Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1897-01-14
A GOOD BACKING FOR ARMoR.
Cclluloac Raises Our Cruisers Above
Their Class a. Enttleships.

Their class a. Bnttleships.
The Society Of Naval Architects and
Marine Engineers held its fourth gen.
eral meeting at New York. There was
a good representation of the member
ship OF more than 500 present, and APP
plications from forty persons who de-
sire to become members were received.
Henry w. Cramps paper on Ameri-
can corn-pith cellulose, aside from the
technical information, with which the
architects and engineers We're chiefly
concerned, had the popular interest
that attaches to any additional method
for the protection of human life at sea.
He explained the origin and the man.
ufacture Of the new product, as well
as the invention of It's application to
warships, and recited the rapid ad-
vancement made by Americans In the
last year over the French discoveries
of the material and it's uses, and show
ed how the American product is bound
to supersede the foreign.
american corn-pith cellulose is an
entirely new product" he said, ''manu-
featured from the pith Of the cornstalk,
or Indian maize, into granular form,
and packed under pressure into the cof-
feriams of a vessel, where it acts as a
perfect water excluder and is non-cOm-
bustible." When shot pierces the YES
sells side at or near the water line
where the cellulose belt is laid the cell
lulOse expands as it is wet by the in
rowing water and completely chokes
the hole. Our Navy Department was
quick to take up the device.
Thus In the Columbia, the New York
and the Olympia" Mr. Cramp said,
"there are protective decks Of ample
strength to keep out the shells Of any
vessel they are likely to engage, while
their stability is protected by belts Of
celluloSe several feet thick along the
edges Of these decks. The English ar
mored cruiser Blake, for example, has
no such protection to her stability, and
would not have the same chances as
the above-named vessels Of our navy
in sustained engagement. For pro-
lection in the comprehensive sense, the
cellulose belt of three feet may be said
to be about as efficient as six-inch
belt Of steel, so that We can protect our
stability, when we have good protec-
tive deck back Of 1t to defend the vitals
of the ship, with 100 tons Of cellulose to
an extent equivalent to that derived
from, say, 1000 tons of armor."
Philadelphia manufactured the first
cellulose used in the American navy,
making 1t out of the husks Of cocoanut,
and furnished an article superior to the
French, but during the last year the de-
partment directed It's attention to the
corn-pith product, which has been
found to possess superior qualities. The
department tested the two products by
building and firing into two steel COT
ferdams filled respectively, one with
1924 pounds Of cocoa cellulose, CORE
spending to a density of IL pounds to
the cubic foot, and one with 7O2 pounds
Of cornpith cellulose, corresponding to
| a density Of 6.5 pounds to the cubic
foot. The first drop Of water appeared
at the far end Of the shot hole through
the cocoa dam in ten minutes, and pref
| ty soon the water flowed through at the
rate of half gallon a minute. Through
| the hole in the other dam no water had
| come at the end of half an hour, nor
! was the cellulose at the mouth Of the
hole in the rear damp. The tests led to
the provision in the contracts for the
Kentucky and the Kearsarge, and Nos.
7, 8 and 8, that their cofferdams be
packed with corn-pith cellulose. 1t is
about 500 ton cheaper than the cocoa
cellulose, and that fact, with the differ
ence in density. makes it cost about
two-thirds the amount per cubic foot
| packed.
Mr.. Cramp said: "Our cruisers Of the
Baltimore type. If they are provided
with a cellulose belt, would be war
ranted in engaging many Of the second
class ironclads Of other powers; with
out it they are liable to be sunk by a
well-directed machine gun fire. This
product of American farms affords n
| cheap and ready means Of vastly in
creased efficiency Of our cruisers, and
the unarmored sides of oil our vessels
should have these belts without delay.
This discovery and application of cellu-
lose Is Of as vital Importance to our
navy as the development of the Harvey
lied armor and smokeless powder. This
follows from the fact that, without add
ing very much to the cost of our YES
sells, we can greatly increase the effi-
cheney of them all by making their sides
automatically resist the inflow Of wat
er; and as our cruisers carry heavier
batteries than similar vessels Of other
nations, they would. when SO protected,
be able to give battle to ships far heav-
Ter than themselves"
Druggists Up 70 Date.
Druggists keep about as close watch
n L. To \ NJ ~ =