326 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 



leaving 10,480,000 lbs., equal (allowing 8 lbs. to the gallon) to 1,110,000 

 gallons. This may be considered as a fair average of tbe amount manu- 

 factured and consumed yearly in Cincinnatti. To tbe latter account 

 must be set its five large candle factories, which consume the 

 stearine in combination with tallow. As manufacturers are unwilling to 

 divulge the quantity of candles made, we are left to infer it from the 

 large amount of stearine which enters into their composition — two pounds 

 being consumed for each pound of candles. It is to be remembered that 

 the stearine after blending with, has to be extracted from, the tallow. 



Lard Oil. — It is but a few years since that the manufacture of lard 

 oil was looked upon as very unimportant, or, to use the words of a 

 manufacturer, " almost as nothing." Now it occupies a prominent posi- 

 tion, and determines, to a great extent, the value of the hog. In 

 quality, except in temperature, which will always be higher, it is begin- 

 ning to outrival any fish oil, and is superior to the best sperm for 

 lubricating the surface of machinery. Through the entire southwest and 

 north the amount employed for this purpose is immense. And as to the 

 manufacture of the article out of Cincinnatti, almost every place where 

 it can be readily and cheaply obtained has its manufactory. The manu- 

 facture has this rare advantage, that a ready sale is always found for the 

 sterine and for the oil, wherever sent to. 



Professor Olmstead, of New Haven, states that - , by adding one pound 

 of powdered rosin to three pounds of lard, well stirred together, the mass 

 becomes a semifluid at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and on being melted 

 (which it does at 90 degrees, notwithstanding if melted alone the rosin 

 requires 300 degrees and the lard 97 degrees of heat), the compound will 

 remain transparent and limpid at that temperature. As it cools, a pel- 

 licle begins to form on the surface at 87 deg. ; and at 76 deg. it remains 

 a dense semi-fluid. 



The discovery of the above named fact is of great importance to those 

 who use lard-oil lamps, as the lard is rendered more fluid by the rosin, 

 and the power of illumination increased two filths ; yet, after two hours 

 burning, it loses its brilliancy on account of the wick becoming clogged. 

 This will not be a material objection in families, while in point of 

 economy the gain is considerable, for lard is worth three or four times 

 as much as rosin. 



To machinists, the discovery is also important, as it enables them to 

 make use of lard instead of oil, which is not only a saving in cost, but 

 what is of far more importance, the addition of the rosin completely 

 neutralises the quality of acidity in the lard, which corrodes metals, 

 particularly brass and copper, to such a degree as to render lard unfit to 

 be applied to anything not in constant use. Professor Olmstead sa3 r s, a 

 thin coating of the compound laid upon a grate or sheet iron stove with 

 a brush, as thin as possible, will keep it free from rust all the summer, 

 although stored in a damp place. 



