The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-06 00:00:00

"Colonel Schouler—l send for insertion in your paper
the following account of my trials of the effective force of
gun cotton :
" These were made at the powder works of 0. M.
Whipple, Esq., who readily afforded me every facility,
and with his aid and that of Mr. T. B. Lawson, the
well-known artist, of this city, the following experiments
were made on Nov. 30. The eprouvette, or proof-mortar,
carries a 24-pound ball of iroa—its elevation 45 (1,-grees.
Its chamber holds one ounce of gunpowder, and about
half an ounce of gun-cotton, when that is rammed hard.
Two 24-pound balls were used. No 1 has 1-16 inch,
and No 2, 1-8 itch windage. The last, in
powder trials, falls always a few yards short of No.
1. It was found by trials, as will appear below, that
the projectile force depended much on the mode of
charging. The best etf.?ets were obtained by loosely
filling the chamber with gun-cotton, leaving the greater
portion as a bed at the breach of the mortar, on which
the ball rested. Four qualities of gun-cotton were
used. No. 1, 25 minutes' dip in the mixed nitric and
sulphuric acid. No. 2is No. 1 dipped, after drying, 25
minutes in fresh acid. No. 3, dip 25 minutes, and then
a new portion of mixed acids added, and the dip con-
tinued 25 minutes. No. 4, blasting cotton, dip 35 minutes
in the acid. The particulars of the preparation need not
be stated.

" Two discharges, with Mr. Whipple's best rifle powder,
FFFF, were first made. The charge was one ounce for
each. No. 1 threw the ball 288 yards ; No. 2 threw the
ball 272 yards—average 2814 yards. The chamber was
then wiped dry, and quite clean, and charged as follows
with gun-cotton
.
° "d
-I=lB Vs g
-g °
zb 0' be •E 1
1 3 4 7 Charge loose in chamber, that
not full, ball No. 2.
2 3 4 100 Chamber full, hard rammed, and
small wad over cotton, ball
No. 1.
3 3 4 175 Loose, and a little for a bed for
the ball, ball No. 2.
4 2 4 272 As in 3d shot, but mere bed,
ball No. 1.
Charge as in 4th ball, No. 1,
5 No. 1 f No. 21_1 453
buried 3ft. in the ground on
4
falling.
6 1 4 100 Charge as in 4th, ball No. 2.
7 4 1 567 Charge as in 4th, ball No. 1.
8 4 4 59 Charge rammed hard home, ball
No. 1. This charge was about
one hour after the 7th, during
which period it had been car-
ried, wrapped tight in paper, in
my hand, while searching for
the ball of the 7th shot. It
may have absorbed moisture.
" It will be seen, on comparing the fourth, fifth, and
seventh shots, that the distance projected increases
faster than the quantity.
" My next trials were in blasting the ledge of argillo-
mica slate, now excavating for the new canal in Lowell
by the contractors, Messrs. Boody, Ross, and Co., in
that section, under the supervision of Mr. William E.
Worthen, civil engineer. lam indebted to these persons
not only for the privilege of making these trials, but
for all the details and conduct of the experiment.
" The first trial was in the toughest and hardest por-
tion of the ledge; the stratification is here imperfect,
and nearly vertical. The rock presented a perpendicular
face, nine feet high. 54 feet from the face a hole was
drilled, and at the distance of 12 feet from this, and 6
feet from the face of the rock, a second hole was drilled.
These holes were 1 and 1-3 d inch diameter, and about
9 feet deep. The gun-cotton was quality No. 4 in
the preceding mortar trials. It was enclosed in
cartridges of cotton cloth, 14 inch diameter, and
respectively 2 feet 10 inches, and 5 feet lont, holding
9 and 11 ounces gnn-cotton. A little dry sand was
put in the bottom of each hole, then the car'aidge let
down by its attached fuse, and covered with a tamping
of dry sand, five feet over the one, and six feet over the
other. The fuse being lighted, the explosions occurred
one within a few seconds of the other. The report was
sharp, but not loud, and very little smoke. This chiefly
blew out at the fissure made by the explosion at the bot-
tom of the rock, end some appeared at the top over the
mouth of the drilled holes. It appeared to Mr. Worthen,
who was in a position to see it, as dust. This will be
referred to again. On examination the result was per-
fectly satisfactory to the contractors and enginceas,
Messrs. Francis and Worthen, who then measured the
mass of rock removed. Its dimensions were in feet
25 k 5 s 9-1,125 cubic feet. The rock weighs a ton to
12 cubic feet. We have at least 90 tons moved by 20
ounces of gun-cotton. The contractors stated that they
should have used 10 or 12 pounds of powder to have
made a similar fissure fur their intended steam blast.
The effect then is 1 : 8.

