672 



PETEOLEUM, OR ROCK OIL. 



Philadelphia. . .$168.715,000 



New York 134.04.-). 000 



Pittsburg 15,740,000 



Titusville 4,000,000 



Boston 2,300.000 



Cleveland. 2,200,000 



Baltimore $1,750,000 



Chicago 1,000,000 



Cincinnati. 750.000 



Washington 700,000 



Total.... $320,200,000 



It is also stated, that to this aggregate probably 

 $100,000,000 should be added for capital in like 

 manner invested, in the same cities and else- 

 where, in other companies and in private enter- 

 prises, but in amounts not publicly or not defi- 

 nitely known. 



Uses of Petroleum and its Products. The 

 refined petroleum, of a gravity of 43 to 46 B., 

 or higher, is the oil which is burned for illumi- 

 nation. As ordinarily burned, in suitable 

 lamps, it affords a light superior in power and 

 in quality to that of coal-gas flames of like size, 

 the oil-flame being the more solid, soft, and 

 through effect of the chimney, steady, as well 

 as exceedingly white. According to Prof. Frank- 

 land's estimates, based on the relative cost of 

 the various materials named in England, the 

 light of coal or cannel-gas is cheaper than that 

 of refined petroleum; but the latter, again, 

 costs less than one-third as much as an equal 

 quantity of light from sperm oil, in a yet lower 

 ratio when compared with that from tallow or 

 paraffins candles, and less than one-twelfth the 

 cost of that from spermaceti or wax. (See AN- 

 NUAL CYCLOPEDIA, 1863.) When, however, the 

 relatively higher cost in this country of coal 

 and coal-gas is taken into the account, it be- 

 comes quite certain that here petroleum affords 

 a cheaper illuminaut even than gas. Its econo- 

 my for general use, and particularly where gas 

 cannot be had, is thus obvious ; although its 

 convenience of use is somewhat less than that 

 of sperm-oil. 



The lubricating oil, of a gravity usually of 

 about 28 to 33 B., stands next in general im- 

 portance. As a lubricator, this oil is superior 

 to most, if not all others, in the circumstances 

 that it does not readily oxidize, so as to form a 

 gummy or tenacious deposit upon axles and the 

 surface of . bearings to which it is applied, and 

 that, if properly purified in the outset, it need 

 not contain any such adhesive matters; so that 

 it hence works free and smooth. In practice, 

 in order (as it is termed) to give it " body," the 

 heavy petroleum is very commonly mixed with 

 a portion of sperm or other oils. It is stated 

 that the heavy oil is also used as a polish for 

 furniture, and as an ingredient in a paint oil, 

 being in this way employed in mixture as a par- 

 tial substitute for linseed oil. Its want of a 

 marked oxidizing tendency, and hence of " dry- 

 ing" property, however, unfits the heavy re- 

 fined petroleum for use except for comparative- 

 ly rough or cheap work. 



The paraffine obtained from petroleum is 

 without doubt, to some extent, a different ma- 

 terial from that afforded by the tar from coal, 

 shales, peat, &c. As already seen, this paraf- 

 fine can be obtained directly from many crude 

 oils, especially the heavier, by chilling them so 

 as to congeal and solidify it, and then pressing 



through porous materials, which allow only tho 

 oil to escape, as well as also by treating tho 

 ordinary residuum in the like manner, or per- 

 haps by chemical agents, and from the deposits 

 at the bottom of the vats into which refined 

 oils are run. "When purified, the parafEne is a 

 whitish, tasteless, and inodorous substance, 

 somewhat resembling spermaceti, and of a spe- 

 cific gravity of about .870. It appears to be 

 used as yet, chiefly as a hardening ingredient 

 with tallow, spermaceti, &c., in the making of 

 candles ; and it is stated also, to some extent, in 

 mixture with beeswax and spermaceti, for tho 

 purposes answered by those materials. 



Naphtha, or lenzine, which when crude may 

 range in gravity from about 58 to 65 B., or 

 upwards, and which, after refining, is quoted 

 at 60 to 63, has been put to a variety of uses, 

 to prevent its being a waste material, though it 

 is not in all of these yet made to serve to tho 

 best advantage. It appears to be an excellent 

 article for cleansing wool, and when refined, 

 also for cleaning soiled fabrics or garments, and 

 without impairing their colors. It has been 

 employed as a solvent of various gum-resins, 

 and particularly of India-rubber. In the pre- 

 paration of varnishes and of paints, it has been 

 to some extent used as a substitute for spirits 

 of turpentine ; but the latter article being in 

 fair supply, and being as yet preferred, the 

 naphtha has not come into the general use for 

 these purposes that had been anticipated for it. 

 (" Shipping List " annual review, 1864.) The 

 lighter oils have been to some extent also burned 

 in vapor lamps, the oil being contained in a 

 reservoir to which heat must first be applied, 

 to commence its evaporation. It may be re- 

 marked that with some refiners, and perhaps to 

 some extent among dealers, it is customary to 

 make a distinction between the lighter and 

 heavier naphtha; but such distinction has not 

 become general. 



An oil is prepared from petroleum for cur- 

 riers' use, in finishing leather, and which is said 

 to be preferable for such purpose to tho fish 

 and neats-foot oil hitherto commonly employed. 

 Soaps for toilet use have been to some extent 

 prepared, in which, along with the fat or oil 

 and alkali, refined petroleum is incorporated. 

 Such petrolized soap has been said to have some 

 advantages, as in protecting and favoring a 

 healthful condition of the skin ; but among tho 

 difficulties in the way of the manufacture has 

 been that of securing a petroleum sufficiently 

 free from odor, and this application of the oil 

 can scarcely yet be said to be successfully car- 

 ried out. To the subject of ANILINE COLOEB, 

 reference has already been made. A process 

 has been patented in New York, for producing 

 from some of the dyes recently obtained from 

 petroleum a set of inks, for the printing in col 

 ors of show-bills, etc. 



The residuum, besides being sometimes made 

 to yield paraffine and to some extent the ma- 

 terial for dyes, has been employed witl success 

 in the manufacture of illuminating gas (see pre- 



