St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-11

always shown preference for this over
any other high explosives, and theer Off
| GERS have made the very best quality.
Nitro-gycerine is made by mixing
! sulphuric aud nitric acid with ordinary
sweet giycerine, instead of with GOTTEN
| fiber, as in tie manufacture of
gun cotton. Glycerin6 is described
! as "a sweet viiscid liquid, formed
during the saponification or fatty sub
stances, consisting of carbon, hydrogen
and oxygen" The ''fatty substance"
usually employed i'll the manufacture
glycerine Is lard-pure, innocent lard,
the adipose tissue of the pig. Who
would think when they saw pig root
| ing in the field, or even when dead and
hung up in the butchers shop, with
his whole body is split wide, open, that
he represented such terrific posSibil-
tiles of destruction? One ordinary pig,
when his fatty substance" has been
properly treated with nitric and sui
phuric acid. could blow up an entire
block in the city of New York!
Mixing these harmless acids with the
equally inotfensive glycerine is what
produces the dangerous result, and the
process is also attended with great
peril. The materials are mixed in a
large steel tank, called an agitat0r, IN
which there arc many coils OF lead pipe,
through which stream OF ice water IS
kept flowing during the process or mix
ing. Should the temperature OF the
mixture happen to rise above IS deg
Fahrenheit an explosion would occur.
NitrO-glycerine is very sensitive, and IN
order to guard against the shock OF a
sudden blow or severe conclusion iJ is
kept stored in earthen tanks, which are
sunken in the ground.
Before being delivered into the hands
of the public for blasting purposes 1t IS
| usually mixed with some substance.
such as wood pulp or fuller's earth, to
act as a buffer and take up the concus-
sion, According to the different meth
ods of so preparing the crude material,
we have the various high explosives OF
commerce, such as dynamite, forcite.
rack-a-rock. rendrock, etc.. the
strength of which depends upon the
quantity of nitro glycerine III the COM
pound, the standard of measure being
what is called ''75 per cent dynamite"
that is, mixture containing Is per
cent of nitro-glycerine, to 25 per cent
! wood pulp. These compounds will not
explode from an ordinary jar and Will
burn without exploding, but they
freeze at AZ degrees Fahrenheit, and
| very many of the fatal explosions that
! occur among those who are using dyna-
mite cartridges come from an attempt
to thaW them in cold weather or in
placing them near fire to keep them
| from freezing.
Notwithstanding the fact that through
| the constant use of dynamite men get
| careless and disasters sometimes occur,
still we must admit that it is great
agent for the benefit of mankind. Dyn-
amite and the steam drill together have
made the upper part OF Manhattan
| island available for all the purposes OF
a great city. And so expert have those
become who are constantly handling the
drill and the explosive that cellar can
| be blasted out of solid rock right along
| side of building already erected, and
| in not much greater time than it would
take to excavate sand with spade, and
that, too, with no greater lnconven-
ience to the neighbOrs if even an ordi-
nary amount of care be exercised.
F. Latin kellogg, vice president and
general manager of the Phoenix Powder
| Manufacturing company, has devoted
considerable attention lately to the
manufacture of high explosives and
| SmokeleSs powders, as we'll as OF black
powder. About two years ago he Sc
cured control of process OF making a
powder that possessed many OF the
! qualities of a smokeless powder and a
safe explosive agent OF very great
power, but it proved to have disadvan-
tages that rendered its production dis
advantageous commercially, and its
manufacture was abandoned.
This powder contained neither gun
cotton nor nltro-glycerine, and yet was
so powerful as to gain the title of 1.-THE
Dynamiter's Delight" During tests
made by the engineer corps of the
United States army at Willets' Point it
developed strength equal to 90 per
cent OF rs per cent dynamite. Its chief