Recipe for gunpowder, with a small rotating device
Two columns giving the ingredients and the making of powder, beside a spherical mechanism
This page carries a recipe for gunpowder set out in two columns. The right column lists the proportions: one pound of charcoal, eleven ounces of sulphur and five pounds of saltpetre. The left column explains how to grind and repeatedly wet the mixture with good aqua vitae, dry it in the sun in grains, and grind only the portion put on the touch-hole. A small drawing at the lower centre, captioned a rotating device, shows a spherical mechanism mounted on a stand with a vertical rod and small balls or weights.
On this page
Gunpowder: the three ingredients
The right-hand column gives the proportions for the powder: one pound of charcoal, eleven ounces of sulphur and five pounds of saltpetre.
Grinding, wetting and graining the powder
The left-hand column describes the process: pound it well, wet it with good aqua vitae and dry it, then grind it until no sulphur or saltpetre is visible and it is all black, blended and fine. Wet it again, keep it dry in grains, and grind only the amount put on the touch-hole.
Small rotating device on a stand
At the lower centre a spherical body sits on a turned stand, with a vertical guide rod at the left and two small balls or weights joined by a horizontal bar. The caption names it a rotating device.