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REJECTED OILS. Kmergeney Rrport of the State Chemist on Oils. Atlanta. Go., July 8. 1899. O. B. Stevens, Commissioner of Agriculture: Dear Sir—During the past winter and spring yon sent several of yonr newly appointed oil inspeotors to me to be in structed in the nse of their instruments. My attention was in this way called to the very crude And ancient instrument which we have been using for testing WILL THEY COME? oils in Georgia for many years past, and also to the very bad, and unfortu nately worded law on the subject now on the statute books of the state. ' Sus pecting that the methods in use were giving us but little protection from un safe oils, during a lull in the enormons volume of fertilizer analysis we have been doing, I suggested that you order eaoh of the inspectors to send me a sam ple of oil to test, together with the re sult of their tests. Accordingly, under date of May 24, you sent each one a cir cular letter ordering them to do so. As I found opportunity, I tested all of these oils carefully, and found my suspicions confirmed. There were notable differ ences between my results and those of ; a number of the inspectors. These dif ferences were sufficient to throw some of the oils even below the dangerously low limits prescribed by the statute. Yonr inspectors are not to be blamed for these differences, but the law itself, and the instrument used, which is pro Scribed by the law The instrument used is known as Tagliabue's open tester; it consists of a small glass vessel, which is immersed in a copper vesse containing water. The water is heated by a small alcohol lamp, which trans mits its heat through the water to the oiL Now, the law prescribes just how the test is to be made ns follows: “Hoat with alcohol, small flame; when tho thermometer indicates 90 degrees Fah renheit remove lamp, at 95 degrees try for flash with small bead of pre on. end of string, held within a quarter of an inch of the surface of the oili Replace lamp and work oil up gradually from this point, until the burning point is reached, removing lamp evemr four de gree* ana allowing oil to nm up three degrees before replacing lamp, flashing oil eaoh time just before lamp is re placed, until result is obtained. ” Evidently the author of the above be lieved that “language was designed to conceal thought. ” Let us suppose the inspector making his test and following the striot letter of the law. / Let us sup pose that he has brought the oil up to a temperature of 110 degrees and has tried for flash without result, he re places his lamp, following the strict let ter of the law and waits till the tem perature reaches 120 degrees, when he Five Prospective Railroads. Outlets. Norh, East,’Southeast, Missing . AVTOIV removes the lamp and then waits till the temperature reaches 120 degrees be fore he tries for flash again. We have here an interval of 7 degrees, at any one of which the oil may have flushed or burned without the inspector, who tracked the law closely, being aware of it. Evidently this is nonsense, and can not be the meaning of the law, because the law also says “no kerosene or fluid of any sort, the fire test of whioh is less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit, shall bo ■old within this state,” and yet, accord ing to the formula prescribing the exact way in whioh to make the test, it would be impossible to detect an oil, the fire test of which lay between 110 degrees and 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the legal limit. Again, what doe* the “fire test” mean? Does it mean the “flash” point or the “burning” point of the oil? it cannot be settled except as against the consumer, from the language of this law; evidently the flash point is the point of danger, or the point at which inflammable, explosive vapor is given off; and yet the law says “work the oil up gradually until the burning point is readied, flashing the oil eaoh time, un til the result is obtained. ” What re sult? Manifestly the burning point. Now if this law was not drawn by the attorneys and chemists of the oil com panies, it might just as well have been. Nothteg whatever is said in the law about the neoessity for avoiding drafts of air, whioh might blow away the vapor from the surface of the testing cup before the operator could apply his flame, no caution to the operator to avoid breathing upon the surfaoe. either Of whiol^accidents would cause the oil to appear better than it really was. I mention these as some of the reaeons why no blame should attach to your in spectors, if their results varied a few degrees from seine, or for that matter even if they passed alnyM “any old Oil" that might he put upon the market The Investigations of the British gov ernment, of Dn. Ohandler«nd BUiott, chemists for the New York state board of health, have demonstrated condo le a Subscribe For The INE wholly unreliable instrument, and tk a doeed tester, imitating as nearly asl possible the conditions whioh obtain ini an ordinary lamp, is the form whioh} should be adopted. Elliott, after trying all the various forms of open and olosed, testers in use, finally settled upon form of closed tester which gave h| the most uniform results, and w(i was adopted by the state board health of New York. The New Yorl law recognizes the faot that the flask point is the danger point, the point at^ whioh explosive, inflammable vapors are given off. It says nothing about “Fire test or burning point," but adopts 100 degrees F., in a tester like a lamp, as the limit below which an oil shall not flash. 1 have made testa of some 80 different oils from different parts of the state by our own tester and also by the New York state instrument, and my results fully confirm theirs. Only two oils out of the 80 examined would be al lowed to go to sale in the state of New York. Many of those which would be rejected in New York as unsafe and un lit for public use would not only pass in our state, but would be regarded as ex tra good quality. Some of our oils, also In the New York Instrument, at the or dinary temperature without tho applica tion of any heat, would emit explosive vapor. There is a clause in onr law which says: “The lire test shall be de termined by an inspector, who shall use Tagliabue’s or other well defined in strument prescribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture." Now, sir, I recom mend that you take advantage of this clause and immediately order the adop tion of the New York stat6 instrument by yonr inspectors. While it is true the law says nothing about your chang ing the fire test of 120 degrees F., it does anthnrize yon to change the instru ment, and must, by implication, glvo you the power to change the tempera ture and mode of operation to that most suitable for the new instrument adopted. I issue this, jiir, as an Emergency Report in view of the quantity of unsafe oil at present on the market in Georgia, Und against which onr present ltw and sys tem of inspection afford the people uo adequate protection Between now and the next meeting of the legislature 1 pro pose to go more thoroughly into the sub ject ihau 1 h ,ve as yet had an opportu nity io do, ami submit to you a further report and recommendations on the sub; ( ject. Respectfully submitted. John 51. JIcCanw.kss, Stu*e Clicuiist. w ilMMi At!,a?:ta, Ga.. Jclv 6, 18C9. By the Commissioner Ordered: That i he report of Dr. J. M. McCnjid- less, state chemist, huving this day lie'eu received on illuminating oils uow being sold in the state of Georgia, it i* ordered that said rep rt shall be spread upou the minute book of the department. It is further ordered that a copy of said report, ogether with the attached order, shall be sent to eaoh inspector of illuminating oils in this state. O. B. Stevens, Commissioner. TO THE OIL INSPECTORS OF TOE STATE. Enclosed please find the report ofT5r. J. M. McCandless, state chemist, on Il luminating oils now being sold in the state of Georgia. You will note this report that he has good reason to believe that a large quantity of the oils'; placed on the market are not up to the requirements of the law now of force. The fire test is 120 degrees Fahrenhei- It is therefore ordered that sou con demn, seize land hold every gallon of oil within your territory that does not come up to the fire test as required by i laws of Georgia. When this is notify this department at onoe, await further instructions as to the dii poottl of the same. Yours truly, O. B. Stevens, Commissioned'. Department of Agriculture* Atlanta, Ga., Jaly 18, 18M. Hon. J. M. Terrell, Attorney Atlanta, Ga.: Dear Sir—You will please fri T your legal opinion on the questions: 1. Have the local Oil ins] this state the right to find point in illuminating oils, c offered for sale in this statd present formula, at any po| 95 degrees and ISO degree* 2l Has a local oil lntp to seise am confiscate offered for sale in this i finds it in tauks held by wholi era, when it is below the by law? If not, please remedy would be. 8. Have I the right under, { change the instrument Tagliabue's, to some < instrument, of the New fork state 1 Please give me rstely on each of Yours very i O. B. x ■ .