The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-04-30

It VIII do---TestInaOny of tho In
ventor.
The examination in the case of Otto
Bursten binder, before the United States
Commissioner, on Tuesday last, elected
the following: 49,
Alfred b. Nobel, being sworn for the
defence, testified that no was the in
ventor OF the practical adaptation ofni-
tro-Elycerine to blasting purposesi MI
tro-glycerine is only explosive under
certain conditions, as is the case with
many other substances not considered
explosive; nitro-gl lycerine IS not an IN
tiainInable substance, for If tire is set to
it. it does not catch fire like turpentine
or spirits, but goes out when the match
is withdrawn; il does not explode by
the mere application of fire. It's use IN
blastings is only possible through the
patent fuse; a shower OF sparks Will not
explode 1t; the application OF fire has
been tried hundreds of times; it requires
$50 degrees of heat in confined space
before 1t explodes; that Is l4S, degrees
higher than boiling water; experiments
were made to test That before the Corn
wall PyrOtechnic Society, and there Is
testimonial of that Society to the et-
feet have stated; the oil is notyolatile;
il is n perfectly fixed oil; it does not ig
mite by friction in the ordinary sense;
platina and steel may be melted by fric-
tiOn, and can't say that it could not
possibly be ignited by friction; coneus-
sion will not explode ii; we tried throw
ing it from heights of fifty feet, and It
would not explode. ln. tiampnrgn the
experiment was tried of throwing it up
in a rocket, and Its fall of more than
one thousand feet did not explode it; We
afIerwnrr1 e1 plOded it, showing II to DO
pure nitro.glycerine.
Cross-exHmined-My business now Is
in nitro-glycerine- oil; 1 have been IN
it more thun a year; [ was before con-
nected with blasting in Sweden and
Norway; before the oil was used for
blasting 1t was used for causing head-
aches, and by the homeopathic doctors
for curing II; I do7not profess to know
all the conditions under which It ex-
plOdes; i have warned the public as
much as necessary, think, us to the
dangers of the oil, in my German
pamphlet; I am not responsible for this
one; e;nitro-glycerineh has been used over
the four continents; could not tell all
the accidents that have happened by It;
have known OF their greasinS the
wheels of cart and the oil exploding
by percussion and upsetting the curt.
but not exploding the oil in the cart;
know of cases where people were killed
in Germany hy il; there was fire of
turpentine which heated the nitro-gly-
cerine; there wins n n explosion, driving
some of the turpentine into the grounds;
I was injured myself, but not by nitro
glvcerine: my brother was killed, but
not by the oil; he was experimenting
with dilute nitric acid and glycertne
that would not produce drop of nitro
gIycerine; there was II similar explosion
at Paris; to make the nttro-glycerine,
glyceriue must be treated with nitric
acid in the presence of sulphuric, which
produces different conditions entirely
from what my brother was DOING
Know of an accident in n .Iuine, where
u miner was clearing out the taInpinE
from charge which he had TILED; u
single drop exploded, and blew out
the tapping bar without injurinS the
man; drop of nitro glycerite de-
velops in bursting heat of about
1000 degrees; yOu can explode the
oil in gunpowder without setting
tire to the powder; 1 have done it; IL
does not set fire to anything; this Sile-
clan accident L only know from news
papers; the only way to explode the oil
Is by the patent fuse, which contains ii
rather strong percussion cap: even with
that people often complain to me that
II Will not 90 off, which is II proof of its
safety; heard of the Wyoming Hotel
explosion, but cannot get a clear ac-
count of IT.; one account5is that before
its ex plosion the box was inn huue.
The only way can account for the eS-'
pIOSiOn in San Francisco is that the oil
leaked out into the sawdust packing
thus heating the oil; water and sawdust
will heat TO 800 degrees. The accident ut
Aspinwmll I don't believe was from
IniLro-glycerine; had II single case OK
ploded there would have been nosecond
ships bottom ,oul; should. say there
has not been above 1000 pounds shipped
from Hamourgh here; 1t has been trans
ported all over Europe, and its trnns-
mission, so far as know, has never
resulted in an accident there; thereare
regulations of Prussia prescribing the
method of packing the oil, AID those
are followed; 1 don't remember what
the mark prescribed is, but know the
rule has been complied with.
To Judge Dean-Tne properties of the
oil are, ii rst, it is aEltquid; second, it is
poisonous; third, If you set fire 1t does
not explode; fourth, IL confined aud
heated to $50 degrees it explOdes; fifth,
it has more concentration OF power
than gunpowder; it is composed of car
bon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen;
it Is very hard to state the proportions;
believe its chemical formula ia G 8 ii
503(N o 5) 8; nitric acid is used in
making gun cotton. and is the princi-
pal ingredient in oil, paper treated with
nitric and sulphuric acid becomes eS-
plosive; the purpose of the sulphuric
acid is to help the nitric 10 its strength;
we are trying to toinVeStiRabe tne euectoI
oil when mi ixed with sHwdust; my im-
preston is that this mixture will prove
more dangerous than the oil itself; we
are investigating it now. (Judge Dean,
dryly-We have Investigated ii.l My
impression is that you did not obtain
an explosion, but the rapid evolution
of fhypo-nitrous acid threw the sRwdust
about; the mixture is IA burning sub
stance, while the oil is MOI; it might
burn and heat the oil to the explosive
point; the Prussian regulations are
quite recent: they were made just be
| fore 1 left Europe, about three weeks
ago; these regulations were caused by
the Bohemian accident; there is no such
regulation in Austria IhHt know of I
do not sell it in, Austria, because there
is tax of some $500 on hundred
weight; the Governments OF Austria
and France have a monopoly of gum
powder.
WEagain have thereport that Grino-
line Is dead. But having heard this SO
ofIen, it will be now received with
doubt. CrinolIne has been endowed
with as much vitality as any of the
mysterious belongings and arrange
ments constituting the lower strata of
of far woman's drapery-that drapery
which modern fashion has displayed in
relations so tantalIzing to curious eyes,
! hnts thaE acanE1 mechanism of which Is