Once mankind saw nothing in mineral coal but a kind of black stone, and
the person who first found out by accident that it would burn, and
talked of it as fuel, was laughed at. Now it is not only our most useful
fuel, but its products are used largely in the arts. A few of them are
described below:
1. An excellent oil to supply lighthouses, equal to the best sperm oil,
at lower cost.
2. Benzole--a light sort of ethereal fluid, which evaporates easily,
and, combined with vapor or moist air, is used for the purpose of
portable gas lamps, so-called.
3. Naphtha--a heavy fluid, useful to dissolve gutta percha, india
rubber, etc.