Nitre- Glycerine. 



91 



ing, and washing in a stream of water until the washings 

 do not indicate any acid reaction with litmus paper, the 

 cotton is then dipped in a weak solution of carbonate potash 

 and dried. It may again be dipped in a solution of nitrate 

 potash and again dried. 



The patentee's claim was : " "What I claim is the manu- 

 facture of explosive compounds from matters of vegetable 

 origin, by means of nitric acid, or nitric and sulphuric 

 acid." 



Such was the introduction of gun cotton, the parent 

 of nitro-glycerine, to the scientific and mercantile world. 

 Possessing the appearance of simple carded cotton, only 

 that it felt between the fingers, a little harsh or less silky 

 than cotton, a violent controversy arose, as to the form in 

 which the nitric acid was combined with the fibre. One 

 party insisted that the nitric acid, was mechanically con- 

 fined by capillary attraction in the interstices of the fibre, 

 alleging that the mind could not conceive an organic fibre 

 maintaining its form during a change of its elements, whilst 

 others, pointing to their analyses, energetically announced 

 (regarding cotton wool as lignine C12 H10 O10, and gun 

 cotton C12 H7 !N"a O22) : "It is lignine in which three 

 atoms of water are replaced by three atoms of nitric acid." 

 Walter Crum. 



In 1847, Sobrero, then a chemical student under Pelouze, 

 entered into the investigation of these nitro compounds, 

 and pregared nitro-mannite, nitro-dextrin, nitro-glycerine, 

 and nitro-sugar; Svanberg prepared an analogous com- 

 pound from gum arabic. 



Gun cotton alone of all these compounds seemed to 

 have entered into the commercial arena, for blasting pur- 

 poses and projectiles, until 1854 when, during the war be- 

 tween France and England against Russia, Prof. Jacobi 

 suggested its use, and endeavored to apply it to charge 

 the torpedoes laid down at Cronstadt. 



