Evening star., 1901-10-23

N ECDh- l w / VbER 20
velop smokeIess-powdera charge suitable
| for target practice, which will burn prop
| erly under a moderately low pressure. IN
| order that smokeless pawde. may be sub
/ stituted for brown powder for target prac-
| tice, and the Indications are that such {.
| powder can be made and soon will be avail
| able for service. y
| "A number of interesting and instructive
| experiments have been car-ieq on by fir
| ing capped projectiles against Kruppizei
| armor plates, the result gong to prove
| the marked efficiency of the capped pro-
jectile against such plates.
| Several improveme nts haze been made
| to the proving ground IN the way Of rev
gun emplacements, new powder magazines,
sheds for rolling stock, new bicakwater,
etc.
"A new dispensary and new building
| for the chronoscopes and for records, for
which funds were appropriated by the last
Congress, will soon be begun.
More officers Quarters Needed.
! 1.-TWO additional sets Of quarters for off
GERS are urgently required and have been
estimated for, also one additional maga-
zine. Further improvements in the way of
grading, draining, walls, fences, roads and
walks are necessary and have also been
estimated for.
Negotiations are in process for the pur-
chase of about 0S4 acres of land at Stump
Neck, near the proving ground, authorized
by Congress at its last session. Owing to
the great range of modern guns, considera
bic difficulty and delay is often experienced
in firing down the range on account of the
frequent passing of river craft and great
care is necessary to guard against acci-
dents.
Smokeless Powder Factory.
"The smokeless powder factory at In
dian Head has been in successful operation
during the year. The factory was projected
on the basis Of an output of 1000 pounds of
powder day, but it's capacity is now 1900
pounds, which will soon be increased to
5000 pounds.
'The quality of the powder manufactured
at Indian Head is believed to be equal 10
the best manufactured elsewhere, and It's
cost per pound is considerably less than it
can be purchased from private manufac-
turers, but it is fair to say that no ques-
tion of profit or consideration of the haZ-
ardous and precarious nature of the indus
try is taken into account at the govern
ment works, both of which must be con-
sidered by the private manufacturer.
THE powder factory has been of meal
culable value to the bureau and to the
government, as by means of it an intimate
knowledge Of the chemistry and process of
manufacture of smokeless powder has been
obtained which has put the bureau In a
much better position to deal with this diff
otherwise have been possible. AS an edu-
cational establishment alone it is we'll
worth all the money expended upon it, as
by means of it many of the officers of .he
navy have and others, can acquire a thor
ough knowledge of this important branch
of their profession, and by means of it the
price of powder procured by purchase has
been reduced. -
mo pains are spared to produce the best
quality, rather than the greatest quantity
OF powder at Indian Head. regardless of
the length of time required in the various
processes, and the proximity of the powder
factory to the proving ground is a matter
OF great convenience in making sample
powder to develop the size of grain for any
particular ealiber or class of gun. g
While the amount OF powder manufac-
tured during the year, namely 250,O
pounds, is not as great as was hoped Tor,
1t is on the whole quite satisfactory, crn-
sidering the lack of experience and changes
necessary to bring all parts of the plan.
into harmony, and much credit is due 20
the officers and chemists of the station for
their painstaking efforts in this to them,
new field of industry. a.2
Explosions at Indian Head.
"On July II, 1900, at $40 pm, an ex-
plosion from an unknown cause took place
in "a, small, magazine containing doubtful
explosives at the naval proving ground
at Indian Head, destroying the building and
its contents. While the employees Of the
hr1s seoord ,n
S eNpios'.oh oceui Gu piooapiy oi
a smell containing high explosives. wounds
ing a gunner severely about the face and
slightly fniurine the officer in charp. in tha
shoulder. The loss was frifiias
+. "On October "a, 1900. s,t 10 nr ar, ex-
plosion from an unknown cause took place
in the main magazine at the naval brow
ing ground at Indian Head, which result
ed in the total destruction of the building
and It's contents, consisting of about 40
tonl innndin sbn,,t 900 a,rd s dpe
grain black powder, the Later causing an
explosion of great violence. The magazine
IN question was a brick building 4a by =
d ee, oy ~ tIe. ~ ~ oo, ~ o
of brick sheathed with wood. The explosion
set fire to an adjacent small building 1So
feet distant, containing fixed ammunition,
which was also destroyed, the ammunition
exploding as it became heated, continuing
for several hours.
After the explosion large quantities of
slightly burned brown prismatic and smoke
less powders were found scattered over the
neighborhood within distance of 300
yards. A small magazine 235 feet distant
from the main magazine, containing mis- 7