St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-05-05
THE NOBEL WORKS.
Description of the Largest Dynamite Fac
tory i'm the World.

The factory lies in the heart OF
great expanse Of sandy plain ON the
southwest coast of Scotland. On ap'
preaching it visitor is hailed by the
mounted guard that patrols the envi-
ronments of the factory. and he will
have to show very satisfactory creden'
tials before he is allowed to 60 further.
On the way to the managers house q
village is passed where live the whole
of the operatives employed in the man.
ufacture of nitro-giycerine. Il is mere
ly street of small tenements, stand
ing on the threshold Of the palisades
which inclose NJ Nobers houses. Some
distance from the managers house ID
the shed where the practical process Of
making nitro-glycerine is seen at q
glance. Before the visitor gets there,
however, he is Invested of his
watch, chain, money, keys and every
particle of metal he may have
about him. This seemingly excessive
precaution is perfectly necessary, for
the fall of even penny on floor con-
tainining a grain of the explosive
might be attended with disaster. Felt
shoes have to be worn. In the first shed
reached there is large tank in which
are two parts of Oil of vitriol and one
part of the flaming nitric acid. A els
tern above the tank contains glycer-
inc, and when this is introduced into
the acid the compound known as nitro
glycerine, is at once formed. The
operation is, however. an extremely
delicate one. The tank is in charge Of
workman, upon whom the sole re-
sponsibility of an explosion rests. II
TOO much glycerine is introduced into
the acids at one time the tenn
perature of the mixture may rise above
W degrees Fahr., and spontaneous
explosion will at once follow, so that
the operatives eyes are never off the
thermometer; his own hope of safety
aies in keeping down the temperature
bf the mixture to some seven or eight
degrees below its explosive heat He
is aided somewhat by ice and cold
water, which are outside the vat; but
The compound is occasionally cratic,
and will gain heat Notwithstanding all
precautions For such case the only
alternative is to move q lever, which
lowers one side of the tank and allow
che whole of the contents to run
through sluice into pond. when it
is about an even chance whether it will
explode ere it leaves the shed or wait
until it reaches the open.
The sectond step is to wash the new.
ly-formed chemical combination in
kater, which very slightly absorbs it.
Ht is then put into s'Wiachester quarts"
and conveyed with the utmost care into
wooden huts or dug-outs. As an in
stance Of the extreme susceptibility OF
the nitro-glycerine to conclusion, it is
related that q man was once seen to
slip in the act of depositing bottle in
o hut; he merely tripped, in the ordi-
nary sense Of the word. but there was.
an instant explosion, and hardly a
fragment of the poor fellow was gath
cred for decent burial. Passing on
Through other sheds, we see the mix
ture of the nitro glyoerine with
a peculiar foralniferous earth, the
new substance being dyna-
mite. This is then carried
to long shed. where it is pressed into
cartridges by machinery, the operatives
being young women. Not the least
curious of the many curiosities at these
works are the ponds into which the wash
ing water is run. Tradition has it that
the decorative property of the waters
was not discovered until an angler one
day attempted to seduce the fish with
q May-fy. AT his first cast, however.
the pond blew up. and he found him.
self hundreds of yards away, happily
unhurt. To obviate similar danger
now, Saturday is reserved exclusively
for cleaning the works IN every depart
ment, and among other things for de-
liberately blowing up the ponds. After
congratulating himself on asafe journey
through the various houses, the stran-
ger is apt to hurry from the factory
and only to breathe freely when he is
again at the station. He will not have
failed, however, TO- notice the many
precautions taken to insure safety for |
those who daily risk their lives in these |
very hazardous operations. Each Sec
hon of the operatives ID distinguished |
by peculiar canvas suit with a col
pred marking; no one may go ON any |
pretense. leaving his own department. |
The women work in felt shoes and |
bathing dresses, and every single |
gorkman or wcrkwonan ID stripped |
md reclothsd before going % their la
Dor. The explosives. too. are handled |
IN the smallest possible quantities. save |
b the first room Of manufacture, |
where enough 10 made at, one time to
blow up . city. The nitre-glycerine
itself IL stransparents colorless, oily |
auid. eighty soluble in water, but
readily so in spirit, ether or fat. One
Eavorite way ofdestroying it is by boil
ing 1t in potash when il deoomposes,
glycerine and nltre being formed. Per-
haps the most curious use to which it
has ever been put is the result Of the
searching Investigations ofits medicin-
oil properties by DIR. VIM. Murrell, who