Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-05-31
E MAN in any station can DO his duty,
and, doing it, can earn his own respect.
Charles Dickens.
Is FLOUR EXPLOSIVE?

The terrible mill explosions III differ
ent PARTS of the world, particularly in
Minneapolis, have appeared mysterious
IN their origin. Perhaps the theory of
Prof. I. ". 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
nillers may well heed the warming that
there is giant force locked up in the
familiar wheat berry which, when the
right time arrives, can, without q mo-
m9nt's warning, convert a scene of thrift
and industry into one of desolation.
There are certain conditions in which
tae simplest substances become the most
dangerous. Hydrogen heated with air
evolves violent explosive force Chlor-
ate OF potash will not ignite, and starch
e<tinguishes taper that is plunged into
it; bat mixture of the two substances
=. -! cn}y highly ccmhustible, but ex-
pi,siye. Tie fine dust from the wood
OF furniture factory in mass viii not
take fire readily, but if heap of it is
charged with air from bellows a flame
viii leap out of it when lighted tape
is applied and the same is true of fine
patent flour.
The minute spores of the club moss
form an almost impalpable powder, yet
it is highly infammable, and Is often
used III 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 explosiveness of -four, the
professor has devised a four-gun, COM
posed of pyramidal 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 a movable
shoot operated by an outside trigger.
the hopper is loaded with -four or mill
dust, and the mouth of the gun is coy
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, a 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 it the flame and the dust
and in few seconds, after three tre-
mendous detonations, flames leaped up
from the mass OF ruins of three great
structures.
1t is we'll known that the air of a -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