The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-11-26
CELITLOTD.
Ono Of tho Wonders al Modern Discovery A
NonIbnsiibIr Snb.Iitutr Tor Ivory.

Conibusttbic Snbaiitutc ior Ivory.
The ordinary cotton Of commerce. when
treated with sulphufic ana nitric acids in equal
parts and then ditcd. In rendered hishly explo-
sivc, and Ia used Tor various purpD sea In 81 &c
OF RunpOwder. IL has been known fer u quar-
ter ~ century. but cannot be used Tor SIN III
arms and ordinance because IL fouls thom by
the re-iduum It leaves after explosion. II "a
valuable, however, for other purposes In the
arts, ard ~ such has stetdy der and Ire ted
with ether or alcohol, 1t Il Of solved and bo
comes collodion, liquid largely used In photo
crnphy and In some Of the rapid engraving pro-
ces-es
The soiubility " gun cotton. or as u is chemi
cnlly termed, pvroxylinc, 10y certain sgonis h
long been known, and atten p = h We b, EN- II ade,
with greater or less success, to render such so
tuition eolid; for the result of Cxperiments
proved that soldincd gun cotton possessed
qualities which would render It invaluable In
the arts II II couli he chcapiv made OF stand
ard qunlty. Amateur ard professional chemists
exhausted thelr means nnd their knowledge In
these experiments, but Tor long time little pro.
grcss WIS made toward anything like practical
results. Authorities differ Ms to who was the
earliest moderately successful manipulatOr OF
sOlldined gun cotton.
Prot Chas. \. Seciy, u wcll.known chemist Of
this city. SAYS that sixteen year. ago ne turned
hl- attention b. the subject, and succeeded m
making some solid pyruN yline, which he cnri led
n long time IN hts pucket. Another expert In
patent cuii-cs state tn man, We, r. ago a sur
Eeon ~ the n w reduced a sem. plastic colo
dion that could he kntndcd, or torn into
shape, and 81 tanned phtent fur his discovery.
Aboht the same nine "A DR.. y cClelland. 81 Louis
vlle ky., dentist. attained much greater de-
gree OF success, ana Hrpled his Ill scovcrv To
the mnDufaci TIRE OF dental pl ties Tor mounting
false teeth. Thi- material, or the method Of
making Sold uVruxvline was also patented, and
the stInAtunCp Introduced under the name
" Roe Pearl" NJ nv years AGO. also, an
Englt,hman naued Parkes obtained . n English
ultent for solid collection, which he termed
Pnrkesine." \ conn any Was formed 10 manu-
: cture It, nd 1t was made "a Mti,le e. trade.
II ppsses-ed some defects. however. which in
terfered with It's extended use, nd afe time
l. was given no. Another sanruiue inventor,
Soils by name, nlsu IN Eng-nman. then sp-
peared on tn field aud introduced another solid
lurd gun cotton under the name oi lvoute."
Ihis was apparently mucn letter than any pre-
N'Ns Wtcle OF the stine nature a u was AT
once put into the market. II was sold In this
cOuntrv II ~ per pound, and WAS used by cut
lery firms Hs substitute for ivory To large
extent. Hut after short tine IL, too, was
abandoned trregulMiiy IN the qu.Iiy and
character Of the material rendered 1t ~ value
as substitute for ivory 1t possessed "a GER
tun degree OF hardness, was inde-tructible hv
nriiu nv tcmu"r lures 90 unhnrcttd ~ aclu-'
bat IL mad tie disal'rr"ahle tliuntN ~ deNcluu-
ing surface sucak~ and cracks after the goods 1t
wa- applied to W re- in the market.
