Oil is the blood of industry. Do we ever pause to reflect as to what would happen if we were suddenly to be deprived of our supplies of this commodity? Do we realize that without oil every machine would instantly be condemned to idleness, that our clocks would stop, and that it would be impossible for a train, steamship, tram, or omnibus to move a yard? The probability is that we have never given a thought to the subject, otherwise we should scarcely be so extravagant in our use of the article. Certainly we would not hesitate to expend appreciable effort in the recovery of as much of the waste as possible for further use. Britain’s normal importations of lubricating oil are in the neighbourhood of 68,000,000 gallons a year, and they cost us a round £2,500,000--$12,500,000. The tendency in regard to consumption is upwards owing to our enhanced industrial activity, so that we are becoming more and more dependent upon extraneous sources of supply for our requirements. But the wastage is colossal. Rags and cotton waste, after becoming so soddened with oil as to be incapable of absorbing another drop, are discarded without compunction. There is scarcely a workshop, factory or office in the country which cannot point to improvidence in this direction. Such absence of thought is deplorable for more reasons than one. Not only is the oil, which might be recovered, irretrievably lost, but the very absorbent which from its textile nature might prove of distinct value for other applications shares a similar fate. Were only 50 per cent. of the oil wasted in this country during the course of the year recovered, it would be possible to reduce our imports to a very pronounced degree. The reclaimed oil might not be of any value for its avowed purpose, but it must be remembered that lubrication does not constitute the one and only purpose to which oil can be applied. The remarkable development of mechanical traction upon our highroads has been responsible to a marked degree for our increased consumption of this commodity, and this is the very field in which the greatest losses are incurred. There are thousands of garages scattered over the country. Many are of unpretentious calibre, but even the smallest of these establishments contributes its quota to the oil wastage issue. In cleaning operations oil is drawn off from engine crank-chambers and gear-boxes to run to waste. Rags are used for wiping and cleaning to be perfunctorily thrown away or burned when they have become too saturated for further use. The private motor-owner is probably as pronounced a contributory source of waste as the small garage, because he, too, is prodigal in his use of oil in every direction, and scarcely ever gives a thought to the retention of the waste for treatment to recover the oil and to release the rag for other duty, even if it be only for making paper.