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L.H.D. Chancellor, Glens Falls WILLIAM CROSWELL Doane, D.D. LL.D. Vice-Chancellor, Albany Martin [. Townsenn, M.A; LL.D. :=) 0 = = = “Troy Cuauncey M. Depew, LL.D. — = = New York CHARLES E. Fitcu, LL.B. M.A. L.H.D. = — Rochester Orris H. Warren, D.D. - - - ~ Syracuse WHITELAW REID, LDDs. =i 2 Seo tere = a Newnan WiLiiaAM H. Watson, M.A. M.D. — = os Utica Henry E. TuRNER — oe _ — — Lowville Sr Craik McKetway, LL.D. L.H.D. D.C.L. Brooklyn HAMILTON Harris, Ph.D. LL.D. = = — Albany DaniEL Beacu, Ph.D. LL.D. - _ — Watkins CaRROLL E. Smitu, LL.D. - — _ — Syracuse Puiny T. Sexton, LL.D. — — — = Palmyra T. GuiLForD Sm1TH, M.A. C.E. LL.D. = — Buffalo Lewis A. Stimson, B.A. M.D. - _ — New York SYLVESTER MALONE -— _ ~ - _ — Brooklyn ALBERT VANDER VEER, M.D. Ph.D. ~ - Albany CHARLES R, SKINNER, M.A. LL.D. Superintendent of Public Instruction, ex officio Curster §, Lorp, M.A. LL.D. - - ~ — Brooklyn TimotHy L. WooprurrF, M.A. Lieutenant-Governor, ex officio THEODORE ROOSEVELT, B.A. LL.D. Governor, ex officio Joun T. McDonoucu, LL.B. LL.D. Secretary of State, ex officio SECRETARY MELVIL Dewey, M. A. DIRECTORS OF DEPARTMENTS 1888 Metvit Dewey, M.A. Administrative, State library and Home Education 1890 JAMES RUSSELL Parsons jr, M.A. College and High School depts 18go FREDERICK J. H. MERRILL, Ph.D. State museum University of the State of New York BULLETIN OF THE New York state Museum FREDERICK J. H. MERRILL, Director VOL. 6 No. 30 November 1899 PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK By EDWARD ORTON, LL.D. ALBANY UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 1899 COMME NaS PAGE IN Ote ces co 0 5 5 baie eS Sle ea 25k Uaioe clas av Luar re ke 397 Memorial of Edwards @itomsi Di oe ee aie ee 398 Ch: 1 Onigin-and/accummlation or orland waseenee eee 399 Sec. 1 Geologic structure, as connected with the ACCUMULATION Ai ce. 2 ys. ee neem el: a alana mee 399 Sec. 2 Origin of petroleum, gas, maltha and asphalt 404 Sec; 3 Theories ohioricit...”) 0 arenas eee 406 a) Prom inoresanie SOUrCES |. ye ) eee 406 b From organic sources, 1) by primary decomposition, 2) by Beas de- composition or distillation........ ... 410 Ch. 2 Geologic scale of New York in its relation to ail wal gas 419 Ch. 3 Production of gas from the lower formations of the state (Potsdam, Trenton, Utica, Medina)........ 499 Sees du Osweeo coum.) ssa eres eae meee 426 ere GO eee Se ea ee 497 be Sandwi@reek: Sue cts eee aio. eerie ene 434 G (Pulashkice Paataeene eae rena, Cet ae eo) Gl SHHUUFENICIE 5 o54 6 5 Se 6 6 PRO RN 448 eo MeKiGe (eC Rn SS Ie 450 fC ATT SI aie N atcccoe (8 lulin Alan ee eae er 450 o Central Squares oy ose) eee 455 HOS wero re on Goes ta teen ee 456 Sec! 2 dietterson-counby.t.2 a aaa 5 oe cee ee 456 2 AL Cia Span oes a A a 456 DW ater towan Ooo ee ee en ee 459 Sec. 3 vOnondasacounby. 4) sea eee 459 a) Baldwinsville) .2 2). AR ae ES oo ee 459 Sec; 4; Oneida county 230)...00 02 a ee 476 8 RIC ak ee OS ae TE cae ae ATT biNew (WorkeMilis 2. oes eee eee 478 G MROMMCis ps FE eat eee ee 478 Sec. 5) Rropermselot natural cass ee. eee 483 See. 6) Summary yd 1 hee Gea ee ened ieee 487 Ch. 4 The Lake shore natural gas belt of Chautauqua epanit 492 aH red@mia: oo etek oar ree cae ee 494 b Rortland and Brocton... 2 eee 507 @ Wrestheldevics 26a Se ee eee 510 GQ Ripley si ie aes eck, eieaek eee er anne 516 Maps 1 Sketch map of central New York (Gn part)....... facing 422 2 Map of Oswego and Onondaga counties (in part). faceng 426 3 Lake shore belt of Chautauqua county.......... Jacung 492 NOTE The results here given are of investigations by Prof. Orton carried on during the season of 1897 at the instance of the late Prof. James Hall, state geologist and paleontologist, and were communicated with the annual report of that year; but it has since been judged wise, in view of the far-reaching im- portance of this paper and in order to secure its wider diffusion, to issue it separately as a museum bulletin. The paper is there- fore appended to the museum report for 1899. In references, volume and page numbers are separated by a colon; e. g. 16: 467 means vol. 16, p. 467. JoHN M. CLARKD eNO Ng at 4 onian fp, 7 “Hasbts” EDWARD ORTON, LL. D. 1829-99 The distinguished