The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1909-08-12
MAKING FIREWORKS,
Some Pyrotechnic Products Must
Dry In the Open Air.
TRYING FOR NEW DESIGNS.

Stats OF Artists Continually Devising
Color Schemes to Be Worked Out In
Fire-The Construction of the Set
Pieees-Work of the Chemists.
The first step in manufacturing fire.
works is the making of the cases, or
shells, as the cylinders or other recep-
tacles In which the explosives and the
chemicals are placed are called. Prac-
tically all Of these are made of innu-
merable sheets Of tissue paper pasted
and rolled together until the thickness
required is attained. Most of these
cases are made by machinery and are
delivered as wanted to the places
where they are to be filed or charged
with the materials that have been pre-
pared. All the charging Is done by
machinery except in the big shells that
throw forth sets of stars of varying
colors. In these each "star" has to be
placed In a certain position so as to
explode in Just the right way at the
proper instant.
Out of doors in pleasant weather the
long lines of fuse-"quick match" they
are called-are made. These are wound
on reels six or seven feet across. Their
basis Is loose cotton cord covered with
various highly infiammable chemicals.
"Quick match" roman candles and
number of other pyrotechnic products
cannot be dried by artificial heat They
must lie in the open air until the mois-
ture used In mixing the chemicals
evaporates.
All the year around the artists on
the staff of the pyrotechnic manufac-
turers are taxing their brains design
ing color schemes to be worked out In
fire. Outside of the big set pieces,
which are much in vogue, great deal
of attention is given to rockets,
bombs and rocket bombs. of which
there are innumerable kinds. When
the artist has evolved some striking
color effect he turns over his painting
to the chemists, whose task 1t is to
combine various combustible ingredi-
ents so as to reproduce what the
painter has put on his canvas. The
race between the art department and
the staff chemists is unending. 1t Is
the boast Of the chemists that they
can duplicate in their burning colors
any combination of paints that can be
presented to them.
These colors are impaired by the
heated vapors of certain metals. So
dium, for instance, gives yellow
light. calcium red. strontium crimson
and barium green. The number OF
chemicals, common and rare. employed
I'm the manufacture of fireworks Is
prodigious. Take blue stars, for In
stance. These are commonly produced
BY combination of chlorate of potash
calomel, sulphuret of copper. oxychlo
ride Of copper. dextrin, steartn. blacl
oxide Of copper. copper filings and sa
ammoniac.
Every fireworks manufacturer hal
his carefully guarded trade secrets
Pyrotechnics In its various branches
and as a whole Is taught in no uni
versity, and there is little printed lit
erature on the subject
The construction Of the set pieces
especially If they are large. is hug'
task. First the artist draws the pic
ture. 1t is complete In every detail
of outline and shade of color. This Il
marked off into equal squares, each o
which represents a square foot In tn
actual reproduction in fire. Section
Of light boards, say, 20 by 25 feet ar
built and laid fat on the ground, an
rectangles foot square are marked
thereon. On the section is outline'
the picture that the artist has made
with the different colors indicated Il
their proper groupings. Loose owe
this is built checkerboard frame
work Of light lathe. Then come me
with strips of rattan. They tack thes
to the framework, following exactl
every line that has been indicated o
the boards below. leaving practically
huge line rawing in rattan.
Then come men with thousands
big pins-ordinary pins, but about a
inch long. These are set In the rata
an inch apart. These are followed b
other men, who cut the heads off tt
pins. After this comes a gang or me
with bundles of little fireworks, tW
inches long by one-quarter TO tnre'
quarter inches in diameter In varyir
colors or combinations Of color to co
respond with the original drawing
These are called ''gerbes." When Il
nited they emit sheaves Of fire. Thes
are stuck on the pins and glued, eac
shade of color in its proper place aior
the framework.
After this has been done anoth'
gang comes with hundreds OF feet
"auick match and connects all the
thousands of "gerbes" together. Loo
ends are left here and there FOR nrif
when the piece is in place ready to
set off. Then these sections are hois
ed into their proper positions. and a.
er infinite labor everything Is rea'
for the wonderful delight to the ey
which may last between one ana 10
minutes. SO swiftly does the fire n
from "gerbe" to "gerbe" through til
"ouick match" that the biggest p
ture" that is usually shown will
afame in every part in three seconds
There is said to be little or no da
ger about firing these set pieces
even in setting off the bombs that
plode with such fearsome noise. L
ends of the "quick match" where {
port fire" is applied by the men W
do the igniting. are carefully timed
that they have plenty of chance to
out Of the way.-New York Press.
without a friend the world is a v
derness. Proverh
Cholera lnfantum Cured.
"Something like two years ago
IL ha, hptf a