The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-09-24
LIGHT UP0N HIGHT.
rE0GREss FROM TIE PENNY DIP To
pETROLEI y.

Early in the century people found the
day almost long enough. the hTe!iGhi
suiIicing fairly for such empluyments as (
engaged the evening, and the pine knot .
served as helper To many q boy IN pick /
ing his way through such simple educit-
tion rs the scanty volumes then pT0cur- .
able afforded The candle. however, IS f
almost as old as the rushlighi. and even .
the Romans ,and yet earlier HationS) !
had OIL lamps. The ''tallow dip tho /.
making of il 10y successive dippinoS, tie /
process nf enlargement growing faster +
rs it progressed. on the principle familiar (
to every boy that ever rolled SNOW bail. /
and ils 81 iuttering light, ale among Ee /
ecolections uf most uf us. Then came
the oil lamp Tor what WAS used with q. J (
noisOme, tedious and UuSa. iSfaCtory--
Then tho ''fIuid - as it WAS chilled. which
was neither greasy nor slow in action
sometimes much too rapidly. but was
scarcely less UIsIt isfactnry. IGel came
the discovery of kerosene-whicli might
}e called coal in a iiUid forTn-jhe first
artificial well having been sunk jus,
twpatv-unc wears ago. The annual pro-
duction of this is NOW some -, coo 600
barrels. Ia the ten years from 1870 to
1879 | sos. .OD0. 600 gallons ot illUmiuat
iIg oil alone. valued at S31S. go $50,
were exported. Reckoning 10y value.
cotton stands at the head of our export
commodities bread and bTtadotuffS
stand second, for 1879 was The first year
when the vaiue Of their total exports
Outrdnked cotton provisions covering
hog products, cheese. butter. preserved
meats. etc.-staud thirsi, and petroleum
is fourth. thus easily ranking as one of
the great staples. II is estimated that
the export of PETROLEUM is about two
thirds of the total. a larger proportion
Of it than of any other article except
cotton thus being sent abroad. The
average value per gallon of the refined
Illuminating oil exported was 33 cents
i'm 1854 73 in 1865, 30 in 1870. % in 1913.
II in 1874, + in 1876, and II IN 1873.
The extraordinary cHrapUCsS of the arti-
Gle is thus most fOrcibly shown. and This
chpapness is the result of f. unparalirll-
ed abundance and the trivial cost of
getting il were all the gifts OF nature
rs nearly true gifts 10y the bontifulness
and spoRjaneity of their yield, we should
have time 10 grow lazy and his country
would hc the promised land to all who
were not too lazy 10 come 10 it. The
whale fishery of The United States, which
in 1858 employed of 1!lS. .J00tons
the ldrg. st in any ycar-iaS Shruik un-
ill it employs less than -. O0J tons
This looks like giving the whales a rest
all the world over, and jules Verne
might have written for us a VcrTciOuS
account OF the discovery of petroleum
by whale of extraordinary age. Wis
( dom, Effectiveness and ,bcneyoleHce
. yet the price of crude whale oil has AL
vanccd only , cents per gallon, cOmpHT-
ing 1860 with 1890 and that of crude
sperm has declined from $l.40 in 1850
. to 81 % in 1880. We may ascribe this
to the peace increase of the whale tribe
in consequence of the discovery Just
hinte'l, or 10 The comparative ease of
, catching them, or TO the enormous de-
! crease in demand. For even for lubri-
I eating purposes the products Of petrole-
um have largely taken the place of ami
mai oils.