author of this bulletin, Edward Orton, LL.D., died at his home, Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 16, 1899 after a brief illness. He had completed the reading of the proofs of this paper but a few days before this sad event. Dr Orton was an eminent son of the state of New York and there is not a little appropriateness in the fact that this, the last -of his scientific papers, is devoted to the interests of the state which saw his birth and the beginning of his scientific activities. He was born in the village of Deposit, Broome county in 1829, his father, Rev. 8S. G. Orton, being the minister of the presby- terian church in that place. In 1848 he graduated from Hamilton college and thereafter entered the Lane and Andover theological schools. Between these latter courses he studied at the Law- rence scientific school at Cambridge and here caught the inspira- tion of his future career. In 1858 he became teacher of natural sciences in the state normal school at Albany and afterward served till 1865 as prin- cipal of the academy at Chester, Orange county. Hereafter his active interest and influence in education was transferred to the state of Ohio where he became successively president of Antioch college, president of the Ohio agricultural and mechanical college and first president of the Ohio state university. From the last named position he retired in 1881, retaining the chair of geology in that institution which he held till his death. In 1882 he was appointed state geologist of Ohio, having already served as assis- tant to the previous state geologist, Dr Newberry. He had been president of the Geological society of America and at the time of his death was president of the American association for the advancement of science. t Dr Orton was a man of many accomplishments and a wide diversity of interests. Though his life was one of great achieve- ment and ended only after its full fruition, his loss is a grievous one to all students of American geology. Along the lines to which this bulletin specially pertains he had become the highest authority and most competent adviser. PHTROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 399 PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK CHAPTER 1 ORIGIN AND ACCUMULATION OF OIL AND GAS The state of New York is comparatively poor in the two great forms of stored power; namely, coal and petroleum. Its metes and bounds were fixed long before the real value of coal could be properly appreciated, and also long before its place in the geeologic scale had been determined, while as for petroleum and its most important derivative, natural gas, both of them continued to be regarded as nuisances to be abated rather than as a possible source of wealth, till about the middle of the present century. Within the established boundaries of this state a few square miles of the rocks of the Carboniferous age are included in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. These Carboniferous rocks are found as outliers on the high hills at the head of the present drainage systems and are obviously “ remnants that re- main” from and represent a great sheet that originally included all the outlers that we know and extended beyond them in all directions. These outliers are all fragments of the great con- glomerate, and none of them contain coal seams of economic value. Section 1 Geologic structure, as connected with the accumulation of oil and gas As for the accumulation of oil and gas we have learned that they follow the great structural features of the strata in which they are contained, which were established in them largely at the time of the Appalachian revolution. No more important gen- eralization has been established in this great section of economic geology and none more abundantly supported than this; namely, that oil, gas and water, the usual contents of buried porous strata, have been separated from one another under the influence of gravity and have been accumulated at different levels, in the order of their specific gravities, by the same force. 