58 Original Articles. [Jan. 



The crude oil thus obtained is purified in the same way as ordinary- 

 Petroleum. It is re-distilled with increasing temperatures, 600° or 

 800° being eventually reached, in order to drive over the paraffine. 

 About ten per cent, of impurity, including a very dense coke which 

 is afterwards used in the fires with anthracite, remains in the still. It 

 is next subjected to the action of five or six per cent, of sulphuric acid 

 in vessels of three thousand gallons' capacity, called " agitators." After 

 coming to rest the impurities settle to the bottom, and they are then 

 drawn off and the oil washed with water, which in the course of a few 

 hours is withdrawn. In the same way it is treated with potash or soda 

 lye, and is then ready for the final distillation which separates : first, a 

 very light oil ; then, the illuminating fluid ; then, the heavy lubricating 

 oil ; and, lastly, those parts which contain paraffine. The best illumi- 

 nating oil is that of a light yellow colour, although the perfectly clear 

 and colourless specimens are more valuable commercially. 



A suitable vessel for transporting Petroleum has long been a 

 desideratum. In the neighbourhood of the Burmese springs there are 

 places where earthenware vessels especially adapted to the purpose 

 are made in immense quantities. An ordinary barrel, although tight 

 enough for other liquids, fails to prevent leakage of this very pene- 

 trating fluid. It is " said that a barrel filled with naphtha will empty 

 completely in two months. The escape of Petroleum in its journey 

 from the wells to New York city, amounts to ten per cent. For 

 transport across the ocean tanks lined with zinc have been used, to 

 avoid the loss, some of the earlier packages sent having entirely dis- 

 charged their contents. A recent patent claims to render the wood 

 entirety impervious, by soaking it on the inner side with soapsuds, 

 and coating the outside with boiled linseed oil containing drying 

 materials. Iron cylinders have also been proposed. 



These are some of the facts known concerning this singular sub- 

 stance. They have been related because of the extreme importance 

 that it has attained as a source of wealth, and the comforts it has 

 brought into domestic life. It has also ministered to the luxury of 

 the times in adding to the number of the beautiful dyes produced 

 from similar hydrocarbons — " Humboldt " and " Azurine " shades of 

 blue, and " Eosina " having already been discovered in a refinery near 

 the wells. It has entirely displaced whale oil, and has struck a fatal 

 blow at the prosperity of the seaport villages of New England en- 

 gaged in the whale fishery. The dangerous compounds of turpentine 

 and alcohol— camphene, burning fluid, &c— have been driven out of 

 use by the cheapness, non-liability to explosion, and steady white 

 light of this the best of all illuminators, gas alone excepted. Europe 

 has coincided in this opinion with America, as may be seen by refer- 

 ring to page 521 of this Journal for July, 1864, where the export for 

 1863 is stated at 28,000,000 gallons. One firm has received an 

 order to the value of 20,000L from Kussia, for the lamps in which 

 it is burnt. The illuminating oils, too, have great detergent pro- 

 perties, and enable a person to remove many impurities, such as 

 grease and metallic dust from the hands, when other means have 

 failed entirely. For this reason some manufacturers incorporate them 



