1 



KIUKI'ROoKIMi. 



riiii-: siiii-s. 



doors studded with uiU, ami futened by luclu, or staples and padlocks. 

 The crown jewels of Scotland were pUced in a strong oak chant in the 

 year 1707 ; it had three lock*, and when required to be opened in 

 preeenoe of a body of royal commiMionen in 1818, it had to be forced, 

 on account of the loss r key*. Iron coffer* of elaborate 



construction were known on nt before being >!. 



England, possibly on account of the system of hoarding treuure, 

 ,11 tries where commercial enterprise is languid. 

 . :i.:mpi.iii. llirmingham, and Coalbrook Dale began the manu- 

 facture of cart iron safes ; London alone made those of wrought iron 

 till 1835, since which year they have been made also in the north. 

 Theee aafea, how. \. -i , were not in the first instance put forth u fire- 

 there wa nothing to prevent them, when mi-hot, from burning 

 the papers and charring the parchments incliutcd in them. It wag in 

 1 834 that the fireproof principle appears to have been first adopu-d, 

 under Marr a patent. Since that date, Bramah, Chubb, Miluer. H..l.bs, 

 Price, Tann, and other manufacturer* have brought great ingenuity to 

 bear on thia subject. There are several requisites for a good fireproof 

 safe. The iron should be of such a thickness as to prevent the safe from 

 being broken open by violence, or injured by a fall or other casualty 

 during a fire. The door should be so closely fitted that no forcing 

 inatnn > be introduced between its edge and the framework 



into which it closes. The iron plates should be so prepared u to 

 resist the action of drills, whether made for the purpose of taking out 

 the small lock or of inserting gunpowder to shatter it. The large lock 

 hoiild be so made that, even if holes were drilled through the door, 

 no space would be found inside the case to contain sufficient gunpow dcr 

 to explode it. The case containing the lock should fit the interim- . f 

 the safe as tightly as possible, to exclude the external heat in case of 

 fire and the escape of the moisture from the fire-resisting composition 

 within. The inside case, forming chambers for containing the fire- 

 resisting substance, should fit the inside of the Ixxly tightly, to prevent 

 the undue escape of the vapour when in a fire ; this case, also, should 

 be so secured to the outer frame that no violence exerted on the door 

 would force the removal of the lining or casing. The fire-resisting 

 composition should be of such a nature and should be so placed as not 

 1 1 any injurious effect upon the iron when heated. It need 

 hardly be added, that the large lock which closes the door, and the 

 small lock which secures the bolt, should be free fn m liability to dis- 

 arrangement, likely to wear well, and not easily picked. All the 

 modern fireproof safes contain a sort of lining of fireproof composition, 

 whieli has a remarkable effect in arresting the progress of heat from 

 without imv.ii.l-. Of course no safe could resist an unlimited heat for 

 an unlimited time; but the modern makers are very successful in 

 manufacturing safes which will preserve their contents unharmed 

 during the destruction by fire of the building in which the safe is 

 placed. There is an absorbent substance, such as sand or sawdust, 

 and there are small vessels containing some kind of liquid ; the heat 

 from an external fire, acting on the liquid through the iron, bursts the 

 vessels, saturates the absorbent substance, and greatly retards the 

 heating of the interior. Some of the safes are painted on the inside 

 with a peculiar composition, to prevent tlu> metal from being oxidised 

 or corroded by the action of acids employed to produce the moisture ; 

 and the exterior of the iron is case-hardened, or rendered like 

 enable it to resist the action of drilling-intrumenta. Triple thii ! 

 of iron, mica linings, vitreous glazings, all are used in different forms 

 of safe ; and the absorbent composition used for a stuffing or damper 

 exhibits great variety, burnt clay, powdered charcoal, dust, fragments 

 of stone, raked wood ashes, coarse sand, small gravel, sawdust, bone- 

 dust, ground alum, gypsum, Austin's cement, combined two or more 

 together, with or without provision for moistening them when heated. 

 Some of these fireproof receptacles have recently been constructed of 

 great magnitude. One was made by Messrs. Chubb in 1 858 for the 

 Vancouver branch of the Bank of British North America. It was 

 7 feet high, 94 feet deep, and 7 feet wide. It was nude of wrought 

 iron, l:nl with a fire-resisting composition. It was, in fact, a chamber, 

 .!!_ uiii'-t.-fii separate and distinct lock-up safes, besides shelves 

 ks and papers. On the exterior it hud two large folding doors, 

 having tlir. detector locks, and throwing thirty bolts all round. The 

 i pieces, weighing 14 tons in all, were sent out separated, to be 

 liuilt up at the place of destination. A partner in this firm, after the 

 disastrous loss of the gold-laden ship Royal Charter, wrote to one of 

 iblic journals in the following terms: "In ocean-ships the 

 bullion-room is usually formed by lining some nook or corner with 

 strong iron-plates, bolted to, or forming part of, the ship ; so that if 

 the vessel gets on shore and breaks up, the bullion-room necessarily 

 goes to pieces with it. and the contents are dispersed. I would suggest 

 that these safes should not be in any way connected with or fixed to the 

 -In]'. In case of a wreck or breaking up of the vessel on li"i> tin- 

 safe would go to the bottom, preserve iU contents intact, and be 

 readily recovered. As a safe four feet square will hold more than 



nOO/. sterling, very little space would be interfered with." 



