88 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
The foregoing remarks have briefly touched upon the most striking points 
connected with the qualities, application and manufacture of gun-cotton, and 
have traced its history down to the commencement of the present inquiry. 
The two points which seem to be the most doubtful in connexion with the 
practical utility of the material are the uniformity of its action as a charge 
for fire-arms, and the permanence of its qualities under high degrees of heat. 
We have to learn whether it can be manufactured in large quantities with 
exactly the same degree of strength, and whether the arrangement of the 
cartridges and the strain under which the cotton is wound can be regulated so 
as to ensure a uniform result upon the piece and its projectile. We have 
also to ascertain whether high degrees of heat, such as ammunition must 
necessarily be exposed to in hot climates, have any prejudical effect on the 
strength of gun-cotton or give rise to any danger of its explosion. On ail 
other points we may, I think, safely conclude, from the reports of experi¬ 
ments made elsewhere, that gun-cotton would be a desirable substitute for 
gunpowder. It requires indeed more delicate management, but it can be 
applied to all the various purposes for which gunpowder is used, and is 
capable of producing a far more powerful effect. 
