Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 243

=Fire, Pink.= _Prep._ (Marchand.) Charcoal, 1 part; chalk and sulphur, of each 20 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 27 parts; nitre, 32 parts. For theatrical illuminations. See RED FIRE, No. 10 (_below_).

=Fire, Purple.= _Prep._ 1. From lampblack, realgar, and nitre, of each 1 part; sulphur, 2 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 5 parts; fused nitrate of strontia, 16 parts.

2. (Marsh.) Sulphuret of antimony, 2-3/4 parts; black oxide of copper, 10 parts; sulphur and nitrate of pota.s.sa, of each 22-3/4 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 42 parts. For pans.

3. (Marsh.) Sulphate of copper, 9-3/4 parts; sulphur, 13 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 77-1/4 parts. For stars.

4. From sulphur, 12 parts; black oxide of copper, 12 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 30 parts. See CRIMSON FIRE, No. 3 (_above_), and RED FIRE, No. 9 (_below_).

=Fire, Red.= _Prep._ 1. From sulphur, sulphuret of antimony, and nitre, of each 1 part; dried nitrate of strontia, 5 parts.

2. (Mr A. Bird.) Charcoal, 1 part; black sulphuret of antimony, 4 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 5 parts; sulphur, 13 parts; dried nitrate of strontia, 40 parts.

3. (Fownes.) Lampblack, 2 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 8 parts; sulphur, 9 parts; dried nitrate of strontia, 32 parts.

4. (Marchand.) Sulphur, 16 parts; carbonate of strontia, 23 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 61 parts.

5. (Marchand.) Chlorate of pota.s.sa, 20 parts; sulphur, 24 parts; nitrate of strontia, 56 parts. For theatrical illuminations.

6. (Marsh.) Coaldust, 2 parts; gunpowder, 6 parts; sulphur, 20 parts; dried nitrate of strontia, 72 parts.

7. (Ruggieri.) Sulphuret of antimony, 4 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 5 parts; sulphur, 13 parts; fused nitrate of strontia, 40 parts. A little charcoal or lampblack makes it burn quicker.

8. (ORANGE RED--Marchand.) Sulphur, 14 parts; chalk, 34 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 52 parts.

9. (PURPLE RED--Marchand.) Sulphur, 16 parts; chalk, 23 parts; chloride of pota.s.sa, 61 parts.

10. (ROSE-RED--Marchand.) Sulphur, 16 parts; dried chloride of calcium, 23 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 61 parts. See PINK FIRE.

11. From charcoal, 2 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 6 parts; sulphur, 13 parts; dried nitrate of strontia, 40 parts.

=Fire, Violet.= _Prep._ 1. From charcoal, 8 parts; sulphur, 10 parts; metallic copper, 15 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 30 parts.

2. (DARK VIOLET--Marchand.) Alum and carbonate of pota.s.sa, of each 12 parts; sulphur, 16 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 60 parts.

3. (PALE VIOLET--Marchand.) Sulphur, 14 parts; alum and carbonate of pota.s.sa, 16 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 54 parts.

=Fire, White.= _Prep._ 1. From nitre, 60 parts; sulphur, 20 parts; black antimony, 10 parts; meal powder, 6 parts; powdered camphor, 4 parts. For either pans or stars.

2. (Mr A. Bird.) White a.r.s.enic, 1 part; charcoal, 2 parts; black antimony, 16 parts; nitre, 48 parts; sulphur, 64 parts.

3. (Marchand.) Charcoal, 2 parts; sulphur, 22 parts; nitre, 76 parts. For theatrical illuminations.

4. (Marchand.) Gunpowder, 15 parts; sulphur, 21 parts; nitre, 64 parts. As the last.

5. (Marsh.) Gunpowder, 12-1/2 parts; zinc filings, 18 parts; sulphur, 23 parts; nitre, 46-1/2 parts. For pans.

6. (Marsh.) Zinc dust or filings, 15 parts; sulphur, 28 parts; nitre, 57 parts. For stars.

7. (Ruggieri.) Sulphur, 13-1/4 parts; sulphuret of antimony, 17-1/4 parts; nitre, 48 parts.

8. (Ruggieri.) From realgar, 2 parts; sulphur, 7 parts; nitre, 24 parts.

9. (Ruggieri.) Charcoal, 1 part; sulphur, 24 parts; nitre, 75 parts.

10. (Ruggieri.) Iron or zinc borings, 25 parts; gunpowder, 100 parts.

=Fire, Yellow.= _Prep._ 1. From sulphur, 16 parts; dried carbonate of soda, 23 parts; chlorate of pota.s.sa, 61 parts.

2. (Marchand.) Gunpowder, 14 parts; sulphur, 16 parts; dried soda, 20 parts; nitre, 50 parts.

