Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-11-22

A pamphlst Of twelve pages has been Issued by
Ma. Geo. W. Rains, CHIEF of ordnance IL charge
oF the gunpowder department Of the Confederate
States, from which we take the following synop-
ss Of the process for making ~ssltpeter.
he says thatsaltpeter can be easily made from
TIE earth OF limestone caves:
"Our supplies Of sulphur-and, Of course.
ehnrcoal-sTe probably ample for the entire W II,
even If it be Of long duration and the amount
Of s~altpeter in the eBrth Of the southern caves. TO
be had for the washing, is abundantly sufficient
10 meet al demands, for an indefinite period Of
tine
"Gunpowder Is made Of over tLree-fourths
parts Of inter, purified saltpete1) fourteen warts
Of charcoal and ten parts Of sulphur, all by
weight; hence, the inter is much tie largest por-
ton Of gunp0E1Ier material, requiring coHse-
queutly the largest daily supply"
The articles necessary to make ~saltpeter on O.
small scale are an iron pot, a few tubs or pals,
two OF three Goughs, q wheel-bdTow. and four
strong barrels with only one bead, wiki q small
aug1u hole 10 il near the edge. Place twirs in
TIE bottom Of the barrels, aud on these some
straw. snd press them down. Then I'LL each
barrel with pulverized earth from the cave. Plug
up the hole tightly and pour In as much watar
(let il be hot il winter IS the barrels will hold.
Let The whole emain one day, take out the plugs
and catch tie liquor as il drains OF. Then puur
NAN 4NlAtA u AAAE Aua AAALANA AA LDlA Inc AlNL
barrel into the second and when il has draiueI
out pour it into the tITd, etc.
After the liquor thus prepared has become
clear, pour into it q small stream Of strong lev
wood ashes-pouTing it IN slowly, as long as II
continues TO curdle or cloud the liqU0T-theu
stop. Strain the liquor, or let Il settle, and when
II becomes clear again 10 Is TO be poured into the
Dot and boiled away until q drop +skeu I'd BY
The end Of astick, viii become bard VI solid pheu
let fall on q plate. The liquor IS then strained
into a tub and wheHl It has cooled, the remain
ing liquor may be poured into the pot and re-
boiled with fresh liquor.
Il any impurities should remain IN the pot
with the crystals, they must be cleared out.
The s~a'rpeter formed by the foregoing DO
Co.'S must De- frst allowed tJ Grain vel, and then
placed on cloths stretched before the Ere OF ont
IN the sun 10 dry; wbeu tle lTy.uEis completed, 1
it's b be put INFO sacks OF barrels, and ia ready
% be Transported 90 the government agent at
Nashville. Lieut. Nj IL Wright, Z. 3. A., ORD
naRce officer. who VIII pay Tor The same on re-
-eiviug the bills OF lis sbipmeutou the railroad
II the crystals are wet, and brown colore5.
wash them with pure water, aud drain OF and
pour The wstcr back with the lssllye 20 be used
again.
The foregoing process is at that i' necessary
IN principle 10 make the salt on q large scale.
since DotLIUg more l5 10 De cone iuAh Lrlncltasr
tho number Of boilers and other vessels.
To give some idea as 10 the quantity Of salt
thar can BE- made, ] viii state that twelve
barrel. Of The earth of the caves viii in general
not less than one hundred pounds Of selt-
-eiaT. snd this viii take from Twelve to fifteen
Jushsls Of ashes.
The government: nov pays for o limited time
.hiry-fve cents per pound &C. encourage its pro-
i%uctjon, aid 70 TemuucIat8 individuals for first
Of apparatus.
Government powder works are now being
apidly erected in Georgia, under the direction OF
Major Rams, al which more than hvs tons Of