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be so perfectly adapted. But this discovery was made be- 

 fore its time. The world was not ready for it. And it is 

 quite as much a misfortune for a new truth to be launched 

 into the world too early as too late. The real difficulty 

 was that forty years ago we did not know how to refine this 

 oil, and free it from its intense and disgusting odor. This 

 knowledge has been reached by a long and circuitous pro- 

 cess, and now when it has been reached the world is ready 

 for oil wells, and forthwith oil wells are forthcoming. 



It is curious to note that we have arrived at our present 

 appreciation of the uses and qualities of rock oil, through 

 our endeavors to obtain a like material from coal. Coal oil 

 was the precurser and introducer of rock oil. James Young 

 of Glascow, Scotland, in 1847, conceived the idea of extract- 

 ing a lubricating material from the oil that dripped from a 

 coal mine in Derbyshire. When this source failed he under- 

 took to distill oil from the Boghead cannel coal. In this he 

 succeeded, and accumulated a fortune. Others followed in 

 similar enterprises, and in 1854 a Kerosene Oil Company es- 

 tablished a manufactory on Long Island. In 1856, the 

 Breckenridge Coal Oil Works were established at Clover- 

 port, Ky.j where the coal was found remarkably adapted for 

 the purpose. 



From this time coal oil factories multiplied to a great 

 extent, and large investments of capital were made in this 

 new and remunerative branch of industry. The oil when 

 properly refined, and burned in a suitable lamp, was found 

 to surpass in brilliancy and economy, all known fluids. It 

 rapidly became a great branch of industry. It was pushed 

 into the market in every direction, and became well and 

 widely known. 



Meanwhile, the identity of rock oil and coal oil was re- 

 cognized. Eminent chemists analyzed the specimens of 

 Petroleum gathered from the pools about Oil Creek in 

 Pennsylvania, and pronounced it capable of easy transform- 

 ation into the beautiful products now so well known. An 



