The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1897-07-08

How vi~eworhs Ave Msd- IN w" w"rid''
Bixgsst Msn"fsrt"ry.

How fireworks Ave Msd- IN ~" w"rid's
Bixgsst Msnufsrt"ry.
As the Fourth Of July ID a day
p ,rticularly get apart for our self
yloriiicatio". says n writer in the St.
LOUIS s ar Say ngs, suppose ! may
he pardoned for s,yiug that, accust-
on,d ~ W. Americans are to being
"the biggest" in any given direction,
probably no youth ia the land will
be surprised to learn that the largest
manufactory of fireworks IN tn,
world il in America. The word
mandatory will douo tless call op|
tn your mind, AS it did to mine, vis.
ions Of u huge brick building OF
many rooms, more or less vibrant
with the noise and hustle OF ma
chiaery and la,or. SO you will
easily imagine my surprise when
found myself escorted instead to q
vast meadow of seventy acres, dotted
over with little smokeless, noiseless
huts, fifty or sixty in numb r, inter
spersed here and there with larger
ones and two-story buildings. In
these SIN al huts are kept the more
dangerous combustibles, AMI they are
therefore placed 1T such a distance
from each other that an explosion
in any one of them woul not effect
the Others. Here all the charging
is done. The floors are covered
with rubber, and projections are nu-
merous. Talking is strictly forbid
den, rs it il unsafe for a man's atten-
ton to be distracted from his wol k.
In fact, only one man is allowed in
hut at u time.
At - respectful distance from the
huts are the larger buildings where
less dangerous work is carried on,
and where many boys and not less
than seventy-iive girls are employed.
Here one finds enormous quantities
of brown and white paper, hundred
weights Of pins for attaching the
quick match TO set pieces, steel and
iron filings for producing the bright
starry coruscations, chemicals to give
to the stsrs their wondrous hues OF
red, green, white and blue, and othel
harmless materials.
Scarcely less interesting was it. t.
watch the nimble fingers as they fill
ed the Roman candles. Into one O
these strong cases were put the lay
ers, in the following order: Com
position, u pinch of gunpowder, {
star; and 80 on until the case wa
gil d, the composition and gunpow
der furnishing respectively the nee
essary combustion and propeller TO
the variously Colored stars. Tn
Roman candle not only shines b.
herself, 81 thing of sweetness and O
light" but fills an important part il
in pieces like The Devil Anon,
Tsilors, Chinese treeq, etc. Alto
ge.her q dainty modest creature
quite unlike her more noisy, frlsk,
kindred.
Letters, figures, in fact, all de
signs for set pieces are made by mean
of hundreds, yes, thousands of lance
connected by a quick match, an,
the making of these requires man
nimble fingers. A lance ia small
tube about the size Of squib, iille'
with ordinary composition, which j
sun-powder debased by the addition
of ingredients to reduce its rate o
combustion, containing probably nc
more than five per cent. of actua
gun-powder.
The quick match, the indispensa
BILE fire conductor, is made by satu
rating piece of lamp wick wit
wet gun-powder and gum. 1t j
then reeled off and dried, and after
wards cut into lengths encased i
paper tubing. Girls are chiefly EN-
ployed for making this fiery macca
roni, and turn out millions of yard
in year. Let US suppose, for in
stance, that one wants the head 9
George Washington to appear in tn
heavens outlined by brilliant ban
Of light. A scale of the proportion
of his face is first made from pic
ture. A large frame is then laid O
the floor, and in the centre Of th
frame with biz of crayon is draw
o. the floor, according to the scale,
very much enlarged picture, usual
measuring at least thirty iucht
from forehead to chin. A girl the
takes a piece of rattan aud bends
to the exact form of the crayon ou1
line. This is fastened to the fran,
and upon this rattan outline lance
are placed very close together, an
are connected by the quick mattel
Naturally, for this sort of work, an
for all finishing off processes, CIR
are prefer ed on account of tn. ir 81
p@rior flexibility of their fingers an
their general de tnes'.
Among the most fascinating fire
works are always the rockets and til
beautifully scint,l'ating complicate
wheels which give such charm 81
pieces. There vi be this YEAR a
infinitely new and beautiful var ct
OF both these devices. II ckets, di
playing a swarm of magic dragon
like serpents with vermillion hue
bodice, rockets bursting forth int
a broad spread of liquid gold wit
streams of glittering radlancy ligh
ing up pretty parschutes, wlllo
tree ,ockets, diamond chain rockets
rockets without end. Then tn
number and variety of wheel
Wheels with brilliant outer rim
encircling an inside rirg of red c
green, contra revolving wheels wit
pots of fire in variegated colors. co
ored double triangle wheels, ct,
The motive power of these deligb
full displays is simply dae to tn
raDid pvOlntion of uas fine has br