The Colfax chronicle., 1896-11-28
POWDER FOR THE NAVY.
fsm Now BE Manufactured- by the Gov
ernment.

FOWGGn I<ss 49,. -
fsu Now BE Manufactured by the Gov |
ernment.
The navy has started in to make lta
own srnokeless powder. For some years
past the government explosives factory
at Newport has been experimenting IN
this direction, but only recently have
satisfactory results been obtained.
The next batch distributed by the
bureau of ordnance for use in small
arms will be homemade. Pretty soon
the stuff will be provided for all call
hers. from the gigantic 13-inch rihed
ouns for the new battle ships down TO
the machine guns that throw continue
ous showers of bullets, and the newly
adopted magazine rifles. Hitherto the
smokeless powders employed by the
navy have been purchased from private
manufacturers in Germany and Eng
land.
The Newport works are nearly ready
now TO turn out smokeless powder for
all calibers. They will be pure gun
cotton powders, and all of them Will
he of the same composition, merely diff
fering in the size of the "grains."
But the ''grains" are not grains real
ly: they are long and narrow strips,
looking like nothing so much as thin
ribbons of the finest kind OF glue. NO
person not an expert would for mo-
ment imagine that they were gunpow,
der.
The strips are of varying sizes tor
guns of different calibers, being in each
case about as long as the powder cham
ber. They are done up in fagots all
ready to be thrust into the gun.
For example, for six-pounder the
powder strips are six inches long and
one inch wide; they are thinner than
note paper. For small arms the strips
are chopped into little pieces to load the
cartridges.
The basis of all smokeless powder is
gun cotton dissolved in nitric acid, the
latter element being afterward elm
mated. Smoke signifies imperfect
burning.
So. in order to make smokeless
powder, it is merely necessary that II
shall be so compounded that the entire
mass shall be transformed into gas
leaving no ash or residue. With this
result the form of the grains is impor'
tant, and accordingly one finds these
powders in a great variety of queel
shapes. For instances, the famous
. French "poudre B'' looks like yellow
ish brown paper. Anybody would mis-
take it for ordinary wrapping paper
:, but if you take scrap of it and touch
= it with match it flares up Brilliant.
!, ? and is gone in an instant, with nj
= trace of ash or smoke.
The Germans make their smokeles
T powders in rolls like maps. The roll
are sliced crosswise into long sticks
= which are packed in bundles like tooth
s. picks for machine guns, while TO
: small arms the sticks are chopped int
: little cubes.
y. The English ''cordite" resemble
II nothing so much as thick strings Q
= black rubber. 1t assumes this shap
10 through having been forced through
10 colander in a semi-liquid state.
Another French smokeless powder
10 SO much like old-fashioned molasse
Is candy that one is tempted to eat i
~ One of the best known smokeless spor'
y. ing powders has the appearance {
y gravel.
e The United States army is still e,
e perimenting with smokeless powder
q. For it's small arms it is now buyin
ei from private concern a powder thu
comes in the shape of little brow
IL. hexagons.-N. Y. Journal.