Page:Essays Upon The Making Of Salt-Petre And Gun-Powder.pdf/30

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wet, by its resemblance to the wet Nitre which you have in the kettle to refine, but it is readily distinguished from it by the taste. When you have taken all the sea-salt out of the kettle, put into the liquor while a-boiling, about one quarter of an ounce of powdered allum for every twenty-five pounds of Salt-petre, and in proportion for any other quantity; it will occasion it to boil violently and a great foul scum to rise, take iff the foulness, and have some cool water at hand to prevent the liquor from boiling over, which it would otherwise do; you must continue the boiling a little while after the addition of the allum, then take the kettle off the fire, cover it over with a coarse wet linen cloth, and lay a cover of boards over that, put it in a cool place in a cellar, &c. where it must remain about two or three days, then pour off the liquor, on another lye, and drain it from the Salt-petre by settling the kettle an edge, when it is drained turn the kettle bottom upwards for to get your Salt-petre out, which will by this time form itself into a handsome cake. If it is not sufficiently refined this time, repeat this sixth part of the process over again, and you will have it sufficiently fine for any purpose; then put your cake on a heap of dry ashes, which will imbibe and draw off all the moisture that remained in the cake, if not , renew the ashes till it does. This concludes the whole business of extracting and refining Salt-petre fit for the powder-maker, as it is practised at the Provincial Works. T H E foregoing process has already had the experience of many in the province, and particularly