St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1915-07-23
MAGIC COAL TAR.
Once Despised, II Is Now a Source
of LimitIess Products.
SPANS THE WORLD OF COLOR.

II Yislds Almost Every Shade or Hue
and ls Used In Practically Every In.
dustry--in Medicine and Surgery,
Aiso, II Has Worked Wonders.
Among the almost llmitless number
OF natural products Of this country
coal tar stands well In the lead In the
variety Of uses to which It may be ap-
piled. Evil smelling. II is the rough
material from which many valuable
substances have been obtnlned after
years OF persistence by science and In.
dustry.
These substances include n wide
range OF colors. various burning and
lubricaing oils, asphalt for pavements.
Photographic developers and a great
number Of medicines, Havors and per
fumes. Coal tar Is used In practically
every manufacturing process where
dyes are needed, In making cloths,
silks, dress materials, colored papers
and even colored articles OF food.
About n century ago coal tar was
10 one had thought II worth while 10
experiment with H. At that time gas
was being introduced as n new light
and Frederick Accum. who wrote one
OF the first books on gas lighting. sug-
gested the boiling OF the tnr I'm n still
and the condensation and collection OF
the volatile products. The experiment
was made. and the process yielded two
oils. One was heavy and the other
light it was soon found that the
heavy could be satisfactorily used ns
preservative for wood that had 20 be
fixed underground or submerged In
water and was used extensively In pre-
serving piers and wharfs.
Further experiments with the lighter
oil were mado by n Scotch chemist,
Macintosh. who used Il In waterproof.
name. IL also IL used as n solvent In
varulsh making and ns coal nnphtha
for lighting. Experiments with naph-
thu disclosed n rich treasury OF colors
which for centuries had been locked up
In coal and its rcfuse-tnr. Bcnxine
wns extracted from naphthn and this
In turn produced the different shades
OF violet. green. blue and yellow. Inter
another chemist made the commercial
manufacture of bcnzine possible. Hs
was experimenting on the artificial pro
ductlon OF quinine. and. using n base
known as aniline. obtained tho coloring
matter called mauve.
This laid the foundation for the coal
tar color industry which bns develop
ed until today almost every color and
shade OF color N derived from nniline.
Aniline had been obtnlned previously
from the indigo plant anil" The dis
coyery OF mauve created a large do
mand for the artificial anillne base
and gave unexpected value 90 bcnzine |
II Yielded nnillne by being treated with
nitric ncid and with the borings of cast
iron powdered into dust Having done |
its work In the aniline Still. the dust |
was used by the gus maker TO cleanse
bis coal gas from sulphur. aud then II |
passed 10 the manufacturing chemist. |
who burned the sulphur out OF II and |
produced Sulphuric acid-h cycle OF op- |
eratlons whose beginning aud end was
the utilization OF waste.
This method OF producing color was
responsible for the desolate madder
fields Of France aud Holland and for
the loss 20 the Hindus OF their loag
cherished indigo cultivation. Anthn.
Gene. ono Of the heavier oils OF coal
tar. caused the fall OF tho madder
growing industry. The mndder pro
duced yiolets, reds, blacks. purples and
dark browns. ADthracene was sold
very cheaply for lubricatlng purposes
until certain chemists heated II with
zine ilings and produced alizarin. and
then the secret OF the madder plant
was discovered.
Ia this way chemistry displaced agri.
culture. one pound OF aliEarin having
the coloring power OF ninety pounds OF
madder. and the lubricating oil sold at
a tribe as waste became valuable
coloring matter worth $500 a ton.
thereby creating a vast industry.
la medicine and surgery coal tar has
worked wonders, saccharin. many hun
dned times the sweetening power OF
sugar, Is used by diabetic patients.
Carbohc acid Is separated from the oil
OF coal tar by successive distillations.
and IN surgical operations a spray OF
germ killing carbolic acid Is used.
Quinoline. antipyrine ana other fever
aAsuagers are made from coal tar. and
various antiseptics and food preserva
tives also are obtained from a.
Vanilla navoring for cooking. which
formerly was prepared from a bean.
can now be obtained from the vanillin
Of the gas works, and even this vanil
lin can be made into a heliotrope per
fume by adding oil OF almonds. while
the latter can be produced by treating
with an acid, Huge quaint.
ties OF this oil are used In the making
of scented soaps AS a matter OF fact
there Is scarcely "A department OF life
into which the products OF coal tar do
not enter-New York Times.