ON  A  NEW  GUN  COTTON. 
4 
Yielding  of  Carbon 
Hydrogen 
Oxygen 
Nitrogen 
46510  or 
•02604 
•01216 
a  trace. 
81.20  per  cent. 
12.80 
6.00  " 
.2033  100.00 
The  combustion  was  effected  by  oxide  of  copper?  by  Liebig's 
method  ;  and  the  oil  was  analysed  in  the  condition  in  which  it 
is  used, — that  is,  without  depuration,  or  even  drying  farther 
than  that  the  capsule  containing  the  oil  for  combustion  was  kept 
12  hours  over  sulphuric  acid. 
The  analysis  was  repeated  three  times  without  material  vari- 
ation, and  may  be  considered  accurate. 
IT.  S.  Naval  Laboratory,  New  York,  Dec.  §th,  1855, 
ON  A  NEW  GUN  COTTON. 
By  Alonzo  Caldwell. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  ; 
Dear  Sir  : — I  respectfully  submit  to  your  kind  attention  the 
following  result  of  an  experiment  made  some  six  or  eight  yeare 
ago,  on  the  then  newly  invented  gun  cotton.  I  am  thus  led  t© 
give  publicity  to  the  matter  by  the  many  inquiries  lately  made 
in  regard  to  its  properties  as  a  substitute  for  gunpowder,  either 
as  a  blasting  agent,  or  as  an  advantage  in  the  use  of  fire  arms. 
The  subject,  however,  is  worthy  of  further  investigation. 
I  procured  from  one  of  our  most  skilful  chemists,  a  small 
quantity  of  newly  prepared  gun  cotton,  and  having  reserved 
one-half  for  future  experiments,  placed  the  remainder  in  a 
filtered  saturated  solution  of  chlorate  of  potash,  and  allowed  it 
to  remain  there  for  fifteen  minutes.  It  was  then  gently  pressed 
between  the  folds  of  a  clean  linen  rag,  and  dried  over  a  heat  of 
150  degrees.  The  cotton  thus  prepared  exploded  much  quicken 
and  more  like  the  violent  fulminating  silver,  than  the  ordi- 
nary gun  cotton. 
By  the  request,  and  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Sehoies,  of  Bal- 
timore street,  I  made  a  few  experimental  shots  with  the  two  pre- 
parations from  a  pair  of  patent  duelling  pistols,  resulting  ae 
follows  :  Standing  at  the  distance  of  twenty  feet,  (the  length  of 
