Stars for golden showers, nitre, 16; sulphur, 10; charcoal, 4; gunpowder, 16; lamp-black, 2. Others yellower are made with nitre, 16; sulphur, 8; charcoal, 2; lamp-black, 2; gunpowder, 8.
The serpents are small fusees made with one or two playing cards; their bore being less than half an inch. The lardons are a little larger, and have three cards; the vetilles are smaller. Their composition is, nitre, 16; charcoal, not too fine, 2; gunpowder, 4; sulphur, 4; fine steel filings, 6.
The petards are cartridges filled with gunpowder and strangled.
The saxons are cartridges clayed at each end, charged with the brilliant turning fire, and perforated with one or two holes at the extremity of the same diameter.
The cracker is a round or square box of pasteboard, filled with granulated gunpowder, and hooped all round with twine.
Roman candles are fusees which throw out very bright stars in succession. With the composition (as under) imbued with spirits and gum-water, small cylindric masses are made, pierced with a hole in their centre. These bodies, when kindled 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.
The stars, when less than 3⁄4 of an inch, consist of nitre, 16; sulphur, 7; gunpowder, 5. When larger, of nitre, 16; sulphur, 8; gunpowder, 8.
Roman candles, nitre, 16; charcoal, 6; sulphur, 3. When above 3⁄4 of an inch nitre, 16; charcoal, 8; sulphur, 6.
The girandes, or bouquets, are those beautiful pieces which usually conclude a fire-work exhibition; when a multitude of jets seem to emblazon the sky in every direction, and then fall in golden showers. This effect is produced by distributing a number of cases open at top, each containing 140 sky-rockets, communicating with one another by quick-match strings planted among them. The several cases communicate with each other by conduits, whereby they take fire simultaneously, and produce a volcanic display.
The water fire-works are prepared like the rest; but they must be floated either by wooden bowls, or by discs and hollow cartridges fitted to them.