Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-07-23
HIGH EXPLOSIVES.
Used TO IsinGIc Fires, Cook MenIs
md Even to Drive Nails

and Even TO Drive Nails,
Nitrogclatin and maximite are tho.
children Of dynamite -wc'l trained chill.
dron. who know how 10 do the hardesr'
kind Of work. yet so well balanced that
they can be admitted TO polite society
without causing the slightest apprehen-
sion.
Ma ximitc. the most deadly OF oil
modern high explosives to most OF us
instantly suggests mammoth guns.
shattered fOrtrCsses, wounded and dy-
ing men-a synonym for destruction
yet but a few days ago in Mr.. Hudson
MaXims laboratory in Brooklyn / cook
ed neat little luncheon over maxim
ito. finding it as safe and mana eable
n Kitchen fuel as stick of driftwoodt
and far more convenient and expedi1
tious. ono match IS always enough tot
start maXimi;c or smokeless powder.l
There is no danger of them not lighting
at once. and when you are first play
ing house" with these deadly high ex-'
plosives YOU are very apt to wish there.
were Not that Mr.. Maxim wishes TO
make mnXiinite a specially rs a fuef
for light housekeeping he merely per-
mittcd me TO do all these cooking
stunts to prove how utterly harmless
well trained maXimitc can be.
Feeling very much as though I had
received an invitation to an "at home
in the cage Of an African lion. L recent
ly visited Mr.. Maxim's laboratory and.
with bated breath and trembling hands,
poached eggs and prepared coffee over
smokeless powder, hammered nails
with nitrogela tin. made tea in Mrs.
Maxim's drawing room over cake OF
yellow maximite. assisted my host in
/ hanging out gun cotton to dry and aid
cd in the C7pping of fuses that had
! been filed with illuminate Of mercury.
Mr.. Maxim enjoyed it all. but 1t did
not seem very harmless to me that par
ticuar day. After cooking our meal
we did our laundry work in the way Of
hanging ont wet gun cotton to dry We
kept it away from the matchbox and
! the flash light, however, and, hanging
out over the bright green grass plot, it
! looked as innocent rs n baby's elder
down cloak, yet we knew that a spark
/ in its mesh would cost us our lives.
/ Our most interesting as well as dam
gerous experiment was filing fuses for
maximite cartridges, forcing the full
/ inmate into the fuses with n 2.0OA
pound pressure and screwing in tha
caps In this latter occupation l re-
signed as assistant in favor Of Mr..
Maxims wife, and from the doorway
thoughtfully watched the screwing in
of the caps. The danger in this work
is not in pressing in the illuminate, for
no pressure can set off this explosive.
but friction is most disastrous. 4 sin
gle grain of the powder overlooked and
left in tho mouth Of the fuse so that
the end of the cap could CRATE against
it, would have Blown up everything in
sight.
As we started back To III" house, in
the grass plot. bright with tine new
green of sNrins. noticed ends Of
smokeless powder candies and rags OF
gun cotton Mrs. Maxim caught my
glance If as-onShmont. Yes she
said and lquEned; "thoy'ro everywhere.
l found a piece of smokeloss powder
on my dressing able this morning, and
am sure there is a dish of maXimite
ON the dining room mantel. though
jeopardy insists on keeping it out Of
the Kitchen She does not like it, in
spite Of all NJ. MaEim's assurances. -
Public Opinion.