1868 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
105 
TME MOIUSEWm 
(S For other Household Items, see “ Haslet" pages.) 
Kerosene Oil—Explosions. 
The introduction of burning oils made from 
coal, and later from petroleum, has added greatly to 
our domestic comfort, and given the dwellers in the 
country one of the advantages of those who live 
in cities—a cheap and powerful light. Indeed, we 
think that kerosene makes a pleasanter light than 
gas, and the city housekeeper lias no advantage 
over the rural one, so far as light goes, other than 
not being obliged to trim and fill her lamps. How 
much more the evenings are enjoyed, when the 
room is made cheerful by sufficient light! It is of 
itself a great inducement to reading. But as we 
sit down to read the paper, with a mental blessing 
on the man who invented kerosene, our enjoyment 
is seriously disturbed by reading the, alas, too fre¬ 
quent accounts of severe burning and death from 
exploding kerosene lamps, and we begin to be suspi¬ 
cious of our own lamp, which, though it has al¬ 
ways behaved itself most commendably, we feel 
might at some time make us a subject for a 
newspaper item. IVe soon regain confideuce in 
our lamp, which lasts until we hear of another 
“shocking accident.” We suppose that these 
have been the feelings of many who burn kerosene, 
and it is worth while to look into the matter, and 
see to what these so frequent explosions are due. 
Coal oil and petroleum consist of several distinct 
oils, which have different boiling points. If the 
crude article be heated to 100°, for instance, all that 
portion of it which will boil at that temperature 
will be driven off by evaporation. If the heat be 
increased to 110°, and steadily maintained there, 
another portion, that was not volatile at 100°, will 
be evaporated; and so on. The refining of the 
crude oils is done in accordance with these facts : 
the crude oil is put into a still, and separated, by 
the proper application of heat, into liquids that 
have different boiling points. Those which evapo¬ 
rate at the lowest temperatures are known as 
naphtha, benzine, gasoline, etc.; that which boils at 
a higher degree of heat is kerosene, and after that 
has been distilled off, there is left in the still a. por¬ 
tion of oil not volatile.—-Benzine and the other 
oils which have low boiling points evaporate 
rapidly at ordinary temperatures, and when their 
vapors are mixed in proper proportions with air, 
a compound is formed which will explode when¬ 
ever light is applied. Hence these cannot be 
used for illuminating'purposes in ordinary lamps. 
They, (benzine, etc.,) are produced quite abun¬ 
dantly in the process of refining crude oil, and as 
the demand for them for use in the arts is small in 
comparison with that for kerosene for burning, 
they are always very much cheaper than kerosene. 
Kerosene, properly made by a reliable manufac¬ 
turer, will not inflame at the temperature to which it 
is likely to be exposed in use, nor give off a vapor 
that will form an explosive compound with air. 
As the oil for burning brings a so much higher 
price than benzine, there is a'temptation to the 
refiner to leave as much of the latter in his kero¬ 
sene as he can with safety. For the same reason 
there is a temptation to the dealer to buy both 
benzine and kerosene, and mix them, to reduce the 
price at which he can sell them. This is largely 
done, and it is very common to find kerosene of two 
qualities and prices in the retail stores. The low 
priced is made such by the addition of the danger¬ 
ous benzine. 
There are several forms of apparatus made for 
the purpose of testing the safety of the oil, and ev¬ 
ery dealer should have one and learn how to use it. 
A sufficiently accurate test may be made by any 
one who has a thermometer. Place a cup in a tin 
or other vessel of water which is shown by the 
thermometer to be at 110°. When the cup is warmed 
through, put in a tablespoonful of kerosene. Hold 
a lighted match just above the surface of the kero¬ 
sene, and if any vapors have been given off, they will 
take fire. This is not attended with any danger, 
and a careful person, who will properly observe 
the conditions of temperature, may obtain correct 
results. Any kerosene that will stand heating to 
110° without forming an inflammable' vapor is safe 
to use, as far as danger from explosion is concerned. 
Some of that which is sold at the cheap rates will 
form an explosive vapor at the temperature of a well 
warmed dwelling, and the wonder is, not that there 
are so many accidents, but that there are so few. 
The only thing the purchaser can do is, to avoid 
a cheap article, and to procure his supplies of per¬ 
sons who not only would not adulterate them¬ 
selves, but who regard the safety of others suf¬ 
ficiently to take pains to obtain their stock from 
reliable sources only. Each dealer should insist 
upon a guarantee that the kerosene will not form 
an explosive vapor at a lower temperature than 110° 
There is a law of Congress against selling any 
illuminating oils that will not stand the test of 110°, 
and any one who sells dangerous oils is liable to 
both fine and imprisonment. We cannot learn that 
any one was ever even complained of, much less 
punished, under this law, so indifferent are the 
people to that which concerns their own welfare. 
Household Ornaments. 
