98 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



may, in most cases, be used with as great advantage in the form 

 of compressed cylindrical cakes as in grains ; and experiments in- 

 stituted under his auspices by ordnance officers of the U. S. Army 

 have given most satisfactory results. Most persons would unhesitat- 

 ingly assert that gunpowder compressed in a hydraulic press, to a 

 consistency so hard as to resist fracture on being struck violently, 

 would burn when ignited in the manner of a fuse, or slow-match. 

 Such, however, is not the case, as the compressed cake explodes on 

 the application of fire, with apparently as great rapidity as loose 

 grains. The idea of using compressed powder, if found practically 

 available, is one of the most useful of recent improvements in military 

 science, inasmuch as it entirely obviates the necessity of a cartridge, 

 either cannon or musket, reduces the bulk of the powder two- 

 thirds or more, and saves the waste consequent on transporting and 

 handling powder in grains. 



