532 
DISTILLATION  OF  PEAT,  BROWN  COAL,  &C. 
The  carbonaceous  residue  presented  the  original  form  of  the 
peat,  but  its  volume  was  reduced  about  one- eighth.  It  was  of  a 
dark  color,  and  burnt  like  good  wood  charcoal  without  giving  off 
any  odor.  It  left  a  small  quantity  of  ash,  somewhat  yellow, 
from  the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron.  This  charcoal  bore  a  blast 
tolerably  well,  and  might  therefore,  be  of  use  for  metallurgical 
purposes. 
The  tar,  after  being  deprived  of  water,  was  subjected  to  frac- 
tional distillation,  the  several  products  treated  with  alkalies  and 
acids  for  the  purpose  of  purification,  and  then  again  distilled  by 
means  of  steam.  In  this  way  there  were  obtained,  besides  pa- 
raffin and  asphalt,  two  different  oils  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  creosote  and  carbonic  acid. 
The  watery  liquid  yielded  a  considerable  amount  of  acetic 
acid  and  ammonia,  as  well  as  butyric  and  metacetonic  acid. 
The  per-centage  amount  of  these  products  from  the  tar  were — - 
Light  oil,  sp.  gr.  0.830       .        .  19.457 
Heavy  oil,    «    0.870     .        .        .  19.547 
Asphalt,  ....  17.194 
Paraffin,  3.316 
Creosote  and  loss,       .        .        .  40.486 
100.000 
The  light  oil  was  a  clear,  colorless,  mobile  liquid,  of  not  un- 
pleasant odor.  It  was  quite  free  from  creosote,  and  consequently 
did  not  become  brown  by  absorption  of  oxygen  when  exposed  to 
the  atmosphere.  It  was  perfectly  volatile.  As  a  solvent,  it  was 
remarkably  efficacious  upon  resin,  fat,  and  caoutchouc,  leaving 
these  substances  again  on  evaporation,  without  any  smell.  This 
oil  was  free  from  oxygen,  and  was  found  to  have  a  composition 
similar  to  elayl  gas.  When  lighted,  it  burnt  with  a  smoky 
flame  and  considerable  light.  In  lamps  of  suitable  construction, 
it  burnt  without  charring  the  wick,  which  required  cutting  only 
every  third  day.  The  charring  of  the  wick  is  chiefly  due  to  the 
presence  of  creosote  in  the  oil. 
The  nitro-compound  of  this  oil  is  analagous  to  nitro-benzol, 
and  like  it,  may  be  substituted  for  bitter-almond  oil  in  perfuming 
soap,  &c. 
The  heavy  oil  was  of  a  pale  yellowish-brown  color,  had  little 
