Pyrotechnia or, A discourse of artificiall fire-works in which the true grounds of that art are plainly and perspicuously laid downe: together with sundry such motions, both straight and circular, performed by the helpe of fire, as are not to be found in any other discourse of this kind, extant in any language. VVhereunto is annexed a short treatise of geometrie, contayning certaine definitions and problemes, for the mensuration of superficies and sollids, with tables for the square root to 25000, and the cubick root to 10000 latus, wherein all roots under those numbers are extracted onely by ocular inspection. VVritten by Iohn Babington gunner, and student in the mathematicks.
Babington, John., Droeshout, John, d. 1652, engraver.

CHAP. XLIII. How to represent a figure of the Sunne casting forth his beames, in fire.

CAuse a boxe to be made of plate, too inches long, and one inch diameter, which must be filled with your slow composition, and let the head be made with small groofes, crossing the center, to the end you may lay in certaine springs of steele, such as they use to small Watches. These springs shall bee a∣bout sixe inches in length, and must be foure, so that both ends of each appearing, will make eight, which will make a circular forme, the boxe being the center; now to the end of every one of these springs, must be fastened one of your small Fis∣gigs, & then bent up close to the boxe, and so put into your coffine at the Page  50 top of your rocket, with powder dust and cotton to fire and breake the coffine, which as soone as it breakes, the springs will cast forth your Fis∣gigs, and make them seeme like the sparkling beames of the sunne, and the mixture in the center will seeme as the body of the same; this will continue a while, and then you shall see it breake with divers reports. This I had from a noble Captaine of this City, namely Captaine Fore∣star, who invented the same, the forme whereof is represented in the thirteenth Figure, by the letters L M.

  • L Being the boxe with the springs fastened to the top, with a Fisgig at the end of each.
  • M The said boxe finished with the springs bent ready to put on the head of a Rocket; the mouth of each Fisgig must come downe to the mouth of the boxe, and so be put with their mouthes all downewards.

Having spoken sufficiently of workes operating in the ayre, I will shew you something which shall serve for ground workes.