DISTILLATION  OF  PEAT,  BROWN  COAL,  &C.  533 
smell,  and  was  less  volatile  than  the  former  oil.  It  could  be 
burnt  in  lamps,  and  gave  a  better  light  than  the  light  oil.  How- 
ever, it  is  necessary  to  trim  the  wicks  after  some  eight  hours. 
This  oil  may  be  used  with  advantage  for  preparing  gas. 
When  this  oil  is  mixed  with  fat  or  resinous  soap,  it  furnishes 
an  excellent  lubricating  material,  that  does  not  solidify  in  win- 
ter or  by  exposure  to  air. 
The  asphalt  obtained  by  the  distillation  of  the  tar  has  a  fine 
black  color,  and  may  be  used  for  making  black  varnish  or  lamp 
black. 
The  paraffin  obtained  from  peat  tar  is  very  hard  and  translu- 
cent, and  is  well  adapted  for  making  candles.  The  amount  of 
paraffin  yielded  by  peat  is  twice  as  great  as  that  from  leaf-slate, 
and  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  from  the  brown  coal,  or  lignite, 
of  Aschers-leben.  It  may  be  mixed  with  some  ten  per  cent,  of 
stearin  without  injury. 
The  charcoal  produced  in  the  distillation  of  peat  may  be  used 
as  fuel  in  the  works,  and  the  ash  may  be  servicable  as  manure. 
The  ammoniacal  water  would  of  couse  be  treated  in  the  usual 
manner,  so  as  to  obtain  sulphate  of  ammonia. 
The  gas  given  oif  in  the  distillation  may  be  advantageously 
used  for  heating  the  rectifying  apparatus,  and  when  purified  with 
hydrate  of  lime  it  is  a  good  illuminating  gas.  Four  retorts  yield 
as  much  gas  as  is  requisite  for  working  a  fifth  retort,  when  used 
as  fuel  with  proper  precautions. 
The  creosote  yielded  is  of  a  dark  brown  color,  and  contains 
from  80  to  85  per  cent,  of  pure  creosote  and  carbolic  acid.  It 
is  an  excellent  material  for  impregnating  wood  to  be  used  in  ship 
building,  railway  sleepers,  &c,  and  it  may  be  employed  in  mak- 
ing lamp-black.  It  is  to  the  presence  of  this  substance  that  the 
disagreeable  smell  of  the  oils  obtained  from  peat  tar  is  due. 
Some  of  the  oils  occurring  in  commerce  contain  from  six  to 
twelve  per  cent,  of  creosote,  and  consequently  become  brown 
when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere. 
The  treatment  of  the  oils  distilled  from  the  tar  is  very  simple. 
By  the  fractional  distillation  there  are  obtained  a  portion  of  oil 
that  remains  liquid,  and  another  portion  that  solidifies  on  cool- 
ing. The  former  is  mixed  with  caustic  alkalij  for  the  purpose 
of  separating  creosote  and  any  other  substances  of  an  acid  cha- 
