better, the solid straw-like material of which housemaids' carpet - brooms are made, Light the material at a candle, hold the stem downward. After the first blazing off, a ball of molten lava will form, from which the curious coruscations will soon appear.

QUICK-MATCH.-Quick-match is made of cotton lamp-wick thread, soaked for an hour or two in a mixture of gunpowder, 1 lb., and gum water, made by dissolving 2 oz. of gum-arabic in 1 pint of water, into which the gunpowder should be beaten up till dissolved. The cotton may be 3, 4, or more strands in thickness, and should be wound off out of the mixture, passed through a funnel pipe to make it even, and dried on a frame. It must be enclosed in paper tubes for use, as it will not burn with the necessary rapidity if not covered.

an inch of it, dabbing it lightly from end to end with a clean cloth, to ensure its holding securely. Two of the gores being thus united, unite two others in like manner, and so on, until, if there were 32 gores in all, the number is reduced to 16. In like manner pro ceed till the number is eight, then four, and then two; hanging the sections up at every pasting, so that they may get thoroughly dry whilst proceeding. The two halves are last of all to be connected in the same way; and this part of the undertaking is then completed. A circle of wire, about 6 inches in diameter, should be worked into the bottom of it, to keep the fabric of the balloon at a sufficient distance from the flame of the spirit. Another wire may be fixed across this circle to hold a piece of sponge, which should be immersed in spirits of wine. A smouldering piece of brown

inner.

FIRE BALLOONS. - The material for making a small balloon should be a fine, thin, close-textured tissue paper. Having determined that the balloon shall consist of a specific number of gores, or sections, say 34 or 16, a pattern for cutting them by should be made of pasteboard, or some tolerably hard substance. Suppose the entire height of the balloon, without its appendages, is to be 3 feet, and the number of gores 32, an elegant shape will be got by making the pattern 1 inch wide at one end, 3 inches at the other, and 8 inches at its broadest part, which should be at one-third of its length, if the balloon is intended to have a pearlike figure. Varnish the gores with the ordinary boiled oil, and hang them up singly on lines till perfectly dry. They are next to be put together, which may be done with gum water or clean thin paste. After pasting or gumming about an inch of one of the gores, lay the edge of another about midway across the part pasted, and then double over about

of

in a few minutes put the balloon in an ascending condition. Having thus inflated the balloon, ignite the piece of sponge, and let it rise. When it is intended to inflate the balloon with hydrogen or coal gas, the latter apparatus is not needed; but a light car, or any other ornament proportioned to the ascending power of the balloon, may be appended to it, which will have the effect of maintaining it in the right position, and also of keeping it longer in sight than would otherwise be the case.

SALTPETRE FROM DAMAGED GUNPOWDER.- Dissolve the powder in warm water, filter the solution through fine linen bags, and then evaporate the water by boiling it, until the solution is of sufficient strength to crystallize.

SERPENTS, OR SQUIBS. 1. Mealed powder, 1 lb. 8 oz. ; charcoal, 4 oz.; sulphur, 1 oz.; saltpetre, 3 oz. 2. Mealed powder, 1 lb.; charcoal, 1 oz.; saltpetre 13 oz.; steel filings, 1 oz. The case is made by rolling cartridge paper in slips of 6 or 8 inches in breadth round a former, and pasting down the last fold, for serpents. The case, having been choked at one end, is filled by inserting a funnel into the casc, filling the funnel with composition, and gently moving a rod or ram

mer up and down the funnel-pipe, the rod being introduced before the composition. A piece of touchpaper is fastened to the end. For squibs, before filling the case, ram in hard a thimbleful of coarse gunpowder.

SHOWERS OF FIRE.-Chinese Fire.Mealed powder, 1 lb.; sulphur, 2 oz.; iron filings, 5 oz. Ancient Fire.-Mealed powder, 1 lb.; charcoal, 2 oz. To form a shower of fire, mould small paper cases on a rod, of an inch in diameter, and 2 inches in length. They must not be choked, as it will be sufficient to twist the end of the case, and having put the rod into it, beat it to make it assume its form. When the cases are filled, which is done by immersing them in the composition, fold down the other end, and then apply a match. They must be fixed on a frame with leaders, to be fired simultaneously.

PIN, OR CATHERINE, WHEELS.-Mealed powder, 12 oz.; saltpetre, 3 oz.; sulphur, 1 oz. The pipe or case is made on a long wire former, about of an inch in diameter, into which the composition is poured through a funnel, and shaken down. The case is then rolled round a small circle of wood about 1 inch in diameter, and not more than an inch thick, with a hole through the centre of it for a nail, or pin. One end of the case is to be pasted round the wood, and each half turn of it secured with sealing wax, or a strip of paper pasted across the wheel. The end is then primed.

CRACKERS.-The case is made of cartridge paper, the dimensions required being 15 inches by 3 inches. First fold down one edge, about of an inch broad, then turn down the double edge about of an inch, and bend back the single edge over the double fold, so as to form within a channel, which is to be filled with mealed powder, not ground very fine; the powder is then to be covered by the folds on each side, and the whole is to be pressed by a flat ruler; and the part containing the powder is to be folded into the remainder of the paper, every fold being pressed down. The cracker is then doubled backwards and forwards in folds about 2 inches, which are pressed

quite close, and a piece of twine is passed twice round the middle across the folds, and the joinings secured by causing the twine to take a turn round the middle at each fold successively; one of the ends of the folds may be doubled short under, which will produce an extra report; the other must project a little beyond the rest for the purpose of being primed.

