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Those of 27 lb or thereabouts are ix inches long & six in
diameter at the muzzle. At the breech, they are vi lines thick,
& 3 at the muzzle. The ones weighing 17 lb are 8
inches long & five at the muzzle. One covers them all
together, all the forks & pegs &
tools which one uses, with a large canvas or large
cloth in order that they do not make any noise. It
s is good that they should sit loaded for some time.
After one has put the powder in, one tamps it down quite
thoroughly, and then one puts in pressed paper, then a cake of
wax well tamped down, & on the wax another plate of
cork that goes in quite precisely & with force. In this way,
the powder remains well sealed & gives much greater violence,
& if you wish, you can put on the plate of cork one of
wood pierced in the middle, if the petard is pierced at the
breech, which one holds to be the easiest & which makes for greater
penetration because it cannot recoil. And for those that have a pierced
breech, one must have a good gimlet to first make the hole in
order that the peg, which is made in with a
gimlet-like point, may attach the petard faster & without
noise. And to for these, one must cover the button, which is
quite evenly filed, p with waxed canvas, or
add wax to it in order that it precisely plugs the hole of the
breech. But because the doors are sometimes iron-clad & the
iron pegs cannot pierce it, one uses an iron
fork made like pincers & another iron rod
q made with three claws at the end, as you see
depicted. And in this way, the petard holds itself well & is quickly
placed. The iron pegs must extend from the petard with
the entire point that is made like a gimlet, namely by three or
4 fingers, which goes entirely l
into the door. When the petards are placed, one fills the touch-hole
with good pulverin and
s one puts in it a feather quill filled with
powder tightly pressed & moistened with vinegar, or,
if needed, one presses the powder in the hollow of the hand &
having wetted it with saliva, one makes from it
something like a cocoon or

