The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-09-23
MAKING GUN COTTON.
Uncle Sans Factory for the PreparatiO
of This Explosive.

of This Explosive.
Gun cotton is common enough. and
! every body has some sort of an idea
what it is like" said a chemist, .'bur
/ there isn't one person. probably. out OF
a hundred that knows what it Is made
| OF, or how it is made, TO say nothing OF
/ knowledge of the fact that there is
only one place in the United States
| where it is manufactured. This manu-
factory has only been in operation for a
| year or so 1t belongs to the govern
ment and is right Ill Newport harbOr,.
within sight and sound of the great
| summer world of fashion that is created
at Newport every year. Until that fac
J tory was started, all the gun cotton used
! by our government, and by everyOnei
else who had use for it, came from Eng
| land. All the torpedoes are now made.
of this home manufactured explosive
The manufacture OF gun cotton is AM
| interesting process. The best cotton
waste only. combined with the purest
| and strongest of sulphuric and nitric
acids is used in making it. There is
but one establishment in the country
where the sulphuric acid used by the
! government can be obtained. Tho
waste is subjected to a careful and
| thorough hand-picking. the pickers re-
moving every possible particle of dirt
andgr 1t is then placed in huge boil
ing tanks There it seethes for hours.
Then it passes through cleaning pro-
cess, being washed thoroughly, when it
is reboiled. At this stage in the treat
ment of the waste there is not particle
of oily matter left in it, and it has be-
come harsh and stiff, almost like wire
cloth AffaT. fbn caonnI haili,nr q NJ
placed in a room heated by the waste
til it is perfectly dry. As it dries the
punches, like the ripe seed pods of a
touch-me-not plant when they are touch
ed. In that condition its contact with
the acids could not be even and thor
ough. so the waste snarls are rum
through neutrality-suspicious., which
picks and pulls and tears it into a WOOL
ly or fluffy condition, when it would be-
n perfect absorbent if there was not
still remaining in it a certain amount
of moisture, imperceptiDle to the touch
but quickly detected by the action of
the acids. To remove this moisture the
waste is placed in an air-tight box,
where it is exposed to steady heat, the
temperature being kept at 200 degrees.
This exposure, after five hours, has dis
sipated all the latent moisture, and then
the cotton is ready for the acid, having
been made into small bundles for the
purpose.
1.-The apartment where the cotton and
acid are brought together is called the
dipping-room Iron troughs are filled
with nitric and sulphuric acid mixed.
one part of the former and TWO parts of
the latter. Into these the cotton is
placed, one bundle at a time. Ten min
utes in the bath is sufficient to soak the
cotton through and through. The cot
ton is put into hand presses and the
acid pressed out. At this stage the
acldized waste is put into covered earth
en- jars. In these jars the cotton under
goes a radical chemical reaction. and so
great is the heat evolved during the
transformation that the jars are placed
in vessels into which cold water is kept
constantly running about them. After
twenty-four hours of this treatment the
cotton has become vitiated, which is
the last stage in its practical evolution
into gun cotton, but it still holds its acid
ingredients, and they must be removed
even to the slightest suspicion of their
presence, or their action would soon de-
stroy the value of the explosive.
10 remove the acid from the nitrat-
ed waste it is run one jarful or charge
at time through a powerful wringer,
which separates all of the acid that it is
possible to separate by pressure, From
the wringer it is transferred to a large
tub into which water is constantly flow
ing. The cotton is agitated and tumbled
about in the water by a wheel which
turns rapidly in the tub. No more
thorough washing could be given to
anything than this gun cotton receives
there 1t is tumbled about in the water
until the latter. which is tested every
little while by the employe in charge,
has no suspicion of acid. When the
gun cotton emerges from this bath it
has been drawn into long shreds and
rolled into many balls, and it is then
safe to handle and store away for use-
In that form however it would take up
too much room and be inconvenient for
use. and tits. put through processes to re-
| duce its bulk.
1.-The shreddy and globular fragments
of cotton are made into charges of 800
pounds weight. A tub large enough to
receive this bulk is fitted inside with
steel cutters and grinders. Water is
mixed with the cotton, and it Is ground
and cut into an almost impaipable pulp.
This process soils the cotton, and the
pulp is rensed with lime-water until il
is clean again. The pulp is then drawn
from the tub into an iron tank From
the tank it is fed into iron molds, which
press the water from the pulp and form
it into cylinders eight inches long and
| something over three inches in dia-
meter. The cylinders of cotton are
then placed under powerful hydraulic
press, which reduces them under pres
sure of LOO pounds to the square inch
This tremendous weight on the cylin-.
ders fattens them into cakes two inches
thick. and their specific gravity is about
that of water-a tritle greater. The gun
cotton is then ready for use and stor-
age, and, owing to its conditions OF
great safety both in storage and use, is
far superior to any explosive for naval
warfare yet invented. A torpedo that
when loaded with gunpowder will weigh
nearly 400 pounds will weigh but IS
pounds when made of gun cotton. -
Nea0 York Sun. ss.,ss