The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-04-05

u furnaces are kept hot with oil
nfes and that the boilers above then,
nave pipes to catch the vapor as the
Oh Dolls. Refining petroleum is much
IKE dlstliilng whiskey. The crude oil
IS heateo TO a Vapor which flows of
INTO the cold pipes. AS it strike.
'hein IN s condemnses and runs of as
pure oil.
Wax Candles for Buddha.
IN the meantime, the residue is
carried from boiler to boiler. until All
the oil has been won. A part Of
what is left is turned into wax and
IN the end there is a product which
IS made into q coke superior TO that
from coal. The wax is used chiefly
LOT candles, which are made here
IN great quantities to be used in The
worship OF Buddha. Any one who
can burn a candle before a shrine
ACQUIRES merit, and the bigger the
candie the greater the merit. For
TINS reason, the candles are OF all
sizes, from wax matches to great.
round, tapering cylinders six and a
ilalt feet tall II as thick as an ele-
plants leg. Such a candle brings
about $40, or so rupees. 1t will burn
II1teen hours. and if consumed at a
shrine will add much to ones chance
OF reaching N~irvana.
Machinery and Labor.
The machinery of SYRIAN is up .
date. 1t is nearly all English. al
though there are some Yankee inven-
tons employed. The institution has
can-making factories. and the oil is
run into the cans on the premises.
The labor of the mills is almost
altogether East Indian. About 5000
men, women and boys are employed,
the children ranging in age from ten
years upward. I saw little Hindus
who should have been m school pack
ing candles, carrying heavy loads and
doing all sorts of york. They labored
with all their might, and their wages
were a few cents a lay. We rode
about through the works on a trolley
car pushed by our Hindus, and De-
fore leaving o. a ride on a big
automobile in and out anon the
great tanks where the oil is stored.
There are someth ng like forty or
more of these tanks, each marked
100000 gallons.
This oil trust has other refneries
at D~unneedaw, on the opposite bank
of the 1raWadi, and it is steadily add
ing to its works. 1t makes its own
barges and has almost as many de-
p~artnents as the l under
stand that the oil prices are rising and
that the value of the field has quad
rUpIed in the last year or SO. The
whole country IS now being prospect
ed. with a view to finding new oil ter
ritory.
Where Rubies Come from.
Next to coal oil, the biggest mo-
nopoly in Burma Is in rubies. This
county produces the finest Of such
stones and furnishes the most of the
worlds supply. The industry is in the
hands Of the Burma Ruby Mines Com
pany, which is operating in the Mogok
va ohalaf nin0fu "i4oC from h.na-
dalay. There is a region there 4,0eo
feet above the sea, covering from
fifty to one hundred square miles,
which has produced more and better
rubies than any other place upon
earth. At times it yields as much as
a half million dollars worth Of rubies
a veal and about ten years ago a
single stone was found weighing sew
enty-Seven caratS, which sold for
more than 100000.
The fine ruby is more valuable than
a diamond of the same weight. 1t
is estimated that one the color of
a pigeons blood weighing five carats
will sell for ten times the value Of
a f~ve-carat diamond, and shat the
price will increase with the size. A
ruby which weighed eleven carats
was recently sold in England for $50
600, whereas a diamond of that size
would not bring more than $1,000.
me largest ruby KNOWN IS one WHICH
came from Tibet. 1t weighed 2,c0U
carats, but it was not of the first quail
ity. Some of the best stones OF this
kind are owned by native Indian ra-
jahs, who consider them among the
most beautiful of jewels.
The demand for rubies is greatly
affected by the times. The panic Of
1907 caused a slump in the market.
All sorts of precious stones went
down and for months the London de-
mand for Burman rub.es entirely
ceased. The company then curtailed
its production by stopping night WORN,
and it cut the wages Of the men from
80 to "a cents a day. In 1903 no
dividends We're declared. The times
are now better and all the mines are
again working.
In the Mogok Mines.
| understand the output of h
present yea will be large. The mo-