The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-30 00:00:00

The Karnes Gunpowder Company's Works.

(From the United Service Gazette.)
A delaghtful trip from Glasgow down the. Clyde,
taking Greenock in your passage, brings you to
Tighnabruich, the well-known watering place,
popularised by the well-to-do inhabitants of that
crowded city. Three miles from thence, through a
country celebrated for its beautiful scenery, open-
ing out as the pedestrian lengthens his distance
from the town, are situated the Kames Gunpowder
Works, attractive from the extent of ground they
cover, and the singular appearance the interior pre-
sents,
the buildings being constructed with all due
regard to safety. The charcoal, brimstone, and ./
saltpetre factories are about two miles in advanoti-
of the main body of the buildings, and it is h.ei•e=
the managing partner of the works is to bel'Adrf
and will give every facility for inspecting the *nrks.a.
The ground occupied by these three factories is
about 10 acres, conveniently situated near the-saa
shore, where a fine quay has been constructSdf -
Having duly inspected these works and obtainect.'.
the information you sought for, you now proceest
onwards for about a mile to the main body of the
works, a well constructed macadamised road lead-
ing through the sweet-smelling heather to the top-
of the brae, from whence they are seen stretching
along a charming valley, bounded north and east by
the well wooded summits of Craignafcach (the
Ravens' Rocks), and branching out towards the
south in one vast scene of unbroken verdure, ter-
minated by the Sound of Killbrannon, in the.
midst of which towers the island of .Arran, pre-
senting a coup d'ccil not to be surpassed by any
other range in Scotland, if we except Coolins, in
Skye.

Arriving at the factory, you are deliverectover to
the foreman of the works, and begin your interest-
ing but somewhat fatiguing tour of observation, the
works covering fully 50 acres, and the wooded
roads communicating with the several factories
present in their labyrinthian form to the visitor who
is not decidedly an athlete a somewhat fOrinidable"
task to be overcome. The first objects pointed'au. in •
to you are the • saltpetre refineries, where this ma-‘ -
terial -is purified before passing into the composi-,
tion-house, where it is mixed with charcoal and
brimstone; and after mixture put into blrrels of
501 b each, called charges. The charges are then
carted to the mills, and spread under iron rollers of
from five to ten tone weight. The mixture is

amalgamated in from one hour and a quarter to
six, or even eight hours, according to the descrip-
tion of powder to be made. Sporting powder re-
quires more time, blasting powder less. From the
mills the charges are taken to the press-rooms as
mill cakes, broken down, and put in Bramah
presses, where they are subjected to more or less

pressure, according to the required density. This
stage of the manufacture being reached, the powder
is taken to the granulating rooms, where it receives
its grain, coarse or fine, as required ; thence to the
glazing-house, where it is polished ; thence to the
dusting-house, to be cleaned. Finally, it is packed
in casks and canisters, and sent off to the magazine,
a large building standing fully half a mile from the
factory, and capable of holding from 300 to 400
tons of powder. The time required to make a

barrel of sporting powder from beginning to finish

is about eight or ten days.
The object of this notice is, however, not so
much to give an elaborate account of the different
processes of manufacturing this destructive mate-
rial, as to show the advance which has been made
by modern art and science in reducing the risk to
those employed in it and narrowing the bounds of
its destructiveness. Every care that humanity
can suggest and science apply is employed to re-

strain its destructive powers, and provide against
those accidents arising from causes which,
although rarely discovered when explosions
occur, are pretty well known. Every movement
from place to place at the Karnes Company's works
is on carefully constructed ways, and the workers

are under the strictest regulations. Every build-
ing is covered by an almost impenetrable roof and

a tank of water ; the houses are built within massive

walls, the sides on which the concussion in explosions
can take place being open to the free action of the
atmosphere, so that they may yield to it, and be
thrown out bodily, without endangering other
houses ; and the magazine is placed at a safe dis-
tance from the main body of the works.

The destructive effects of explosions taking place
in modern times are much less than in past years.
In great explosions the concussion of the air conveys

terror and apprehension for miles around, and much
damage is done to buildings within the compass of
its full force, but notwithstanding all this, there is
seldom any great loss of life, not so much, in
fact, as is recorded as periodically occurring in
mines, manufactories, or places where explosive
mixtures are made, or where the destructive powers
of steam and gas are exemplified. The yearly average
of deaths from these accidents at the Karnes works
is not more than one and a quarter per annum, an
insensible proportion, considering the great magni-
tude of the works and the casualties that occur in
every-day life. The workmen, fully sensible of this,
exhibit neither fear nor timidity, surrounded as they
are by the beauties of nature, in the midst of their
wives, families, and friends, and well cared for;
they are cheerful and happy, being fully sensible
that prudence only is required to ensure immunity
from danger.