Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1911-10-07

ceived the idea of building The maltha-lined els
terms found In Egypt and at Petr9a although Of
unknown antiquity, still in a perfect state
of preservation and fit for practical 1t is al
SO wellestablished fact that in the preparation
of material for embalming and encaustic painting
in Egypt and Mexico maltha formed the principal
part.
Many theories have been advanced as to how
bitumen has been produced, but general chem
fcal formula can be given for the occurrence of
the several curious forms of the product There
Is doubt, however, that bitumen represents
q substance that is obtained from petroleum.
found In its liquid state in the containing rocks
and by the process of natures laboratory has
been gradually converted into its more solid FORM
This process may be described as evaporation
AS the oil seeps to the surface, generally by its
own gaseous pressure, the natural gases, spir-
ituous and light oils evaporated by the sun,
and the resdues, asphaltum and maltha, formed
Indications of the presence of petroleum are fire.
ouentfy found on the surface in the form of btu
men, but there is fixed rule, and recent dis
ooveries seem to upset the theory that oil can
only be found under certain conditions Wells
have been sunk and oil found along the coast Of
California, where the operations have even ex-
tended for some distance into the sea. In
variety Of climates and from the sea level up
through the lofty ranges Of the Andes has this
remarkable light Of the world" been secured.
Petroleum, also known az mineral oil, crude
ell and stone oil, may be described as q liquid
AS4 III VI lOuHu SeeplnS from the CreVCeS
OF rocks and floating about the surface of the
water. It's color varies from a light straw,
through amber, red and brown, to a dark green
md black. 1t is a mixture of hydrocarbons or
compounds of hydrogen and carbon, varying con-
rderably, according to the locality in which il is
found, In both composition and consistency, and
OF two distinct varieties, asphalt base and parafin
base, with many constituents.
The more volatile and inflammable portions OF
the raw product are separated by refining each
constituent being taken off and collected sep
arately by gradually raising the temperature of
the oil and passing the consequent vapors or
gases through a series Of condensers. The prod
ucts from the parafin bases usually taken off
as follows: Gasones and naphthas, kerosene or
standard white, as 1t is now known, other illumi-
mating oils, light and heavy ubricating oils, par
Atm, and greases of various descriptions The
percentage Of each product recovered from the
crude varies according to the character of the
crude. fair average of Pennsylvania crude oil
ran as follows: Gasoline, Ia per cent; naphthas,
IL per cent; kerosene, 55 per cent lubricating
oils, 171 per cent; parafin per cent and residue
OF pitch, ETC., 10 per cent Many varieties of
petroleum require special treatment IN order TO
eliminate sulphur and other Objectionable ele-
ments. From the asphaltbase petroleum is de-
prived of resduum employed in the manufac-
ture OF insulating, water-proofng and roofing ma
terials residuum known as coke" is also
used fuel and in the manufacture of carbons
for arc lights and electric batteries
Along the banks of stream in Pennsylvania.
now known under the prosaic title of OIL Creek.