Oil

“ Then there came an account of petroleum or oil wells, in which it was clearly demonstrated that this admirable product represented, in comparison with other oils, a saving of more than sixty per cent; that it gave a light of matchless purity and brilliancy; that it burnt without odor; and, above all, that, in spite of what might have been said by interested persons, there was no possible danger of explosion connected with its use. ”

“ For oil is the type of compassion; and as oil was in that spot pressed from the olives, so in His agony was the Blood of Christ pressed forth, with which we are refreshed as with oil, are anointed and are fed. ”

“ Sometimes, as on this occasion, the expedients to which he was forced to have recourse, called up a melancholy smile. "Where shall I find oil?" he thought, "or any means of nourishing the flame; and yet there must be oleaginous shrubs or trees in the neighbourhood, amongst all the many children of these vast forests. I must learn many a trade before I have done, and must try and construct myself an oil-mill. If all fails, I must come down, as the winter approaches, and see if I can surprise a seal upon the shore." ”

“ The oil represents the fulness of the grace received; both because, as oil, when dropped upon anything, spreads itself upon it, and insinuates itself into all its parts, so the grace of this holy sacrament penetrates into the soul, and diffuses itself throughout all her powers; and also, because oil, being a mild substance, represents that spirit of meekness and patience under the cross, which is one of the principal effects of confirmation. ”

“ Extraordinary indications of oil and gas extend over a strip of country twenty-five miles long by a half-mile wide, in porous sandstone. Springs of heavier petroleum flow from hills of volcanic rocks in the vicinity. Open wells, in which the oil settles as it oozes from the rocks, are dug sixteen to twenty feet deep. For countless generations the simple natives dipped up the sticky fluid and carried it great distances on their backs, to burn in its crude state, besides sending a large amount yearly to the Shah’s dominions. ”

“ The oil is supposed, as it reaches the polar basin, to be reconverted into water, and the water to become oil as it crosses Cancer and Capricorn, rising to the surface in the inter-tropical regions, and retuning as before. ”

“ Natural gas, like oil, originates in the distillation of organic substances in sediments, and migrates to reservoirs capped by impervious strata. It is commonly, though not always, associated with oil and coal. ”

“ The oil is piped from the oil fields or taken in huge tanks to some city to be made into kerosene, gasoline, benzine, and scores of other useful articles. Nothing is wasted, for from the left-overs, perfumes, chewing-gum, and lots of other surprising things are made. ”

“ There are pools of oil in the streets; the air is filled with the smell of oil; the streets are sprinkled with oil, as it is cheaper and better than water; ships and steamers are black and greasy with oil, and even our food tastes of oil. Everybody talks oil, and lives upon oil (figuratively, at least) , and we long to think of something else."
Note to Second Edition.—Since the first edition of this book was printed the following telegram has been received: "Baku, October 5, 1886. At Tagieff's wells a fountain has commenced playing at the rate of thirty thousand poods of petroleum an hour. ”

“ Oil, you know, cannot in any way be made to dissolve in water. If a mixture of the two liquids is well shaken, the oil divides into an infinity of tiny globules uniformly distributed, and the whole takes on a whitish tint that looks something like milk. ”

“ In some places wells are sunk for the purpose of accumulating the product in a situation convenient for collection by pumping the water out. The oil exudes on the shores of lakes and lagoons, or rises from springs beneath the beds of rivers. ”

“ When of the consistency above mentioned, the oil is separated from the water, and being put into a bottle, is subjected to heat till it becomes fluid again, when all remaining impurities will sink, and the oil, being carefully poured off from the sediment, forms what is termed "fat oil." ”

“ I know little beyond the fact that the crude oil arrives by pipe from the oilfields by means of several pumping stations and that it is cooked or distilled over furnaces and converted into different grade oils from petrol to heavy fuel oil. ”

