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much para-naphthaline, which is an oil solid at ordinary temperatures, boiling at a temperature above 300 degs., and which diminishes the fluidity of the oil when mixed with it, and on each successive distillation the same precautions ought to be attended to. This oil, when pure, has specific gravity .900, but from the difficulty of ridding it entirely of naphthaline and para-naphthaline, it is, even when rectified, generally rather heavier than water. It boils, when pure, at about 240 degs. It is not easily destroyed by sulphuric acid; so that oil of vitriol may be used in purifying it. I call this oil, when rectified and purified, Mortuole.

I proceed now to that part of my improvement whereby I manufacture a fragrant oil or oils from some of the spirituous substances and oils distilled from coal-tar. I will first state the method of treatment which I find the most convenient in practice. I use a vessel capacious enough to hold about three times the quantity of oil which is intended to be treated, and with a long narrow neck to check any expulsion of vapor or liquid; which vessel may be of any convenient material that will not be injured by strong nitric acid, such as glass, which should not be thick, lest it be cracked by the heat which may be evolved during the process, and glass offers the advantage of enabling the process in the vessel to be observed. I place in the vessel a quantity equal in measure to rather more than the quantity of oil intended to be treated, of the strongest fuming nitric-acid that can be obtained, of specific gravity at least 1.50; and I prefer to use the pure acid, free from chlorine. I place the vessel in another open vessel, which is filled with cold water, so as to surround the first vessel and keep it cool; I then pour into the acid as much of one of the light oils, or spirituous substances, hereafter to be particularized, as the acid will dissolve. The point of saturation is ascertained by observing when the liquid separates into two layers; I then remove the vessel from the cold water, and warm it cautiously over a gentle heat till the two layers again mix into one clear solution. I then add a further quantity of oil until the solution begins to appear turbid; I then add a few drops more of the acid till the solution is again clear and uniform, and warm the mixture slightly for a minute or two, not however allowing it to boil, I then pour the whole of the mixture into five or six times its bulk of cold water; a heavy yellow or red oil will fall to the bottom of the water, and should be about equal in bulk or rather more than the light oil originally employed. I agitate this heavy oil with successive large quantities of clean water; I allow the oil to settle to the bottom and draw off the water, after each washing, till fresh water, after being thoroughly agitated with the oil, has no longer acid properties, or I wash it with a smaller quantity of a clean filtered solution of carbonate of soda or of lime to remove the acid, and then wash the oil, after subsidence and separation, with a small quantity of water to remove the lime or soda salt. A similar heavy oil may be obtained from the rectified light oil of coal-tar by the action of nitric acid in other ways, as by using an acid of specific gravity a little lighter than 1 50, which will not dissolve the oil in so large a quantity as a stronger acid, and that not without the aid of heat; and if such acid be used it will be unnecessary to immerse the vessel in cold water, as above described, or by agitating the oil with twice its bulk of a mixture of the ordinary strong nitric acid of commerce with an equal measure of oil of vitriol; but by this method the oil will not be thoroughly converted into the required product, or by heating the oil with a mixture of sulphuric acid and nitrate of potash or soda; but I prefer to use the

method above described, as being simpler, and yielding a purer product. And now I come to speak of that part of the oil of coal-tar, which I use for this treatment. The ordinary rectified coal naphtha of commerce, or the oil which I have described as camphole, may be converted into a heavy oil by nitric acid, and if the naphtha or camphole has been previously well purified from the acid and basic oils of coal-tar, the heavy oil so obtained will have more or less of an aromatic or fragrant smell. But I prefer to use the volatile spirituous substance, which I call benzole, since the oil produced from that substance has the most pleasant odor, and for this purpose the benzole should have been previously treated with concentrated sulphuric acid, in the manner which I shall describe, to remove the alliole, pyrrol, and piccoline; but it is not necessary to rectify the benzole thoroughly from the toluole, since the oil produced from the toluole by this treatment is very similar in smell to that produced from benzole. But I prefer to use a spirituous substance which has distilled over while the temperature in the retort, or last rectifying vessel, was between 10 deg. and 100 degs., in which case the oil will be of a light yellow, or orange color, and will have an odor similar to that of oil of bitter almonds, and is useful as a perfume, especially applicable to soap, or for conferring a pleasant flavor, when used in small quantities, upon articles of confectionery. When undiluted, it is sweet like sugar. If cumole, or a less volatile naphtha be used, the color of the heavy oil produced will be usually red, or dark orange color. The odor of the product will be more like that of cinnamon, and certain aromatic acids somewhat similar to benzoic acid will be produced at the same time, as is also the case with cymole. Care should be taken, especially if the less volatile part of the light oil be used, not to allow the action of the acid to take place suddenly, since the acid acts with violence on the cymole, and may expel the contents of the vessel against the person of the operator. It may be convenient in this case to add the acid slowly to the oil, instead of pouring the oil into the acid; and it is evident that the same method may be applied to the benzole. The fragrant oil so obtained may be rectified by distillation, if required, either by passing steam through it, or by heat applied to the exterior of the retort containing the oil; but since the oil boils at a high temperature, viz., at about 210 degs. or 220 degs., and is liable to decomposition if exposed to a higher temperature, it should not be distilled over a naked fire, and it is better to distil it by immersing the retort in a bath of sand or oil, the temperature of which is not allowed to rise above 220 degs. I call the heavy fragrant oil thus produced from the light oil of coal-tar, nitro-benzole.

