Yield Ignition Nitrogen. per cent. Point. Experiment I.-- 1. HNO_{3} 1. H_{2}SO_{4} 129.5 170 deg. C. 11.96% " II. " 2. " 132.2 167 deg. C. 12.15% " III. " 3. " 135.8 169 deg. C. 11.91% An experiment made with fine carded jute and the same mixture of acids as in No. II. gave 145.4 per cent. nitro-jute, which ignited at 192 deg. C., and contained 12 per cent. nitrogen. This explosive is not at present manufactured upon the large scale, and Messrs Cross and Bevan are of opinion that there is no very obvious advantage in the use of lignified textile fibre as raw materials for explosive nitrates, seeing that a large number of raw materials containing cellulose (chiefly as cotton) can be obtained at a cheaper rate, and yield also 150 to 170 per cent. of explosive material when nitrated, and are in many ways superior to the products obtained hitherto from jute. ~Nitro-mannite~ is formed by the action of nitric acid on mannite, a hex-acid alcohol closely related to sugar. It occurs abundantly in manna, which is the partly dried sap of the manna-ash (_Fraxinus ornus_). It is formed in the lactic acid fermentation of sugar, and by the action of nascent hydrogen on glucose and cellulose, or on invert sugar. Its formula is C_{6}H_{8}(OH)_{6} and that of nitro-mannite C_{6}H_{8}(NO_{3})_{6}. Mannite crystallises in needles or rhombic prisms, which are soluble in water and alcohol, and have a sweet taste. Nitro-mannite forms white needle-shaped crystals, insoluble in water, but soluble in ether or alcohol. When rapidly heated, they ignite at about 374 deg. F., and explode at about 590 deg. F. It is more susceptible to friction and percussion than nitro-glycerine, and unless pure it is liable to spontaneous decomposition. It is considered as the nitric ether of the hexatomic alcohol mannite. It is formed by the action of a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids upon mannite-- C_{6}H_{8}(OH)_{6} + 6HNO_{3} = C_{6}H_{8}(NO_{3})_{6} + 6H_{2}O. Its products of explosion are as shown in the following equation:-- C_{6}H_{8}(OH)_{6} = 6CO_{2} + 4H_{2}O + 3N_{2} + O_{2}. Its percentage composition is as follows:--Carbon, 15.9 per cent.; hydrogen, 1.8 per cent.; nitrogen, 18.6 per cent.; and oxygen, 63.7 per cent. Its melting point is 112 to 113 deg. C., and it solidifies at 93 deg.. When carefully prepared and purified by recrystallisation from alcohol, and kept protected from sunlight, it can be kept for several years without alteration.