In Germany the following compositions are used:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| Chlorate of potash | parts | 24 | 40 | 12 | 20 | — | — | — | 40 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 20 | 96 | 40 |
| Chlorate of potash and copper | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 23 | — | — | — | — |
| Chlorate of baryta | ” | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nitrate of potash | ” | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nitrate of lead | ” | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nitrate of baryta | ” | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Calomel | ” | — | — | — | 13 | 7 | — | — | 28 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 18 | — |
| Sulphide of copper | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 28 | — | 12 | 6 | 4 | — | — |
| Sulphate of strontia | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 72 | 37 |
| Oxalate of soda | ” | — | 16 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chalk | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — |
| Powdered zinc | ” | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Powdered charcoal | ” | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sulphur | ” | 12 | — | 1 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | — | — |
| Gum lac | ” | 1 | 8 | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 18 | 8 |
| Soap | ” | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| Starch | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sugar | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
| Pine soot | ” | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — |
The above mixtures are intended to give coloured sparks, according to the numbers.
| No. | 1 gives a bluish-white colour. |
| ” | 2 and 3 give yellow. |
| ” | 4 gives green. |
| ” | 5 gives green. |
| ” | 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 give blue. |
| ” | 11 and 12 give violet. |
| ” | 13 gives red. |
| ” | 14 gives purple. |
The materials are mixed with a small quantity of a solution of starch, so as to form a thick paste, which is forced through a perforated plate, the holes in which are twice as large as it is intended the sparks should be on drying. The small pieces fall on a pasteboard, to which the workman gives a rapid horizontal motion to round the grains. They are then dried, and those which are perfectly round are selected and separated by sieves of different meshes to collect those of the same size together.
Chinese Fire.
Red Chinese or Gerbe Fire.
| Calibre of the case. | Saltpetre. | Sulphur. | Charcoal. | Iron Sand. 1st order. |
| lbs. | lbs. | oz. | oz. | oz. |
| 12 to 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 16 to 22 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 oz. 8 drms. |
| 22 to 36 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
White Chinese Fire.
| Calibre. | Saltpetre. | Bruised Powder. | Charcoal. | Iron Sand. 3rd order. | |||||||||
| 12 to 16 | lbs. | 1 | lb. | 12 | oz. | 7 | oz. | 8 | drms. | 11 | oz. | ||
| 16 to 22 | ” | 1 | ” | 11 | ” | 8 | ” | 11 | ” | 8 | drms. | ||
| 22 to 36 | ” | 1 | ” | 11 | ” | 8 | ” | 8 | ” | 12 | ” | ||