Slow Match
Slow match (match cord), used for firing cannons and also for igniting mines, is loosely spun, by the rope maker, from two to three threads of tow (or hards) that has been cleaned of all shives. It is then pickled in a solution of hard wood ash, quicklime, and cow‘s milk, and dried in the fresh air. A good slow match must never extinguish itself and must form a long, hard, and pointed coal. One foot of match cord burns for 1 to 1¼ hours.
Source: Rumpf, H. F.: Allgemeine Real-Encyclopädie der gesammten Kriegskunst (Berl. 1827)
Match cord, a loosely twisted, 10 to 15 mm thick rope made of flax or hemp, which is soaked in a solution of lead acetate or potassium chromate (the so-called cigar wick in pocket lighters) and river water, and burns slowly. The match cord, wound around a linstock (lintstock), was formerly used to ignite explosive charges. See also matchlock, match case, and small arms.
Source: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, 6. Auflage 1905–1909