Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1921-07-22
! Utilization OF War-Snlvasesi Picric
! Acid for Land Clearing and
! Other agricultural Work
John SWGneharI


AT the request OF Federal depart
ments and several state authorities tor
information on the utilization OF plcrlc
acid left at the signing Of the arms
cooperation with the bureau Of
Mines and bureau of Public Roads, un-
dertook Investigations to determine
whether the material can be safely ana
effectively used for agricultural opera
lions. Following is Il brief summary
lot the results OF: these investi yations.
Material and Preparation
|. The pierre acid now aVailaoie IS
pat ked in bulk in large barrels. About
10 70 Is per cent water has been aod~
ed to this material which makes it in
sensitive to defamation.
l'icric acid, when dry, is fine dus-
ty crystalline powder. Tie dry pow
| uer is lemon yellow in color and be-
comes slightly darker on exposure to
| sunlight and is also slightly darker
! the dry plcric acid causes clouds OF
the tine dusty crystals which are Al
hailed. This causes sneezlnS ana tenn
when mixed with perspiration or 9TH
bitter taste. 1t is very hard to avoid
getting the dust in the mouth and nose
when handling dry picric acid.
In order to b. used for land clearing
work, the picric acid must be dried
However, when dried completely, OF to
contain less than one-haf of one per
material makes it almost impossible
to cartridge and inconVenient to
prime or load. Too much moisture rem
ders it insensitive to decorating caps
Experiments with water contents from
zero up to per cent showed that a
mixture containing 2 per cent water
would largely eliminate the difficulty
in connection with cartridging and
would make an explosive which could
be detonated satisfactorily with a No.
s blasting cap. A higher per cent of
moisture than per cent is insens1-
tive to ordinary decorating caps IN
practice.
Detonation of the picric acid occurs
with distinct ball Of flame visible IN
daylight when explosion is in open
air. The. smoke is dark gray in color
when detonation is complete. When
detonation is incomplete, the smoke is
yellOWiSh or SreeniSh color, smoke dis
appears quickly.
Pierre Acid Is Insen*itive
Picric acid is comparatively insen-
sitive to outside shock, friction or any
Sastng Bullets rsa
feet failed to set IN 65iaf 5 picSric aeid con-
tanning per cent water. The picric
Completely detonat1d by No. S blasting
i'icric Acid Kesists Moisture When
Properly Cartridged
Moisture which would be encounter
ed in land clearing and other agricul-
tural operations will not interfere
with the use of picric acid. Moisture
yin be aD; 50 slowly if the S eharge
worse than dynamite or INT under
same conditions. In the open air, the
material tends to dry out rather than
to absorb moisture.
Plcric Acid Does not Freeze
No i'll effects. were experienced by
men in connection with the handling
of either the raw 'picric acid or the
raw picric acid in the presence of
moisture causes yellow stains on the
skin which disappear after few days
Wh WtS thy NO well a11dsS sf
terial, very little. skin discoloration is
noticeable. The fumes contain consid-
erabie carbon monoxide but as agri,
Picric Acid Too Quick Acting
In actual field tests. with various
kinds of stump and different Soils. the
equivalent to INT in strength, being
slightly stronger than ordinary dyIsa-
mites now used in agricultural work.
The picric acid has a high SCATTERING
of agricultural explosive,
In small loads for stump work, how
eyer, this feature is not very objec-
able and gives satisfactory results.
The high SCATTERING effect is desirable
when the material IS used for cracking
of rocks by means of "mud-capping"
or "bull-dozing:" In ditch work pic
ric acid can be used satisfactorily
where an electric cap or detonator is
placed in each charge. The insensi-
tiveness of picric acid makes it i'm
possible to use it for so-called prop
ogated" ditch blasting.
Picrfc Acid a War-Salvaged Explosive
and Not Manufactured for AeFi-
cultural Use
It should be distinctly understood
that the use Of picric acid is not here
recommended except as a utilization