Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1880-12-11

corresponding pitcher of mixed sui
phuric and nitric acids. Immediately
below the shelf on which the glycerine
jar stands is a two and one fourth inch
iron pipe, which brings a current of
cold air from the receivers connected
with the two blowers above mentioned.
This current of air is distributed to each
jar, while the acid sand glycerine are
mixed by a rubber pipe, to which is
attached a glass tube sixteen inches
long. and with a -fourth-inch bore.
During the nour and half or two
hours that the glycerine takes to run off
into the pitchers, the greatest care and
closest attention is requisite. The three
men whose duty it is to attend to the
mixing process have each row of pitch
ers to watch. walking the whole time
up and down beside them, with Their
mOmeter in hand, and, as the nitrous
fumes rise from the forming nitro
glycerine, they stir the mixture with
the glass tube before mentioned. in n
pitcher that may be giving out too
violent fumes. Sometimes this is
caused by the glycerine running
little freely, which fires the mix
ture. wastes the glycerine, forming
oxalic acid, and develops unpleasant
vapors. In such case, by pushing
back little wooden peg in the glass
jar the flow of glycerine is lessened,
and by stirring with the glass tube the
nitrous vapors are dispelled. Should
the engine stop working by any unfore-
seen circumstance, the current of air
will. of course. be stonped, when the
mixture will take fire. In this case it is
necessary to stir the mixture, and at
once stop the flow of glycerine.
When the glycerine and acid are all
mixed, and the nitrous fumes cease to
appear, the nitro-glycerine from each
pitcher is dumped into large tank of
water at temperature OF 40 degrees,
about $50 pounds of nitrO-glycerine
being the amount of each batch manu-
featured. The nitro-glycerine sinks to
the bottom. and is covered by about six
feet Of water. Here it remains for fif-
teen minutes, to be subsequently
washed free from all impurities. This
tank projects through the floor to
basement chamber, its bottom being on
slight incline, so that the nitro
glycerine may run out easily. The
water is first drawn off from
the top of the nitro-glycerine,
and then the latter is run into a
wooden swinging tub, in shape some-
what like an Old-fashioned butter
churn, but a good deal larger in diam
eter. In this it is washed five times,
three times with plain water and twice
with soda, a current of air working
through it at the same time. The
water from this tub is run off into q
wooden trough which conveys it to
barrel buried in the earth in the side of
which hole carries it to another bar
rel little lower down the hill. and this
into another barrel, whence it finds its
way to the dump of rocks which were
removed from the tunnel; any nitro
glycerine that may have escaped the
washing process being collected and re-
tanned in one or other of these three
barrels.
The nitro-glycerine is by this time
thoroughly washed and ready to store
in the magazine three hundred feet
distant, to which it is carried in couple
of pals. In the magazine the nitro
glycerine is poured into "crocks," as
they are called, earthenware jars hold
ing sixty pounds. These crooks are
then placed in q wooden tank two and |
one-half feet deep, which holds twenty
of them, and immersed to within six |
inches from the top of the jars in water |
warmed by a small pipe from the boiler,
to raise the temperature to seventy de- |
grees. at which temperature it is kept |
all the time, as nearly as possible. They |
remain in this water about seventy-twO |
hours. during which time any impurities
still remaining rise to the surface as
scum. and are skinned off with a
spoon. The nitro-glycerine is then
pure. transparent as water,
refracts light powerfully, and is ready |