The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1910-06-30

which erected upon SCanoldlngS
sometimes as much as hundred feet in length.
depend for their effects wholly upon such paper
cylinders no bigger than good-szed firecrackers.
stuck all the lattice work of the skeleton
structure employed by the fre-painter in lieu. as
one might say, of canvas.
Something more in detail about these fire pic
lures will be said later on but meanwhile it may
be as we'll to speak descriptvely of the processes
used in the manufacture Of the more simple and
familiar kinds of fireworks-such, for example.
as roman candles, bombs. rockets, pinwheels and
the like. All of these. excepting the bombs, are
substantially nothing more than cylinders of
pasteboard filed with combustibles and fash
toned In different ways
One of the greatest fireworks factories in the
world is located the outskirts of Brooklyn,
but the stranger who passes by 1t on trolley car
on the way to Coney island would sus-
pect the character of the outfit which is scat
tered over about twenty acres of land in series
of small buildings, some of them being so tiny
as to accommodate only single workman The
object of this arrangement is to minimize the
consequences of accidents, If the lone man who
occupies any of the tiny houses should hap
pen to be blown up he alone would suffer.
1t naturally happens that the only building
of considerable size the premises is one in
which explosives other lively combustbles
used. Here, In fact, Is where all the paper Is
stored, tons upon tons of it, for the outer wrap
pings OF the fireworks. Pyrotechnc toys, OF
not sell to advantage and the papers utilized for
the purpose of all colors of the rainbow and
great variety Of ornamental patterns. For
extra fancy goods more or less gilt and silver
paper is employed.
r. Upstairs in the same building all of the pa
per cylinders are made, the process adopted be-
ing SO exceedingly expeditions that one person
can turn out as many Is gross of them in a
day OF course they of all lengths and diam
eters according to kind and size of fireworks
for which they intended and though the
rocket cylinders are rolled by machine all of the
others are made by hand. With the aid of long,
round stick of metal and pot of paste the oper-
ator converts sheets of thin, brown pasteboard
into neat and compact tubes at the rate of three
four minute.
dozen work people engaged In this occu-
patton can turn out an immense number of cyl
inders in day and the manner in which they
are utilized in the manufacture Of different kinds
of fireworks will presently be explained 1t might
be we'll to say incidentally, however, that In this
same department made the bombshells, which
are stamped by machine out OF papier-mache
in halves When they have become dry the
halves are Joined by strips of thin canvas soaked
in paste, each sphere thus produced having
round hole at one end for loading.
Bombs are among the most interesting and
beautiful of fireworks and some of them are OF
great size-as much as five feet In diameter.
They are discharged from mortars and reaching
a height of 1000 feet or more, explode with a
great noise liberating showers of many-coored
stars or golden rain, or sometimes parachutes
carrying trains of stars. Some are made as
small as two inches in diameter-baby Ones
suitable for family use.
The method of their construction is always
the same and is at simple and ingenious
The papiermache shell is filled with stars
that is to say with little pieces of cylindrical
paper tubing packed with different chemical COM
positions Beneath the shell thus loaded is at
tached and firmly glued paper receptacle con-
tanning slow-burning composition similar to
gunpowder Then fuse is so fixed that being
ignited at the instant of the bombs discharge it
will burn just long enough to explode the shell
at the moment when the projectile has reached
its greatest height in the air. When this hap
pens the paper shell is blown to pieces and the
stars, incidentally ignited. are thrown far and
wide Being light, they fall slowly and the effect
produced is very beautiful.
Even the stars, you see, are paper cylinders.
though only half inch perhaps in length. But
they vary much In size. according to the uses to
which they are to be put. man cuts them by
the millions with small circular saw, taking a
handful of paper tubes of small diameter and
using the saw to chop them into short pieces OF
equal length. Then the little sections filled
with chemical mixtures of various kinds nitrate
and chIorate of baryta being used for green, car
Donate of strontium for red. oxylate of soda fol
yellow and oddly enough) paris green for blue
with various admixtures of chlorate OF potash
shellac, etc.
1t should have been said that in order t.
strengthen the papier-mache shells and so to en-
able them to scatter their stars more widel,
when shattered they are wound with strong gro
GERS Irvine, outside Of which the final decorative
paper cover is put on. There is, however, an
other and quite new kind of bomb, which is mad'
In the shape Of cylinder. 1t Is 30 constructed
that during its flight through the air 1t make
series of breaks" sometimes as many as ten
throwing out each time shower of stars This
as might be imagined, Is very beautiful effect
and is achieved by dividing the containing cyn
der into series Of compartments holding stars
each compartment being set on in its turn.
Some Of these cylindrical bombs contain PAL
achutes, which are arranged like the parachute
dropped from rockets. Inside Of the pasteboar
oaseAis q circular piece Of tissue paper. aroun
the circumference OF which are attached serie
Of very long strings. To each Of these string
are fastened at intervals number Of the httl
paper stars already described and the arrange