The sun., 1885-07-05

the first two have recently shown
no improvements. The third, however,
the chlorates, have become far safer
through the recent use Of fluid hydro
carbon In place OF the dangerous pulverized
solid. Rackarock Is the name given to the
new CELEBRATES, which, with great strength
tation and storage, have made OF late de-
cided advance. The fourth group, neverthe-
less, Is still uppermost in favor. 1t includes
four types-pure niLro-glyoerine. dynsmites
with an inert base, blasting gelatine, and
gelatine dynamite. In this class the most
available for military purposes Is said to be
forclte, whose manufacture here only dates
from last summer. Finally. the panclastites,
or SpRKNaRL group although all as yetin the
experimental stage, are said to possess at
tractive features for military use.
At tho head Of the important tasks to be
performed by high explosives In war Col.
ABBOT places submarine mining. For this
purpose gun cotton and dynamite No. are
now favorites, but will probably have to
give way to explosive geatine.
The next use to be noted is that OF military
land mining. Here the defence has more to
expect from these new allies than the attack.
The attack above ground will greatly suffer
hereafter from improved weapons. prolong-
ing the fire upon the saps:
"The later parallels may have to be made by driving
forward galleries; forming branches to the right and
left under the proposed site exploding several mines
simultaneously; and then occupying tho craters with
rush. But for such work large crnters neoessity
and for equal rad the slowly burning gunpowder has
more lifting power and hence gives better cover than
any high explosive.
"Ths chief object OF defensive mines II o crush the
galleries OF the attack without producing crAters in
which he can form q lodEmsnt. For such work the
high explosives vastly SUPERIOR by reason OF their
greater intensity and destructive range"
A third use OF high explosives will be
found in the hurried demolition Of stockades,
masonry wallis bridges. and captured can
non. Since tho new explosives may be used
without tamping, they will save time, upon
which success often depends. Until very re-
Gently the danger Of accidentally exploding
them has been great objection to trans
porting them with armies; but this diff
Guilty will henceforth be avoided by what
Col. ABBOT calls the grand discovery that
the addition Of small percentage Of CAM
phor renders explosive gelatine safe against
the impact OF bullet"
or the employment Of high explosives In
shells, which is tho one that chiefly attracts
attention just now, Col. ABBOT says that 1t
"is still in the experimental stage. because
no certain mode OF regulating the time OF
explosion has yet been discovered" When,
however, this has been accomplished, certain
advantages will result:
''For neld guns these advantages will chiefly come
from thicker and heavier shells broken into more
and fran anita md ailahi for
longer ranges than at present
For medium calibres, such as are used in siegcs
and bombNdments the shell capacity Is necessarily too
small cafry decisive charges; and in my Judgment
the effects will be moral rather than physical This IL
due to the intensely local action Of these high explosives
The terrifying frghtful upon the object
struck will perhaps appal new troops. but old soldiers
will! learn that the bark Is than the bite.
1t may be we'll to note that in Sweden as
long ago as 1867, within year Of the practi-
cal use Of dynamite for blasting, seventeen
shells, each charged with more than pound
and a half OF the substance, were success
fully fired from an 1s-pounder howltzer.
Three years later. in Norway. in trials with
a 6s-inch KRuPP gun, after shells full OF
dynamite had been successfully fired with
small charges of gunpowder, this charge
was increased to 1.65 pounds and the shell
DuTSU III LILO pore. AlleTWHru, however,
shells filled with water and primed with an
ounce OF dynamite In a copper extension Of
the fuse plug were safely fired with full
charges. Soon after. in May, 1871. two shells
loaded with dynamite were fired without ac-
cident into the hostile lines, during tho siege
operations of the Second Corps of the Army
Of Versailles. One was fired from o.
pounder howitzer, the other from mortar;
and the dynamite was enclosed in rubber
bag held in position with gunpowder, and
ignited by a time fuse.
These instances and others that might be
cited show that even dynamite proper was
long ago used In shells; but there ls no need
OF resorting to a high explosive which is SO
sensitive as this to shocks. when safer ones
are now known. Among these are wet gun
cotton, which was adopted in England after
dry gun cotton had caused explosions in the
bore. Last summer several rounds OF gun
cotton shells were fired, at our Naval Ex-
perimental Battery. from 6.4-inch breech-
loading rifle, with the service charge OF ton
pounds Of gunpowder, giving an initial veloc-
ity Of 1880 feet:
"The shells contained three pounds of gun cotton
with thin layer Of oakum at the base reduce the
shock No premature explosion occurred but the shells
exploded oil impact with an iron target without pene
tration. Whether larger charges would be equally safe
Ia mnifar of great doubt In Russia as recently as
1888, shell containing 40 pounds of wet gun cotton
fired from an llinch rifle charged with 1913 pounds Of
gunpowder, hurst In the bore disabling the gun.
"Explosive seatine. especially in Its camphorated
FORM promises better Experiments made at sandy
Hook last summer by our Ordnance Board with
special form Of she'll nred from eixhtnch rife, and
charged with Ave pounds of blasting geatine Wthous