Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-12-02
Fealher"-it was to cover in advance, the
cowardice, compared with the Ohioans they
displayed.
From the New York Evening Post.
The Explosive Cotton.

plosiye is made, from Professor Otto, who
made the discovery simultaneously with
Schonbein, Bottinger, and Frenchman-
80 that there are four claimants to the
merit of it. But whether the process is the
same in all cases, we cannot say. Schon-
bein took out patents for his discovery in
several nations, and has an agent now at
Washington. But Otto more generously
tells all he knows on the subject. Here is
ON extract from one of his reports which
goes into details:
s'It seems that no other acid than that
procured by the distillation of ten parts of
saltpetre, and six parts of oil of vitriol, will
confer upon raw cotton its explosive power.
Hydriate of nitric acid (saPetsr-saurshy.
driaD dissolves the cotton. In good pro-
Der acid, the cotton becomes transparent,
and the fibre is not injured or dissolved
The acid by distillation first procured is
best. Cotton dipped into it for half a
minute, and then quickly pressed between
glass plates, or boards, and washed after
wards until it is entirely free from acid,
and subsequently dried, produces superior
exploding article. Using the acid second
time, an inferior article is made but if
after having been washed and dried it is
again dipped into the acid, it becomes ex-
rcellent. A repetition Of the manihulaton
necessarily augments the exploding quality.
HCotton may even remain in the acid
longer than half minute. That which
has laid in it so long as twelve hours, was
found to be very explosive. 1t is important
that the cotton be we'll washed when it is
taken out of the acid; for, if any remains
an it, saltpetre flavor will attach to it
when dry, and when exploding will leave
on anything white an acid tincture. The
vivid explosion of a small ball of the ar'
ticle, on a white china plate, is the criterion
to test its good quality by. 1t must flash
like gunpowder and leave no dust behind
it. If a particle even is seen, it cannot be
used'in guns. 1t also appears to be neces'
sary that the cotton, after having been
dipped into the acid and pressed, be i'm.
mediately put into a large quantity ol
water. If the cotton be put into on in.
sufficient quantity Of water, it (the cotton
gets heated and small quantities of cotton
are also preferable; for, if large, it forms
into knots of q bluish-green color, which
are so firm as not to be easily loosened.
The more the prepored article resembles
the one in its natural state, the better and
more powerful it is, With 5'4lhs or
6-4ths of gran-480 grams equal to an
English ounce-balls of l-3 inch diameter
were driven through borads one inch thick.
With grams, bullet was driven from a
rifle, ut distance of As steps, into an oak
plank, to the depth Of an inch; and, with
four or five grams, ef1ectual shots have
been made with fowling-pieces The more
readily the cotton explodes, the greater the
care to be taken in handling it,"
Professor Schonbein, at an experiment
made in presence ofone Of the editors of
the Times, tested some gun-colton which
had been immersed in water sirty days,
and found it as good as when perfectly
fresh, after having been dried
The Washington Union, in which we
find this extract, furnishes an account of
some experiments made with Schonbein's
cotton, at the War Office:
The President was present, with three Of
the members of his cabinet. He produced
the packet, which Professor Schonbein had
sent by Mr.. Robertson, the American
consul at Bremen, TO be opened only in the
presence of the President The envelope
being unsealed, mass Of cotton, Of al
deeper yellow :nge than common, present
ed itself-and weighing about sixty OR
seventy grains Col. Talcott, the head of
the Ordnance Bureau, and Mr.. Robertson,
proceeded to make some experiments. A
small quantity Of the prepared cotton was
laid upon white sheet Of paper. When
touched with another piece of paper, on fire,
the cotton instantaneously exploded, pro-
duced small volume of smoke and leaving
slight stains with very small particles on
the paper. The best gunpowder was then
exploded. 1t produced more smoke and
left larger stains-thus showing that the
combustion was more complete in the
former than in the latter case. A small
quantity ofcotton was then thrown over
some grains of gunpowder, but both ex-
ploded together. In this respect, as well
rs in the stains upon paper, the tests failed.
On applying to the tongue these particles,
which were left upon paper by the combus-
ton Of cotton alone, it presented the
alkaline taste--showing that the fluid in
which the cotton had been immersed was
not completely prepared--a portion of the
potash from the nitre had been deposited ir
the vessel, and in dipping the cotton it hae
imbibcd some Of the alkal, or some Of thu
nitre itself.
Upon Col. Talcott's putting some Of th'
cotton into gun, with cap on, an ex
plosion took place with comparatively littl
noise. On loading the gun second time
with about ten grains of the cotton, a wa
of paper upon it, and ball and anothe
wad upon them, the gun was fired with
snaart noise. Il was discharged from Il