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. 21.

The manner how to make Balloones for the Morter-peece.

FIrst, you must provide a wooden rowler, twice so long as in diameter, you must have it of such bignesse as you desire to make the inside of your Bal∣loone, upon which rouler let there be rouled so many pastbords as you shall thinke suffi∣cient for strength, being well glued together: then choak this Cartouch at the one end, leaving a little hole for a port-fire, as shall follow, and glue it in, this por-tfire shall be made just like a Rocket, of the bignesse of the hole you leave open for it, and filled with composition for Rockets of that size, not pricking it with a bodkin, as you are taught to prick other Rockets, and to know of what length this port-fire ought to be, it will not be amisse to try one Balloon filled with earth, and your port-fire fastned there∣unto:

[illustration] a mortar, along with various types of "balloones"

Now to fill the Balloon place all your Serpents within it, together with Stars, Roc∣kets and Crackers, in such a convenient man∣ner that there may be very little void room, within the Cartouch: it being thus filled, put in as much powder dust as you can that it may run every where thorow the chinks, between the Serpents, Rockets, and Stars, that they may all fire; and that the said powder dust may break the Balloon: these

things being thus disposed choak up the o∣ther end close, and charge it in the morter as I have taught you to do the canvass Gra∣nade; and you may shoot it when you please.

Such Balloons I have at this present, and doe assure the Reader, that this description is in every part proved, and practized by my self; to the knowledge of divers spectators, who have seen these experimented, I do al∣so signifie to the ingenious Reader, that it is not good to use so many ingredients (in Fire works) as the Ancient, nor so few as some Modern.