin; but be it remembered that there is no more danger to be apprehended from this barrel of gunpowder, when properly handled, than from a barrel of beer. And then, gunpowder is a material which the amateur will need only in very small quantities, being used far less than is generally supposed, and being only employed to give projective force or to make reports. Meal-powder, which is gunpowder in the state of dust and not in grains, is extensively used, but is in itself perfectly safe. Of course one can set fire to the one as easily as to the other, but why need it be dangerous on this account? There is nothing easier than to make the practice of Pyrotechny dangerous, but, at the same time, it is not only possible, but very easy, to manufacture fireworks without danger.

Now, as to the dirtiness of the work. It is generally believed that the making of fireworks renders cleanliness in the operator impossible, and is destructive of clothes on that account. Now, I maintain that cleanliness and dirt, as well as safety and danger, are mainly dependent upon the person, and not upon his work. He can fairly be called dirty only if he is never clean, or if he makes himself unnecessarily dirty. And so with the pyrotechnist. While handling such things as charcoal he does not expect his hands to be white, but he need not handle charcoal as if with the purpose of making his hands black. Every one must have observed how some people, in whatever they are engaged, in whatever they undertake, will do their work cleanly and neatly, while others can do nothing without “making a mess.” I myself have made the principal part of several exhibitions of fireworks, have mixed all the compositions, have done everything, in fact, except the actual ramming of the compositions into the cases, in my own sitting-room, which, I flatter myself, is as clean and tidy a room as one need wish to live in; and were it not for the presence of the boxes in which I keep my tools, &c., &c., no one, ten minutes after my work is over, would know what I had been about. This, however, I have only done for want of accommodation, for I would much prefer working in some outhouse or room given up to the purpose where my apparatus would be less out of place as furniture, and where, instead of having to get out all my things afresh every time, I could resume my work exactly at the point where I had left it, for by this means a great saving of time would be effected. I would also strongly recommend to the beginner the use of an apron, and some holland sleeves to fasten tightly round the wrist and extend above the elbow, for many of the compositions employed are of a subtle and dusty nature, and will penetrate the clothes until the operator becomes accustomed to use them in such a way as shall not make them troublesome in this respect. I know, however, on the best possible authority—viz., that of experience—that fireworks can be made without detriment to clothes and without violation of cleanliness.

Expense now, in the third place, remains to be considered. It is, perhaps, not generally borne in mind that the reason why fireworks are expensive to purchase is that they take time to manufacture. The brown paper of which the cases are made, and the compositions with which they are filled, are of little value as compared with the time of the workmen employed. Now one supposes that if firework-making is adopted as an amusement, there is sufficient spare time for its practice. But the amateur must not suppose that he can become proficient without some small outlay at the first; his tools and apparatus will cost him something, but when once procured they will enable him to make twenty exhibitions as well as one. And he will do well to bear in mind that if he will purchase such things of the persons whom I am about to recommend he will incur no unnecessary expense. He should also know what to order; and he will find that if he confine himself, as far as possible, to the manufacture of one useful size of each kind of firework, he will greatly diminish the number of tools necessary for making and filling his cases. Much expense will also be avoided by his purchasing the necessary chemicals, not in the smallest quantities procurable, this being the most uneconomical mode of purchase. I have avoided the employment of any of those costly preparations which have of late become known to the pyrotechnist, and are employed principally in the compositions for producing coloured fires; not, however, from any wish to ignore their excellence, but because I have been able to produce without them effects with which I have always been satisfied.

I shall now append a list of those fireworks the manufacture of which it is my intention to describe, and which in combination will be found to produce all the effects that the amateur need desire:—

Rockets, with heads of brilliant, tailed, and coloured stars, and golden rains.

Roman candles, with brilliant, blue, green, yellow, and red stars.

Gerbes and jets of brilliant, Chinese, and common fires.

Wheels of various devices, horizontal and vertical, plain and illuminated.

Bengal white and coloured slow fires for illumination.

Lances, white and coloured, for making up devices, such as names, crests, mottoes, wreaths, &c., &c.

Tourbillons, plain and brilliant.

Chinese flyers of different kinds.

Mines of serpents and crackers.

Brilliant suns, single and double, fixed and revolving.

Portfires for lighting exhibition pieces, &c.

