The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-08-15
JAPAN FIREWORKS.
ocL"tH That nre Fired HAIR Vile Into
the Kirds, B.ns's, Dragons, and
Flags that Come out of Them

kinds, ground displays, and rockets
Day fire works are exclusively OF tn
latter kind, for obvious reasons. Efec
can only be produced by them in tn
air and at a distance, and as many q
them consist of mere or less sombr
imagery traced in smoke or cloud, aclea
blue SKY is the best background Tor thei
disclosure. The full success of this
again, is dependent, not only upon
clear atmosphere, but also on perfect,
calm weather or the g%entlest of zephyra
The morning OF ~ visit exempIifeC
this; the heavens were az lead in color
and a brisk breeze was blowing off tn,
land. notwithstanding this, the pro
prietOr ~courteOusly insisted upor
sending up a couple Of his magic cases
rs unlike the foreign rocket az can wei
be conceived. Out of one OF these burt
clouds of %variegated hue, with fantastic
accessories, but which were blurred and
smothered by the murk behind. From
the other emerged a tricolor flag, which
was seiHd by the wind and borne rapidly
far out into the bay, "mere waftage Of
the air" Night and day rOckets--we
must use this word for want OF a better
--are neither of them selE-prOpelling.
They are shot perpendicularly into the
air from mortars imbedded into soil at
right angles TO the horizon. Perfect
accuracy Of flight is thus insured, a result
hardly attainable with the western stick
and s%elf-propuIsion system. The ordi.
nance is made Of woOd--very often mere
pine, though camphOr.wood is preferred
Every mortar is composed OF two pieces,
each like half o. one of the metal m0rtars
in use among Our armies, surprising the
instruments to be split downward
from the mouth to the breech. A
touch.hOle is bored in the lower
extremity of one OF these half tubes,
and the two are then solidly aud tightly
bound together with bamboo strip, Just
AZ buckets and tubes are coopered, con
tinuously from end to end, The engine
is then complete. 1t only remains to
plant the solid portion Of the butt firmly
in the ground, and all is ready for action,
These toy mOrtarB are of various sizes,
from a foot or Is inches to : feet in
length, and with a diameter, within the
tube, OF from u TO 6 inches. A good
one will bear 700 or 800 discharges. The
extreme ordinary range is POO yards,
though a higher elevation can be at.
tanned by ailixing wings TO the missile.
This latter IL sometimes of spherical but
more generally OF cylindrical form. In
the latter case the bursting charge is
contained in a globe at the bottom of
The cylinder. Suppose one of these
about to be discharged. A mortar of
suitable size is sponged out, a charge of
is dropped into the muzzle,
| quick fuse is put into the
o%uch-hoIe. II you have looked
at the projeCtile you have seen
/ the Hat extremity two little loops of
wine, the Of which may have puzzled
It's now apparent. The operator
'a-ses through them, from side, n piece
I stout cord, with the aid of which he
ats the lire"work carefully down till it
Duches the charge, and then withdraws
he cord. A fire-stick is applied to the
lsc, and instantly the contents o, the
are hurled straight into the air.
low, as we said above, the bursting
IL in the %glObuIar portion OF the
omb, and this part il lowest in the gun
. that its time fuse, communicating with
he detOnants, may ignite with the dis
barge. But the whole case ia NJ weigh
that, assOon AS it leaves the muzzle,
Up and bottom are reversed, with the
that the fuse burns, and the ex-
lDslons take place upward, the wisdom
I which arrangement will be at once
pparent' There is practically no end,
xcepting the period of descent o. the case
r its component parts, to the number of
surprises" which could be put into one /
in which both for night and day (
ambitions the system followed is the (
me. Explosive charge, compartment, +
'agon or stars; explosive charge, flag, 5
luminous crysenthena; explosive y
etc, to the end of the chapter. n
e will now tell AZ much as we dare, or q
would be fair to say, Of what Mr.: r.
irayama puts inside his missiles. And g
, frankly confess that, compared with
nat we do not know, what we do know
the matter is very little indeed. =
'rtain questions could neither have been !,
.perly asked or wiseIy answered. Ii
DreOver, if his W artist keeps him in 7
q dark as to many of their opera. NJ
ms, what could be expected of him ii
them toward a stranger. The a a.
and more expensive of the ID
emitted from smoke or cloud q,
made of silk by lar the greater ! ii
mber, however, are formed of a very st
light. but s~ingularly cohesive paper. W
the case OF dragons, tigers, fish, birds, &C
! such like, the material is cut, sewn ~
| painted in the form and cOlors of in
object intended to he represented. GO
t this il not enough. 1t is necessary an
t the image shall assume its proper cl
ture in the air, when released from he
space in which it is folded and SC
ked as lightly ~ possible; that it
II not float lightly, and descend but
To insure this requires, az rtf
Y be imagined, great nicely OF adjust mr. ar
of the flimsy texture. Small ia,
len weights are disposed here br
there about the figure, and az
circular holes are cut in an
fully determined spots on the belly, DO
K, legs and head for the admission sa'
exit of the air which keeps it in no.
Flags and banners, pictures aud ran
ems, are in one piece; their folds are Pr
ned, and they themselves are kept dr.
.Iinually in a visible position to the
in the flight and descent, by small ,x
as above, but only on that edge tiss
CHI should be downward. All of the stit
Die, and many OF the more elaborate, us,
d effects are produced by colored a.,
hs Of fine consistency, judiciously nm
esed others are the result of the 80
bustion of erial commixture of GER rem
chemical substances. ne,
thr
Her Two Husbands. eh'