Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-07-31

I'VE mentioned yesterday morning that
on Saturday we had paid a visit to the
Coal Oil Company's Works, out some nine
miles on the Hempfeld Road. The visit
was necessarily short one, and therefore
quite too meagre in point of opportunity
for satisfactory examination and under
standing of the ways and means by which
the several processes of manufacturing oil
were carried on. We made the best use
we could of the short time we had, but
abont the only result we arrived at was
the conviction that, in order.to do justice
either to the public or the manufacturers,
we should be on the ground for several
days, or at least for such length of time as
would enable us to see and infinitely ex-
anime all the various details and processes
of the business. The machinery used is
somewhat complicated, and to be under
stood should either be seen or illustrated
by complete diagram, i'll the absence of
which advantages our imperfect kuowl
edge of the uses and bearings of its va
rious divisions, would be useless for pur-
poses of description. We shall, therefore,
not attempt it, but in lieu thereof will
submit few statements which, at our re-
quest were prepared by the manager of
the Works.
They are as follows:
The New York and Wheeling Coal Oil
Company was organized May %, 1859.
The Directors are: Henry w. Adams, of
New York; Charles Congdon, of New York;
John Fl. Brown, Philadelphia; John Hand
Ian, of Wheeling; o. W. Heiskell, of
Wheeling. The property owned by the
Company embraces three hundred and fif-
ty acres of coal and other mineral, stu
ated nine miles from this city, on the
! Hcmpficld Railroad, and also on the Ma
tional Road, in addition to several good
veins of bituminous coal and fire clay, and
vein of fire proof sandstone thirty feet
| in thickness. There is upon the company's
property vein of bituminous shale, from
four to five feet thick, from which the
| Company is now manufacturing oil. The
capacity of the present works issutficient-
! ly large to turn out one hundred and fifty
barrels per week. The shalc yields forty
gallons per ton of twenty-reigbt bushels, of
an excellent quality of crude oil. 1t con-
tnins Il pound of parafine to the gallon.
| This is beautiful white, concrete, sub
! SGuuSOy SAluIIhl W D4ShCHGu OSSS"uAJ huu
produces candles equally as good. In
refined condition it is worth from thirty to
forty cents per pound. About one half of
the crude oil will make the best quality of
burning oil for consumption in Kerosene
lamps. and the balance is used for lubri-
eating purposes. The Baltimore Il Ohio
Railroad has tested it, and found it 10 be
very superior for this purpose. 1t makes
the best oil for cotton spindles and for
Oiling wool. There are also several very
valuable pigments and secondary products
in this oil which, with the very large
yield of parat1ine, render it of superior
value, such as indigo, red and blue, and
carbonic acid, which is isomeric with Gre
Osotc.
The most important feature relating to
the pecuninry prospects of this Company
is the very novel, simple and cheap meth
cd of extracting the crude oil from the
shale. Six pits are dug in the ground,
some of them large enough to contain
one hundred tons of shale. These are
filled from chute above them, and COW
cred up with earth, and fired at one
end, and the vapors of oil, eliminated
by the heat of the advancing fire,
are drawn out. at the opposite end and
condensed to oil in Subterrauenn cham
Der, excavated under the side hill. The
process is similar to smoking cigar. a
blast of steam creates the draft. As the
front end of the pit burns away and dis
tllls off the oil, the refuse is shoveled out
and thrown down the hill. When the pit
is burned through, it is by this means uu-
loaded and ready to receive new charge.
The process works admirably we'll The
yield of oil is greater than from retorts
and it is much less offensive in its odor
since it is not burned, as it is when distil-
led in retorts by the direct action of the
fire. 1t takes about q week to run off one
of these pits, holding one hundred TONS
including the time of charging and draw
ing the refuse. The yield is about one
bundled barrels of oil. Theyrrequire no
attention, one man by night, and six by
day, being all the labor required to run
six pits. They are cheap in construction
and need no repairs, like cast iron machi-
merry. The mining and delivery of the
shale at the works costs two cents per
bushel, or fifty-six cents per ton. The
whole expense of manufacturing this SUI
pcrior grade of crude oil, does not exceed
three and half cents per gallon. The
secondary products extracted from this
oil, it is believed, will pay the whole cx-
pense of refining it. The oil is now ship
ped east to be refined, but we understand
the Company contemplate erecting large
refinery in this vicinity. The demand for
coal oil has become very large. Its uses
are extending to all branches of industry,
and it is believed by those who have the
best means of information on this subject,
that there is no danger of over-stocking
the market with n superior article Let
tiers patent have been taken out for the
process of manufacture adopted by the
Company. This secures to them, protec-
ton in the production of oil by meth cd,
which for simplicity, economy and capa-
city, is unparalleled. The oil-yielding
vein of shale, will mine. five thousand tons
to the acre, and will make barrel of oil
to the ton. The amount of oil, therefore