The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-09-08
DUALIN.
Trial OF this Powerful Explosive
Agent-Its Marvellous Effect and
Successful Operation.

Successful Operation.
From the Louisville Courier-Journal.l
The bids for the contract OF clearing
the enterance of the canal not having
met with the approval OF General Welt
eel, the United States Engineer, in
charge Of the canal Improvements, that
officer has taken this part of the work
into his own hands That this is ex-
ceedingly commendaole on his part,
may be recognized whea it is stated
that a considerable sum is saved to the
Government by this action, and with
out any personal advantage to the
Superintendent. The enterance to the
canal, at the mouth OF Fifth street, is
the most important part OF the work, as
heretofore yearly loss Of at least $780,
900 has been oca>ioned 10 the passing
boats by the ledge of rocks at this point
Some experiments have been recently
made with very powerful explosive
agent, which promises TO facilitate the
work very greatly, ii adopted, which it
already has been, to a certain extent,
and doubtless will be throughout, from
the very force OF its superiority, especl-
ally for submarine blasting. The agent
is called Dualin, and was introduced to
the notice OF Gen. Weitzel by the agents
of the Latin IL Rand Powder Company,
in New York, which company, it may
be said incidentally, has twelve mills in
operation, situated in Maryland, New
York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,
and last year was said to have sold halt
Of all the powder made in America.
Dualln has been adopted in Boston
for the use OF blasting in the harbor,
and has been the means Of the extra
ordinary and rapid work Of tunneling
the Hoosac tunnel in Massachusetts,
Dualin is prepared from nitro benzole,
and has peculiar hard and dry APP
pearance, as if made of brown paper
Shavings, generally OF poplar, are i'm
pregnated with the nitro benzole, and
this compound is the simple but power
full agent Ii is fully as powerful as
nitro glycerine, but not as dangerous,
as i; may be handled without fear, and,
when ignited in open air, will burn as
paper; but it will explode violently on
percussion. 1t is fourteen times more
powerful than ordinary blasting powder,
and altogether is forty per cent cheaper.
Its pressure is downward, while that Of
powder is upward, so that it always
blows out the rock for a certain space
below the drill. 1t can be used in
much smaller drill than powder could
be effectively done. 1t was tried on
Saturday last at the tunnel near New
Albany, on the st. Louis Airline, and
accomplished in few minutes the work
OF hours by the ordinary process.
The trial yesterday at the foot of Sixth
street was eminently successful, six Gu
bic yards being cleared in brief time,
The dualin is placed in cartride form
in the drill under the water, and with
out filling accomplisnes its work. The
ordinary process is tedious. The six
drills were exploded by means OF an
electric battery, which is the patent OF
Mr.. John Smith, of New York. This
is an electric machine which has the
merit OF being always in order for its
work; perfectly air tight, and is not al
ected by the change OF weather, as the
ordinary ones are, to the great nconve-
nience of parties engaged in blasting
The instantaneous explosion of the six
charges produced wonderful effect,
throwing some small rocks as far as the
loot OF Sixth street General Welzel
has ordered twenty-five hundred pounds
of the material tor immediate use, and
will probably adopt it altogether, Next
week new drilling machine will arrive,
which can perform the marvellous work
of boring three inches per minute in the
hardest rock. 1t made three hundred
blows per minute, with the weight OF
eleven hundred pounds to each blow.