3. (Marchand.) Charcoal, 1-1/2 parts; sulphur, 17-1/2 parts; dried soda, 20 parts; nitre, 61 parts.

_Green-coloured Fires._[310]

------+----------------------+-----------------+-------------------- No. Pota.s.sium Chlorate, Barium Nitrate, Sulphur, per cent.

per cent. per cent. ------+----------------------+-----------------+-------------------- 1 36 40 24 2 29 48 23 3 24 53 23 4 21 57 22 5 18 60 22 6 16 62 22 7 14 64 22 8 13 66 21 9 12 67 21 10 11 68 21 11 10 69 21 12 95 695 21 13 9 70 21 14 85 705 21 15 8 71 21 ------+----------------------+-----------------+--------------------

[Footnote 310: Kern ('Chemical News,' September 29th, 1876).]

_Red-coloured Fires._

----+-------------------+------------------+---------+-------------- No. Pota.s.sium Chlorate, Strontium Nitrate, Sulphur, Carbon Powder, per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent.

----+-------------------+------------------+---------+-------------- 1 40 39 18 3 2 32 46 19 2 3 27 51 20 2 4 23 55 20 2 5 20 58 205 15 6 18 60 21 1 7 16 616 212 12 8 15 63 21 1 9 13 64 22 1 10 12 65 22 1 11 11 66 22 1 12 10 67 22 1 13 10 6725 22 075 14 925 68 22 075 15 9 6835 22 065 ----+-------------------+------------------+---------+--------------

_Violet-coloured Fires._

----+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+--------- No. Pota.s.sium Chlorate, Calcium Carbonate, Malachite powdered, Sulphur, per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent.

----+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+--------- 1 52 29 4 15 2 52 28 5 15 3 52 26 7 15 4 52 24 9 15 5 52 23 10 15 6 52 21 13 15 7 51 20 14 15 8 51 18 16 15 9 51 16 18 15 10 51 15 19 15 11 51 13 21 15 12 51 11 23 15 13 51 10 24 15 14 51 8 26 15 15 51 6 28 15 ----+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+---------

4. (Marsh.) Charcoal, 6 parts; sulphur, 19-1/2 parts. For pans. Very beautiful.

In preparing coloured fires for fireworks according to the usual formulae given in manuals of pyrotechny, it is often important to know the speed at which they burn; as in some cases, such as decorations and lances, they should burn slowly; whereas in others, such as wheels, stars for rockets, and Roman candles, they ought to burn quicker. The foregoing tables are so arranged that every formula with a higher number yields a slower burning mixture than one with a lower number. Thus No. 5 burns quicker than No. 6, and slower than No. 4.

_Obs._ The ingredients in the above compounds are to be separately reduced to powder and sifted through lawn, after which they should be kept in well-corked wide-mouthed bottles until the time of mixing them for use.

The chlorate of pota.s.sa, more especially, must be separately treated and cautiously handled, in order to prevent the possibility of explosion from friction whilst it is in contact with combustible matter. The requisite quant.i.ty of each of the ingredients being weighed out and placed on a clean sheet of white paper, the whole is to be thoroughly but carefully mixed together with a light hand, by means of a bone or wooden knife. The compound is next lightly packed into small cups or pans for illuminations, or into small pill-boxes for stars and trains, a little priming and quick-match being lastly attached to each. To ensure success the several ingredients must be dry and commercially pure; and though reduced to the state of a uniform powder, care must be taken that they are not absolutely 'dusty,' or too finely pulverised. The nitrate of strontia, alum, saltpetre, carbonate of soda, &c., before being weighed, require to be gently heated in an iron pot or pan until they fall to powder, and lose their hygrometric moisture, or water of crystallisation. To ensure the perfect admixture of the ingredients, the whole, after they have been stirred together on paper, as before directed, may be pa.s.sed through a hair or perforated zinc or bra.s.s sieve. Further, as coloured fires rapidly deteriorate by keeping, and even sometimes inflame spontaneously, to prevent disappointment and accidents they should not be prepared long before they will be required for use, and should be stored in some situation in which their spontaneous combustion would be productive of no disastrous consequences.

Of the above formulae, those bearing the name of the late Mr Marsh, of Woolwich, more especially deserve the attention of the pyrotechnist. To guard against the danger sometimes arising from the spontaneous combustion of coloured fires containing sulphur and chlorate of potash, Mr Saunders recommends intimately mixing 120 grains of bicarbonate of potash with each pound of sulphur before using it in the manufacture of any composition into which chlorates enter. See FLAME, PYROTECHNY, &c.

