The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1867-08-28
Scientific and Useful.

IhCTS FROM GETRObEUM.-A largo boston
mahufacturer ofkerosene publishes tho fol-
lowing information rs q possible means of
preventing some Of the many accidents
resulting from tho use Of petroleum for
burning fluid:
Crude petroleum is composed Of variety
ofliquids some are volatile at very low,
others at high temperatures. BY distilla.
tlon these substances arc separated, and the
different products arc brought into use for
various purposes. Gasoline, being the
most volatile, passes oil first, and Is the
most intlamnablc and dangerous of cub
stances.
Naphtha, the next in volatility, passes off
after gasoline. 1t has strong, peculiar
odor, and Is very inHamrablc. Refined
petroleum is that which next passes off,
and is of such nature that, when properly
prepared, it will not ignite at temperature
lces than 1000 Fahrenheit, which is, of
course, much higher thnn is over attained
i'll ordinary lamps. This is the illuminat-
ing oil so universally used aud known MS
Kerosene, and after proper treatment in the
refining processes, is as safe for use As sperm
or other oils. The remainder is heavy
on with other substances, and usually call
cd Lubricating Oil.
The test which at present Is almost uni
vcrsal is IN igni,ing point of 100 Fahren-
holt, obtained by oil being put into glass
cup, about three inches wide and three
inches deep, which is immersed in n tin
vessel filled with water, under which is
applied an alcohol lamp, the oil heated al
the rate Of about fifteen minutes from 900 to
]l00, or about one degree per minute, and
when heated faster than that the lamp is
temporarily Withdrawn. Into this oil the
bulb of tho thermometer is permanently
suspended, SO that the oil will Just cover it
'Nhp nil iS nof OF ti,rnl
In the country, petroleum is tho univcr-
sal light; in villages, the principal ones,
and i'll large cities, very largely used. for
even with the wealthy there the kerosene
lamp for the beauty of its light, is the
fnvorite for the study. do not recommend
any one TO use oil other than that of III
full fire test, and that from the best manu-
incturcrs, for the wayit is manufactured
has more TO do with safety than 1909, or
llCo, or 12O0 lightning test and poorly
manufactured. Our markets are supplied
with the following oils first, the best quail
~ of Inc best manufacturers: next, the oil
bought for foreign orders, and rejected for
ire test and other qualities not coming up
to the warranty; third, We are obliged to
Hing away vast amounts OF raphtha the
heavier proportion Of these are bought very
cheap, and used TO adulcrate oils.
This ndullcration is practiccd quite cX-
tensivcly, and is almost the sole cause of
the Impression in the community that kcro-
scnc Is q dangerous light. In the future We
shall hope for immunity from unprincipcd
dealers, rs n late act of Congress imposes
both fine and Imprisonment on those who
adulteratc those oils or sell oil for illumnat.
ing purposes intiammablo below 100 Fab
rcnhoit
MANuFAcrupBu L1GrrrNrNG-Fortyy years
ago our counterfeit lightning was a fccblc
bnrlcsque on the lightning of Heaven
Glass cylinders about the size of lager.bier
kegs, glass discs from two 10 three feet in
diameter, and gnivnnic troughs,three or four
feet long, were the principal apparatus in
use for generating the electric fluid ard q
battery Of Lcydcn jnrs, scarcely larger than
ordinary case bottles, was our best imita-
ton of u thunder cloud. 1t was quite feat
in those days 10 melt little scrap of plati.
nun with electricity. What leap in
science we have made since then! Ii
franklin could revisit the earth he would
be wondcr-sruck. Instead of his kite.
string Tint drew a flash from tho nearest
cloud, we have great cables, undermining
the ocean fol thousand leagues, with
| streams of artificial lightning continually
coursing through them; instead Of his inn
perfect instruments that cleaned few
SI'A'No ''''h 'iS tii ny uiilIOl lNunuai IQDQr,
vast machines arc propelled by steam that
generate electricity in consuming Goods
AT n lato scientific reunion in London,
one Of these machines, weighing four and a
halt tons, and worked by an eight horse
power steam engine, was exhibited. The
electric action developed by this power,
through the Intervention of immense mag
nets and nearly twenty hundred weight of
copper wire, was so tremendous as TO burn
bars of iron like sticks Of wood, producing
light too vivid anl intense TO be locke
upon Electric beacon lights nre likely
soon 10 supe'sedc all others, rs the calcium
ana magnesium lights have already, to some
extent, superseded oil. Tho one lately
established n, Cape Grisnez, on the coast Of
France, flashes light across tho British
Ghanno and for some miles beyond tho
English slrorc-line. There arc now three
electric lighthouses in Europc-two in
france and one in England-and the SUI
premacy of electricity over every other
artificial illnminator scoms in fair way of
Dein3 demonstrated beyond all oaviE
CASTLE SoAp.-It appears that but few
persons arc aware of the radical difference
between genuine CASTLE soap and tho ;mi-
lalions Of IL. The basis of CASTLE soun 10
olive oil. But if you buy your oil, it will
cost moro than the soap will sell for. So
lhc manufacturer takes the marc. Ghe
'.chocsc," cider makers call II, from whioh
all The oil has been pressed that profitablv
can be, and washes out the remainder with
solution Of soda. Thus ho uilizcs q wnste
prodact. American Castillo soap is palm
oil soap that resembles tho roal article in
color only. At the present price Of gold
the importer can put CASTLE soap or Tho
market al about seventeen ccnts per pound.
-IhaodeI'hia Ledyer.
a creosoled sleeper, put down on tho
Stockton and Darlington Railway, in Eng.
land, in August, 1871, was taken up March
10, l967, attcr nearly twenty-five years
service. The grain of the wood, although
slightly discolorcd by crcosote, is as fresh
and apparently as Tough as TINT of the
newly sawed timber, and Tho odor of creo.
sol is rs strong rs if the wood had Just beer,
operated upon.
AhkANHT RooT FOR CoLoR1Na. select
mg alknnet root for coloring hair oils, wax.
m"rbie No., the smaller roots should be
chosen, a2 they contain moro bark than tho
,n7ge ones in proportion TO their weight.
me colorIng matter exists only in the bark.
,ts.