Light BALLS, are such as diffuse an intense light around; or they are balls which, being cast out of the hand or a mortar, burn for some time, and illuminate the adjacent parts. 1. Luminous or light-balls for the hand, are made of ground powder, salt-petre, brimstone, camphor, and borax, all sprinkled with oil, and moulded into a mass with fuet; and this is wrapped up in tow, with a sheet of strong paper over it. To fire it, they make a hole into it with a bodkin, into which they put some priming that will burn slow. Its use is to be cast into any works they would discover in the night-time. 2. For the larger light-balls, or those to be thrown to a greater distance, they melt equal quantities of sulphur, turpentine, and pitch; and herein dip an earthen or stone-ball, of a diameter much less than that of the mortar out of which the fire-ball is to be cast: then rolling it in gunpowder, and covering it round with gauze, they dip it again, and
and repeat the rest till it come to fit the cavity of the mortar: lastly, they sprinkle it around with gun-powder. This, being once kindled, will strongly illuminate all around the place where it is thrown, and give opportunity to examine the state and condition thereof.
Smoke or Dark BALLS, those which fill the air with smoke, and thus darken a place to prevent discoveries. To prepare a darkening ball, make an oval or spherical bag, melt rosin over the coals, and add an equal part of salt-petre not purified, also of sulphur, and a fifth part of charcoal. The whole being well incorporated, put in tow first fired, and fill the bags with this composition, and dip it after the same manner as a fire-ball.