B.—CHEMISTRY. 55 
also on subjects other than explosives, and in his laboratory were conducted 
experiments which led to the adoption in 1879 of the present close-test appa- 
ratus for testing the inflammability of oils, experiments on steels and the 
effect of foreign materials in them, experiments on dangerous dusts and 
on the cause of accidents in coal mines. 
The work of Abel in rescuing nitrocellulose from the position of an 
erratic substance, liable to decompose and explode on storage, led to its 
use as a reliable explosive, not only for military purposes, but also in 
commercial compositions, such as sporting powders and blasting explosives. 
When it became necessary to devise a smokeless propellent for the 
British Service, the chemical work was in the hands of Abel with his 
assistant Kellner, Dewar, and Dupré, and in 1890 this resulted in the 
recommendation for the adoption of cordite. 
It now became necessary to extend the only chemical manufacture 
carried on at the Royal Gunpowder Factory, that of guncotton, by adding 
the manufacture of nitroglycerine, the technical handling of cordite, and 
plant for treating acids, and accordingly in 1891 a chemical manager of 
this section with a staff of chemists was appointed. 
The chemical work carried out by the British Government for defence, 
both as to its immediate object and as to its reaction on the explosives 
industry of the country, is worth review. In such a review the position 
before the war may first be described. Propellent manufacture was 
seriously undertaken, the small quantity of high explosive used at this 
time being mostly obtained from private manufacturers. Guncotton, 
as has been stated, had been manufactured by Abel in a fairly stable form, 
and this explosive was chosen for the Service propellent cordite, together 
with nitroglycerine and mineral jelly, the mixture being gelatinised by 
acetone, so that in a plastic condition it might be squirted into the cords 
which give it its name. A close study was devoted to this manufacture in 
all its aspects; the processes of manufacture were greatly improved, and 
the dangers reduced. 
The Royal Gunpowder Factory took its place as a model of an explosives 
factory, and afforded an example of what could be done by a State depart- 
ment in conducting a scientific manufacture with regard to improved 
technique, economy, and efficiency. Thus the method of nitration to 
produce guncotton was greatly improved in safety, freedom from fumes, 
and ultimate stability of the product, by the adoption of the process of 
downward displacement of the waste acids from the nitrated product by 
a layer of water ; for nitroglycerine a displacement process by which the 
layer of that liquid, separating on the surface of the waste acids, was 
caused to overflow from the top of the vessel by introducing waste acid 
from a previous charge at the bottom, led to an increased safety and 
yield, and saved height in the erection of a factory ; the chemistry of the 
process of guncotton boiling was worked out and placed on a scientific 
foundation ; and acetone, which in the process of drying the cordite had 
been allowed to escape into the air, was recovered from the drying stoves 
and saved for further use. These advances in manufacturing method 
were taken up by other manufacturers, both in the United Kingdom and 
abroad. 
In the technique of the manufacture of propellent explosives before 
the war this country then had advanced to a high pitch of efficiency, so 
