The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-25 00:00:00

EXPERIMENTS with GUN COTTON- ji,v

1.

(From the Liverpool Courier.)
The following is the result of a series of e ' rig;
ments, made on the 14th instklnt, under the dire
of Messrs. Ingram and Clarke, of this town, t J.Ost ,
the value and utility of gun cotton in mining o • ra-
tions, at the works of the Woodhead Tunnel, •Flvt
being carried on by G. C. Pauling, Esq., of tb •
chaster, contractor. There were present to witness'
the experiments, Mr. H. C. Campbell, Mr. H. J.
Pauling, Mr. Sharpe, and Mr. S. Smith, of Man-
chester, Mr. John H:►lstead. the company's super..
irvendent, 2nd Mr. J, hn Thornton, of Woodhead,
with a number of foremen and officers connected with
the works.

Experiment No. 1, in No. I cross drift, at west end
of tunnel, the hide 3 fret 6 inches d,ep, in hard mill-
st,..ne grit, with a chizrg, of 10 g.unces of cotton, did
more execution than :.;ny quantity of powder would
have done under the sanie dr( uzmtances.
Experiment No 2, in the same place and strata,
the hole 3 feet 3 inches deep, 8 ounces cotton did the
same execution that is g,nerally done with 3 pounds
powder : m.)ved about 2.i tons.
Experiment No. 3, in open face, at west end of
tunnel, in the miLstone grit, hole 4 Pet 4 inches deep,
4 feet from face, with a charge of 4 pounds powder,
moved 28 tons.

Experiment No. 4, in the rame fare, with a charge,
of 11 ounces of cotton, 4 feet from face, 3 feet 9 im—
ches deep, moved 28 tons, but did not throw it about
in the same manner that powder does.
Experiment No. 5, in the sane face, with 8 ounces
cotton, moved a great spas., but oil not break it up.
Charge appeared too small-6 feet from face, and 5
feet deep.
Experiment No. 6, in same face, with a charge of
3 pounds powder, 6 feet from face and 5 feet deep,
the result was the same as in the former experiment,
and the charge appeared too weak.
Experiment No. 7, in cross drift No. 15, in hard
dark shell, a charge of 8 ounces cotton, 3 feet deep,
did the same execution that is usually done with 3
pounds powder.
Experiment No. 8, in opep face, at east entrance
of tunnel, a charge of 8 ounces cotton, 4 feet 6 in-
ches from face, in beds of hard sandstone, rock, and.
shell, alternating the charge, placed 5 feet 6 inches
deep, moved about 14 tons.

Experiment No. 2, in !he same face, with 10 ounces
cotton, placed at 6 tot from the face, and the hole
drilled 6 feet deep, that by some mi-management the
cotton was placed at the depth of 3 feet), moved
about 16 tons.

From the above experiments it will be seen that
the results were very satisfactory. and leave no
doubt that, from its superior Portability, if the
price can be SP regulated as to make the cost
below that of pos der, it wilt entirely supersede it in
many of the operations Wliore :powder is at present
required. In long drifts and headings, where the
want of fresh air i* severely felt and difficult to be
had, the cotton has 2 decided superiority over that of
powder, as it creates no smr.ke or stench, and the men
can return to their work immediately after firing,
whereas with powder they are sometimes detained a
considerable period before they can return, which in-
volves a great loss of labJur.

...,.,