" A second trial was made by the same parties on Dec.
4, on the same ledge, at a place where the rock is more
slaty and more distinctly stratified, with a northerly dip
of about 95 degrees.
" The rock is here softer and shivery, and showed a per-
pendicular face of about 20 feet. The hole was five
inches diameter, 9i feet deep, 41b. 14oz. 6 drachms, or
78 ounces 6 drachms of gun-cotton, No. 4, were enclosed
in a Vulcanised' Irdia-rubber cloth case, five inches di-
ameter and three feet long. It was let down as before,
by its fuse, and covered with six feet of dry sand. The
explosion took place with a very little report, not louder
than a musket shot. The mass moved was, in feet,
45 x 10 1.4 9k—about 350 tons.
" The seams were wider and more numerous than in

the first blast. Beside the main fissure running pa-
rallel with the face of the rock, there were others
diverging from the hole diagonally, from fifteen to
twenty feet long. The effect for a following seam
blast was a little too great, for it required 1001bs. of
powder to fill the crevice. The blaster employed by
Messrs. Boody, Ross, and Co., said he should have used
about 201 b. of powder, to have effected the object he
wished. We have here moved a mass proportioned to
the increased quantity of gun-cotton for 20 :90 75-
350 ; but the actual result was a greater distance moved
and more breaking up of the mass. I was in a position
to watch the smoke, if so it may be called. It consisted
of watery vapour, and of orange yellow nitrous acid
vapour. The deut-oxide of nitrogen, as it escaped from
the hole, seized on the oxygen of the air, and was
changed to orange yellow vapour. There was a faint
smell of nitrous acid about the rock. Pieces of the
India-rubber cloth were found near the hole, thrown off,
but unburned. It was, I presume, this yellow nitrous
vapour which appeared as dust in the first explosion.
The smoke lasted about one minute.
" The gun-cotton used in these trials was perfectly
dry and well carded after its preparation. It was made
from cotton carded by a machine, and was prepared by
myself on the principle of the process discovered by Mr.
A. A Hayes, of the Roxbury laboratory."

COVENT•GARDEN THEATRE.—A peep into the
theatre the other afternoon startled us. All the inside

of the house is taken out, and the bare enclosing walls
stand exposed their whole height, to a depth of twenty
or thirty feet below the level of the pit floor. The inte-
rior was filling with scaffolds; men in every corner were
shouting and hauling; while the old chandelier, under
the decorated ceiling, throwing light upon the hubbub
and ruin, served to recal its former appearance, and pro-
duced a most singular effect.— The Builder.
SECOND BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK EQUITABLE
BUILDING ASSOCIATIONS-A meeting was held, Monday
night, at the Literary Institution, Southwark, Mr. Guil-
laume in the chair, for the formation of a second South-

wark Building Association. Mr. E. Hunt stated tha
the principle of the first Southwark Building Association
had been found to work so well that its friends were
desirous of establishing another on the same basis. The
society proposed to advance from the subscribed funds
2001. on every share of 804 and 1001. on every share of
401., on the payment of an entrance fee of 2s. 6d. per
share and a subscription of I Is. per month—the ad-
vances to be made on the principle of the ballot, and
without requiring any interest for the money advanced.
The only difference between this and the first association
was, that the present society would advance the 2001. to
every member requiring an immediate advance, at an in-
terest of five per cent. Mr. Hunt having explained the
details of the plan, and the advantages offered to the
working classes by building societies, the enrolment of
subscribers was proceeded with.
MELANCHOLY DEATH OP A MERITORIOUS WATER-
)IAN.—Monday an inquest was held by Mr. Carter:at
the King and Queen, at the Deptford end of Rother-
hithe, on the body of Thomas Cornish, aged 28. The
deceased was a waterman, and plied at the King and.
Queen-stairs. He had been the means of saving many
lives, and had been frequently a witness at Mr. Carter's
court as the discoverer of dead bodies in the river.
On
Monday Monday night he went down to moor a boat or alter
position, and he was no more seen alive. A watchman
heard a splash in the water about the time the deceased
went after the boat, but the night being dark he could
not see what it was. The deceased was not missed till
the next day, and as it was found he had not been home,
it was feared he had caused the splash the watchman
heard. His body was susequently found near the stairs,
and it is supposed that in passing along a boom to get
tolhis boat he slipped and fell into the river. Verdict—
" That the deceased was found drowned, but witbotu
evidence to show by what means."
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.—On Monday the extension
of the electric telegraph from the Nine Elms terminus of
the South-Western, ac far as the south side of Waterloo-
bridge, was completed. The ends of the communicating
wires are enclosed in a square wrought-iron safe, fitted
as a post, close to the kerb on the west side of Waterloo-
bridge-road ; in this they are secured to a brass plate,
having short projecting pins, upon which they are
fastened with nuts. The contrivance is extremely com-
pact, but placed too near the road, vs the wheel of any
vehicle coming in contact might probably damage the
tubing and wires for some distance. The safe is fitted
with a lock and hinges, the door opening to the road.
A person who was not aware of its use would merely
consider it one of the ordinary posts to mark the foot-
way. Should the present weather continue, the whole of
the contemplated extension will be completed in a very
short time.