Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1882-08-02
rs FLOUR ExPLOsIVE,

rs FLOUR ExPLOsIVEf
The terrible mill explosions in differ
ent parts of the world, particularly in
Minneapolis, have appeared mysterious
in their origin. Perhaps the theory of
Prof. T. W. Tobin may be sufficient to
explain the cause of some of these ex-
plosiOns. Certainly nothing so plausi-
bic has been advanced to account for the
sudden destruction of the mills in Glas-
gov, Scotland, and in Minneapolis, and
millers may well heed the warming that
there is giant force locked up in tho
familiar wheat berry which, when the
right time arrives, can, without mo-
ment's warning, convert scene of thrift
and industry into one of desolation.
There are certain conditions in which
the simplest substances become the most
dangerous. Hydrogen heated with air
evolves violent explosive force. Chlor-
ate of potash will not ignite, and starch
extinguishes taper that is plunged into
it; but mixture of the two substances
is not only highly combustible, but ex-
plosive. The fine dust from the wood
of furniture factory in a mass will not
take fire readily, but if heap of it is
charged with air from a bellows flame
will leap out of it when lighted taper
is applied; and the same is true of fine
patent -four.
The minute spores of the club moss
form an almost impalpable powder, yet
it is highly infammable, and Is often
used in the manufacture Of fireworks and
the artificial representation of lightning.
1t is maintained by Prof. Tobin that the
dust on the outside of the wheat grain
contains similar organic spores which
render the dust s. aft and dust rooms the
most dangerous places in mills. To il
lustrate the explosivness of flour, the
professor has devised four-gun, COM
posed Of pyramidai shaft and barrel,
with gas burner at its base, air holes
in its sides, and hopper at the top. At
the bottom Of the hopper is movable
shoot operated by an outside trigger.
the hopper is loaded with -four or mill
dust, and the mouth of the gun is COW
cred with stout newspaper. The
lighted gas creates an upward draught
and heats the air. When the trigger is
pulled and the dust or -four is charged
with the heated air, tremendous ex-
plosion follows; the building trembles
with the shock, the paper is blown to
shreds and takes fire by the great heat
generated in this way.
Upon the day of the destruction of the
three Minneapolis mills, they had been
running all day to the fullest capacity /;
the machinery was heated and the air
was charged with dust, for the wheat Of
that year was exceptionally hard and
dense. A workman carried an open
lantern to the dust shoot to examine
some machinery that had become de-
fective. A draught of air rushing in
carried before d the fame and the dust,
and in few seconds, after three tre-
mendous detonations, flames leaped up
from the mass of ruins Of three great
structures.
It is well known that the air of -four
mill is very dry, as is demonstrated by
the electricity generated by the belts,
and that fine -four will rapidly deprive
the atmosphere Of its natural humidity.
This fact, taken with theothers adduced,
renders valuable the advice that the
shafts of mills should be provided with
wet bulb thermometers, and that when
the air becomes sbnormally dry live
steam should be iniectedfrom the boilers
into the mill and, rs q moist atmos-
phere is held by competent millers to be
conducive TO making whittier and better
kind of -four, there seems to be no OBJ
lection to this remedy.-NeW York Sun.
PRENTICE was playing at poker on
Mississippi steamer. Prentice bet a
thousand on his hand his opponent
raised him five hundred; Prentice raised
-