The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-02-12
THE OH FEWER.
Petroleum as Fuel.

The Oil Fever would seem to be one of that
class offebrile affections known as intermit-
tent. The excitement, like the oil in some
wells, ebbs and flows, rises and dies away
again. Several morths ago, when the vast
wealth Of the Pennsylvania oil region first be-
gan to be appreciated the excitement ragged to
such an extent as to be really popular de-
lirium. This farore however, soon began to
subside. The business of boring and pumping
still went on to be sure, towns and villages
sprang up all over the favored region, and
railways were built to facilitate transportation
of the enormous oleaginous product, but the
subject no longer absorbed everybody's
thoughts. A few people began to take time
to eat, drink, sleep, marry, and bury their
dead. The newspapers found other topics of
interest, speculation divided itself, and flowed
off into other channels. It began to look as
though the mania was over, and the oil busi-
ness was to take its legitimate place among the
steadily developing industrial interests of the
country. Then came the discoveries in the
Boutwell, region, the new and yet more mar
velous stories of greasy wealth, and presto! the
smouldering fire blazed up again. As in case
ofsome other fevers, the relapse Is even more
violent than the first attack. 1t infects eyery-
body. Men of all ages and all classes, old and
young, wise and foolish, cautious and rash,
rich and poor, the merchant, the lawyer, the
parson, all are busy in poring over prospec-
fuses, and considering Investments. Nay, the
very women have caught the fever, and Wild
ows and spinsters by the score are bringing
out their little stores of hoarded Seven -Thir-
ties and exchanging them for oil-shares.
We hope none Of them win be rash. Peo-
pie with little money to lose should look eau
tiously at the merits of any speculation in
which they are about. to embark the means
which they may need for their support We
do not mean to insinuate anything against the
business itself That there Is money to be
made by judicious investment In this new
field OF enterprise there can be no doubt, but
| It win be made-as a rule, Of course-by the
cautious. the ready, the shrewd. And for the
| rest fortunes are lost as well as made In every
kind of business, and those whose hands are
plunged too deep in oil may find that green
backs slip through their fingers with danger
GUS facility. However, our purpose at present
| is not to write a homily on the dangers of
speculation in this new form. In the last num-
Der Of the Nation we find an abstract of the
arguments in favor of the employment of Pc
troleum as fuel, and as everything connected
with this subject is now of interest, we pro-
pose to make some extracts for the benefit Of
our readers. The immense supply of this ar
ticle which has been prepared and stored
away in the bosom of the earth would seem
| to be an indication that it must oe ultimately
made largely available in some way;
Although the absolute heating power of
crude petroleum, or coal oil, is considerably
greater than that of an equal weight of coal,
it's nevertheless, true that crude petroleum
would be much more costly fuel than coal IL
the combustion wore equally complete, and