What I claim in respect to this first part of my invention is, the manufacture from bituminous matters, by acting upon them at suitable temperatures, of spirituous substances, which are so volatile that a current of atmospheric air, at ordinary temperatures, passed through them may, when ignited, continue to burn with a luminous flame till all, or nearly all, such substances are consumed.

I also claim the manufacture from oil, or tarry matters, distilled from coal, by acting on them, or on matters produced therefrom, at different temperatures, of the products herein described, which I have called alliole, benzole, toluole, camphole, mortuole, and nitro-benzole. And here, by alliole, I mean a spirituous substance, which consists chiefly of a dydrocarbonaceous matter, more volatile than benzole; by benzole I mean a spirituous substance whose boiling temperature is chiefly between 80 degs.

and 100 degs., and is such that if cooled to 20 degs. below 0 degs., it will become in part solid; by toluole I mean so much of the light oil of coaltar as may remain after the separation of the alliole, benzole and camphole; by camphole I mean an oil lighter than water, which, when of the ordinary temperature of the air, will not take fire on the surface on the approach of a lighted match, and whose boiling temperature lies chiefly between 140 degs. and 180 degs.; by mortuole I mean an oil whose boiling temperature lies chiefly between 200 degs. and 260 degs., obtained by the methods above described; by nitro-benzole I mean a fr grant oil prepared from the oil of coal tar by the action of strong nitric-acid.

And now having described the spirituous substances and oils which I manufacture from coal-tar, or from the oils or naphtha distilled from coaltar, and the methods by which I manufacture them, I will proceed to the second part of my invention, viz., to that which relates to the purification of volatile bituminous and empyreumatic oils, which are found in nature, or produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances, or of mineral substances, containing or consisting of matters of organic (that is, of vegetable or animal) origin; which invention is especially applicable to the spirituous substances and oils which are manufactured according to the first part of my invention, and is partly applicable to the purification of bituminous and empyreumatic oils in general.

I will proceed to describe this part of my invention as specially applied to the spirituous substances and oils particularly described in the first part of my invention, and as I proceed, will show in what manner it is partly applicable to empyreumatic oils in general. As applied to the purification of the aforesaid particular spirituou- substances, it depends partly upon the properties and partly upon the nature of the foreign substances which accompany them, and whose presence in the different parts of the distillate depend upon the different volatilities of these foreign substances approaching more or less closely to those of the oils and spirituous substances which I desire to purify.

And for the more perfect understanding of this part of my invention, I will state what these impurities are, of which I propose to free the hydrocarbons. It is well known that ammonia, in large quantities, is present in the crude tar-oil, besides which there are several oily alkaloids, known to chemists as aniline, piccoline, pyrrol, &c., which have different boiling points, and some one or more of these are found in all the crude oil of tar, at whatever temperature it may have been distilled, as some are very volatile and some are less so. All these bodies are removable from the neutral oils by acids, which for this purpose need not be highly concentrated.

There are certain acid oils, such as creosote, carbolic, and rosalic acid, which are found principally in the less volatile portions of the oil. These acids are removable from the oil by treating it with caustic alkalies. Further, there are some substances in the crude oil which gradually absorb oxygen from the air, and become brown, thus giving the well known property of becoming dark-colored by being kept. There is very little of this substance with the most volatile spirituous substances, and the largest portion of it is found in the oil, which boils between 140 degs. and 200 degs. These substances are removed by being at once converted by treatment with strong acids or caustic alkalies, or other oxidizing agents, into their brown state, in which they are no longer volatile, and are therefore left behind on distilling the oil.

(To be continued.)

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.

BUSINESS-GOVERNMENT DEMANDS-DEPOSITS-GOVERNMENT

PAPER-TAXES-EFFECT ON MANU. FACTURES-IMPORTATION-DUTIES-DEMAND NOTES-IMPORTS-EXCHANGE-EXPORTS-SPECIEGRAIN-HARVESTS ABROAD-MORE GRAIN FOR LESS MONEY-COTTON IMPORTS INTO GREAT BRITAIN -RECEIPTS FROM THE UNITED STATES-EXPORTS OF COTTON GOODS-RISE IN COTTON-SPECIE MOVEMENT-EFFLUX OF GOLD-BREADSTUFFS AS A REMITTANCE-EFFECT ON STOCKS-COMPARA TIVE RATES-AGGREGATE EXPORT OF GOLD-DEPOSITS AT THE BANKS-SPECIE IN THE BANKSTHEIR PROFIT ON THE RISE-GOVERNMENT INTEREST IN OCTOBER-SPECIE IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND-INFLUENCE OF THE INDIA TRADE-INDIAN DEMAND FOR SPECIE-AMERICAN GOLD TO BUY INDIAN COTTON-GOVERNMENT RECEIVES GOLD ON DEPOSITS-THE COURSE OF POLITICAL EVENTS.

