Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 1.djvu/346

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3'3S F£D£iiAIi K£f OBÏ£B �to England, Owing to the fact that I had made shipraents of nitro-glycerine to England, for Nobel's firm, I supposed that he waa going to England in relation to Buch shipment and for pleasure simply, and did not suspect any motive or design on his part to overreach me. I there fore oontinued in the employment of his firm, and prosecuted my researches and experiments in nitro-glycerine combinations. During the summer of 1867 Nobel returned from England. He stated to me that he had visited England, and frequently came to my house, and, while there, inspected the experiments that I in the meantime had made in respect to nitro-glycerine com- binations, and had many and extended conversations with me in respect thereto. I told him that the resuit of my experi- menta since hia departure for England had demonstrated the advisability of preferring an explosive or combustible to an inert, inexplosive or incombustible substance as an absorbent, inasmuch as, as aforesaid, such inert matter detracted from the explosive force of the nitro-glycerine, while a combustible or explosive substance rather added to the force of the explo- sion, performing, at the same time, the identical functions in respect to reduction to powder form and saf ety in handling and transportation, and that sawdust, neutralized, so as to free it of ail qualities that would decompose the nitro-glycer- ine, would, in combination with the latter and saltpetre, add to its explosive force in lieu of detraoting from it, and could be fired without recourse to a strong fulminating cap, or would, in other words, be a eompound in itself explosive by common ignition." �Dittmar leffNobel & Co.'s employment in the fall of 1867, and went to Berlin, to Capt. Schultze's factory, and became a partner in the business relating to the manufacture of explosive powder s. He says: "While with Schultze I per- fected that part of my invention relating to combinations of nitro-glycerine with combustible and explosive substances.

  • * • * I then applied for letters patent to the gov-

ernment of Great Britian and Ireland, making applications for like letters, also, to the governments of Eussia and Prussia, respecti\ ely. The combination of nitro-glycerine with infu- ��� �