USES OF KEROSENE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1570, 19 April 1887, Page 3

USES OF KEROSENE.

Few minerals, with the exception, per* hapa, of gold and silver, have been more talked of rtoently . than petroleum, or rock oil (or kerosene), which is nnquestionably one of the most remarkable natural products known to modern civilisation, It has revolutionised our systems of domestic lighting, and the uses to which it may be put are almost without number. As it flows, or is pumped from the earth (frequently in the form of a thick dark-brown fluid), it is one of the mo«t perfect lubricator ; but the process of refining reduces Its lubricating qualities in proportion to the extent to which the refining is carried; and the application of a small quantity of refined petroleum, as used for lamps, to the bearings of machinery, will quickly remove from them all fatty or oleaginous matter, aod render them quite dry. Kerosene or paraffin is largely used for preventing decomposition, alike of preserved and natural fruits, and it has also been somewhat successfully used for coat-, ing imported butcbsrsV <meat.> -In luoifer match-making does good service for these articles. When'tha wood has been treated with" melted paraffin, they ignite easily, and burn Without producing' any such disagreeable. odor as sulphuric matches. Brewers,, again, have resorted to the use of paraffin for coating barrels, the object being to prevent beer, which has “soured,” or is undergoing any other fermentative process, from so affecting the wood as to impart contamination to future contents of the cask, Spinners and weavers likewise have of late years employed paraffin ,to a considerable extent in the manufacture of yarn and cloth, Cork may be rendered impervious to air by sinking it in a vessel containing melted paraffin, placing the matter under an ail pump receiver, and exhausting the air. Immediately air is allowed to enter the receiver (whisk must, of course, be done while the paraffin is liquid), the paraffin is forced into every pore of the cork, which latter thus becomes practically impervious. Paraffin is pqt to many other uses, among them being its employment as aq (1 insulator,” and for this purpose it is undoubtedly one of the best substances at the command of electricians, probably on account of its freedom from and non-liability to absorb water. It is also employed in medicine and surgery, and in America it is regarded as an admirable cure for burns, scalds ,apd toothache*