But there is still another story of coal tar to be told. Among the
many curious substances that wonderful fluid contains is the beautiful
wax-like body called paraffine, the development of which chiefly owes
its origin to the genius and energy of Mr. James Young. As early as
1848, Mr. Young had worked a small petroleum spring in a coal mine in
Derbyshire, and had produced oils suitable for burning and lubricating
purposes, but the spring gave out, and then Mr. Young sought to obtain
these oils by distilling coal. After many trials, in conjunction with
other gentlemen connected therewith, he proved successful, and the
present magnitude of this industry is without parallel in the history of
British manufactures.

In Scotland alone there are about sixty paraffine oil works, one alone
occupying a site of nearly forty acres. Here about 120,000 gallons of
crude oil are produced weekly, and among the various works in Scotland
about 800,000 tons of shale are distilled per annum, producing nearly
30,000,000 gallons of crude oil, from which about 12,000,000 gallons of
refined burning oil are obtained in addition to the large quantities
of naphtha, solid paraffine, ammonia, and other chemical products.
Twenty-five years ago scarcely a dozen persons had seen this paraffine,
and now it is turned out by the ton, fashioned into candles delicately
tinted with colors obtained from coal tar.

I might dwell on this subject until it becomes wearisome to you,
therefore I will not trespass too much on your time. But from every
point we look we reach this fact, that our coal trade is one which
develops itself according to laws that we are perfectly powerless to
control; if it seems to promise a less rapid increase here, it is only
that it may spread abroad with accelerated vigor elsewhere; if it is our