Of Such Ingredients As Show Themselves In Sparks When Rammed Into
choked Cases.
The set colours of fire produced by sparks are divided into four
sorts, viz., the black, white, grey, and red; the black charges are
composed of two ingredients, which are meal-powder and charcoal; the
white of three, viz., saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal; the grey of
four, viz., meal-powder, saltpetre, brimstone, and charcoal; and the
red of three, viz., meal-powder, charcoal, and saw-dust.
There are, besides these four regular or set charges, two others
which are distinguished by the names of compound and brilliant
charges; the compound charge being made of many ingredients, such as
meal-powder, saltpetre, brimstone, charcoal, saw-dust, sea-coal,
antimony, glass-dust, brass-dust, steel-filings, cast-iron, tanners'
dust, &c., or any thing that will yield sparks; all which must be
managed with discretion. The brilliant fires are composed of
meal-powder, saltpetre, brimstone, and steel-dust; or with
meal-powder, and steel-filings only.