Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1862-02-18
[For the Daily Press. J
Conf Oils.

the death Of Mrs Bowman, of Delphi, Ind.
was caused by mixing burning fluid OF
tu1pentiLe with the coal oil. | am sure youl
intention is to instruct the public. Hence
let me say, that four hundred cities and
towns in the United States are lighted BY
gases made from coal oil. AU coal oil can, 6t
heat be transformed into explosive gases. The
majority of coal oils now sold, called by O
score OF names, viz; Kerosene, Camel, Rock
Carbon, &c, can be heated sufficiently by
the warmth of the handles than 9Oe
Farenheit-to produce explosive gases
Not one particle of oils Of any kind, made
from bitumiDous substances, can or will ex.
plode but heat will develope gases from all
of them that will explode.
dealer from Pittsburg, on Saturday
showed me an oil clear as water, from which
! formed, in five minutes, gas enough to pro.
duce decided explosion, and yet it was the
true disti,lation OF the well oil, and he asked
33 cents per gallon for it. If you thought q
moment before writing the local in your last
ISSUE am sure you would not have inserted
it. Coal oil is sold wholesale for 33 to a.
cents per gallon, and burning fluid is 7C
cents, and turpentine is 81 70 per gallon:
you can at once see that sit wouldn't nav TO
mix them" you will smell of any carbon
or coal oil you will at once perceive the
gases, and furthermore you will soon have
a decided headache, pain through the temples,
&c, because the lungs can only revivify the
blood with pure air.
To prove to you that the gases are ex-
plosive, let me briefly insert few articles
taken mainly from your paper. April 80,
1861, terrible explosion occurred at an
oil mill at Oil Creek, Penn. At the depth OF
three hundred and twenty five feet oil aud
gas was topped and came rushing up, aud
spouted cut the compounds to a distance OF
one hundred feet through five inch hole.
AT seven o'clock the terrific explosion took
place; fifteen persons were burned to death,
aud twenty. five TO thirty horribly burned.
Like discharge of a thunderbolt it ex-
ploded, and was beard for miles; the fire
which set on fire the gases, was four hundred
rods from the well. February, 1860 the
coil oil maputactory of Spear & Company,
Winthrop, Mass, was burned down for the
third time. The fire was caused by ignition,
and explosion ofgases from one of the vats,
January, 1860, Hartford Coal Oil Factory
ives destroyed by fire from the gases, from
one OF the tanks taking fire from a lantern.
The eXertions of firemen were vain. Loss,
$4,000. January 7, 1861, a barrel of coal
oil exploded, seriously injured S. A French,
and burned down his store in Waltham,
Massachusetts.
At the same date Major Keim's child, of
Bristol, Penn, was killed by the explosion of
coal oil lamp. The Boston Courier of
april, 1860, says (sgned by the distinguished
chemist, DR.. Charles t. Jackson, of Boston, J
the man who first taught Morse, on board OF
the bark Sally, coming to this country from
Europe, the alphabet of transmission of ideas
BY the telegraph, was also the discoverer of
eiher as an anesthic agent in surgical opera
tions. He says, in answer to the call from
the State Assayers to explain why Kerosene
oil explodes, II would say, very volatile oils
are formed in the distillation of oils formed
from bituminous Goals, petroleum, rock oils,
&c.-Viz., kesoline, naptba, &c.,-whch will
form an explosive gas at atemperature.under
1000 Farenheit" The PRkss of Nav, 1861,
says Mr.. Simmis and wife were burned to
death by the explosion of a coal-oil lamp,
while they were attempting to fill it, in
Scranton, Penn.
The C'oveport, KY, coal oil factory burned
down in January, 1861, second time, loss
$s0,OOO, explosion of gas setting it on fire.
March, 1861, coal oil works at New Bedford,
Mass, used for refining petroleum, well, or
rock oils were burned 10 the ground, caused
by the ignition of a match in department
where the gas was escaping. Explosion was
heard six miles, two men instantly killed
and horribly mutilsted and burned. The
top Of Welcb's head was blown comp etely
longing to Colonel o. Rogers, of Danyille
KY, were burned to death by an explosion
of coal oil lamp. December o. 1861, iusur
ance companies of New York City declared
petroleum or rock oils, earth oils, benzine,
naptha, and every kind of oil, either crude or
refined from above rock, OF bitumous oils,
explosive, and uninsursble.
Scientific American, Dec. 10, 1S61-As sew
eral explosions have occurred from mineral
oil in New York and London, we warn
manufacturers and dealers, that we have ex-
amined carefully variety of coal oils, aud
fiud they are just as dangerous as burnings
fluid, in common lamps. A legal investiga-.
tion has just closed in England. and the
verdict Of the jury wss-tbe death %as
caused by explosion of the vapoI of cal oil,
from a coal oil lamp.
In April, 1860, the coal oil works burned
at East Boston was caught fire from Ian
tern, carried too near'an oil tank.
April 3, lS6l-At meeting of the Poly
teChnic Association of the American Insti
tute Of New York, an examination into the
causes of coal oil explosions was made. O, A,
Seely said be had oil at his laboratory
which would boil up 1909 Farenbeit. 1t was
more dangerous than burning fluid. Ex,
plosions are produced by the generation of
gases in lamps while burning
burned by an explosion OF gas at an oil well
OF Hon. A. Plumer, Oil Greek, Pennsylvania.
In October, 1861, scientific American, N.
ID. Stokes, and his wife, lost their lives 10
London, England, while trying to fill coal
oil lamp, which made q tremendous explosion
the lamp into fragments, breaking
the windows, and setting the room on fire.
About the 18th of January, 1862, De.
Strick land, of Dayton, Ohio, lost his life
by sleeDing in a room lately painted, in
" blch coal oil had been used instead of tur-
pentipe. His wife just escaped death.
An EoglishmaA, while painting in store
No. 220 West Fifth street, Cincinnati, told
me that ne has had constant headache since
using coal oil in place of turpentine, in mix
ing paints; has painted for thirty years.
have repaired several coal. oil burners,
" here the solder had been melted by heat of
the fame while burning, which requires
nearly 400o of heat. Any one can at once
see that such an intense beat would rapidly
easify the oil while Burning
Nelson Town, of Meriden, Conn, had a
barrel of sugar destroyed by being in same
room with coal oil; merchant of Ellengton,
Conn.,, lost six barrels of flour; Union Manu-,
Co., of Marlboro, Conn, lost a
hogshead of smoked hams; O. L. Loomis, of
South Windsor, Conn.,, a barrel of crackers
and thirty pounds butter; Mr.. Wood ward, of
East Windsor, Conn, three casks cheese; D.
Woodruff, Enfield, Conn, 800 pounds dried
beef Having learned of hundreds of cases,
in the last four years, of coal oil and its vari.
Ous compounds spelling all kinds of eatables
when 1t was brought into the same house or
store, insert few only to prove to the
public that no grocer especially should keep
kI..AA Al. Il. z