§ 10. Mr. TINKERasked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been drawn to an invention for blasting in mines in which compressed air is used instead of explosives; and will his Department have experiments made to find out if it is better for use in mines than the present explosives?
§ Captain CROOKSHANKI understand that blasting by sudden release of highly compressed air from a steel shell placed in the shot-hole has been tried in the United States but not so far in this 1164 country. A somewhat similar principle has, however, been adopted in the "Cardox" and, "Hydrox" cartridges which have been approved and are in use as alternatives to blasting. I will inquire whether the compressed air shell is likely to have any advantage over these devices, and I will then consider the question of making experiments.