The export of mineral oils in 1913 amounted to a value of 1 163 000 kronor.
The production of mineral oils and machine and carriage lubricants in Sweden
in 1912 amounted to a value of 1 036 000 kronor. In this connection, it
may be mentioned that without mineral lubricating oils, which stand great heat
without decomposing, the steam-engines of the present day would hardly have
attained their high stand-point.
Glue and Gelatine.
Various parts of animal bodies contain substances which, if boiled for a considerable
time in water, dissolve and yield glue. A technical distinction is made
between leather-glue, obtained from various refuse matter from hides and
sinews, and bonc-glue, obtained from the bones of animals, from which the
fat is extracted by benzine; the bones are then thoroughly boiled in water
under pressure, the glue being thereby dissolved, or also in hydrochloric
acid, which dissolves the mineral ingredients and leaves the glue. The bone-
fat, which possesses the soft consistency of lard, is used in the manufacture of
hard and soft soaps, Stearine etc. Finally, gelatine is a-n almost colourless,
tastelass, anil odourless glue, prepared with great care, and appearing in a
finished state in very thin leaves. The raw material for the manufacture of
gelatine consists of the hide of calves' feet and heads; the hide is first subjected
to processes for removing the fatty ingredients and the hair. The principal
variety of fish-glue is isinglass, which is the dried inner membrane of the air-
bladder of a number of sturgeon varieties. In connection with the manufacture
of glue may be mentioned that of roller-composition, obtained by dissolving glue
in glycerine of a given strength, to which is added sugar. The ordinary roller-
composition used by printers is blackened with lamp-black.
In 1912 ¡there were 1 factories for the manufacture of glue and gelatine,
employing 229 workmen, and producing goods to the value of 1.228 000 kronor.
There were also 3 factories for roller-composition, their production amounting
to a value of 19-700 kronor. The production of glue has been given in the
factory statistics with increasing figures. The import is insignificant; in 1913
it amounted to a value of 164 000 kronor, including isinglass and gelatine. The
export amounted in value to 18 500 kronor.
Tar and allied Substances.
In earlier times, when the value of timber was not so great as it is now,
tar-burning and pitch-boiling were very customary, especially in the forests of
Norrland; at that time, wood-tar was one of the chief exports from Sweden.
Nowadays, tar-distilling is almost entirely confined to the two most northerly
Ians, where it is carried on as a domestic industry. Figures for the export
in recent times have already been given in Table 39, Page 218.
About the year 1870, a number of wood-oil factories sprang up, the purpose
of these being to turn to advantage the stumps of coniferous trees, left behind
when the timber was felled and removed. By means of dry distillation, certain
products were obtained, from these stumps and other pinewood, such as tar, oil
of wood-tar, wood-oil, etc. Of these, wood-oil is the most valuable, possessing,
as it does, certain of the chemical properties of turpentine oil. In the year
1912, there were 26 factories, employing 117 workmen in producing these substances,
the value of which was then 1 153 358 kronor, distributed as below.
The manufacture of coal-tar is dealt with in a later chapter under chemico-
technical industries.
Kronor
20 875
564 254
8433
358 507
201 289
Kg
Pitch and p itc h - o il.................... . . 219 651
Tar and t a r - o i l ............................ . . 6 041614
Wood-oil ........................................ . . 84 622
Wood-spirit at 100 %.................... . . 613 646
Turnentine and turpentine-oil. . . . 675 991
Total 7 635 524 1153 358
Carbolic Acid, Creosote, etc,
From the distillation of coal-tar a number of different products are obtained;
among others, all the substances which form the basis for the manufacture of
aniline colours, v iz.: benzole and its homologues, aniline, phenol (carbolic acid),
naphthaline, anthracene, chinoline, etc. The preparation of colours, artificial
medicines, etc. from these substances gives rise to an extensive and profitable
industry in several countries. In Sweden, the distillation of coal-tar is carried
on for the preparation of only a few products, such as carbolic acid and oils used
for the preservation of wood (called carbolineum), naphthaline, asphalt-varnish,
and asphalt-tar. That this industry has not made more progress in Sweden than
is the case at present may perhaps be due to the preponderating attention devoted
to inorganic chemistry at the expense of organic.
India-Rubber
is manufactured chiefly in three different forms: pure india-rubber, vulcanized
india-rubber, and ebonite. Pure india-rubber is soft and elastic, and
is used in the production of sheets, pipes, gloves etc., specially for surgical purposes.
Vulcanized india-rubber is used, partly by itself, partly with an insertion
of a strong woven material, for tubes, tires, straps, etc. Ebonite is a kind of
india-rubber vulcanized by a special process; it is used for many purposes, by
reason of its great power of effecting electrical isolation and its property of
resisting the action of acids. Galoshes consist primarily of a woven material
covered with a thin coating of slightly vulcanized guttapercha or india-rubber.
The use of india-rubber goofls increases year by year;:!'india-rubber galoshes have
become a well-nigh indispensable article of wear for a large proportion of the
inhabitants of the country, even for- the poorer classes. The popularity of bicycling
and motoring has occasioned a very great consumption of india-rubber tires.
Galoshes and other rubber articles axe now manufactured at several factories,
which have been erected since 1890, and these have been able to compete successfully
with those abroad. Of the eight rubber factories in Sweden, employing
1 686 hands and producing goods to a value of 10 998 000 kronor in 1912,
those in Halsingborg, Malmo, Gislaved, and Tralleborg are the largest. Of the
total output in this industry in 1912, not less than 87 % (by value) came from
these factories. About the year 1870, the total output in the rubber trade in
Sweden amounted to only a few thousand kronor. The import of the raw
material, as well as of manufactures, has also increased considerably, and was
valued at 13'S million kronor in 1913, 6 982 000 kronor of which were for raw
rubber and guttapercha; 1 496 000 kronor for tubes, pipes, and straps; 553 000
kronor for shoes; 3 494 000 kronor for rubber-tires; and 1 020 000 kronor for
other articles in the rubber-trade. In recent years, there has also arisen a
notable export, which was valued at 3’ie million kronor in 1913, 2 241 000
kronor being for shoes; the greater part goes to Norway and Denmark, Germany,
Belgium. France, Austria, and the East Indies.