All is time other p.rs ms hau been actively
ensng In perfectin the suhst!nce, aud tier
"A series Of experiments. during " hich they went
through tho disapponturnts and draw hacks
Incidental 10 new enterprises, they discovered
new solvent Tor the uNf. xNline winch WIS not
only otp hle Of dige-ing it thorousI ~. but also
developed new and v la tlle quality. w sol.
vent wnS gun camunor. ana It's use. "a applied
to gun cotton, was discovered ~ JOnn w. HYATT
ana Isaiah ). iyatt Of Newark y. J.. and after
many ycar- " trial and experiment To .scertain
! the proper pr portions, tneV have been so SC
cessful that tn materi d ~ nov egulfr 0rtico
Of mercnandise. Many patents have been taken
out. aud IN one of tie lutsai the method OF
Manufacture l. described ~ follows;
The prne fcsare o. sG nroce'' cons, 81, - in The
iI i'm! ,'I ~, " mann iny ~ 10 c.n1hisr' 70
Win the pyr lAiline an h"l snhlc Jug ecomoounl
The cnnphor ,nsforns ne ryros,in". and compa,
thc o9mpound Int acompafauNeb sohd mass Il one
This simply produces the substance itself: It
| - tncn cumute--cd Into cakcs - suitable
arranged In vile with liver. Of tai er between,
and whole subjected to "A heavy hydraulic
pressure. lly this process tho m teri % Is rem
deted uniform and relieved Of most ct Us mnis-
ture. At the same tire the AR IL driven ont,
prey nting all danger uf spontaneous Ignition,
which from. the inaammahtitvni thcSuh tan"e,
| may occur when exposed to the sun or heated
air
The trade term Of "Cclluod" "a rpplied to
this new suhst nee. A. turned out In the raw
~ tterial 1t u white and exceedingly dcu.e ahd
! 81 a hammer. pos~eesc- great ELASTICITY. or -
| silence rntner, md has gram or cleavage he
| ulne wood IL "a easitv cut ana termed can be
! whitfield with an Ordinary pocket knife. an
| tlkes very handsome polish II Is unnnec ed
! b ordinary acids or the we ther, and withstands
/ cha1ng attutiun exceedingly well; from
| which quality II Ia adapted to rings for
! h lrne ssrs and similar purposes. II Is heavier
than water, and consequently will not float.
! A strong magnifying glass reveals no imprrfuc-
tiOns ~ unevenness In it, structure. In word,
! IL r. the most perfect artificial subs ttute Tor
| IVORY OF which we have any knowledge In the
arts at present. II l. even capable 81 being Used
for billiard btll-, an enc never before attained
10y my artificial ivory, A. II has nearly the spc
cnc gravity nd all the elasticity or life that
~ ~ has. II Is. OF course, much cheaner than
/ iyory, which costs from 81 To e. per pound. or
even than wal ami 9 or hard rubber, wnich II -
rapidiy suppl nting for uses In which the latter
! has hitherto held MONOPOLY. A. II "a entirely
colorle-s IN its manufactured condition, the
| Introduction OF any shade or TINT Is simple
matter, ana ~ II ~ now made seni-transpI rent,
! tue imith toH OF many tr fnslurCnt stones, such
/ as cdrneHan. Is 30 complete A. 10 deceive the
/ verN elect
| Cellulod IA upquestionrby new and useful
mRteri i, tut with all Il, good qualities It ha,
! some objectionable features for wutCh no
| remedy has been found. These it-
! hienlY innlmmable character and IT. alleged
explosive nature. Opinions, however. ate
! to It's combus .iDlity the g Is no question. Ihe
! underwriters, before insIrlng the iaotury In
! when Il was made at Newark, and which WAS
/ the scene OF "A recent eXpl sion Of some sort,
I re pat In fun possession ~ its lnhimm BILE
nature. ana ftcr inspeCti IN decided not to class
/ IN nufictured condition II Is simply inert CIV
| Ing out no NhpOr- or gases OF any sort, ana
therefore not 50 liable to do the punlc dn injury
"a a drug store or pa q where kerosene Il sold
| IL u Il Ito true that merely holding matcn To
! IL Cau~cs il to bum raninly, but u Is equally
true that merely scratching tho match ctuses
| INN sdiate com nu4tiOu 81 itself a lcsult that
/ e. .uNOt be brought about 10y scratching celln-
| l"td ; and a. matches are much more common
and accessible than cellulntd, It ~ difncult to
mia La