The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-01
PYRoTECHNICAL NOVELTIES.
Some of the Things to Amuse tn
Small Boy.


Some of the Things to Amuse the
Small Boy.
New YORK, June 30.--"Please throw
your cigar away" was the hospitable re-
mark with which the manager of fire
works mandatory greeted a caller 1t is
barely possible to smoke in powder maya
zine and escape sudden death, but this com
pany is taking no such risks.
1t is tho Standard Oil company of the
fireworks business. A tour throughits inn
mense warerooms revealed an endless va
riety of these goods, though most of them
are of kinds that arc familiar to boys and
children of larger growth Most of the
novelties, excepting novel designs in what
are called set pieces, are imported from
Japan Japan, China and the United
States are the three countries that lead in
the business, and each of the three has its
specialties. China produces little that is
imported for consumption here, or comhus-
ton rather, excepting the simple fire crack
ers, and of these there is no variety except
ing in size.
Heretofore the only change from the old
fashioned firecracker, which we all remem-
Der as the delight of our childhood, has been
to produce larger and louder ones. This
year, however, a modification has been
made in the other direction. Baby crack
and Ineffective, being only seven-eighths of
an inch long and hardly as thick as a wax
match. They are, however, more vicious in
proportion to their size than the old-fash-
toned ones, going off with a bang like a
bulldog revolver. They are braided to-
gether by their paper strings in packs after
the same fashion as the larger ones.
The evolution of the frecracker, how
ever, continues to develop larger and louder
nd off fTv. Ia
this year which SURPRISES all its predeces-
sors. 1t is 16 inches in length and about
inches in diameter, and when exploded it
will produce noise equal to the report of
hundred-ton steel cannon. 1t produces
more than a bushel basket of waste paper.
The ambitious boy who desires to fire off a
dozen of them on the glorious Fourth will
have to save up by that time the very con-
siderable sum of 80.
The baby crackers cost at retail about SO
cents pack, while the ordinary sized, old
fashioned ones this year fetch 4 cents a pack
at retail.
Americans have not yet learned TO fire off
these crackers with the same prodigality
displayed by the Chinese On theinight Of
the Chinese new year, which is the great
firecracker day among the people, sample
of their conduct may be observed by any
curious person who will go to Chatham
square and look westerly. He viii seen in
front of several houses long ropes suspended
from the end of a stick or tackle reaching
out to the middle of the street. This rope
is made of firecrackers braided together by
hundreds of thousands. 1t is lighted about
8 feet from the ground, and is played OUT
| from Che window as fast as it burns away,
so that from the time it is lighted the
crackers keep exploding for an hour or
more at the same point in space. 1t is no I'M
common thing for a wealthy and en-
thusiastic Chinaman to fire Off from half a
million to a million crackers thus in one
evening.
Americans do not use them in these guam
titles, but on the other hand there are very
many Americans who use them, so that 1t
is expected that nearly a million boxes of
firecrackers wi | be used III the next few
days in this country.
Japan contributes any number Of curiosi-
ties this season. Among these are bombs
which explode high in the air and throw out
curious form which floats and moves
among the clouds as if alive. In one case it is
a fat, well-fed pig, w hich would take the
prize in county agricultural fair; III an
another it Is a mysterious bird, which by an
easy flight of the Imagination can be con-
strued into an American eagle carrying the
stars and stripes and webbing defiance to
the world. Other forms are those OF the
elephant, white elephant, rhinoceros, alli-
gator, COW, borse, dog, deer, man, woman,
camel, hippopotamus, dragon, whale and
shark. Any enterprising and wealthy
paterfamilias, by discharging two dozen
bombs at once can convert the heavens over
his home into a Noah's ark of the most re-
markable kind. These ,fgure-bombs cost
from $50 to 500 doz,n The figures con-
sist of very fine and extrastrong tissue pa
per sewed by hand and loaded with small
square pieces of lead. They are SO folded
that when thrown out the leads drag down
the paper, which in falling becomes fully
inflated and assumes the forms of the
beast, bird or reptile designed by the artist
FALLs-CURTIs.