gunpowder: its manufacture and conveyance. 
53 
shoes ” made without nails, as the iron nails in ordinary boots 
might lead to an explosion if one trod on the loose powder ; 
and, moreover, one would be certain to bring in grains of grit, 
which are so dangerous if they become mixed with the powder. 
The men wear a kind of fire-proof clothing, and in the incor- 
porating-houses leather caps and gloves. Fire-engines are 
stationed in various parts of the factory, and every man has his 
post assigned to him in the event of an alarm of fire. To such 
an extent are these precautions carried that the roofs and eaves 
of the buildings are searched for birds’ nests, aud they are 
pulled down whenever they are found, lest the birds in building 
or bringing food to their young might drop grains of grit or 
sand on the platforms round the houses. Every building is 
protected by lightning-conductors, and as soon as a thunder- 
storm approaches the men have orders to stop the machinery, 
leave the houses, close the doors, and cease all work until it has 
passed over. But the best security for the safety of the factory 
is that the workmen are a body of steady, industrious, intelli- 
gent men, and bear so high a character that a dismissal is a 
rare event, though it is the penalty of any breach of a necessa- 
rily strict code of rules. 
The powder manufactured at Waltham is carried down the 
River Lea to be stored in the great magazines at Purfleet. A 
useful lesson can be learned from the method of transport. The 
gunpowder is conveyed in barges specially constructed for the 
purpose. They are about half the length of an ordinary canal- 
boat, and are covered with a semi-circular roof, with a door at the 
side, which is kept closed, except when the boat is being actually 
loaded or unloaded. Every powder-barge is considered a maga- 
zine, and the same rules apply to it as to the Government 
magazines. No fire or light is allowed on board : nothing but 
powder is to be placed in the hold ; and no one is allowed to enter 
it without wearing the ordinary magazine shoes. In this way 
it may be said that every chance of an explosion is carefully 
guarded against. It would be well if the same method of trans- 
port were used on canals where (as on the Regent’s Canal) gun- 
powder is being continually carried to and fro. The extra 
expense of having special barges would not amount to one- 
hundredth part of the loss caused by an explosion. 
We have also to consider the transport of gunpowder by road. 
It is said that it is a common thing for cartloads of gunpowder 
to pass through the crowded streets of London, sometimes 
several carts closely following each other, and crowding 
together if there is a block in the traffic. This is unquestion- 
ably a very dangerous practice. It would be well if carts laden 
with any considerable quantity of gunpowder could be prevented 
from entering the streets of a town ; but in many cases this 
