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152
is of such a low pitch as to be less objectionable to that of the smaller guns it making mostly impression of violent vibration.  [[red underline]] Projectile [[/red underline]] hit a point in Chesapeake Bay, visible in distance.  They tell me it took 20 seconds to get there.  Then demonstration of working of a [[red underline]] machine gun or Colt automatic.[[/red underline]]  No water cooling but after barrel gets hot they screw on a new barrel in reserve  Then boarded a little rail road [[truck?]] to visit [[strikethrough]] mo [[/strikethrough]] plant for manufacturing of smokeless powder.  This is done in several one story simple buildings all situated at considerable distance from each other.  First cotton building

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[[note written vertically in red in left margin]] Smokeless powder [[/note written vertically in left margin]]

Short fibre cotton received here of which has already been extracted all greasy matters. and it is dryed here in drying chambers preliminary to nitration. It has already a rough feeling similar to that of gun cotton and different from soft smooth feeling of ordinary cotton.  Drying outfit rather simple. [[underline]] Nitrating room. [[/underline]] Iron centrifuges. usual diameter about 2½ or 3 feet made of iron, not enameled nor varnished because mixture of nitric acid and sulphuric does not attack iron.  Cotton is submitted there to nitratron for about 20 minutes.  Then exces and acid thrown out by centrifuging. then

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[[red underline]] [[/red underline]]