Wisconsin Herald

New kind of Gunpowder.—Science is continually astonishing the world with some new discovery, and power in some new form is constantly developing itself. Gunpowder of the old fashioned kind is now like to be superseded by a new article capable of doing more hurt than the former. A Swiss paper contains the following discovery on this subject:

"Professor Schonbein recently presented to the Society of Natural History, of Basle, a specimen of cotton prepared by him more inflammable than gunpowder, and exploded with a capsule. Several trials were made with it. A small quantity equal to the sixteenth part of an ounce, placed in a gun, carried the ball with such force that it perforated two planks at the distance of 58 paces; and at another time, with the same charge, and at the same distance, drove a ball into a wall to the depth of 3 3-5 inches. In some other experiments a drachm of cotton sent a ball of three quarters of an ounce in weight to a distance of 200 paces, where it penetrated a deal plank to the depth of two inches. A portion of this cotton, when placed on an anvil and struck with a hammer, caused a loud detonation, without, however, the cotton taking fire. The cotton is of a superior quality, and what is most extraordinary, its inflammable property is not destroyed by its being thrown into water and afterwards dried."