COLOURED FIRES.-In the preparation of coloured fires the utmost care should be taken to have the component parts of the mixtures well triturated apart from each other, passed through fine sieves, and kept separately in stoppered bottles. They do not improve by keeping, and therefore should be used as soon as possible after mixing. The proper amount of each ingredient being parcelled out and placed on a sheet of glass or paper, the whole is carefully mixed with a light hand by means of a bone or wooden knife, a common paper knife for instance. Chlo rate of potassa must be treated with especial caution, as it is very liable to explosion from friction whilst in contact with combustible matter.

Blue Fire.-1. Sulphur, sulphate of potassa, and ammonio-sulphate of copper, of each, 15 parts; nitre, 27; chlorate of potassa, 28. For theatrical illuminations. 2. Metallic antimony, 1 part; sulphur, 2; nitre, 5. 3. Sulphate of copper, 7 parts; sulphur, 24; chlorate of potassa, 69.

Crimson Fire.-Chlorate of potassa, 44 parts; alder or willow charcoal, 5; sulphur, 22; nitrate of strontia, 673. For pots.

Green Fire.-1. Charcoal and sulphuret of arsenic, of each, 1 part; sulphur, 10; chlorate of potassa, 231; nitrate of baryta, 624. 2. Nitrate of baryta, 77 parts; chlorate of potassa, 8; fine charcoal, 3; sulphur, 13. 3. Metallic arsenic, 2 parts; charcoal, 3; chlorate of potassa, 5; sulphur, 13; nitrate of baryta, 77.

Lilac Fire.-Black oxide of copper, 6 parts; dry chalk, 20; sulphur, 25; chlorate of potassa, 49.

Purple Fire.-1. Sulphuret of antimony, 2 parts; black oxide of copper, 10; sulphur and nitrate of potassa, of each, 22; chlorate of potassa, 42. 2.

oxide of either iron, lead, or manganese, 2 parts of glass powder, and from 2 to 3 parts strong glue or gum. These matches will ignite only on the friction surface thus prepared. 2. For the match-heads a mixture of chlorate of potash and a compound of hyposulphurous acid with soda, ammonia, and oxide and sub-oxide of copper. This compound is formed by dividing a solution of copper into two equal parts, super- | saturating one of them with ammonia, and the other with hyposulphate of soda; then mixing the two solutions, and stirring the mixture well, a violet powder precipitates. One part of it is to be mixed with 2 parts of the chlorate of potash, and a small quantity of pounded glass. Lucifers made in this way are, however, objectionable, from the fact that they will ignite on any rough surface, even more easily than the common kind.

Gun-Cotton. There are several varieties of gun-cotton - the explosive, soluble only in acetic ether; pyroxiline, soluble in sulphuric ether and alcohol; and xyloidine. All these are formed by the action of nitric acid on cotton or lignine in some form. The difference between them consists mainly in the strength and temperature of the acids employed in their preparation. The most explosive is prepared with the strong acids, sulphuric and nitric, mixed, the object of the sulphuric being to take water from the nitric, and so leave the latter in its full strength to combine with the lignine or cotton. The first thing to be done is to thoroughly cleanse the raw material. This is effected by boiling it in an alkaline solution, then drying it in a current of air, and then again boiling it in clean water. After the second boiling it must be very thoroughly dried at about 120° F. The cotton must be very thoroughly dried, as any moisture which might remain in it would, by combining with the acid, generate heat, and set up a destructive action. The cotton, in charges of 1 lb., is placed separately in a bath containing the mixed acids, the mixture in which the cotton is submerged consisting of 3

parts by weight of Nordhausen sulphuric acid, specific gravity 1·84, and 1 part of nitric acid, specific gravity 1.5; this mixture allowed to cool down—a process which occupies two or three days

On

before the cotton is placed in it. After immersion, the charges of cotton are strained until each contains only about 10 times its weight of acids, and each charge is then placed in an earthenware jar and covered down. In order to prevent any heating from taking place, the jars should be placed in a current of cold water. The cotton after being exposed to the acid for 48 hours, in order to ensure its thorough conversion, is removed from the jars and squeezed nearly dry. It is then to be suddenly plunged into a strong fall of cold water, and left for a short time. The object of placing the gun-cotton in the fall of water is to ensure the sudden and complete submersion of the material, and thus avoid the heating and decomposition of the cotton, which would take place at the surface of the water if the cotton were immersed gradually. its removal from the fall of water, the gun-cotton is wrung dry, and placed in a stream of water for 48 hours. After being washed and partly dried several times more, the cotton should be thoroughly dried at the temperature of no more than 140° F. It is now so explosive that great care is required in its arrangement, being about three times as explosive as gunpowder. As thus prepared gun-cotton scarcely differs from unchanged cotton in appearance; it is white and fibrous, and rather harsh to the touch. If only a small quantity is required-1. Mix 4 oz. of pure, dry, nitrate of potash with 30 fluid drachms of sulphuric acid, sp. gr. 1.845, and stir into this mixture carefully 120 grs. of best carded cotton. As soon as saturation is complete, in about one minute, if proper care has been used, throw the cotton into a large pan of clean rain water, and change the water repeatedly until litmus ceases to show the presence of acid, then squeeze it in a cloth, and, after being well pulled out, dry it at a temperature of about 180°. 2. Take