Am.  Jour.  Phaem.  ) 
Aug.  1, 1872.  J 
Paraffine. 
363 
fusing  at  63°  C.  (113°  F.)  Its  chief  use  is  in  the  manufacture  of 
candles.  The  bitumen  from  Trinidad,  Cuba,  California,  Nicaragua, 
Peru  and  Canada  is  also  proposed  as  a  source  for  paraffine.  That 
from  Trinidad  yields  nearly  two  per  cent.  The  manufacture  of  par- 
affine by  the  dry  distillation  of  peat  and  bog  head  coal  is  divided  into 
two  operations.  1.  The  production  of  tar.  2.  The  working  up  of  the 
tar  for  illuminating  oil  and  paraffine.  Before  the  discovery  of  petro- 
leum, this  industry  was  regarded  as  one  of  great  importance,  and  it 
was  anticipated  that  most  of  our  burning  oil  would  come  from  this 
source.  The  trade  name  of  the  oil  was  kerosene,  a  word  which  has 
since  been  applied  to  refined  petroleum.  After  the  introduction  of 
petroleum,  the  bog  head  industry  declined  in  the  United  States,  but 
it  is  still  important  in  Scotland,  where  great  quantities  of  paraffine 
are  yearly  made,  according  to  Mr.  Young's  patent.  Mr.  Young 
originally  subjected  the  bog  head  coal  to  a  downward  distillation,  but 
numerous  modifications  have  been  introduced  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  crude  material.  More  attention  has  latterly  been  bestowed 
upon  the  coolers  and  condensers  than  formerly.  The  methods  of 
compressed  air,  ether  engines,  and  condensation  of  ammonia,  have 
been  applied  to  the  cooling  of  paraffine  on  a  large  scale,  and  the  yield 
has  thus  been  appreciably  increased. 
It  is  in  this  method  of  artificial  refrigeration  that  the  chief  progress 
has  been  latterly  made.  Paraffine,  in  its  pure  condition,  is  a  white, 
waxy,  inodorous,  tasteless  substance,  harder  than  tallow,  softer  than 
wax,  with  a  specific  gravity  of  0*877.  Its  melting  point  is  variable, 
depending  somewhat  upon  its  origin.  It  ranges  between  43°  C.  and 
65°  C.  (109°  F.  and  151°  F.)  An  ultimate  analysis  yields,  on  the 
average,  carbon  85  per  cent,  and  hydrogen  15  per  cent.  It  is  insolu- 
ble in  water,  and  is  indifferent  to  the  most  powerful  acids,  alkalies 
and  chlorine,  and  can  be  distilled  unchanged  with  strong  oil  of  vitriol. 
Warm  alcohol,  ether,  oil  of  turpentine,  olive  oil,  benzole,  chloroform 
and  bisulphide  of  carbon  dissolve  it  readily.  It  can  be  mixed  in  all 
proportions  with  wax,  stearin,  palmitine  and  resin.  As  stearin  is  less 
soluble  in  benzole  than  paraffine,  Vogel  proposes  this  reaction  as  a 
method  for  detecting  the  adulteration  of  paraffine  with  stearin.  Fur- 
ther properties  can  be  inferred  from  the  uses  to  which  it  is  applied. 
It  burns  with  a  wick,  and  gives  much  more  light  than  stearin  or  wax, 
but  as  it  melts  at  a  low  temperature,  it  cannot  be  advantageously  em- 
ployed alone.    When  required  for  candles,  it  is  melted  with  stearin 
