MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 99 



many parties in Europe who ordered and obtained this mineral for 

 making oil and producing gas. This mineral is only obtained from a 

 small district in Scotland, and, from the foregoing, some idea of its immense 

 value, in a commercial point of view, may be obtained. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF OILS. 



Although gas made from coals is coming into more general use in our 

 cities, c., thus doing away with the necessity of using oil, still the 

 demand for oil is becoming greater every day. Enormous quantities of 

 it are now being used on all our railroads for lubrication, thus entailing 



O ' O 



a great working expense on such systems of travel. Any discovery 

 therefore to increase the quantity, improve it, or render it cheaper, becomes 

 of great importance to the community for the people pay for all these 

 things. We have therefore selected the two following specifications of 

 recent foreign patents, granted for manufacturing oil and lubricating 

 materials : 



Treating Oil Matters. G. F. Wilson, of London, patentee. This 

 invention consists in diminishing or removing the smell and color from 

 the oily matters that are produced by the destructive distillation of resin, 

 and in combining them with the oleine of palm and other neutral oils. The 

 resin oily matters are distilled, or repeatedly distilled, with the air excluded 

 the matters, in some cases, being treated with powerful agents, such as 

 sulphuric acid, before this distillation ; or they are exposed to heat, to drive 

 off their more volatile part. The purified resin oily matters are mixed 

 with the other oily matters by means of agitation or boiling up with free 

 steam. 



In carrying out his invention, the patentee has recourse to a preparation 

 for mixing the resin oil with the oleiue of palm oil and other neutral oils. 

 The resin oil is first caused to be heated for about four hours, in a close 

 vessel, by means of heated steam keeping the temperature to about 350 deg. 

 Fahrenheit ; and it is then to be distilled with the air excluded. Accord- 

 ing to the state of purity desired to be obtained, the distillation is to be 

 performed again and again ; and, for this purpose, steam, heated to a high 

 degree after it leaves the steam-boiler, is employed, as is well understood. 

 If the resin oil be very impure, about two pounds of sulphuric acid are 

 stirred into 112 pounds of resin oil. The same is then to be washed in 

 water, and submitted to the process of heat. 



Having thus prepared the resin oil, it is to be mixed with a neutral oil ; 

 and, for this purpose, the oleine of palm oil is preferred. The best 

 mixture will be found to be in about equal quantities, but this may be 

 varied ; and, in order intimately to mix these matters or oils, they are 

 boiled by the aid of free steam, by which a most intimate admixture is 

 effected ; and such combined oils will be found very useful for lubricating 

 heavy machinery. 



