Blasting of Rocks—Danger and Remedies. 133 
liberty to address you for the purpose of obtaining some information, 
on a subject important to mankind. 
It is undoubtedly well known to you, Sir, that a large number of 
men in this place, are engaged in the quarrying of stone.* They are 
under the necessity of using large quantities of gunpowder, for the 
purpose of liberating the rocks, and injuries have not unfrequently 
been received, from premature explosions. But till recently, the 
injuries have seldom been serious, and the explosion has readily been 
accounted for, and has gener ally, perhaps always, except in the last 
case that occurred, been owing to the carelessness of the operator. 
The lives of two valuable young men of this place, have within a 
few weeks, been destroyed by explosions, which has alarmed us; the 
last case particularly, as we are unable to discover the mamner in 
which the powder became ignited. I will relate the circumstances : 
the hole which was charged was eighteen or twenty inches deep, 
and about three in diameter, and was made by drilling into a solid 
tock. ‘The spindle used was made of copper, and that it might be 
easily drawn, it was oiled ; a wad of dry tow was first put down, with 
a wooden rammer, and followed by two wet wads, pushed in with 
the same instrument. The hole was then filled up a few inches 
with gypsum, by putting in a little at a time, and pounding it down 
forcibly with an iron tampering bar, held in the hole and struck upon 
with ahammer. The spindle was then withdrawn a little, by plac- 
_ ing the tampering bar through the ring at the upper end of the spin- 
dle, holding one end in the hand, and striking under the other 
with the hammer ; after this, the workman proceeded to tamper 
down as before, and again drew his spindle as at first, but thinking 
that it was not withdrawn sufficiently, he gave another blow and it 
exploded. The end of the tampering bar, (as is supposed,) struck 
in his right eye, fractured the orbitar plates ¢ of the os frontis, and des- 
‘royed life in thirty-six hours. es 
Now, Sir, if you can inform me, how the powder became sented: 
and how the danger may be avoided in future, you will confer a ben- 
efit on all those engaged in quarrying and much oblige 
our servant, 
Bensamin H. Cartuin. 
* In the vast strata of hornblende-gneiss, which, below Middletown, for thirty or 
forty miles, form the banks of the Connecticut, to its mouth. This rock san 
admirable flagging and building stone for our cities, and is transported even to the 
Southern States. In this region are found, also, the erysoberyl, beryl, and many 
other interesting minerals.—Ed. 
