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Grenades

Grenades must be made from the finest metal one can find, for
there is fine metal and rough metal. Fine
metal is that of a big bell, because one
puts in more copper to give it a bigger voice, & for small
bells one puts more tin to give it a bigger clearer
sound. The metal of a big bell is made with one3 quintals of rosette & twenty or xxv
lb of tin. Tan Each grenade must
weigh four to six lb. In order to throw them, it is necessary
that they be full of powder mixed with coarsely pestled
glass. And for a quarter lb of powder, one needs
half an ounce of glass which is put with it, in order
that on the face or places where the powder will have its effect,
the wounds will be all the worse for it. The best arquebus
powder is required here. The hole needs to be as large as the
thickness of a swan's quill, & you need not bother to
make it threaded, but it is enough to make it even. Next, you make a
well-soldered pipe of fer
blanc, which can enter into the hole & enter into the middle of
the grenade & which comes out of it by the width of one
finger. You will fill it with good powder, pestled
in a mortar & lightly mixed with good eau-de-vie or
strong vinegarwhich seems. And when This is done to
temper the powder. And to know if it will be slow enough to allow
leisure to throw the grenade without danger, try this powder thus
bathed in another pipe. You can keep d your loaded
grenades in a very dry place, & on the contrary you shall
keep your pipes filled with that bathed and well-compressed
powder in a humid place. And nonetheless, you shall
have some already inserted into thesome grenades,
to be always provisioned. And every three days you shall
change them if you recognise that they have become too dry. To throw
your grenade, take it bravely & in one hand
& with the other give fire to your pipe with the a
match , & throw it quickly amidst the
powder troops. The thickness of the
grenade should be twice the back edge of
a knife.


