William Richard Eaton Hodgkinson

“ Charcoal from cork is said to absorb about 90% of its weight of nitroglycerin. With the idea of obtaining greater safety, mixtures have been made of nitroglycerin with wood fibre, charcoal and metallic nitrates. Lithofracteur, for instance, consists of 50% nitroglycerin and a mixture of prepared sawdust, kieselguhr and barium nitrate. Carbonite contains 25% of nitroglycerin, the remainder being a mixture of wood-meal and alkali nitrates, with about 1% of sulphur. Dualin, atlas dynamite and potentite are other modifications. ”

“ Disabilities attaching to kieselguhr dynamite are that when placed in water the nitroglycerin is liable to be exuded or displaced, also that, like nitroglycerin itself, it freezes fairly easily and thawing the frozen cartridges is a dangerous operation. ”

“ Camphor and other substances have been added to blasting gelatin to render it more solid and less sensitive. Some modifications of blasting gelatin, e.g. gelignite, contain wood-meal and such oxygen-containing salts as potassium nitrate. ”