The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1905-10-26
ia the State for toe purpose of nluml- /

ia the State for tne purpose of nlumi-
nation, and prescribed a test for the
same. 4Als law has been amended
from time TO time, and so carefully and
conscientiously have tae inspectors
carried out the intent Of the law, that
for number of years an explosion
with the accompanying destruction of
life and property, which al one time
was quite common, is now gnheard Of.
It is my opinion, however, That in
'equiring that the matter of safety
ie paramount, the Illuminating quality
of the oil may have been impaired
The oil refined to the point where ii
will pass the Georgia test must neces-
sarily, it seems, be of low specific grav-
ity, containing more or less of para
fine and possibly other heavy chemi-
calls. Such an oil will not give as
bright a light as one containing g
larger percentage Of naptha and other
light inflamable gases So the ques-
ton arises, shall we have a brilliant
light with a maximum of danger, or
one not so bright with a minimum of
danger? This question was settled by
the law above referred to, and it is
now up to us" to get the best results
possible from the material at command.
To do this, we must first have local
conditions as good as we may Very
often the cause of bad oil is in the
storage tank OF your merchant This
tank is usually placed in some dark
corner and left uncovered from year
to year, and the dirt has accumulated
In the bottom, until every gallon of
oil that is Houred into it s contaminat
ed In IEmping out of this tank into
your can the small particles of dirt
are stirred up and poured into it and
finally find their way into your lamp
wick, clog it up and as a result you
have poor light.
To avoid making this article too
long, l will outline the conditions which
will afford you good light:
First-Remember that cleanliness
is next to godliness" Certainly is
it a prerequisite of good light.
Second-Lamp. Select one having a
wide bowl or reservoir and not too
deep.
Third-Wick. Select a loosely WOW
en- wick. See that it fits the burner.
Gut it in such length that the lower
end just reaches the bottom OF the
reservoir or bowl After it has been
used for some time and has become too
short, do not attempt to piece it out
with another piece of wick or, as |
have often seen, piece of an old
sock. Every ten days boil out your
burner in water, to which has been
added some common cooking soda AT
ter it has been thoroughly boiled. dry
1t in the sun or over the stove before
replacing it.
Fourth-Before enxtinguishing the
flame, always turn the wick down very
low. Every ten days or two weeks
empty your lamp, thoroughly rinse out
the reservoir or bowl with clean oil.
not water! remove the wick, and if 1t
is at all clogged up with dirt. boil it
out, or, what is still better, replace it
with a new one, and put in fresh. clean
oil
II these directions are carefully adj
hered to and You do not have as a
result good light. then the oil is at
fault, and it is your duty to report to
your nearest local inspector that YOU
have in your possession an oil of an
inferior quality. and he will at once
investigate the matter for you. If it is
not convenient. or you do not know
your local inspector, | would be glad
for you to make your complaint direct
to this office.
w. C. BRYANT,
General Oil InSnector