THERE has been rather more business done during the month, although the general course of trade has been checked by the large military movements of the government. The demand for 600,000 men had the effect of calling numbers from their usual employments, and of inducing many to attend to the duties of filling up the regiments, and of arranging their business in view of the contingency of a draft. Nevertheless, there has been a reasonable activity in the different departments of trade. There is, despite the disposition to economize, a gradually increasing scarcity of goods, and growing necessities which demand more or less business. The filling out of the new levies also gave a spur to all those branches of manufacture which are more or less connected with the government requirements, and the prices of raw materials have risen in a marked manner, and there has been some increased demand for money for these purposes, as well as for the large sums paid in bounties to the troops. These sums are estimated at nearly $90,000,000, and although the collection of it from individual towns and cities caused some demand, the disbursement of it again for the necessities of the soldiers and their families gave a stimulus to business in almost all localities where the troops are mustered. The general business done has, to a far larger extent than usual, been for cash, and, as a consequence, the deposits at the central banks have not ceased to increase, and as will be seen by inspection of the bank returns on another page, are now far larger than ever before. In New York alone they are over $145,000,000, being an increase of $50,000,000 since April. The government is by far the largest customer for goods, and as it disburses its paper all those who supply it or its employees with commodities get the paper in exchange, and it accumulates in the banks. Under this process the amount of business paper created is small, and the banks accordingly find very little offering for discount, and they resort to the government securities. The government in making its large demands for commodities offers no equivalent; it merely emits its promises without hitherto having any definite mode of redeeming them. They are indeed convertible into other interest-bearing promises, but this only increases the sum of its liabilities. With the present month, however, commences the operation of the tax law, which is altogether an untried

influence upon this community. The vast machinery of assessors, collectors, inspectors, &c., is to be created and put in operation, and its application will encounter the multitudinous shifts which every description of industry will naturally present to diminish the force of its operation, and this may be expected to affect general business. So much under the law is left to assessors, that when we reflect upon the keen rivalry which has hitherto existed in all branches of business, the fear arises that the tax and the mode of its administration will prove the turning point between success and failure among numbers of producers. The main tax of three per cent ad valorem upon the gross value of all manufactures, will prove severe in some cases. In the cotton manufactures at this moment, when the price of the raw material is 53 cents for midling quali ties, or five times the ordinary price, and goods have by no means advanced in equal proportion, the manufacturer is crowded between the loss in running and the loss in stopping. A large number of factories are running at a loss. They employ their hands and keep the mills in action, knowing that in the cost of the raw material and the cost of labor expended in producing cloth, (to the extent say of $100,000 per annum,) there is a loss of perhaps $4,000 in the operation, inasmuch as the price of the cloth has not risen in proportionto the material, ; but to close the mill and discharge the bands will cost $6,000 per annum. Hence it is better by $2,000 to keep the mill running. Now the tax of $3,000 imposed will inevitably close the mill, because it will make it cheaper to do so. It is said that the manufacturers will put the tax upon the goods to be paid by the consumer. This no doubt will be the case in active markets, sufficiently buoyant to bear the increase, but not as now, when the markets drag behind the raw materials. In this manner a vast number of changes may be expected to grow out of the operation of the tax, and the apprehension of these changes will make a close adherence to cash terms prevalent.

The collection of the taxes will at least cause a current of paper to set into the treasury of the government, thus in some degree supplying it with means, and absorbing much that is now outstanding. The importations at the port have been such, in connection with the high duties, as to raise the sum of the customs to a considerable extent. In the first eight months of the present year the amount collected in New York has been $37,137,792, or ten millions more than in the corresponding period of 1860. These customs have indeed been collected in the government promises, of which there were outstanding, in demand and treasury notes, about $85,000,000 available for that purpose. Of this sum there is still outstanding about $45,000,000, which must be absorbed before the duties are payable in gold. It is to be remarked, however, that the demand notes are now at 16 per cent premium, and gradully creeping up to the value of gold itself. The law of 1857 required that there should be published on the first of every month a return of the amount of treasury notes outstanding, for the information of the public, and that clause was made applicable to the present issues by the law authorizing them, and it is much to be regretted that the Secretary of the Treasury does not comply with that law and make the publication.

The following table shows the imports at the port of New York, monthly, for eight months:

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