Vegetable Fibres. 93 
form suitable for small arms is a much less difficult pro- 
blem, which may be considered as approaching a perfect 
solution. Foremploymentin shells and for military mines, 
both land and sub-marine, the compressed or solid form of 
gun-cotton presents special advantages, on account of the 
great compactness which may be imparted to it; a given 
weight arranged so as to ignite instantaneously under 
pressure (2. ¢. in strong vessels), may be made to occupy 
the same space as an equal weight of gunpowder, whereas 
the forms of gun-cotton hitherto applied to those purposes 
occupy about three times the space of gunpowder. 
Beautiful; pyrotechnic effects may be readily produced 
by means of gun-cotton, though the absence of smoke, 
which, in some of its applications (especially in mines), 
would constitute an important advantage, detracts from 
some of the effects which may be obtained with pyrotech- 
nic compositions. On the other hand, gun-cotton fireworks 
may be displayed in-doors without inconvenience. 
There appears at present no reason to doubt that the 
application of gun-cotton with great advantage to at least 
some of the more important purposes for which gunpow- 
der is used, will, ere long, be fully established, and that 
this interesting explosive agent is destined to occupy a 
permanent and prominent position among the most impor- 
Acie products of chemical industry.—“ Pharmaceutical Jour- 
nal.” | 
AN INQUIRY INTO VEGETABLE FIBRES 
AVAILABLE FOR TEXTILE FABRICS. 
By H. SHERWOOD. 
i resuming the subject crudely opened out in the July 
number of the TECHNOLOGIST, it must be recognised 
at the outset of an inquiry into the properties and adapta- 
bilities of known fibres, that, whilst the fibres of flax and 
hemp have been used for ages in certain forms (and 
recently jute has been added), yet, out of that beaten 
track we cannot appeal to experience on such a sufficient 
scale as the mercantile world thinks necessary to form a 
definite judgment on matters so practical. We do not 
even possess sufficiently definite analyses of the best 
