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.

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A Treatise of ARTIFICIALL FIRE-WORKS, most of them being invented and ap∣proved by the Author.

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Page 55

CHAP. L. How to make the Curtlax, Cimiter, or Fauchion.

PRepare a Curtlax either of wood, or plate, which let bee hol∣lowed from back to edge, three inches, and let it bee so thick, as it may serve for your smallest fisgigs, then you shall have a peece of pastebord so fitted on the back, that your work may be close covered, only holes left for the ends of your fisgigs to come forth; then you shall lay in your lances of fire (which is nothing else but your slow composition for starres put into hollow truncks of paper made on an arrow) and between every lance you shall put two or three fisgigs, which shall fly out so soon as the fire commeth to them; having done this, you have finished your Fauchion, which must bee fired at the point, and so burn downward towards the hilt. This hath been former∣ly set forth by Monsieur Thybaviel a French Author, and since by divers others. The forme whereof is represented in the fourteenth figure, by the letters I K L.

I represents the Fauchion prepared, with a groofe in the back.
K represents the Fauchion, with holes to put in the works.
L represents a Fauchion wholly finished, with the fisgigs placed as they ought to stand.

Having spoken sufficiently of land works, I will come in the next place to shew the making of some works to bee acted on the water; and first of all I will shew you the making of the water bals.

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