The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1910-07-01

ment is such that when the paper disk. which Is
the parachute. is thrown out Of the receptacle
1t instantly expands and drifts slowly downward,
while the ignited stars, dangling along the strings
beneath, make an exceedingly pretty display.
The methods adopted in the case Of parachute
rockets is exactly the same. the parachute and
its attachments being packed into The head" OF
the rocket. A rocket, of course, consists Of two
parts, the lower portion being a pasteboard cyl
inder, made especially thick, containing the ex-
plosive that makes the thing go up, while the
upper compartment is simply a receptacle to hold
stars. parachute, golden rain stuff, or whatever
fs to be liberated when the p~rojectile has reached
its highest point in the air.
What Is called a mine" Is a big cylinder of
pasteboard, which may be four or five feet high
and which Is attached to a square wooden base,
In order that It may be stood up. Inside Of the
cylinder Is put a propelling charge Of the slow
explosive and on top of 1t a paper bag filed with
stars. At the top is an ordinary roman candle,
which serves as a sort of spout. When the
roman candle Is lighted II shoots a few fiery balls
successfully In the customary manner, and then,
the explosive inside having been reached, the
whole affair %explodes, throwing a multitude of
stars in all directions.
Comparatively new are the socalled "bat-
teries' of roman candles, which, in proportion to
the number Of candles going of simultaneously,
produce a brilliant display. "Gerbs'' are cylin-
ders filed with iron filings, which are thrown
out In an incandescent state by the slow-burning
explosive. They are intended to be tackled upon
a fence or to some such place, at a height of six
feet.
1t is a fact worth mentioning incidentally that
all OF the marine night signals, which are carried
on every vessel, are made by the fireworks con-
Germs. The Brooklyn factory supplied those used
on the yachts during the recent race across
the Atlantic. They are made on the same prin-
ciple as "~bengola" lights. a familiar pyrotechnic
toy. but with a wooden handle. Such a contri-
vance Is a pasteboard tube divided into compart-
ments, usually three In number, containing In
compositions of different colors. Oc-
casionally stars are added. Inasmuch as the
colors-green, white and red-may be arranged
In various ways, one can talk across the sea by
the help OF these lights on the darkest night.
In the tiny houses already described all the
filling of roman candles is done. For this pur-
pose machinery is used and 1t is always a posi-
bility that a spark might ignite the gunpowder
and composition, of which considerable quanti-
ties have to be kept Immediately at hand. But
these explosives and also the stars (which take
the form of fiery balls as they are elected from
the candles) are slowed In cubbyholes protected
by swinging metal shutters. Each time the lone
workman helps himself to stars or powder he is
obliged to push aside the shutter. which falls
again In place the instant that he has obtained
what he wants. The cubbyholes open to the out
side by windows, 50 that II there were an explo-
sion the flame would be thrown outward from
the building and not into II.