The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-01-13
WONDERFUL FIRE.
A Paste Which When Ignited
Nothing Can Extinguish.
Useful Properties, but Dangerous
in Criminal Hands.

fire is OF the consistency of paste. and
is harmless while in quiet state. The
friction caused by rubbing it against
hurd surface will, however. set it
aglow, and nothing will extinguish
the flames, which will burn with blue
light and nn intense heat until the
compound is completely destroyed by
combustion. Water has no effect upon
it; il can be made into balls and
thrown anywhere, aud il will burn
with slow but fierce combustion
which makes ID unlike any known
fire.
Dynamite aud gunpowdcr requires
q spark to ignite them. and powder
produces an explosion, not u regular
fire. To ignite this compound there
is just the slightest friction of rubbing
il against some ordinary substance.
There is no explosion or rapid spread
ing OF flames. but u strange. pasty
substance composed OF living fire,
which cannot be stamped out or
killed in any known way.
John Floyd, the discoverer, has
been for several years delving in all
sorts of chemicals, rs his numerous
inventions required constant study.
One day he wished to make certain
substance with which to experiment,
and for that purpose placed in liquid
some waste substance which he
thought would, when dissolved, pro-
duce the wished-for compound. But
he found the material lie wanted be-
fore the liquid was dissolved, so he
left the jar containing the solution on
the shelf for several weeks, thinking
no moro about it.
Finally he thought of using the jar
and, when lifting it down from the
shelf, some of the liquid split on the
floor. MIR. Floyd thought nothing
about the matter till he noticed sem
sation of heat about his foot, and on
looking down found that the soft
paste which had fallen ont of the bot
tie had become a mass of soft, flicker
ing flames emitting an intense heat.
He put his foot on the spot, stamping
it out, as he thought, and turned to
his work.
When he turned around again he
saw that instead of going out the fire
paste was steadily burning, that his
rubbing it had only smearel it over
the floor, and it was eating into the
wood every moment. He then threw
several buckets of water on the stuff,
but the water had no effect other than
to be converted into puffs of steam,
and the fire burned st eadiy on, cut
ting its way through the soft pine
flooring. AS the experiments were
being conducted in the back of drug
store, which was filed with dangerous
chemicals, no knew that something
must be done to put stop to it's raw
ages or the whole place would be
J blown to atoms.
After many fruitless attempts to put
1t out he procured n hatchet, and it
was only by cutting out the entire
, square of wood on which tho paste
rested that he succeeded in stopping
: the fire. which burned for at least an
hour.
Afraid of the uses TO which this dis
covery might be put, Mr.. Floyd has
never made tho secret of the ingre-
dients public; but he says that the
cost of making it is so small that il
can easily be used instead OF the
cheapest waste materials. And for
this reason no will not let the formula
, become known, for incendiaries would
take advantage OF it and no place
would be safe from burning. Those
who use oil or dynamite or powder
can be easily traced, ms some prepara-
tioD is necessary, but with this liquid
fire criminal who knew its compost
tion could burn his way noiselessly y
through any door or set any home on
fire by throwing against it noiseless
ball of the composition.
The cost OF making this liquid fire
ia so small that it can be easily used
! | inateaI NJ Nnnl in haaf;nr n x...
: But the most valuable properties are
those which it possesses which are alb.
solutely foreign to those Of fire a,
known to us. All forms Of heat ex.
cept that of electricity. must be gen.
Grated in some kind of furnace and
!, be constantly supplied with fuel. but
: this fire is both flame and fuel itself.
. About O cupful can be set on fire auG