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An important new industry, oil refining, grew after the Civil war. Crude oil, or petroleum a dark, thick ooze from the earth had been known for hundreds of years, but little use had ever been made of it. In the 1850' s Samuel M. Kier, a manufacturer in western Pennsylvania, began collecting the oil from local seepages and refining it into kerosene. Refining, like smelting, is a process of removing impurities from a raw material. Kerosene was used to light lamps. It was a cheap substitute for whale oil, which was becoming harder to get. Soon there was a large demand for kerosene. People began to search for new supplies of petroleum. The first oil well was drilled by E. L. Drake, a retired railroad conductor. In 1859 he began drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The whole venture seemed so impractical and foolish that onlookers called it " Drake' s Folly". But when he had drilled down about 70 feet 21 meters, Drake struck oil. His well began to yield 20 barrels of crude oil a day. News of Drake' s success brought oil prospectors to the scene. By the early 1860' s these wildcatters were drilling for " black gold" all over western Pennsylvania. The boom rivaled the California gold rush of 1848 in its excitement and Wild West atmosphere. And it brought far more wealth to the prospectors than any gold rush. Crude oil could be refined into many products. For some years kerosene continued to be the principal one. It was sold in grocery stores and doortodoor. In the 1880' s refiners learned how to make other petroleum products such as waxes and lubricating oils. Petroleum was not then used to make gasoline or heating oil. |
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yī zhǒng zhòng yào de xīn xīng gōng yè liàn yóu yè zài guó nèi zhàn zhēng hòu chéng zhǎng qǐ lái. wèi jiā gōng de shí yóu, huò yuán yóu yī zhǒng shēn sè de dì xià de chóu jiāng shù bǎi nián lái yī zhí wèi dà zhòng suǒ zhī, dàn shì rén men què hěn shǎo shǐ yòng guò tā. zài shí jiǔ shì jì wǔ shí nián dài, sà móu ěr M kē ěr, bīn xī fǎ ní yà xī bù de yī wèi zhì zào shāng, kāi shǐ cóng dāng dì de yì chū wù zhōng shōu jí shí yóu bìng jiāng tā liàn chéng méi yóu. yǔ yě liàn kuàng shí yí yàng, shí yóu tí liàn shì yí gè cóng wèi jiā gōng de yuán liào zhōng chú qù zá zhì dì guò chéng. méi yóu bèi yòng lái diǎn dēng. tā shì jīng yóu de yī zhǒng pián yí de tì dài pǐn, ér jīng yóu zhèng biàn de yuè lái yuè nán yǐ huò dé. bù jiǔ jiù chǎn shēng le duì méi yóu de dà liàng xū qiú. rén men kāi shǐ xún zhǎo xīn de shí yóu gōng yìng. dì yī kǒu yóu jǐng wèi EL ruì kè, yí gè tuì xiū de huǒ chē jiǎn piào yuán suǒ zuān dé. 1859 nián tā kāi shǐ zài bīn xī fǎ ní yà de tài tè sī wéi ěr zuàn jǐng. zhěng gè de zhè xiàng mào xiǎn shì yè kàn qǐ lái shì rú cǐ bù xiàn shí hé yú chǔn yǐ zhì páng guān zhě chēng zhī wéi" yā zǐ de chǔn xíng". yì zhě zhù: Drake' sFolly, drake zài zhè lǐ yì hán shuāng guān, jí zhǐ ruì kè de míng zì, yòu zhǐ gāi cí de běn yì jí yā zǐ. dàn dāng ruì kè wǎng xià zuān zhì 70 yīng chǐ 21 mǐ de shí hòu, tā fā xiàn le shí yóu. tā de yóu jǐng cóng cǐ měi tiān shēng chǎn 20 tǒng yuán yóu. ruì kè chéng gōng de xiāo xī jiāng shí yóu kān tàn zhě men xī yǐn dào xiàn chǎng. jié zhǐ dào 19 shì jì 60 nián dài zǎo qī, zhèi xiē mào xiǎn zhě wèi xún zhǎo" hēi sè de jīn zi" zuān tàn biàn le zhěng gè bīn xī fǎ ní yà xī bù. zhè xiàng fán róng de shì yè zài cì jī xìng hé cū guǎng de xī bù qì fēn shàng kě yǔ 1848 nián de jiā zhōu táo jīn rè xiāng pì měi, ér qiě tā wèi kān tàn zhě dài lái le yuǎn chāo guò táo jīn cháo de cái fù. yuán yóu néng bèi tí liàn chéng xǔ duō chǎn pǐn. duō nián yǐ lái méi yóu yī zhí shì zhǔ yào de yī zhǒng chǎn pǐn. tā zài zá huò diàn zhōng chū shòu yóu rén āi hù tuī xiāo. 19 shì jì bā shí jiǔ shí nián dài liàn yóu zhě men dǒng de le shēng chǎn qí tā shí yóu chǎn pǐn, rú là hé rùn huá yóu. nà shí shí yóu hái méi yǒu bèi yòng lái zhì zào qì yóu huò cǎi nuǎn zhuāng zhì yòng yóu. |