=FISH.= _Syn._ PISCES, L. Fishes form the _fourth cla.s.s_ of vertebrate animals (VERTEBRATA) in the Cuvierian arrangement of the animal kingdom, and in the variety of their genera and species are second only to the INSECTA, whilst in prolificness and number they probably exceed all other animated beings that reach a size equal to that of even the smallest member of their prodigious race. Besides their value to man as food, they furnish him with oil, isingla.s.s, and various other articles of utility and luxury, and provide, either directly or indirectly, an inexhaustible supply of manure for the fertilisation of his fields. As food fish are undoubtedly wholesome and nutritious, although less so than the flesh of animals or the grains of the cereals. Of all the various substances used as aliments by man, fish are, however, the most liable to run into a state of putrefaction, and should therefore be only eaten when perfectly fresh or, if not recently taken, then only when their perfect preservation has been ensured by any of the ordinary methods employed for the purpose.

Those that are the whitest and most flaky when cooked, as cod, flounders, haddock, hake, soles, turbot, whiting, &c., are the most easily digested; and those abounding in oily matter, as eels, herrings, mackerel, salmon, &c., are most nutritious, though the most likely to offend the stomach.

Salt-water fish have been said to be more wholesome than river fish, but without sufficient reason. Salted fish are hard of digestion, unless when carefully cooked and well masticated. Skin diseases are said to be more common among those who live continually on fish than among those who abstain from it; but this probably arises from their use being unaccompanied by a proper quant.i.ty of fresh vegetables or fruit, both of which are scarcer on the sea-coast than further inland. As one of the components of a mixed diet, the value of fish is indisputable. Acid sauces and pickles are the proper additions to fish, from their power of r.e.t.a.r.ding the progress of putrefaction, and of correcting the relaxing tendency of large quant.i.ties of oil and b.u.t.ter.

_Artificial Propagation._ The fecundity of fish is positively marvellous.

According to the recent observations of Mr Frank T. Buckland, salmon yield about 1000 ova or eggs to every lb. of their weight; a trout weighing 1 lb. produced upwards of 1000; a mackerel (1 lb.), 86,120; a herring (1/2 lb.), 19,840; a sole (1 lb.), 134,466; a turbot (8 lbs.), 385,200; and a cod (20 lbs.), 4,872,000. The ova here spoken of form what is commonly called the 'hard roe' of the female fish; the 'soft roe' is 'the milt' of the male fish. To protect the sp.a.w.n, and the fry, when hatched, is the object of the art of fish culture, which has made great progress during late years. When the sp.a.w.n is not artificially protected, the greater portion is always wasted, being swept away by the stream, and devoured by fish, birds, and insects. The natural enemies of the newly hatched fish are, again, so numerous, that it is really surprising that any should escape destruction. According to given data and accurate calculations of the returns of fisheries made by Messrs Ashworth and Buist, only one salmon egg out of every thousand deposited ever becomes a fish fit for human food. Other fish, both fresh and salt water, suffer in proportion.

The hatching of fish by artificial means has been carried out on a large scale in France, and has been commenced in Scotland and Ireland, and on a small scale in England. The sp.a.w.ning fish, having been caught by a net, is made to deposit her eggs by gently pressing on the abdomen; these are impregnated by 'milt' expressed from the male fish in a similar manner, and mixed with them in a shallow tub or other vessel prepared for the purpose. The impregnated eggs are placed in long shallow boxes, bottomed with gravel and pebbles, and so arranged that a small stream of water from a reservoir may flow from one to another. The time of hatching depends entirely upon the temperature of the water; from 40 to 45 Fahr. seems to be the healthiest temperature. After about 50 days (in the case of salmon), when all goes well, the young fish makes its appearance as a misshapen creature about an inch long, with a bag containing the yolk of the egg attached to its abdomen. At 3 days old the fry is about 2 gr. in weight; at 16 months it has increased to 2 oz. To preserve the young fish in health, the boxes must be covered with shades of slate or zinc. The French fish-breeders generally feed the young fry with boiled frogs powdered fine. The Scotch give boiled liver. Mr Buckland prescribes a diet of roe of sole, or plaice, or whiting. As to the age at which it is advisable to turn the young fish out of the nursery, there is much difference of opinion. Some breeders recommend turning them out as soon as the 'umbilical bag' is absorbed; others think they should be taken care of till they are older and stronger, and better able to defend themselves or escape from attack. For full details respecting the artificial propagation of fish, the reader is referred to Mr Buckland's recent work, ent.i.tled 'Fish-Hatching.'

_Nutritive Value of Fish._--The white varieties of fish, such as _whiting_, _cod_, _haddock_, _sole_, _plaice_, _flounder_, and _turbot_, according to Letheby, contain only about twenty-two per cent. of solid matter, of which eighteen is nitrogenous. To increase their nutritive value, therefore, these fish should be eaten with b.u.t.ter.