The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-09
P1rH cE11u1osE ON OUR NEW BATTLEsH1p.

ever since we began to build steel ar
| mored vessels.
ITO meet this need the French orig
| mated the use of celluloSe, which, when
| fired into, swells up under the influence
| of water and prevents further inflow
! After various trials ii was adopted in
| our navy. Thus. in the Columbia, the
| New York and the Olympia, there are
protective decks of ample strength to
| keep out the shells of any vessels they
are liable to engage, while their Stabil-
| ity is protected by belts of cellulOSe
several feet thick along the edges. The
| English armOred cruiser Blake has no
such protection for her stability, and
would not have the same chances as
| the above vessels of our navy in
sustained engagement.
No thoroughly satisfactory cellulose
material for this purpose was dlscoV-
cred, however, until the pith of corn
stalks was utilized in it's manufacture.
Corn pith is a perfect obturator. 1t
absolutely prevents water from coming
in by the opening made by an S-inch
shell. When chemically treated it is
thoroughly fireprOof and in every way
it meets the requirements of the situa-
ton Maize is exclusively an Ameri-
can product. This gives us an i'm
mense advantage over other nations.
We have in the waste matter of our
western fields the very best material
in the world for imparting this sort of
strength to our waGships.
For keeping out water, cellulose
belt of three feet may be said to be
about as efficient as a 6-inch belt or
steel so that we can protect our sta
bility, when we have a good protective
deck back of it to protect the vitals,
with 100 tons of cellulOse. where we
should require l, 900 tons of armor.
I'm vessels of high speed. where
weight is needed for machinery and
an armor belt can not be carried. cellu-
lose is used to preserve the stability
In battleships thick armor is used
amidships and a protective deck ana
cellulose belt beyond the limits OF TINS
armor. In accordance with this plan,
the navy department has provided for
celluloise protection in the Kentucky,
Kearsarge Alabama. Wisconsin, Him
OILS and other new ships of the navy
our cruisers of the Baltimore type.
if they are provided with a cellulose
belt would be warranted in engaging
many of the second-class ironcladS of
other powers: without 1t they are llaple
TO be sunk by a well-directed machlne-
gun fire This product of American
farms affords a cheap and ready means
of vastly increasing the efficiency OF
our cruisers, and the unarmored sides
of all our vessels should have these
belts without delay. This discovery and
application of celluloSe is OF as vital
Importance to our navy as the deNei-
opment of Harveyized armor ana
snokeless powder
This follows from the fact tnat,
without adding very much to the cost
of our vessels, we can greatly Increase
the efficiency of them all by making
their sides automatically resist the IN
flow of water. and as our cruisers carry
heavier batteries than similar vessels
of other nations they would, when so
nrotected. be able to give battle to
ships far heavier than theselves.
At one time a cellulose made from
the fiber of cocoa was used in Amerl-
can ships. The cocoa ceiiuloSe Ma9
useful. but it would not resist the wa
ter. for more than a few minutes be
sides. as soon as it was wet it decayed
and rusted the ironwoork of the snip
In italy and Germany a cork conglom-
crate has been employed for this pur-
nose. and in France seaweed called
zostire has been used. None OF THESE
have proved fuily satisiao-
tory.
The use of corn pith for this purpose
was suggested several years ago py
prof Mark w Mersden, who had OBJ !
served its remarkable absorbent quai-
tiles. He brought the matter 10 the at
tention of the Cramps, and at their
devised an apparatus Tor !
separating the pith from the stalk. In |
1895 the naval authorities were induced
to make test of the new product. A
go pound projectile was fired through |
a steel Golfer dam packed with ceiiu-
lose three feet thick. The shell made
a hole a foot in diameter through the /
structure The water was Immediately |
turned on and continued for an hour. /
AT the end of that time not drop |
had come through, and the packing at
the hole in the rear of the plate was
not even dampened. The cocoa cellu- !