The art of gunnery. Wherein is described the true way to make all sorts of gunpowder, guu-match [sic], the art of shooting in great and small ordnance: excellent ways to take heights, depths, distances, accessible, or inaccessible, either single or divers distances at one operation: to draw the map or plot of any city, town, castle, or other fortified place. To make divers sorts of artificiall fire-works, both for war and recreation, also to cure all such wounds that are curable, which may chance to happen by gunpowder or fire-works. This treatise is composed for the help of all such gunners and others, that have charge of artillery, and are not well versed in arithmetick and geometry : all the rules and directions in this book, being framed both with and without the help of arithmetick. By Nathanael Nye mathematician, master gunner of the city of Worcester.

CHAP. 14.

How you may by taste, feeling, colour and burn∣ing, know good and ill Powder; and how amongst many sorts of Gunpowder you may know the best sort.

1. BY how much Gunpowder is the harder in feeling, by so much the better it is.

2. Gunpowder of a fair Azure or French Russet colour, is very good, and it may be judged to have all its receipts well wrought, and sufficient of the Peter well refined.

3. Lay two or three corns of Gun∣powder upon a white piece of paper, the one three fingers distant from the other, and put fire to one of them, if the powder be good and strong, you shall see them all on fire at once, and that there will remain no grossness of Brimstone or of Saltpeter, no not any thing but a white smoky colour in the place where they were burned, nei∣ther will the paper be touched.

4. If good Gunpowder be laid upon the palm of your hand, and set on

fire, you will not be burned.

5. Gunpowder that hath a very sharp taste, hath abundance of the Peter not well refined, and will moisten again.

6. If white knots, or knots of a french russet colour, shall remain after powder is fired, it is a sign that the Saltpeter was not well refined, but left full of salt, and grease; especially when the same knots shall in burning be dankish, and leave moisture in the place where the Gunpowder was burned.

7. If hard, dry and white knots, or pearls, shall remain after the Gunpowder is set on fire, it is a sign that the Gunpowder is not well wrought, and it becometh every Gun∣ner to beware of such powder, because if it doth lie long in a Piece, it will wax so fine, that if you unload not the Piece, it will in his discharge indanger the Piece of breaking.

8. If small black knots (which will burn downwards in the place where proof is made) remain after firing, they do shew that the Gunpowder hath not enough of the Peter, and that it is of little force or strength, and slow in firing.

9. If a little heap of Gunpowder set a fire, doth make a noise, rise up with great speed, and yield little smoke, it is a sign of very good powder.

10. If the flame of fired Gunpowder shall rise up slowly, continue long, make little noise, and yield smoke in great abun∣dance, it is a sign the powder hath much Cole and Brimstone, and too little Peter.

11. If Gunpowder burned upon a board shall black the same, it is a sign that there is overmuch Cole in that powder.

12. When Gunpowder is moist, or full of the earth of Saltpeter, it is naught to be shot out of great Ordnance, for it shameth the Gunner which useth it.

13. If Gunpowder be very black, it is either a sign that there is too much Cole, or that it is moist, and when you rub it upon white paper, it will black it more then other good Gunpowder will do.

14. Amongst many sorts of powder to know the best, make a little heap of every sort, and then setting those heaps one from another, mark well when you put fire unto them, which of the heaps did soonest take fire; for that powder which will soonest be

on fire, smoke least, and leave least sign behinde it, is the best sort of Gunpowder.