Articles of ornament in the household have so 
much influence in the family as educators, that we 
consider them quite as important as objects of util¬ 
ity. Indeed, we should prefer to spare some of 
the necessaries of life, rather than miss the articles 
of taste that speak to us daily from the walls of 
our home. They are not only beautiful in them 
selves, but they remind us pleasantly of the friends 
who have thought of us at our household anniver 
saries. Costly pictures and splendid upholstery 
are well enough for those who can afford them, but 
those who possess them are not always people of 
taste, and they are by no means essential to the 
cultivation of taste in us. We may have beauty of 
form and color on a small scale and in inexpen¬ 
sive material, that shall kindle the imagination and 
give pleasure to the feelings quite as effectively as 
the gems of art. The homes of many who have 
a competence are utterly bare of ornament. Noth¬ 
ing is done, nothing is seen within to administer 
to our esthetic wants. The whole aspect is cheer¬ 
less, and one escapes to the sunshine and verdure 
without, with a feeling of reliet It :s worth much 
to children to have around them objects of refine¬ 
ment and taste, to cultivate in them an appreciation 
of the beautiful. It greatly helps the formation 
of habits of neatness and order in them and tends 
to make home cheerful and happy. 
Fig. 1 shows a letter box with three divisions, 
very convenient for holding unanswered letters, 
envelopes, small note paper, postage stamps, mem¬ 
orandum cards, pencils, and the small househould 
journal of which we spoke last month. It is about 
6 inches long, 3 deep, and 6 high at the middle of 
the back. It may be made of black walnut or but¬ 
ternut, or of white wood or white pine, stained 
and rubbed with oil. The front shows open carved 
work with leaves and flowers, and is too elaborate 
for a beginner; but a part of the carving can be 
left off and still make a very convenient box. It is 
put together with small iron pins and with wooden 
pegs and glue. It can either stand on the table, or 
be suspended from the wall in any convenient place. 
Fig. 2 represents an 
oval frame for a carte de 
visite photograph. It is 
made from a piece of a 
cigar box, but any other 
thin, dark colored wood 
will answer as well. It is 
about 3]^ by 4 iuches. It 
is first marked out with a 
paper pattern and pencil, 
and then cut away with a 
sharp knife, and finished 
off with file and sand-pa- "• FRAME - 
pier, and rubbed with linseed oil. A small ring is 
attached to the back with a loop of tape and 
gum, for the purpose of hanging the picture. 
A Match Box. —Fig. 3 shows a bony scale or 
plate from a sturgeon. The edges are serrated and 
afford conveniences for fastening the box, by means 
of two screws or tacks, directly to the wall, or to a 
neat shield of black walnut or otherwood, as shown 
in the figure. The surface is just rough enough 
for lighting a match, which suggests its appropri¬ 
ate use as a match box. Convenient and durable. 
Too Much Help in Play. 
now to entertain profitably and innocently tho 
young folks of the family is often a difficult problem 
for the mother to solve. We think it is made a good 
deal harder than it really is. Our German fellow cit¬ 
izens, with their characteristic fondness for philoso¬ 
phy, have studied this matter profoundly, and flood¬ 
ed the nursery and kitchen with toys and playthings 
that leave Young America nothing to do but 
look on and see them play. We have piuppets that 
do their own dancing, and turn somersaults of their 
own free will, rail cars and carriages that go by in¬ 
visible machinery, horses that canter ■without whip 
or spur, and swings that require no one to boost 
the swinger. The automaton principle has been car¬ 
ried into almost every plaything in which it could 
be made available. We think the philosophy of 
the inventors is seriously at fault. If it were not 
forthe curiosity of Young America, which is piqued 
by the Invisible springs and the inestimable priv¬ 
ilege of pulling them to pieces and seeing how 
they are made, they would not answer for play¬ 
things at all. Children have an irrepressible desire 
to make their own amusement and to have it in 
their own way. They resent too much showing as 
an impeachment of their 
capacities. How often does 
the little boy spurn your 
proffered help with the in¬ 
dignant exclamation “ I 
want to do it myself.” The 
little girl is equally anx¬ 
ious to make her own dolls 
and dress them. The pur¬ 
chased article, however 
complete, is not quite so 
satisfactory as the work¬ 
manship of her own hands. 
The sled that Ben makes 
from a pair of runners, split from a crooked stick 
which he cut in the woods and brought home 
on his back, is more serviceable than anything he 
can buy in the city. He will never see a wagon 
so much to his taste as the rude affair he made 
from an old sdap box and a pair of wheels cut 
solid from a white oak board. Has he not bored 
every hole in it, and driven every peg and nail? 
Who has a better right to be proud than he, as he 
drags his sister away to school in a carriage of his 
own making ? It may lack paint and gilding, but 
there is a beauty in it he will never see in the prod¬ 
ucts of the factory in later years. If he can har¬ 
ness the dog Carlo into the fills, with tow strings 
