The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1884-07-12
WONDERFUL NEW SUBSTANCE.

mentS which have followed IN the wake
of the discovery of petroleum. is the I'M
mensc trade which has sprung up in
ozokeritc, or ozoceritc, as Webster has
ii. No fairer substance ever sprung
from most unpromising parentage than
the snowy, pure, tastcless, opalescent
WAX which is evolved from the loud
smelling, rc.chy dregs of the petroleum
STILL The remarkable properties of
ozokcritc have open for it a field OF
utility in which it reigns well-nigh su-
prcmc. TINS comely. imprcssionable
article. with all its smooth, soft beauty,
defies agents which can destroy the
precious metals and cat up the hardest
steel as water dissolves sugar. Sulphur
ic and other potent acids have no more
effect on ozokerite than spring water.
1t is alike imperyious TO acid ard TO
moisture. Its advent seems to have
been special dispcnsation in this age
of electricity. Every overhead electric
light cable. or underground conduit, or
slender wire, cunninsly wrapped with
cotton thread all these owe their fit
ness for conducting the subtle fluid to
the presence of this wax. And in still
more familiar forms let US outline the
utility of this substance. Every gush-
ing schoolgirl who sinks her white
teeth into chewing gum Chcws this par
affinc way Every caramel she eats
contains this wax and is wrapped in
paper saturated the same substance.
The gloss seen upon hundreds of va
ricties of confectionery is due TO the
presence of this ingredient of petroie
UNI. used to give the articles 4 certain
consistency, as the laundress uses
starch. SO that 4 product taken from
the dirtiest, worst smelling of tars finds
its way to the mill!onaire's mansion, an
honorcd scn tor. 1t aids to make pos
siblc the electric radiance that floods
his room or, in the form of wax can
dies, sheds softer lustrc over the
scene. 1t polishes the floor for the
feet of his guests and it meltS in their
mouths in the costlicst candies. For
the insulation of electric wire, parattine
wax has today no successful rival, and
the growth Of the demand for this pur-
pose keeps pace with the marvellous
growth of the electric lighting system.
\ single Chicago concern buys para
fine wax by the car load Its price is
but half that of hceswaN, and vet the
older wax yields readily to Sulphuric or
other acid, this being a test for the
presence Of bccswaX in parattine. The
demand for paratfinc for candles as yet
heads the list. Then comes the needs
Of the paper consumers. In 1877 a
single firm in New York handled H.
900 reams of waxed paper. Not only
for wrapping candy is this paper
invaluable, but fine cutlery, hard
ware, &c, cncascd in waved paper
is safe from the encroachmcnt of
rust or dampness. Fish and butter and |
a score of other articles are also thus
wrapped, and there seems literally no
end 10 the uses found for the paper sat
uratcd with this pure hydro carbor. In
the chemists laboratory it is invaluable
as a coating for articles exposed TO all |
manner of powerful dissolvants brewers
find it a capital thing for coating the in
terror of barrels, and the maker of wax
flowers Stimulates nature in sheets of par
affnc. And vet, until Drake drilled his
oil well in 1850, the existence in this
country of this boom to civilization was
unsupported, and it lay in the depths
of Pennsylvania rocks, where thousands,
possibly millions of years ago, it WIS
stored by the hand of an alI-wisc Crea-
tor.