Chinese Fountains

To make a Chinese fountain, you must have a perpendicular piece of

wood, seven feet long, and two inches and a half square. Sixteen

inches from the top, fix on the front a cross piece one inch thick,

and two and a half broad, with the broad side upwards; below this, fix

three more pieces of the same width and thickness, at sixteen inches

from each other; let the bottom rail be five feet long, and the others

of such a length as to allow the fire-pumps to stand in the middle of

the intervals of each other. The pyramid being thus made, fix in the

holes made in the bottom rail five fire-pumps, at equal distances; on

the second rail, place four pumps; on the third, three; on the fourth,

two; and on the top of the post, one; but place them all to incline a

little forward, that, when they throw out the stars, they may not

strike against the cross-rails. Having fixed your fire-pumps, clothe

them with leaders, so that they may all be fired together.