Dynamite was fired in Sweden in 1867 in small
quantities, and a few years later it was fired in France. But two
difficulties soon presented themselves. If the quantity of
nitro-glycerine in dynamite was small, it could be fired in ordinary
shells, but the effect was no better than with gunpowder. If the
dynamite was stronger in nitro-glycerine, it took but a small quantity
to burst the gun.
As early as 1864, dry gun-cotton was safely fired in shells in small
quantities, but when a sufficient quantity to fill the shell cavity
was used, the gun burst. Some few years ago it was found that if the
gun-cotton was either wet or soaked in paraffin, it could be fired
with safety from powder guns in ordinary shells, provided the quantity
was small in proportion to the total weight of the shell--say five or
six per cent. But a new difficulty arises from the fact that it breaks
the shell up into very small pieces, and it is an unsettled question
among artillerists whether more damage is done to an enemy by breaking
a shell into comparatively large pieces and dispersing them a long
distance with a bursting charge of powder, which has a propulsive
force, or by breaking it with a detonating compound into fine pieces,
which are not driven nearly so far.
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