YORK chemists’ ASSOCIATION. 
587 
too strongly impressed upon persons who use mineral oil lamps,—it is not safe to blow 
out the flame of a lamp ; yet it is a common practice to do so. The wick should be 
moved down gently until the flame is extinguished. There are several means of ascer¬ 
taining the igniting point of a lamp oil, and various apparatus have been designed for 
this purpose. (These were all mentioned and described.) A very ready means of 
ascertaining whether or not an oil has too low an igniting point is to extinguish the 
lamp in which it is used some time after it has been burning, unscrew the top, and 
apply to a light the mouth of the reservoir, when, if a vapour has been produced, it will 
inflame, probably with a slight explosion. This experiment is perfectly safe. I have 
been led to make these remarks upon the igniting point, from the fact that at the pre¬ 
sent time a large quantity of lamp oil is sold which possesses a very low igniting point— 
much below 100° F.; but this is principally American petroleum. The very low 
price obtained for burning oils during the last twelve months has probably not proved 
remunerative to the American refiners, and, as burning oil is the most saleable and 
highest-priced product they make, it has been to their interest to make as much of it as 
possible. Spirit has been extremely low in price, and, consequently, the less made of it 
the better, in a pecuniary sense, for the producer. Consequently, more spirit than 
is proper has been collected with the burning oil, and the result is that the market 
swarms with petroleum lamp oil of a much lower igniting point than formerly; and I 
believe I am quite right in saying that the ignition point of petroleum burning oil is 
now more frequently below 100° F. than above it. This is not the case with the 
lamp oils prepared in this country. As a rule, so far as my experience goes, they have 
an igniting point not below 100° F., and most of them above 100° F. Some few 
specimens are to be found which ignite below 100° F., and the fact that such oil is 
generally better in appearance, and that petroleum of such character sells readily, may 
operate to induce our own manufacturers to make such oil. But this practice cannot be 
too strongly condemned, and in the cannel oils there is not so much pecuniary induce¬ 
ment, from the fact that crude cannel oils yield but little spirit. It is to be regretted 
that the Petroleum Act of 1802 does not include a clause to make the selling of lamp 
oil below 100° F. (110° F.^would be better) punishable. As the Act now stands, 
it only prevents the storage of such oil in quantities over forty gallons in close proximity 
to a dwelling-house. Mr. Tate then went on to describe other products of the distilla¬ 
tion of cannel, some of which, he said, although not of commercial importance as yet, 
were extremely interesting in a scientific point of view, and afforded matter for research, 
which would well occupy an ordinary lifetime. He thought many of them would before 
long be brought into profitable use. The employment of oil as a steam fuel was also 
mentioned, as also the utilization of the waste gases produced in oil-works ; but Mr. 
Tate was of opinion that this gas could be used with more advantage in the oil works 
than by endeavouring to light towns with it, as proposed by the Flintshire Oil Company 
in the case of Chester. The production of gas in the course of oil-making would, he 
thought, be eventually much reduced, as the process became better known and worked. 
The lecture was illustrated by a large number of specimens, showing the raw mate¬ 
rial, viz. the cannel and shale, the various oils, etc., produced during the manufacture, 
and the chemicals employed in refining. 
A discussion ensued, in which Mr. Robinson stated that he had examined a large 
number of oils by Attfield’s process, and had found that the majority had too low an 
igniting point. 
Mr. Murphy said that in his opinion Attfield’s process gave inaccurate results, and 
thought that the danger of oils having a low igniting point had been exaggerated. 
Other members joined in the discussion, and the thanks of the meeting were then warmly 
expressed to Mr. Tale for his valuable paper. 
YORK CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION.—ANNUAL MEETING. 
The annual meeting of the York Chemists’ Association was held on Friday evening, 
the 8th inst., at Beale’s ‘King’s Arms Hotel’—the President, Mr. George Dennis, being in 
the chair. 
