60 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [March 



has been the probable cause of some of the serious and unexpected 

 accidents to which its sudden explosion has given rise. Great 

 caution is therefore necessary in its manufacture, as during the 

 action of the nitric acid on the glycerine, the temperature rapidly 

 rises, and has to be controlled by the use of a freezing mixture, 

 otherwise the compound formed would explode ; and, on the other 

 hand, if frozen solid, the same danger exists from the friction of 

 its particles. 



Although, therefore, a highly dangerous process, it may, by 

 care and precaution, be produced as we have seen in very large 

 quantities. Fearful destruction of life has, however, arisen from 

 ignorance and recklessness in its conveyance from place to place. In 

 1865, a small rudely formed box was found to be creating a 

 suffocating smell in the baggage room of the Wyoming Hotel 

 in New York, and which not being claimed was thrown into the 

 street when it immediately exploded with great violence filling 

 the air with nitrous fumes, and doing much damage. 



One hundred pounds weight exploded at Sydney, and seventy 

 cases exploded at Aspiuwall, Panama, in the same year, on board 

 the ' European,' which was nearly destroyed, a large ship near 

 her greatly injured, the freight house blown down and 400 feet 

 of the quay obliterated, upwards of seventy persons were killed 

 and wounded and not a single pane of glass was left in the city. 

 Similar casualties have followed in quick succession. Two boxes 

 of oil were transmitted as ordinary merchandise through the most 

 important and populous localities in Europe and finally landed iu 

 San Francisco, where it exploded, causing a fearful loss of life and 

 the destruction of $200,000 worth of property. Such extraor- 

 dinary and criminal recklessness has given rise to prohibitory 

 legislation and probably induced an unnecessary panic in reference 

 to the real dangers of transhipment and conveyance of the article. 

 In the history of gunpowder and gun-cotton, we have been occa- 

 sionally startled by fearful accidents with terrific loss of life, 

 which has awakened us to the necessity of constant vigilance and 

 the utmost precaution in handling and storing large quantities of 

 such potential commodities. Nitro-glycerine has been prohibited 

 in Belgium, and in Sweden it has been placed under restrictions of 

 a similar class to those imposed on gunpowder. Some railway 

 companies refuse to carry it, which has induced these requiring it 

 to smuggle it through as ordinary merchandise, a most unjusti- 

 fiable proceeding. The wisest policy is doubtless to carry it 



