Appendix B to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. Cap. 151 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines. / Presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on Mines.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Appendix B to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. Cap. 151 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines. / Presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Royal Institution, My Lord, Truro, June 2, 1864. It seems that as a blasting material the cotton does very well, and if it could be rendered at a cheap rate it would probably oe more economical and better adapted for generg-l blasting purposes than ordinary blasting powder. The smoke which it produces is infinitely less than that from ordinary powder, and appears to be comparatively harmless. I was engaged for two days in conducting some experi- ments immediately after the several blasts for Dr. Angus Smith, and suffered no inconvenience whatever from breath- ing the smoke. There is one important point to be considered, viz., that it is extremely dangerous in the hands of men who are ignorant of its properties. Miners who are accustomed to handle powder carefully (more or less) seem to treat the gun cotton with indifference. They imagine that because it looks like a piece of rope that it would be e(pially harmless. One of the miners at Dolcoath had his hand burnt rather badly by the ignition of the gun cotton in a way he little expected. The charge of cotton which he had given him was too large, and instead of using a knife to cut it, he chopped a piece oif with an axe; the cotton ignited in his hand. His comrade, with a little more caution, tried the same experiment by chopping it on a piece of ivood, and it ignited in the same way. I am, my Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient servant, Richard Peakce. Rt. Hon. Lord Kinnaird. Stowmaiiket, June I4th, 1864. My Lord, We have just received from Captain Ch. Thomas a tabular statement of the shots fired at Dolcoath; and for showing more clearly the comparative weight of powder and cotton, we have added a further column. As we wrote to Captain Thomas our figures show these results, taking the holes as bored for powder: where we use one fifth part by weight (of cotton) the result is always good ; when one sixth, sometimes good, but not certain. But to test its comparative effect, holes should be bored expressly and at varying distances in order to see at what resistance it will work. The saving in cost by using gun cotton is not to be found in firing single holes, but in continued working it will be found that less holes, i.e. a less number of holes, will do the same work. The cost of powder and cotton being equal in removing a given number of fathoms, from its greater range cotton will cost less labor in boring. Dr. Angus Smith will doubtless in his report mention that in firing with the cotton the smell of the fuze became very perceptible. (We used the ordinary Cornish fuse.) This smell is completely covered by powder smoke, but became quite disagreeable in the absence of dense smoke from cotton. Captain Thomas has offered to put some cotton on trial in one level for a month, in order to test its cost. This we propose to arrange with him. We are, my Lord, Your obedient servants. To the Rt. Hon. Thos. Prentice & Co. Lord Kinnaird.