140 



Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



z> 



The difference in the action of the two agents, that of the powder 

 being slow, that of the cotton sudden, the imperfections of the mass 

 pon which they act, are causes which render useless many compari- 

 sons and weaken our confidence in inferences drawn from a small num- 

 ber of experiments. Great care was taken in the experiments described 

 below, to compare fairly the two explosives. 



The gun-cotton was prepared with the strongest acids of commerce; 

 sulphuric, sp. gr. 1*85; nitric, sp. gr. 1*49 ; time of immersion about 

 twenty minutes. After the superfluous acid was thoroughly removed 

 or neutralized, the cotton was immersed in one of the oxygenating so- 



In 



short, it was the article of commerce, prepared by Messrs. C. & F. 

 Lennig of Philadelphia, who are patentees of gun-cotton for the United 

 States. A sample accompanies this note. 



In May last the writer entered the collieries at Pottsville, Pa., exam- 

 ined and measured the bores in which the blasts were to be discharged, 

 obtained and weighed the quantity of powder intended for each blast; 

 (and upon examination it was found that the miners almost universally 

 underrated the weight of their charges of gunpowder from 33 to 100 

 per cent.) and carefully noted, on the spot, #11 the circumstances alluded 

 to in the table below. 



, _- ___ — . — — j ^ t 



lutions described by Prof. Schonbein, and dyed a light straw color. 



themselves is given. 



In noting the effect, the opinion of the miners 

 When the results were better than were expected 



from the proposed charge of powder, they were marked superior. 

 When less, moderate; and when equal, good. 



The following extract from the tables is believed to be a fair sample 

 of the whole. In every instance the writer was present during the 

 charging, and discharging of the blasts, and all were made at least 500 

 feet below the surface. 



Extract from Table of Experiments. 









K 

 O 



e 



3 



4 

 5 



7 



8 



9 

 10 

 12 



13 



O 



a 



2 



Rock. 



1 



- 

 Q 



- 



c. 



c. 



powd. 



C. 

 C. 

 C. 



C. 



tough slate with 



iron ore, 

 u 



red ash coal, 



41 



white ash coal, 



Inch. 



18 



16 



18 



15i 



17 



45 



27 



36 



36 



u 

 <a 



o 



S 



5 



Inch. 



i 

 i 



13 

 l 



n 



if 



- 

 o 



paper 





"3 

 Z 



*s 



>. 



-3 



■- 



O 



Q 







e 



H 



Inch. Inch. Oz 



o 



P 





paper 



5 



8 



19 



12 



14 



6 

 6 



to 



"3 



o^ 



♦J 



6 



16 



10 



6 



6 



1 



1 



a 



9 



6 



10 Id 

 184 2* 



10 



l 



jjood 



good 



mod. 



mod. 



sup. 



sup. 



o 



c 



s 



n o i ) e 



Vitiati 



. . 



g 



OOfl 



13.J; l|raod. 



none 

 dense 



.lens*' 



none |none 



none 



■ 



none- 

 coiisideraW*, 



,n.=ider»W e j 





u 

 c« 



June 7, 1847. 



MM. Flobj 



5. Pyroxylin?, (Comptes Rendus, March 8, 1847.) 



Domonte and Menard, on submitting gun-cotton to alcoholized ether 

 obtained an incomplete solution ; and on analysis the part dissolved 

 gave the formula C l2 H 8 8 +2N0 5 , (that of Xyloidine according * a 

 these authors,) and the insoluble, the formula C'H 9 9 +3N0 5 . ' rbe 



