The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-10
ABOUT EXPLOSIVES.
AN ENTHUSIASTIC DOCTOR WHO IS
PRACTICALLY BOYCOTTEO.

PRACTICALLY BOYCOTTEO.
Dynamite and Nitro-GIycerine Lying
Concerning Gunpowdcr-A Little TX
Observation-Disclosures of IA Mystery.
DIR. Cyrus Edison, of the health department,
is an enthusiast on the subject of explosives.
He comes by his taste through his intimacy
with Lieut. Zalinski, of the artillery, the dyn-
amiter of tho United States army. The two
are interested III more than one Internal ma
chine designed To destroy more lives in war
times than the doctors activity in hunting
down food adultcrators has saved in days of
peace. The clerks at the sanitary hcaduuar-
tiers give DIR Edson's desk wide berth for
its secret drawers are known To contain dyna-
mite, nitro-Slyccrinc and giant powder enough
in various forms 10 blow Gen. Shalcr's health
brigade into the middle of next week. On
quiet afternoons, when the army of clerks and
employs has cleared out, DIR. Edison enjoys
little private ~cances with his pet pIaythingS
y reporter came upon the doctor ON ono of
these occasions and found him asserting little
piles of what appeared to be coal ground into
different sizes and shapes. On one side lay
half a dozen of sticks of candy wrapped in
tissue paper. The doctor often seizcs lots of
candy, and the reporter made grab for one
DR.. Edison stayed his hand.
You'd better" he said, leave that TO
others to chew. That candy is nitro-glyccr-
inc done up IN n convenient cartridge, and
one piece Of it would blow you and me and
all of this room into such small bits that they
would have u carry us home III u bag-what
was left Of us. y very small bag would prob
ably do. However, you need not be afraid
1t will only explode by defamation. Never
thelesS it Is safer not To- fool with it. But
look here. What do you suppose this ISL
pointing To the little heaps of black grains ON
the desk.
Warned by experience, the reporter adj
mitted that it might be anything
a CHAT ABOUT GUNPowDER
Well unused the doctor, from the looks
50 it might As it appears, it is powder.
These little black heaps represent successive
stages Of human progress in the science of
doing unto his nciShbor hc is str;lining
every nerve To avoid being done 10y. See
this heap Of black pebbles, like black peas of
crratic shape That Is the common, coars-.
ordnance powder for field guns. This, that
looks like bituminouS nut coal without gloss
sharp edges, Is what they give the big guns
To make them bark; and this you thought
was black coffee grounds is the mortar
powder for bomb guns with very short bore.
1t has prudiGinuS energy, burns quickly,
the small grains present the largest surface to
the action of the fire. / say quick burning
All powder burns quickly to the eye; but
science distinguishes easily between the real
and the apparent, and the terms quick burn
ing and slow burning, applet to powder
are not miSnomcrs The difference Is
very important one Tho small grain
powders that flash quickly Were never To
be counted ON. Every once III a while they
burst the gun. Why they did it IA mys-
terry, until an apparatus invented that
measured accurately the pressure cXcrtcd in
side IA gun barrel by the explosion Of n given
amount of powder. Then it found that
the pressure varied enormously under exactly
similar circumstances. Careful experiments
led up To the discovery that, III the firing of u
charge of large grained powder, the part of il
nearest the point of ignition mt times, 10y OK
ploding, reduced the size of the grains in the
rest of the charge To- dust, thereby presenting
suddenly an enormous surface To- combustion
with far more violent results than antici.
patcd.
The doctor put into the hands uf the r..
porter two little humps of what appeared To
lie stove polish, one resembling exactly a
round muSkct bullet fresh from the mould
and with the rough edges adhcring yet the
other good sized marble TINT had been
forced into hexagonal form at both poles
when soft. Put in that shape" he resumed
the powder burns with more uniform and
constantly increasing pressure. 1t no longer
flashes, but burns. Look" and, suiting the
action To she word, DR. Edison held one OF tile
bullet shaped grains over lighted gas jet on
the end Of stick. In a moment it blazed uu
and flew like "A burning meteor, throwing oil
clouds of smoke, across the room 1t burned
all the way across, and was consumed before
it reached the door, leaving no mark where il
fell.
They have since improved even on that,
said the doctor, "and made Il powder of enor
nous density 10y COMPRISING it with by
draulic pressure into certain peculiar shapes
and now the sudden high pressure explosives
are of rare occurrence, though they do occur
still. New York Mail and Express.