Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-09-12
eeeossrT etlGrIsss as q IIsISG
reg SHIPS.

The long standing rivalry between
heavy ordnance and arlAor plates i
likely ~ be disposed u ia . manner
little expected. a. means sppesrs %
have been discovered whereby the
sfscts of shot ard she'll, and even
tortedoSs. Uill b~ eff~ciBally neuirsl-
lied. For some time past naval ar
ehItects have ceased - rely solely
upon armor for the protection %
ships, for. notwithstanding tue snor.
nous thickness to which armoT
plates had attained, they Eers iSusd
70 be no match for the artillery that
vas brought 10 tear upon them
Steel plates and compound plates
were next tired, but 70 no avail. AZ
a further increase ia the thickness Of
pla,ss, whether Of iron or steel OF
both combined, vas imprsciicabie,
owing to the overweigbtlng OF YES
sells with arInor, shipbaildefs tried
the expedient Of supplying second
line Of defence Ia the coal bunkers,
which we're constructed along the
sides Of ships, especially those parts
where the machinery and magazine
are located. They certainly, to
some extent, furnished that second
line without overburiening the yes
sel, for Goals have 70 be carried
under any circumstances.
Bat far more effective protection
appears now 10 have been supplied
by the invention Of composition |
which, besides being efiicaeious a. a
protector, Possesses the merit OF De-
Ing light-a desideratum much want
ed by naval constructors. Ihts com
position IL 4 preparation obtained |
from cocoanut cellulOss, which has
the remarkable property. when pene-
traied by shot and she'll, or even
after the explosion Of torpedo,
Of closing up rapidly and thus
preventing the influx OF water
into the ships hold The very ap-
propriate name OF Golfer dan" has
been given TO the preparation, which,
besides being very light, - higbly
elastic and tenacious. Some import
ant experiments have lately been
made with the composition before
French commission at 1onlon,
which, If everything that Is reported
concerning them Is true, prove the
preparation 10 be destined To solve |
the arfaor plate controversy Inc
commission submitted the COMPOST |
ton TO three-fold test against shot,
shell and torpedo. The target was q
Golfer dam made OF mixture Of
fourteen parts Of pulverized eellulose
and one part of cellulose In h0er.
This composition was compressed to
a feltl like mass, Of which one cubic |
foot weighed about eight pounds
A layer Of beams four and three
fourth inches thick represented the
side Of the ship, behind which there
was a layer Of Golfer dam two feet
thick. Against this target seven
and ahalf.inch solid shot was fired,
which penetrated IL. taking with /:
not quite one fifth cubic foot Of com
position, a very small quantity, con
sidering the size OF the shot. But
as soon as the shot had passed
through the target the cellulose com
position closed up again. aud 10 firm
" that u strong man was unable To
force his arm through the opening
made. A box filed with water was
then fixed against the aperture, the
contents Of which ought TO have act
ed 10 the same way a. II the Golfer
dam had beer washed away by tue
sea. II was observed thai few
drops Of water began to percolaie
after the lapse Of from ten 10 fifteen
minutes. and even after the compost
ton had become well saturated with
water, only between three and five
piuts escaped per minute, which
could be easily Intercepted by pals.
As soon as the celiulose had become
thoroughly soaked and grown denser.
II offered greater resistance 10 the
percolation of water, which finally
almost ceased to flow. The expert
men,s with shell gave similar results,
the breach made closing automatic
ally. II was also found that the
Golfer dam was proof against fire.
A special experiment was made in
which red hot Goals were placed up
on mass Of Golfer dam. and cover
ell with the same composition, the
result being that the fire went out
The experiments with torpedoes
were not so decisive as those with
shot or she'll. A chest was anchored
out at sea, one side Of which was
lined with Golfer dam. torpedo
attached 10 Il. and exploded. The
chest floated for few seconds, and
then sank. When fetched up by
diver. IL was found that the lid had
been blown of. but the Golfer dam
composition was little injured The
above experiments appear TO prove
that the material 10 question pos
sesses the property OF automatically
closing leak caused by shot or snell,
and OF protecting ship to q certain
extent against fire. Whether its use
will render ships unsuitable remains
10 be shown, but we understand that
Ia order 10 investigate this point
thoroughly. further experiments on a
larger scale are 10 be undertaken by
the Touloa commission.