Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-07-09
Great improvements Have Been Re-
Gently Made in the Production
of Powder.
The Battle Of Waterloo Could Now be
be Fought in about Fifteen
Minutes.

wars. tn Is, with the old-fashionad
wars, In which there were battles and
skirmishes
IL used TO be that an attacking army
would send line Of skirmishers out across
the tield TO develop the enemy's position.
Now if a lire Of sslrmlshers should ad-
vance upon a hidden foe armed with the
new smai-bore, long range rifles and
sm0kelsss powder, the skirmlsh line would
be swept eff tae earth without developing
anything OF the enemy line or the soldier
Of to-day Is trained to be marksman,
with his perfect arm.
Not only is the oes powder absolutely
smokelsjs but it makes very little noise
when fred. battle Of to-day, therefore
is entirely Invested of the old time mag
niicent dramatic effect of the booming of
cannon, the battle OF small arms and the
cloud of smoke, and oven of the smell of
birthstone The best smOkeless powders
are also odOrless, according 10 the New
York Advertiser, but others in burning
release gdss that cause great suffering
among those that use them. so that your
own army may be used u as well as that
OF the enemy. Others release a sui phuret-
ed hydrogen gas that Is very unpleasant
indeed, and while one might take a grim
delight in the smell Of burning birthstone
and the old powders, whit Of sulpburet
ed hydrogen would cause him to grasp his
nose with his thumb aud foreGnger.
The effect of this maueuver executed by
the entire line Of battle would not fall
short of the ridiculous. The signit 3ance,
however, OF tine old expression 10 illustrate
lack Of experience in war, He never
smelG gunpOwder, is now lost with all
the rest OF the pomp and panolpy of war
for the ill-smelllng smokeless pc Tders that
release noxious gases when burning have
been discarded
1t is ascertained by experiment that the
best smok6iess powders are made by unit
ing gnn cotton and nitro glycerne. These
substances enter into toe composition of
the smokeess powders of every govern
ment and of the private experiments. Ii
Is also proved that instead of using low
grade of these, the highest explosive
agents In the world, the best results are
attained by uniting the highest grades of
each.
Gun cotton is really cotton fiber soaked
ia large eXcess.o a mixture OF the strong
est nitric and sulphuric acids. This pro-
duces the highest craze of gun cotton.
When this Is tG0roug,y freed fro acids
IL has always proved to be a very stable
compound The ordnance department of
TIE United States navy mas always shown
a preferanca for this over any other high
explosive, and their officers have made the
very best quality.
Niuo-glycerine is made by mixing sui.
4trs. I
glycerine, instead Of with cotton fiber as
in the manutac ure Of gun cJtton. G.ye-
crime is described as "a sweet Weld
icQuid, formed during the suonihcatlon
OF fatty substances, consisting of carbon
hydrogen and oxygen. The fatty sub
stance usually employed in the manufac-
ture of glycerine is lard-pure, innocent
lard, the adipose tissue of the pig Who
would think, when he saw a pig roofing in
a field, or even when dead and hung up IN
butcher. shop, with his hind feet spread
so tar apart that his whole body is split
wide open, that be represented such terri
ole possibilities of destruction? Ore
ordinary pig, when his fatty substance
has been properly treated with nitric and
sulphuTic acid, could blow up and entire
block in the city of New York.
Mixing these harmless acids with the
equally inotfensiye giyce-ine Is what pro-
duCas the dangerous result, and the process
is also attended with great peril The
materials are mixed in a large steel tank,
called an 2gItator, In which there are
mans coils OF lead pipe, through which a
stream of ice water Is kept flowing during
the process of mixing. Should the tenn
perature OF the mixture happen to rec
above So degrees + an explosion would
cCcur. Nitro g.yceriae is very sensitive,
and in order TO guard against the shock
of q sudden blow or severe conclusion, II
Is kept stored in aartheu tanks, which are
suuken in the ground
before being delivered into the hands Of
lha pubic for blasting purposes it is usu-
Hily mixed with some substance. such as
wood pulp o. f1Iler's earth. 20 act rs d
buffer aua take up the -oulu,stcn AC-
e1rding % the F.raut ma.hgl, of Sd
preparing the crude sriHl, we nave the
various high Explosive, Of commerce, sacl
as dynamite, FareelJs, r8lK-a rock. renG-
rock etc., tae streul5a 0t which depends
upon the quantity gf nitro g.ycgrlue In
size compound the standard Of uea ura
aeiag Wlat rs called 80 per cent. uyna-
mite that Is. d mixture continuing l5
F per cent. OF 1lycarine t8 p yer cent.
wood pulr These COMPOUNDS aII. not
explode from MA ordinary jar end wal.
/ burn wi.aau. ezp.odiu bu- they freeze
|42 degrees Fahrenheit, ANA very many 81
tine fatal explosions that occur among
those VINO are using dynamite cartridges
come from an 5.temp, % thaw them ia
|C0Id weather OF 10 placing them near a
FIRE % keep tuem from freezing
Not vithst.ndIug the fact tuat through
+ the constant use Of dynamite, men gai
careless ana disasters soon occur. still We
must ADMIT that it is d GREAT agent for TINS
beueit Of mauEind Dynamite and the
steam drill together have made the up9er
part oi Manhattan Island available Tor all
+ the purposes of a great city. And so ex.
pert have those become VINO are const ant
N handling the drill and the explosive
that i cellar can he blasted out of solid
rock right alongside Of building already
erected, ani IN not much greater time
! than ii sonld take to eIc&yate sand with