Take cotten-week, such as the Chandlers use for candles, double it six or seuen times double, and wet it throughly in saltpeter water, or aqua vitæ, wherein some camphire hath been dissolued, or, for want of either, in faire water; cut it into diuers peeces, rowle it in mealed gunpowder, or powder and sulphur; then dry them in the Sun, and reserue them in a box where they may lie straight, to prime Starres, Rockets, or any other fire-works.
How to know the true time, that any quantity of fired Gun-match that shall doe an exployt at a time desired.
Take common gun-match, rub, or beat the same a little against a post to soften it; then either dip the same in salt peter water, and drie it againe in the Sunne, or else rub it in a little powder and brimstone beaten very small, and made liquid with a little aqua vitæ, and dried afterwards; trie first how long one yard of match thus prepared will burne, which suppose to be a quarter of an howr, then fowre yards will be a iust howre. Take therefore as much of this match as will burne so long as you will haue it to be ere your worke should fire, binde the one end unto your worke, lay loose powder under, and about it lay the rest of the match in hollow, or turning so that one part of it touch not another, and then fire it.
A Water called Aqua Ardens.
Take old red wine, put it into a glased vessell, and put into it of orpment one pound, quicke sulphur halfe a pound, quicke lime a quarter of a pound; mingle them very well, and afterwards distill them in a rosewater still: a cloth being wet in this water will burne like a candle, and will not be quenched with water.
The Formers are instruments wherewith the coffins for the fireworkes are made and formed, whereof in order; and first for Rockets that operate in the ayre. The Formers for Rockets consist of two parts, represented by the two next figures following, the uppermost whereof representeth the body of the Former, which must bee made of Maple, Walnut tree, or of other close & well seasoned wood, seven inches, wanting halfe a quarter in length, turned equally, and exactly hollow quite through, the diameter of whose hollownesse, represented by the line at the top marked at each end with a, e, must bee one inch and a quarter; the breech of the former is represented by the lowest figure, the upper part wherof, must be made to enter the body of the Former; the height of the whole breech, beside the broach is 3 inches and a halfe; it entreth the body of the Former, one inch and three quarters; the top of it must be made like a halfe nutmeg, in the midst whereof (as Mr. Malthus and des recreationes Mathematiques) there must bee fastned an yron broach two inches and a halfe long: then put the breech into the body, and pierce them both quite through as the figures doe represent at G and H; then make a pin as K, L, to pinne them both together, which must bee made to take out at pleasure: then marke both the body and breech neere the said hole with this ★ or any other marke, that you may thereby know how to fit them afterwards.
The next figure marked with M, N, doeth expresse both the parts of the Former pinned together; unto this Former there must be made one Rowler expressed by the figure A; also two rammers expressed by the figures G H; they must all of them be turned very even and smooth; let the diameter of the thicknesse of the rowler expressed by the line on the top marked I I, be three quarters of an inch, let it be eight inches long from I, to 2, and have a hole bored in the very midst of the end, so wide and so deep, that all the broach of the former may enter the same: this is to rowle the coffin of paper and upon. The first rammer noted with the figure G, must bee seuen inches and a halfe long, from 3 to 4, and haue a hole at the end of it, as the rowler had; this rammer is to ram the composition into the former (hauing the coffin in it) untill it bee raysed aboue the broach. The second rammer noted with the figure H, must be fiue inches and three quarter long from 5 to 6, and it must haue no hole at the top as the other had; it serueth to ram the composition into the coffin, when it is once raysed aboue the broach. The diameter of the thicknesse of these two rammers must be a thought lesse than the diameter of the rowler, to the end they may not hurt the coffin, being driuen in. Now to make the coffins you must take paper, parchment, or strong canuasse, rowle it hard upon the rowler, so often untill it will go stiffe into the body of the Former: then thrust it rowler and all through the sayd hollow body of the Former; put then the broach of the formers breech into the hole of the rowler, and with a peece of strong packthred choake the coffin within halfe an inch of the rowlers end (which you may do best, and with most ease, if you first dip the end of the coffin into fayre water, so that it may be wet quite through) after you haue choaked the coffin, you must thrust the breech of the former, the coffin also with the rowler in it, up into the body of the former: then pin the breech fast to the body of the former with the pin, and on the rowler giue one stroak or two with a mallet lightly, then unpin the breech, and with the rowler thrust the coffin out of the bottom of the former, lay it by untill the end be dry. Thus you may at leisure times make diuers coffins ready to use upon any occasion. The following figure expresseth an empty coffin.