A I. < ii' l"ii wli' -it..r, in a letter to the 'Times,' has pointed out the 



desirability "i having, somewhere near the courts of law and inns of 



a public or joint-stock institution for the safe custody of 



valuables from tire and depn-dation. " The main features of my plan," 



] explained, " would he to erect two or three fireproof buildings in so 



many loralitic-. in London. m<-t . ..nv.-nirnt to professional gentlemen 



mid others who may avail themselves of these advantage* ; and to have 

 in each building separata strong rooms for any persons wishing to have 

 the exclusive use of them ; and also other place* for depositing deads, 

 securities, plate, tie., on the responsibility and under the guardianship 

 of the managers." It is supposed, according to this suggestion, that an 

 adequate rental would willingly be paid for such fireproof .- 



i-uof Woodwork. In the article ANNIIIII.ATOII, KIBE, a descrip- 

 tion is given of a mode of extinguishing lire by menu* ..I chlorate of 

 potash mixed with sugar not used as a liquid to protect woodwork, 

 but as a gas which stifles Uie flame. We have now to notice a process 

 which luut recently occupied much attention. Many liquids liavv been 

 devised from time to time, for making w.>...l more or less fireproof. 

 A mere coating ..f lim- -wash will do something toward" thir. end; ami 

 a wash or cream of clay in water will act nearly in the same way. In 

 Maugham's ]teut process, dry wood is saturated with an , 

 Dilution of phosphate of soda and muriate or sulphate of amn 

 the theory or exudation living, that a decomposition will ensue, 

 followed by an evolution of Munoniacal vapour, -n.d tlic 

 an incombustible coating on the surface of the wood. Jackson's i 



in the application of a solution of salts of cine and aim 

 S:il. ilium's patent consists in a peculiar application of tu.i 

 the surface of wood ; the first consisting of sulphate of alumina 

 and water ; and the second of chloride of calcium, glue, and v, . 



The substance which is now attracting most notice, in > with 



this subject, is silicate of soda. Mr. Abel, chemist to tin- War Depart- 

 ment, and Mr. ll.i\ .< h.-niUt to the Admiralty, made experiments on thin 

 salt in 1857. A wooden hut, similar in construction to th. e at Alder- 

 shott Camp, was set up at Woolwich Marshes. Thu immediate p 

 in view was to test Phillips' Fire Annihilator ; but advantage was also 

 taken of the opportunity to try the efficacy of the silicate of soda a a 

 protector. The officers of the Royal Engineers suggested that if a part 

 of the hut were thus treated, the result might anVid i 

 comparison. This was done. One portion of the hut was painted 

 inside and out with a mixture of lime and alum: this was not found 

 to act as a sufficient protector against fire. An 



painted inside and out, three times, with a solution of silicate of soda. 

 Unfortunately for the fairness of the experiment, the building was 

 constructed with a double boarding ; so that it was only possible to 

 coat or impregnate each plank on one side. Nevertheless, the value of 

 the silicate was established beyond a doubt. A large heap of shavings 

 was lighted in the interior of the hut, against the ooateil {Kirtimi of the 

 woodwork. The flame )>la\< < .iu-t tin- timber for some 



minutes, but only succeeded in kindling the edge of one plank ; and 

 even that did not blaze, but only smouldered for a short time. I'.y the 



the fire the salt was drawn to the surface of the wood, and 

 fused, forming a glaze upon it. Subsequently, when the whole hut 

 was destroyed by fire, after unsuccessful attempts to extinguish it by 

 tli. iimihilator, although the fierceness of the Ilanie was such that few 

 materials could have withstood it, yet several planks remained of the 

 exterior coated portion. Upon examining these planks, the unpro- 

 tected surfaces were found to be completely charred ; but this charring 

 had extended only to those parts which had not been touched by the 

 silicate. 80 far as experiments have yet gone, this salt appears to be 

 the most convenient and effective known for the purpose. 



J-ii-./iruof Tactile Goadt. Attempts are now Wing made to impart 

 Komi-thing of the nature of non-inflammability to the muslin ati.i 

 li^-ht materials of which ladies' dresses are m lamentable 



. ilamitics from fire have drawn attention to the subject ; and at the 

 Aberdeen Meeting of the British Association, in 1*0:'. certain expe- 

 riments were described which had been made by Messrs. Veivinm 

 Oppenheim. It has long been known that cotton and linen fabrics 

 may be partially protected from fire by a solution of alum .1 of 

 common salt ; but the alum weakens the fibres, and the salt make* 

 them harsh and crisp faults which greatly lessen the value of the 

 processes. Experiments showed that borax will exert a considerable 

 preservative effect, but that the material is weakened thereby .-. 

 alum. It was next found that phosphate of amuionia exerts the pre- 

 servative effect without that of weakening; but here o, -cum-d a new 

 difficulty: the salt becomes decomposed under the heat of the 

 laundress's iron. Sulphate of ammonia, only one-fourth the pi 

 the phosphate, was next tried ; it had moot of the merits and the one 



i its predecessor. Messrs. Versmann and Oppenheim at 

 hit upon the tungstate of soda, as a salt which, in solution, imparts a 



rable degree of non-inflammability to textile or woven fabric*. 

 without weakening them, or rendering them harsh and stiff, and also 

 without liability of having the preservative properties removed by heat 

 or by washing. Since the Aberdeen meeting, the inventors have 

 arrived at a conclusion that the cheap sulphate will suffice 



in factories on general wuyen goods ; but thu tungstate of soda is better 

 for domestic use, where the fabric ia likely to be afterward* ironed. It 

 i- evident, !)!! this enumeration of chemical agents, that oth 

 superior efficacy may probably be discovered. A new process has just 

 been announced, the invention of M. ('aileron, of 1'aris, which will 

 r.-n.U-r silk as well as cotton and linen fabrics incombustible, but the 

 method h:u- not lieeii published. 



KIRK SHU'S. Among the peculiarities of naval warfare may be 

 instanced the use of lire .-hips, a class of vessels which are so fitted 

 with inflammable and combustible substances, as to take fire in all 



