EXPLOSIVE POWER OF NITRO-GLYCERINE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 318, 21 November 1888, Page 2

EXPLOSIVE POWER OF NITRO-GLYCERIN E.

An instanca of the extraordinary explosive power of a small quantity of nitroglycerine is recorded by Dr Gorup Besamez. The incident was the explosion of only ten drops of the substance in his laboratory, ami tbe astonishing effects he records as resulting from this explosion are well calculated to give a most respectable and respectful notion of the properties of n ; tro-glycerine. One of the doctor's pupils, in the course of an investigation, placed the above-men-tioned quantity (?) of the substance in question in a small cast-iron dish heater over a small Bunsen gas burner in common use in laboratories. While so engaged the nitro-glycerine exploded with great violence, breaking 46 panes glass in the windows of the laboratory, hurled the iron dish against the brickwall, the iron stand upon which it was supported partly split and partly twisted out of shape, and the tube of tho Bunsen burner split and fattened. Those in the laboratory fortunately escaped without injury.

Scientific men tell v? that the turnip crop is a fruitful source of fertility that — a turnip crop fed off on the land returns much more available plant food tothe soil than it takes away from it. This is doubtles correct ; it has been proved by nnalysis, It may sound rather contradictory to say that you can take so many tons of produce per acre out of tho tend find leave it richer than before. Certain it is that the mutton and wool produced while the crop is consumed must represent that weight of matter removed from the soil, even admitting that the bulk of the crop is returned' to the soil in the droppings ; but then there is the very important distinction to be drawn between latent and available plant food. All good oi fairly good soils contain an immense amount of plant food, but the greater part of this is in such a form that il cannot be taken up by the plants. What the turnip crop does— that irf, when fed oft* on the l an d — is to rcnaer n portion of this latent stock of plant food available. But there is the practical as well as the scientific aspect of this question to be looked at. The turnip crop {urnish.es a certain amount of plant food available to succeeding crops, hut in order that the land may derive the full benefit of it the manure must be equally di>sthbntecJ. This is another reason why the turnip crop should be fed ofE in small blocks. If the sheep were allowed to roam over a large scope of ground, the manure will be deposited in patches, owing to the habits which sheep have of selecting favourite spots a.' camping-grounds, Complete distributor of the manure can only be assurred by folding.