dicinal agent it has long been employed in this country. It was
used by the Indians in this way when the country was first discovered.
It was also held in high estimation by the early settlers in what are
now called the oil regions, for the medication of cuts and bruises, as
well as an internal curative. It formed the staple of the British and
American oils that were sold largely and at high rates throughout the
country. It is a remarkable fact that since the quantity has increased
so largely the popular faith has been correspondingly weakened in its
medical efficacy.

Further uses are developed in the process of refining. This latter is
exceedingly simple. The crude oil is placed in an iron retort connected
with a coil of pipe in a vessel of cold water. Heat is then applied to
the retort, when the process of distillation commences. The first
product is a light-colored, volatile substance, sometimes called
naphtha, that is very explosive. This substance is used in the place of
spirits of turpentine in the preparation of paints and varnishes, and,
after further treatment, in removing paints and grease from clothing.
The next product from the retort is the refined fluid for illumination.
This is of a yellow color, with a bluish tinge and powerful odor,
requiring further treatment before it is ready for the lamp. This
treatment consists in placing it in a cistern lined with lead, and
agitating it with a portion of sulphuric acid. The acid and impurities
having subsided, the oil is drawn off, and further agitated with soda
lye, and finally with water, when it is ready for use. After this a
coarse oil for the lubrication of machinery is produced. Paraffine is
another product resulting from this distillation. It is a white,
tasteless, and inodorous substance, used in the manufacture of candles.
The residuum in the retort may be applied to various useful purposes. It
is sometimes used as fuel, and sometimes takes the place of coal tar in
the arts, and by chemical processes is made to yield products useful in
the laboratory and in the manufactory.

But the aesthetics connected with this distillation must not be passed by
in silence. On a bright, sunshiny day we see a bright globule of
petroleum rising from the bottom of the stream. As it reaches the
surface of the water it disperses, and, as it glides away, all the
colors of the rainbow are reflected from its undulating surface.

'What radiant changes strike th' astonished