The pieces which I have enumerated above will furnish all the necessary elements of an excellent display. And I have no hesitation in saying that by careful attention to my directions all these pieces may be successfully made. I shall recommend nothing but what has been found to succeed constantly in my hands, and may, I am sure, be made to answer in the hands of others. I entirely disclaim, however, any attempt to describe the modes of manufacture adopted by the professional pyrotechnists. I know nothing of the secrets of their trade, nor have I any desire to acquaint myself with them; I only know that my own system of working never plays me false, however different it may be from theirs.

There are, however, a few things which I strongly recommend the amateur not to attempt to make, for the reason that their manufacture entails a considerable amount of tedious and uninteresting work, and they may be bought ready made of the professional pyrotechnists at a cost to which no one need object. They are such things as quick-match, mine serpents, and crackers, and pin wheels, if indeed these are necessary.

I will now proceed to give an idea of the relative numbers in which the several pieces may be employed to form a good exhibition. This will, of course, be but a mere sketch or outline, intended to show how things, very simple in themselves, may be rendered very effective in combination:—

10 rockets: 3 of these with heads of brilliant stars, 3 with tailed stars, 2 with coloured stars, and 2 with golden rains.

10 Roman candles: 6 of these to throw brilliant stars, and 4 coloured stars.

12 wheel-cases: 3 to make a single triangle wheel, 4 to turn an illuminated vertical wheel, and 5 to turn a horizontal mine wheel.

3 tourbillons: 2 plain and 1 brilliant.

A Prince of Wales feather, consisting of 3 brilliant jets.

A bouquet of Chinese gerbes.

2 white Bengal fires, 2 green, and 2 red fires.

2 cracker and 2 serpent mines.

And for a finale, some small device executed in lances, which shall change into a 5 or 8 pointed brilliant star or sun, accompanied with Roman candles, and a mine, either of serpents or crackers.

This is the kind of exhibition which my papers are intended to enable the amateur to make. The above list will be found to contain no lack of variety, which, in my opinion, is the great point to be kept in view.

In order that the reader of these papers may find no difficulty or hindrance in the way of his putting my directions into practice, I shall state farther on, where all the materials, chemicals, tools, &c., &c., which he will require, can be purchased ready for use, of a kind and quality that I recommend, and at a reasonable price.

But before concluding this part, I would impress upon the amateur the advantages to be derived from adopting a fixed plan of operations in preparing for his exhibition. If he would do his work well, he must learn to do it with the greatest economy of time, and labour, and material. He should first decide of what pieces his exhibition is to consist; next he should get all his cases made, and remember that these are not to be used until they are thoroughly dry, and that the more gradually and naturally they are allowed to dry the better they will be for his purpose. He should commence the filling of one kind of piece, and finish all of that species up to a certain point, before he begins upon any other kind. He should calculate the quantity of composition necessary for them, and not mix it until the cases are ready to receive it, and he has time to fill them. A very little practice will enable him to judge correctly the quantity necessary; but let him not hurry over this part of his work, for a very slight inaccuracy in reckoning the quantities of the several ingredients may spoil a large batch of composition. The old proverb, “The more haste the less speed,” is at least as true in the practice of firework-making as in any other work. By mixing up no more composition than he really requires, he will both avoid waste and have no odds and ends of combustible mixture to take care of. He may perhaps think this piece of advice very unnecessary, but he will soon arrive at the conclusion that it is well worth his attention. Let him also bear in mind that he will require to get out as many tools for the making of one rocket as of ten, and that when he has them to his hand he cannot do better than finish the ten.

It is not, of course, to be expected that the amateur will at first fall naturally into the most easy and convenient methods of working, but every additional hour’s practice will furnish some new experience, and he will soon discover that those operations, which at one time he considered the most troublesome and difficult, can be successfully performed in some very simple manner. He must never go to work under the idea that there is but one way of carrying out his plans; the exercise of a little thought on his part will generally unfold to him ways and means of accomplishing his object satisfactorily and with ease. It is always best for each operator to establish his own mode of working, and not always to attempt to carry out details of manipulation which he sees described, under the impression that what is thus recommended is _the_ way.

PYROTECHNY.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

I must beg of you, kind reader, the privilege of addressing you no longer in the third but in the second person. By speaking to you, instead of about you, I shall avoid much circumlocution, and in words, at least, identify your interests with my own.

Since “generals” take the precedence of “particulars,” before entering upon any description of the details of _rocket_ apparatus or manufacture, I must introduce you to certain friends without which you will find it difficult to get on in your work, and with which I trust you will shortly be on excellent terms, for you will require their aid in almost every branch of pyrotechny. The tools peculiarly employed in each separate process of the art will be spoken of in dealing with that process, and in their own place; but a short account of the things that are _generally_ requisite will be more in place here than in any other part of this work.

