Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1910-07-01


NEW3 with combustibles of sort or an
6gHSS0 other, as the fundamental element,
N"Wa" so speak, in their construction.
<IZb Even the great set pieces" which
Il might be called FIRE pictures, and
which are erected upon scaffoldings
ooo+froes as much as a hundred feet In length,
9oDend for their effects wholly Upon such paper
ovIinders no bigger than good-sized f1recrackers,
tuck all over 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 Ere pic
trres will be said later on; but meanwhile it may
he as we'll to speak descriptively of the processes
nsed in the manufacture of the more simple and
familiar kinds Of hreworks-such, for example,
% roman candles, bombs, rockets pinwheels and
fhe like All Of these, excepting the bombs, are
substantially nothing more than cylinders OF
Dasteboard, filled with combustloles ana RASH
toned in different ways.
One of the greatest fireworks factories in the
world Is located on the outskirts Of Brooklyn.
hut the stranger who passes by it on trolley car
on the way to Coney island would scarce sus-
meet the character of the outfit, which Is scat
tered over about twenty acres of land in series
of small buildings, come Of them being so tiny
as to accommodate only single workman. The
object of this arrangement Is to minimize the
consequences Of accidents. II the lone man who
occupies any one OF the tiny houses should hap
pen to be blown up he alone would suffer.
It naturally happens that the only building
Of considerable size on the premises Is In
which no explosives or other lively combustibles
are used Here, In fact, is where all the paper Is
stored tons upon tons OF It, for the outer wrap
pings Of the fireworks. Pyrotechnic toys. Of
course must be pretty to look at, else they would
not sell to advantage and the papers utilized for
the purpose are Of all colors OF the rainbow and
a great variety Of ornamental patterns. For
extra fancy goods more or less gilt and silver
paper Is employed .r.r.>..
Upstairs In the same building all Of the pa
Uer cylinders are made, the process adopted be-
ing so exceedingly expeditions that one person
can turn out many as Is gross OF them IN
day OF course they are Of all lengths and diam
eters according to kind and size Of fireworks
for which they are 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 m1nute.
dozen work people engaged In this oocu
patton turn out an immense number OF cyl
tnders In a 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 mbshels, which
are stamped by a machine out OF pap1er-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 a
round hole at one end for loading
Bombs are among the most interesting and
beautiful of fireworks and some OF them are or
great size-as much five feet in diameter
They are discharged from mortars and, reaching
a height of 1000 feet more, explode with
great noise nberatng showers Of many-colored
stars or golden rain, 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
She same and is at simple and ingenious
The papier-mache 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 ID at
tached and firmly glued a paper receptacle oon
tanning slow-burning composition similar %
gunpowder. Then q fuse Is fixed that being
ignited at the instant Of the bombs discharge It
will burn Just long enough 10 explode the sheu
at the moment when the pro1ect1le has reached
its greatest height In the air. When this hap
pens the paper shell il blown to pieces and tho
stars incidentally ignitsd, are thrown far and
wide. Being light, they fall slowly and the erect
produced IL very beautiful.
Even the stars, you see, are paper cylinders
though only half an inch perhaps Ia length. But
they vary much In size, according to the uses to
which they are to be put man outs them oy
the millions with a small circular saw. taking
handful OF paper tubes or small diameter ano
using the saw 10 chop them into short pieces OF
equal length. Then the little sections are filed
with chemical mixtures OF various kinds, nitrate
and chlorate Of baryta being used for green, car
Donate Of strontium for red, oxylate Of soda for
yellow and oddly enough) paris green for blue.
with various admixtures of ohlorats OF potash.
Shellac, etc.
1t should have been said that, In order to
strengthen the papiermache shells and so to en-
able them to scatter their stars more widely
when shattered, they are wound with strong gro
GERS twine outside Of which the final decorative
paper cover is put There Ia, however, an
other and quite new kind Of bomb. which is made
in the shape of cylinder. It Is 80 constructed
that during its flight through the air It makes
a series of ''oresks," sometimes ~ 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 cyln-
der into q series Of compartments holding stars,
each compartment being set OF In its turn.
Some of these cylindrical bombs contain par
achutes. which are arranged like the parachutes