The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1866-08-01

disappear, and 20 also would those huge
spaces Of waste land which are Ublired
10 be kept free round these perilous store.
houses, and On which farmers may not
venture to cultivate nor architects to build.
In the matter of transport alote this new
method OF mixing powder would effect
saving Of f5 los. per ton.
"As we have said, the Ordnance Select
Committee have tried the mixture in
almost every possible way, ahd always
with the same unvarying success Bar
rels Of gunpowder thus protected have
been placed on bare fifes have had red
hot pokers thrust into them, and the
loose mixture has been thrown by shovels
full into fires, but all in vain. 1t would
not explode, and in the great majority of
instances, when tried in tolerably largo
quantities, it would not even btrn: Nd
experiment on very large scale, howevS
er, was tried till Wednesday aftettoon.
This was made in condemned Marteld
tower called the Pet Tower No. 81, sit
uated on the beach about seven miles
south of Hastings, and half way between
that town and Rye General Leroy sup
erintended all the arrangements, and most
OF the other members of the Ordnance
Committee were also present with General
st. George, Professor Abel the govern
ment chemist, &c.
THE EXPERIMENTS.
"For the experiment five tons Of gun
powder had been mixed with twenty tons
OF MIR. Gales composition and packed in
three hundred and thirty-eight barrels.
Of these, one hundred barrels were placed
in the magazine of the tower and two
hundred and thirty eight in its upper
wooden floor, the usual passages being
lett between the barrels for the purpose
ot examination. 1t was proposed to fire
the magazine under conditions represent.
ing as far as practicable what might
occur in reality, either by accident or
design In the first instance it was in.
tended to fire it by means of the magnetic
electric machine then, if this failed, the
interior woodwork of the tower was to
be lit to ascertain the mode of action of
powder thus protected when stored in a
burning building. A strong body of
police were stationed at first to keep the
spectators at a safe distance from the
tower; ; but this precaution, though wise,
was socn found to be unnecessary, and
after time every one came as near the
building as he liked.
SIN three of the barrels thus slowed
away were three powerful fusees, each
connected with small quantity of pure
] nIlnnnNyfIpr
time from volcanic battery No. 50 Mar.
tello tower, about halfa-mile distant.
On tn: discharge of the first fusee no
visible effect whatever was produced out
side the tower. When the second fusee
was fired, small quantity Of smoke was
seen to issue from the chimney at the
top OF the tower roof, and no further
effect beyond this was produced by the
firing of the third fusee. After short
interval General Leroy, with three other
gentlemen, entered the tower and found
that the heads of two of the barrels con.
tanning the fusees had been blown out,
and small portion of the contents had
been blown out. and a small portion of
the contt nts had been scattered over tho
surrounding barrels. The protected pow
der, however, had ceased to burn and
was nearly cold. The third fusee had
not taken effect at all.
" 1t was then determined to set fire to
the building. This was very easily done.
as the floor of the first story consisted of
loose planks, placed at little distance
from each other, so that they would rapi.
dly burn, as the air could get between
them. A pile of dry firewood was placed
on this floor at the edge of the barrels of
gunpowder, and on this being fired dense
volumes of smoke were seen TO issue from
the door and windows of the tower. IL
was soon evident, from the peculiar color
OF the vapor, that the gunpowder was
being slowly consumed and, although
the quantity of smoke was irregular and
sometimes very dense, nothing in the
slightest degree approaching to an expld-
sion occurred, General Leroy was soon
so far satisfied of the non existence of
danger that he allowed several gentlemen
to look in at the door cf the tower to see
how the gunpowder was burning.
'Two barrels of protected gunpowder
were than placed on a pile of faggots,
which were lit. From this huge bon
fire soon rose, and its flames were famed
into an intense fiercencss by the strong
sea breeze. Those quickly penetrated
the cask, which broke up and let loose
their contents in the midst of the fire.
Still there was not the slightest symp-
tom of explosion On the contrary, the
mass of protected powder rather deaden-
ed down the flames the first, and it was
only at its c lg's that the mixture fixed
and spluttered like portfre. During
this time the fire in the tower continued,
and smoke, but no flames, steadily issued
from the openings. Occasionally a sud-
den increase in the volumes of smoke in
Gicated that barrel had burst and ex-
posed an unusual quantity of powder to
the flames but so confident had the
gentleman become who had witnessed
the experiments that they continually
looked into the building and actually
went inside the the door TO see how the