Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-11
SCOTCH DYNAMITE WORKS.
NITRo-GLYceRIhE FACTORY ON THE
SOUTHWEST COAST OF SCOTLAND.

The Excessive Precantion that Is Neces-
sary--A Delicate pti-
biIIty of Nitro-Glycerine I" Conclusion.
How the Explosive is Handled.
The factory lies in the heart of a great eX-
panse of sandy plain on the southwest coast
of Scotland. On approaching 1t visitor Is
hailed by the mounted guard that patrols the
environment of the factory; and he will have
to show very satisfactory credentials before
he is allowed 10 go further. On the way to
the managers house a village is passed where
live the whole Of the operatives employed in
the manufactory of nitro-glycerine 1t is
merely a street of small tenements standing
on the threshold of the palisades which en-
close NJ Nonel's houses. Some distance from
the managers house is the shed where the
practical process of making ro-glycerine
is seen at glance. Before the visitor gets
there, however .he is divested of his watch,
chain, money, keys, and every particle OF
metal he may have about hin. This seem
ngy excessive precaution is perfectly neces-
sary, for a fall of even IA penny on floor
containing II grain Of the explosive might be
attended with disaster. Felt shoes have to
be worn.
A DELICATE OPERATION.
tank in which are two parts OF oil of vitriol
and one part Of the funling nitric acid A
cistern above the tank contains glycerine,
and when this is introduced into the acid the
compound known as nitro-gl glycerine is at once
formed The operation is, however, an eX-
tremely delicate one The tank is in charge
of a workman upon whom the sole response
bility of an explosion rests. Ii too much
glycerine is introduced into the acids at one
time, the temperature of the mixture may
rise above n degs. Fahrenheit, and IA spon-
taneous explosion will at once follow; so that
the operatives eyes are never Off the ther-
mometer-his own hope of safety lies in
keeping down the temperature of the mkt
ure TO some or degs, below its explosive
heat lie is aided somewhat by ice and cold
water which are outside the yat but the
compound is occasionally erratc and will
gain heat notwithstanding all precautions,
For such case the only alternative is to
move IA lever, which lowers one side of the
tank, and allow the whole of the contents
to run through sluice into a pond, when
it is about an even chsnce whether it will ex-
plude ere it leaves the shed or wait until it
reaches the open.
The second step is to wash the newly
formed chemical combination in water,
which very slightly absorbs it. 1t is then
put into "Ninchester quarts and conveyed
with the utmost care into wooden huts or
dug-outs. AS an instance of the extreme
susceptibility of nitro lycerine TO concus-
sion it is related that man was once seen
to slip in the act of depositing bottle in "a
hut; he merely tripped, i'll the ordinary sense
of the word, but there was an instant ex-
plosion and hardly fragment of the poor
fellow was gathered for decent burial.
Passing on through other Sheds we see the
mixture of the nitro glycerine with a pecu-
liar foraminiferous earth, the new substance
being dynamite. This is then carried to
long shed, where it is pressed into cartridges
by machinery, the operatives being young