SCALES AND WEIGHTS.

1. In the first place, some are indispensable. The scales that I use are of a very common make, with copper pans capable of holding about four ounces of nitre. These I have always found very convenient, and they are by no means expensive to buy; but I should think there is hardly a house where such a pair would not be found ready to hand. I use also, for purposes in which more delicacy and exactness is required, a pair of grain scales such as are employed by the apothecary. It is very important, particularly in the preparation of coloured fire compositions, to be very exact in weighing out those ingredients which enter sparingly into the formulas, for a little more or less of these will often change entirely the character of the composition.

And now let me say a few words upon the subject of _weights_. The old books on pyrotechny did their best to confuse their readers in many ways, but in none more successfully than the following:—They insisted on giving their formulas in _weight_. For instance, they would tell you to mix together 3½ oz. of one ingredient, 2 dwt. of another, 1 scruple of another.

Now the ordinary way in making up such a receipt would be by employing one weight out of three distinct tables, for the ounce usually employed in commerce is the avoirdupois ounce; the pennyweight is only found in a table used for weighing precious metals and precious stones; the scruple only in a table used by a compounder of medicines. Now I intend to avoid all confusion of this kind by the simple plan of giving my formulas in _parts_ and not in weights. For instance, in writing down the formula for gunpowder, I should put it in the following manner:—

Nitre 70 parts. Sulphur 15 „ Charcoal 15 „

So that, whether you take it in grains or in tons, the formula is equally intelligible, and you get at one glance a true idea of the relative proportions of the ingredients. But, although I mean to keep weights out of my formulas, we cannot dispense with them in our work. Now, if you would save yourself much trouble and inconvenience, procure, in addition to your ordinary grain weights, a 2-oz., a 1-oz. and a ½ oz. _troy_ weight. This ounce contains precisely the same number of grains as eight of your apothecary’s drachms and as twenty-four of your apothecary’s scruples—that is 480 gr., whereas the avoirdupois ounce contains only 437½ gr. And by this means you will avoid much confusion and save much time in your calculations; because you will have all your smaller weights convenient aliquot parts of the greater; and, if I mistake not, you will find these extra weights very handy for other than pyrotechnic purposes.

Next, I wish to caution you against an injudicious employment of the pestle and mortar. These auxiliaries are not intended for any other purpose but the reduction to powder of lumps, crystals, &c.; they are never properly used for _incorporating_ ingredients. _Large_ quantities of pyrotechnic compositions are always _mixed_ in a sieve; _small_ quantities are best mixed by stirring them about with a spatula upon a piece of paper. A pestle and mortar is a species of apparatus which I rarely use, for I procure my various salts, &c., in the form in which they are ready for use, and I strongly recommend you to do the same, feeling that you will soon be convinced of the convenience of such a plan. Remember, too, to keep your powdered ingredients in well-corked or stoppered bottles, for the reason that some of them are very deliquescent, and are utterly unfit for pyrotechnic purposes except when perfectly dry. The four following things, however—nitre, sulphur, charcoal, and meal-powder—which are not subject to injury from a slight exposure to the air, and which will be required in larger quantities than other things, I always keep in tin canisters, such as are made to hold a pound of coffee. A piece of sheet copper about six inches long, bent into the form of a shallow boat or scoop, will be found useful in taking these things out of their canisters to be put into the scales and weighed.

SIEVES.

2. Now with regard to SIEVES: you will require two of these, with brass-wire bottoms; one of the fineness of twenty meshes to the inch for _mixing_, which, for distinction’s sake, I will call _the mixer_; the other of forty or fifty meshes to the inch for _sifting_, and to which I shall refer as the _sifter_. These sieves are made with a receiver and a top, so that by their means you can sift or mix any compositions, however subtle or dusty may be their nature, without the slightest inconvenience or annoyance. I may as well here mention that I use the 20-mesh mixer for _sifting_ the _coarse_ charcoal employed in my rocket compositions, but all other sifting is done by the 40-mesh sifter. The size of those which I use is about six inches in diameter, and I think you will find this large enough for every purpose, as you will not be likely to want to mix or sift any very large batches of composition at a time. These sieves, made of any size or design that you please, may be procured of Mr. Darby, 98, Regent Street, Lambeth, London, at whose shop you will also find many other handy little articles, such as horn or copper scoops, spatulas, &c.

MANUFACTURING.

ROCKETS.