ON THE APPLICATION OF. GUN-COTTON TO WARLIKE PURPOSES. 27 
16. What is the comparative risk in conveyance?—The smaller weight of 
gun-cotton, as well as the smaller volume of it for an equal effect, favours the 
conveyance of gun-cotton considerably ; and it may be taken moreover into 
consideration that the dangerous “ getting to dust” of powder cannot take 
place with gun-cotton. 
The transport of gun-cotton to the most distant parts of the empire of 
Austria under intentionally difficult circumstances, has always been effected 
without difficulty. 
17. How is it adapted for shells?—Shells filled with gun-cotton hold a 
considerably larger quantity of material for the production of gases; at the 
same time, it is in the nature of both compounds that gun-cotton developes 
far quicker the gases of combustion than gunpowder ; for this reason, shells 
filled with gun-cotton burst into at least double the number of pieces. 
18. Js ut lable to spontancous explosion ?—From the last Report, dated June 
1863, of the Professors of Chemistry appointed by the Minister for War to 
report on that subject, and to give their opinion, and which is submitted to 
you, the apprehension of self-explosion has in no way any foundation what- 
ever. 
Without direct ignition, gun-cotton may detonate between iron and iron 
if a heavy blow be struck; but it is known that only that part explodes which 
was hit, without communicating ignition to the surrounding particles. If, 
however, even with an iron hammer, gun-cotton be struck a heavy blow upon 
bronze or other soft metals, or upon stone, no detonation can take place. In 
every report of the Austrian Empire Commissioners, that subject was con- 
sidered and disposed of as not impairing the safety of manipulation. 
19. How far is it possible to requlate its explosive power?—It has been 
established by experience that it is possible to moderate the force of gun- 
cotton within very extensive limits, and thereby to suit it to the different 
purposes without having ground for apprehension that variable effects would 
be the consequence ; that valuable property of gun-cotton, however, requires 
that the trials be made under the superintendence of an expert, which will 
secure the desired effects to a certainty. 
20. What is its cost of manufacture ?—Supposing quantities which would 
produce equal effects, then its cost is considerably less than that of gun- 
powder ; under ordinary circumstances and normal prices of cotton, the cost 
of manufacture of gun-cotton is under fourteen pence per pound, but at the 
present high price of raw cotton its cost will be under twenty pence per 
pound weight*. 
21. Give us what in your opinion are the essential points in the manufacture 
of gun-cotton. 
a. Ootton.—Any sort of cotton may be used for the production of gun- 
cotton, provided it be tolerably free from seed-capsules and oleaginous 
matter. Absence of the latter is indeed imperative; hence factory cotton, as 
ordinarily obtained, must be digested in a weak alkaline solution, as is usual 
in such cases. 
Other forms of lignine can be substituted for cotton to produce an explo- 
sive material—viz. flax, hemp, bog-grass, maize, straw, rags, sawdust, &c. 
I have given rules so as to meet the case of either of these; however, it 
is only in some extraordinary cases that any of these materials are to be 
preferred to cotton ; further, ulterior applications of the explosive material 
are much facilitated by the device of spinning into threads. 
* Baron Lenk subsequently reduced this estimate. 
