A case of six inches in diameter, and six inches high, burns three minutes. The light is said to injure the eyes.
The price of this powder is equal to that of ordinary gunpowder.
The match, which accompanies this preparation when it is sold, is made in the following manner: Pulverize four parts of saltpetre, two parts of gunpowder, two parts of charcoal, and one part of sulphur, and pass them through a sieve. Provide then a number of paper cases, made in the usual manner, or a roller, about the diameter of a quill, and two feet in length, and charge with the composition.
This match, when used, is attached to a stick. It will resist the action both of wind and rain.
An artificer of Marseilles proposes the following composition for matches.
| Sulphur | 8 parts. |
| Saltpetre | 4 —— |
| Gunpowder | 2 —— |
Sec. LII. Of the Pyrophore of Defence.
An apparatus for defence, called the Pyrophore, was announced in a French publication in 1815. It may be applied, according to the author, in 24 hours for the defence of towns, roads, passages, and defiles.
The pyrophore itself is a square box furnished with a lid, and sufficiently large to contain fifty pounds of gunpowder. When it is filled, and to be used, it is fixed with cords, or chains, in such a manner as to be conveyed to a given point. The lid is furnished with cross pieces, which open it when necessary.
At the sides of the box are rings, made very strong and fixed in bolts, which go through the sides, and clenched. To each of these rings, a cord or chain is attached, furnished at each end with a crotchet.