The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-09-12
A Wonderful 60sstance.

Among the most lnpweStInI develop
ments which have followed in the wake
of the discovery of petroleum is the
immense trade which has sprung up in
ozokerite, or ozocerite, as Webster has
! it. No fairer substance ever sprang
from most unpromising parentage than
the snowy, pure, tastelcss, opalescent
wax which is evolved from the loud
smelling. pitchy dregs of the petroleum
still. The Mining Eerie,o thus sums up
the many uses to which this remarkable
substance is applied: This comely, i'm
questionable article, with all its smooth,
soft beauty, defies agents, which can
destroy the precious metals and eat up
the hardest steel as water dissolves
sugar. Sulphuric and other potent
acids have no more effect on ozokerite
than spring water. It is alike lmpervi-
Gus TO acid and to moisture. Its advent
seems to have been special dispense
ton in this aye of electricity,
Every overhead electric light cable
or underground conduit, or slender
wire. cunningly wrapped with cotton
thread; all these owe their fitness for
conducting the subtle fluid to the pres
ence of this wax. And in still more
familiar forms let us outline the utility
of this SUBSTANCE. Every gushing
school girl who sinks her white teeth
into chewing gum chews this paraline
wax. Every caramel she eats contains
this wax, and is wrapped in paper sat
urated with the same substance. The
gloss seen upon hundreds of varieties OF
cenfe tionery is due to the presence OF
this ingredient OF petroleum, used &c
give the articles certain consistency, as
the laundresS uses starch. So that
product taken from the dirtiest, worst
smelling of tars finds its way to the
millionaire's mansion, an honored serv-
itOr. 1t aids to make possible the
electric radiance that floods his rooms;
or, in the form of wax candles, sheds a
softer luster over the scene. 1t polishes
the floor Tor the feet of his guests. and
it melts in their mouths in the costliest
candies For the insulation of electric
wire, paratiine wax has to-day no sue
cessful rival, and the growth of the re.
manu for this purpose keeps pace with
the marvellous growth of the electric
lighting system A single Chicago firm
buys paraffine wax by the car load.
Its price is hut half that of beeswaY.
and yet the older wax yields readily TO
sulpnuric or other &c d, this being
test for the presence of beesway in Per
affine. The demand for parafline for
candies as yet heads the list.
Then comes the needs of the Paper
consumers. In 1877 single finn IN
New York handled 14,00O reanas of
waved paper. Not only for wrapping
candy is this paper valuable, bat fine
cutlery, hardware, etc., incased in
waved paper is safe from the eReroach-
ment OF rust or dampness. Fish and
butter and score oil other articles are
also thus wrapped, and there seems
literally no end to the uses found for
the paper saturated with this pure hy-
drocarbon. In the chemists laboratory
it is invaluable as a coating for articles
exposed to all manner of powerful dis
solvents; brewers find it capital thing
for coating the interior Of barrels. and
the maker OF wax flowers Stimulates
nature In sheets of paraffine. And yet,
until Drake drilled his oil we'll in 1859,
the existence in this country OF this
boon to civilization was unsupported,
and it lay in the depths of Penpsylva-
mia rocks, where thousands, possibly
millions, OF years ago it was stored by
the hand of an all-wise Creator. Sts-
e,stifc AmezScan.