Gunpowder, half a pound; charcoal, 1 ounce; brimstone, 1 ounce, or in like proportion; grind them in a muller or pound them in a mortar. Or you may take 1 part steel filings, 1 charcoal, 1 sulphur, and 4 powder, which is a very good mixture, and can be rubbed together in a mortar.
How to Fill the Cases.
Your cases must be very dry when ready, and should be put into an iron or wooden mold; first put in a thimble full of your powder, and ram it down very hard with your ruler, then put in a little more till the case is full, ramming it down hard every time. If you have no mold, hold the case in your left hand with the twisted touch-paper downwards, and fill it after the same manner. When you have filled within an inch of the top, fill up this with loose powder not rammed, for a bang, and fold in the ends; after filling a dozen or two melt some pitch in a small ladle, and smear the end of the case with it by means of a small brush.
To Make Crackers.
Cut some stout cartridge-paper into pieces three inches and a half broad and one foot long, fold down one edge of these pieces lengthwise about three-quarters of an inch broad, then fold the double edge down a quarter of an inch, and turn the single edge back half over the double fold. Open it, and lay all along the channel which is formed by the folding of the paper some meal powder, then fold it over and over till the paper is doubled up, rubbing it down at every turn; this being done bend it backwards and forwards two inches and a half, or thereabouts, at a time, as often as the paper will allow. Hold all these folds flat and close, and with a small pinching cord give one turn round the middle of the cracker and pinch it close; bind it with pack thread as tight as you can, then in the place where it was pinched prime one end and cap it with touch-paper.
When these crackers are fired they will give a loud report at every turn of the paper: if you want a great number of these, you have only to cut the paper longer, or join it on to a greater length; but if they are made very long you must have a piece of wood with a groove in it deep enough to let in half the cracker, which will hold it straight while you are pinching it.
Roman Candles and Stars.
These are best made with the following ingredients: 1 ounce of powder, 1 ounce of sulphur, and 2 ounces of niter. Some persons, however, prefer 1 part sulphur, 1 charcoal, 1 iron filings, 4 of powder, and 8 of niter. The composition being made, in filling the cases fill the contrary way to a squib—stop up the choke by driving down a piece of paper. Put in 1 quill of gunpowder loose and 1 star made in the following manner: 1 ounce of camphor, 1 of sulphur, 2 of meal powder, 1 ounce of the colored fires, moisten them with oil of turpentine, and work them into little round balls. Having placed a star within the case, put in above it 3 quills of the composition, ram down, then powder, star, and composition alternately, till the case is full. Paste touch-paper round the top and twist to a point.
Rockets.
There are several recipes for making rockets, the best of which is 3 ounces of charcoal, 6 of sulphur, 8 of niter, 32 of meal powder. Another very good one is, 3 ounces of iron filings, 4 of powdered charcoal, 8 of sulphur, 16 of niter, and 64 of meal powder. If a smaller quantity is wanted divide each proportion by 2, if a still smaller divide by 4.