NITRO-GLYCEEINE. 



y.65 



lopes of diatoms, of sponge spicules, and similar organic remains, but 

 these are mixed with a small proportion of rounded grains of sand. 



A great number of terrible accidents have resulted from the 

 explosion of nitro-glyceriiie. One of the manufactories of dynamite 

 in Europe was twice entirely destroyed. On the last occasion every- 

 body present was blown to atoms. In the United States there have 

 been a great number of accidents. On one occasion, one of the 

 employes of the Wyoming Hotel, N. Y., noticed a small box in the 

 baggage rooms in flames. He picked it up and carried it out into 

 the street, where it exploded, greatly injuring the neighbouring 

 buildings, killing one man and wounding twenty. On the 3rd of 

 April, 1865, an explosion of nitro-glycerine took place in the hold of 

 the steamer European, lying at Aspinwall. The steamer, an iron 

 vessel, was blown to pieces, the dock was completely destroyed, and 

 sixty people were killed. This explosion v/as quickly followed by 

 another at San Francisco,^and by another at Sydney, equally horrible. 

 At Morrisiana, U.S., a portion of a nitro-glycerine charge was left 

 unexploded. Subseqxient drilling touched it off. Two men were 

 killed and nine severely injured. The dynamite mill at California 

 blew up. The Hackensack nitro-glycerine manufactory, N.Y., ex- 

 ploded, killing four men. There were stored in and ai'ound the mill 

 4,000 lbs. of oil of vitriol, 8,000 or 10,000 lbs. of nitric acid, and 

 7,000 lbs. of nitro-glycerine. At Engiewood, N. Y., a blast failed to 

 explode. The workmen poured water into the hole, and then drilled 

 another close by. An explosion took place and killed four men. 

 Shaffner's factory, at Ridgeville, N. Y., exploded. Two men were 

 killed by a subsequent explosion while removing the debris. On the 

 13th April, 1870, at the marble quarries at Sing Sing Prison, 4 lbs. 

 of nitro-glycerine were placed in a bore, and over this the powder. 

 The powder exploded without firing the nitro-glycerine, but after the 

 workmen had returned, this also exploded, killing one, mortally 

 wounding another, and injuring two inore. 



With regard to these accidents, Mr. Nobel, in a letter to the 

 Times, shewed that in the great majority of cases the accidents 

 occurred either from a wanton disregard of his printed instructions, 

 or, as in the case of the explosions at Asj)inwall and at San Fran- 

 cisco, where nitro-glycerine was transported under a wrong declara- 

 tion. He gave a list of accidents, the inspection of which shews, in 

 a remarkable manner, the gross carelessness that frequently results 

 from the contempt bred by familiarity with danger. 



