Share 'Trying to crack the original formula- why was kerosene used?'

In my quest to figure out exactly what the original formula is, one thing I haven't figured out is why they used Kerosene in the mixture.  It seems like it was a very small part of the mixture, something like 7% by volume.But what was the point?  Did it act as a preservative, or enhance the flow, or help to bind everything together? Speculations?