Charlevoix county herald., 1907-06-29
MAKING FIREWORKS
IT HAS DEVELOPED INTO A BIG
AMERICAN INDUSTRY.
And II Has All Been Worked Out
from the Ancient Chinese Fire
cracker - How They
Are Made.

The manufacture of fireworks has
developed from an imitation of the
Chinese firecracker to an industry of
vast proportions in the United States.
Also from the humble and compare
tive harmless cracker, the product has
been developed along the most com
pick yet scientific lines until the mas
ter of ceremonies at full fledged mod
ern fireworks exhibit must needs be
a man with comprehensive knowl-
edge Qf the explosives he is handling.
The Chinaman, having invented
gunpowder few thousand years be-
fore it came into use in the western
world, invented the firecracker SO long
ago that the incident of its birth has
been lost in the shuttle of history, but,
curiously enough, the Chinaman in
this respect has stood at the initial
point of development, as he has in all
else that pertains to his life. He still
makes good firecrackers, but they are
Of the same model and power as he
has used for hundreds of years. The
American, having stolen the idea, pro-
ceeded to develop it along lines truly
Indicative of the American character
-famboyant, pyrotechnic and loud.
The Chinese cracker is a small affair,
considerably more so than the crack
er to buy which the small boy toiled
in ~the gray dawn carrying water to
the elephant, but at Chinese New
Years and other festival times
string of their firecrackers suspended
from the end of a bamboo pole will
there will be no "sizzlers'' nor blanks
found in the string. Which goes to
show that the handmade Chinese
article is still honestly made and that
western methods of cheap machine
manufacture have not invaded the
cradle of the firecracker.
But as all things American have de-
veloped to prodigious proportions,
leaving in the past the memory of SIM
plicity, so the firecracker of history
each year finds a smaller place in the
demonstrations of America Instead
there have come the rocket, the bomb
the set piece and the appliances for
pouring forth torrents and volcanoes
of multi-colored fire. It is the manu-
facture of these goods that has grown
to such size and commercial conse-
quence.
The preliminary in the manufacture
of nearly all fireworks is the making
of the case. The quality of paper
varies from the commonest straw
board to the finest bank note paper.
Cases for skyrockets require a fine
grade of paper called rope board. The
paper is first pasted and then rolled
over a mandref. The drying process
takes four or FIVE days and the case
then is ready for for charging. They
vary from two to 20 inches in length
and from one-quarter Of an inch to two
inches in diameter. The loading of
skyrockets, up to the last. four or five
ma1hine now takes the place of the
hand loader. A spindle placed in the
center of the case causes a cavity as
the material is packed in around it,
The materials are scooped in, ham
mered down until it is of rock-like
hardness and then the spindle is with
drawn. When the rocket is fired the
large surface of material in the spin
die cavity catches fire at once, caus-
Ing tremendous pressure of gas
which pours out of the spindle cavity
causing the rocket to shoot skyward
The colored stars, which go in the
head of the rocket or bomb, are com
posed as follows- Red, nitrate of ba
ryta, chloride of potash and shellac;
green, nitrate Of Ibaryta; yellow, oxil
ate of soda. Purple and blue are com
posed of various preparations of cop
per. while the making of the other
tins are trade secrets.
The Roman candle Is charged as
follows: Sets of cases are placed on
pins and there is scooped in first a
quantity of clay. which prevents the