“ Few cultivators are probably aware of the great importance of oil to this country, and the number of purposes for which it is employed in the arts and manufactures. It is extensively used for candle and soap making, for burning in lamps, for diminishing friction in machinery of all kinds, and especially for locomotives—in wool-dressing, in the manufacture of paints and varnishes, as an article of food, for medicinal purposes, &c. ”

“ Most of the oil of the world is at present extractd by the oil trust, which, in order to secure a slightly increased output, subjects the seed under pressure to a high heat, with the result that in addition to the oil there is pressed out of the mash a variety of resins and essential oils, whose ultimate chemical effect on our colors we cannot as yet determine. ”

“ You see, there's just one little wee speck, essence, or whatever it is, in a gallon of cotton-seed oil, that give it a smell, or a flavor, or something—get that out, and you're all right—perfectly easy then to turn the oil into any kind of oil you want to, and there ain't anybody that can detect the true from the false. Well, we know how to get that one little particle out—and we're the only firm that does. And we turn out an olive-oil that is just simply perfect—undetectable! ”

“ The quantity of oil which a given territory can yield is often very great, since some sand will hold as much as one-eighth of its bulk in oil under pressure. This means that there is 1.5 inches of oil to every vertical foot of oil-sand, or about 5000 cubic feet per acre.
Character and Composition. Petroleum is a liquid of varying color, being black, brown, red, amber, or straw, and by reflected light often appearing greenish in tint. The black oils in the United States are obtained from the Trenton limestone of Ohio and from California; the Pennsylvania oils are of amber tint. ”

“ If, when Oil is dispersed in a body, of which it is only one component principle, and consequently mixed with many saline, aqueous, and earthy parts, that are not inflammable, but, on the contrary, make the Oil less so, the Oil nevertheless takes fire, and burns when agitated by a sufficient degree of heat ”

“ Petroleum has long been popularly regarded as a mineral oil. As its derivation indicates, the word means 'rock oil,' an oily substance so named because found naturally oozing from crevices in rocks. Its existence in this country was known from very early times, and when this and other railroad land grants, containing an exception of mineral lands, were made, the extraction of oil from its natural reservoir in subterranean rocks had come to be a promising industry and was extending over an increasing area through discoveries of new oil fields. ”

“ How should the Body be brought to an Oil, or yield its pleasant Oil, if it be brought to the last being of its degree, for [Pg 157] Glass is in all things the utmost and last.
You shall likewise know that you shall not obtain that perfect noble Oil in the least, if it be extracted with corrected Vinegar poured upon the Antimony, nor yet by Reverberation; and although its various colours may appear, yet is it not the right way; you may indeed get an Oil, but you must know that it hath no part of the Tincture, or power of transmutation in it. ”

“ They know the use of oil in lamps and from this can be led to consider natural oil wells. The old man has heard of the fire country, and it is natural that he should look to that country for the much needed fire. ”

“ Oil poured below water, is raised above the water; water poured upon oil, sinks below the oil. They are urged by their own weights to seek their own places. When out of their order, they are restless; restored to order, they are at rest. ”

“ If the oil be pure and freed from all extraneous matters, and the livers from which it is procured be in a recent and not in a putrid state, there is little apprehension as to any disagreeable effects following its exhibition ”

“ From the first water and oil flow out together, the oil impregnating the grass and soil; in the second it gathers on the surface of the water to the depth of the thickness of a finger; from the third it rises to the surface and flows with the current of the creek. The Indians prefer wells without an outlet. From such they first dip the oil that has accumulated, then stir the well and, when the water has settled, fill their kettles with fresh oil, which they purify by boiling. It is used medicinally, as an ointment for toothache, headache, swellings, rheumatism and sprains. ”

“ There were new wells to be planned and drilled, and pipe-lines to be run, and oil to be marketed, and financing to be seen to, and houses and roads, and a gas-plant, and more water—there was something new every day. ”

“ The oil is heated to the original temperature and steam of high pressure and temperature introduced into the body of the oil. The length of time required for treating the oil depends largely upon its nature, some oils being more neutral and more nearly odorless than others, consequently no exact rule can be laid down that would fit all cases; it must be left to the judgment of the person handling the oil. ”

“ Petrol is distilled from oil which comes from wells bored deep down in the ground in Pennsylvania, in the south of Russia, in Burma, and elsewhere. Also it is distilled in Scotland from oil shale, from which paraffin oil and wax and similar substances are produced. ”

“ Grating it down nicely, leaving out the ugly red spots liberally, and adding the utmost oil as a lubricant, it is as much as I can do to persuade the mess to shut their eyes and bolt it, like Mrs Squeers’ molasses and brimstone at Dotheboys Hall. ”

“ This sharp Oil supplies the place of an Agent as to the Minera’s or Oars, in the Veins of the Earth; and doth more and more ripen the Minerals and Metals, but exceeding slowly: for Nature doth scarce attain to that limit in a thousand Years, which Art doth in a few Months time. ”

“ Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters. — The effect of oil in stilling troubled waters has been so long known, remarks Iron, that it has been constituted the basis of a proverbial phrase. A very small quantity of oil thus used has frequently overcome a very powerful sea. Not many years ago a case occurred in which a ship's crew was enabled, during a severe storm, to escape on shore by the help of a few gallons of oil. ”

“ Nor is it a mere collection of dry facts and figures, set forth to show that the oil business is a pretty big enterprise. But it is a sincere endeavor to print something regarding petroleum, based largely upon personal observation, which may be worth saving from oblivion. The purpose is to give the busy outside world, by anecdote and incident and brief narration, a glimpse of the grandest industry of the ages and of the men chiefly responsible for its origin and growth. ”

“ The whole region round is impregnated with the odour of the oil. Long teams of waggons come laden with casks of oil on the roads approaching the wells. Sheds for repairing the casks, and storing the oil, are ranged around. Every one gives indubitable signs by their appearance of their occupation, while rock-oil, as it is called, is the only subject of conversation in the neighbourhood. ”

“ Why does pouring oil on the sea make it clear and calm? Is it for that the winds, slipping the smooth oil, have no force, nor cause any waves?—Plutarch: Natural Questions, ix.
The venerable Bede relates that Bishop Adain (a. d. 651) gave to a company about to take a journey by sea "some holy oil, saying, 'I know that when you go abroad you will meet with a storm and contrary wind; but do you remember to cast this oil I give you into the sea, and the wind shall cease immediately.'"—Ecclesiastical History, book iii. chap. ”

“ Where Nature, however, supplies us with an abundance of combustible gases, as in certain favored localities in our oil regions, to which I shall have occasion to refer hereafter, an additional advantage is gained, since she has saved us the necessity of making it; and the practical utilization of the product of the numerous gas-wells of our oil regions has proved of enormous advantage to the manufacturers of these localities. ”

“ If Oil be distilled by itself, the thickest and heaviest part remains charred, as it were, in the retort, the inside of which is lined with a crust of coal, that is to the last degree fixed: this therefore always occasions a diminution of the Oil. ”

“ Oil′-press, a machine for expressing oils from seeds or pulp; Oil′skin, cloth made waterproof by means of oil: a garment made of oilskin; Oil′-spring, a spring whose water contains oily matter: a fissure or area from which petroleum, &c. oozes; Oil′stone, a fine-grained kind of stone used, when wetted with oil, for sharpening tools; Oil′-well, a boring made for petroleum.—adj. Oil′y, consisting of, containing, or having the qualities of oil: greasy.—Strike oil (see Strike) . ”

“ The main point to be attended to in order to extract the greatest quantity and the best quality of oil, is that it should be well kneaded, and that the proper proportion of hot water for the extraction of the oil should be used; it is always safer to be sparing of it than to be too profuse. ”

“ For the distillation of oil the waste falling off in the manufacture of lead-pencils is almost exclusively used. It yields about 2 to 3 per cent. of oil. The oil is thinly-fluid, of specific gravity 0.9622, of a greenish color, and an agreeable but not very penetrating odor. ”