400 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM All the facts bearing on these points seem intelligible and rational. They are in accord with the teachings of physics and thus are what we should naturally expect to find in this field. The principal structural features to which allusion has been made, are commonly known as anticlines, synclines and mono- clines. The first of these terms is applied to a roof-shaped — arrangement of the strata of a district, in which they decline in opposite directions from a given line called the axis. “Some- times the descent on the opposite sides is equal in amount, but more frequently it is unequal. The axis can generally be fol- lowed for a few miles in an approximately straight line, but in many cases its elevation is gradually lost. From the point where it thus disappears, it is quite likely to rise again in the same general direction and at perhaps the same elevation that it origi- nally had. Of course, in such cases, all the fragments are counted as a single axis. Wherever a well-defined axis is found, one or more similar lines of structure are very likely to occur, approximately parallel to the first. A syneline is a form of arrangement of the strata exactly opposite to the anticline already described. ‘The strata are bent into a trough, instead of into a ridge. All the statements as to the amount and direction of the descent of the different sides that have just been made as to anticlines are to be applied to synclines, with the proper, i. e. reversed, qualifications. In a word, a syncline is the normal complement of an anticline, and when two parallel anticlines occur, the space intervening between them is necessarily occupied by a syncline. A monocline is in effect an incomplete anticline or syncline. A stratum descending from an approximately horizontal posi- tion at a certain level to a lower level regains the original hori- zontal position after making the descent. It is as if nature be- gan to build an anticline or syncline and was not able to finish it. Monoclines are of much less frequent occurrence than anti- clines and synclines. All these forms of structure are necessarily effected in the differentiation of the contents of a porous stratum. The water, which has been named as one of the three principal elements PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 401 contained in such strata, is in most instances saline. With re- spect to water found at a depth of 500 feet or more, the presump- tion in many parts of the world is that it is saline. Compounds of soda and potash are widely diffused in the crust and many of them are very soluble and are gathered, accordingly, in under- cround water. Where the arrangement of the rocks is such that outflow occurs, the soluble compounds will, in the course of time, have all been carried out, and the outflowing water may at last have a high degree of purity. But, in multitudes of instances, the porous strata are so folded that the water of large portions has no access to the surface. When the drill reaches such areas, concentrated brines are often found. Saline water is al- ways heavier than fresh water. It is not uncommon to find these deep waters increased in gravity by one tenth beyond the propor- tions of pure water. It goes without saying, therefore, that the synclines of the porous rocks, would be occupied by these heavy waters, and it is equally obvious that all the oil will rise to the sides and summits of the arches unless gas accompanies the oil, in which case, the highest level will necessarily be occupied by the latter. The great development of anticlines and synclines is to be found in mountain regions, and here they are shown in their most striking forms. Parts of the great Appalachian system afford the most complete exhibition of these types of structure that is known in the world, though the Jura mountains of western — Kurope also furnish admirable examples of folded rock series. It is not in mountain regions, however, where he that runs can read the arches, the elements that constitute them, their dips and their directions, that accumulations of petroleum are to be looked for. When the rocks are folded into great arches that constitute the principal scenic features of the regions which they occupy, they have not escaped fracture at their summits. Faulting has also taken place in numerous instances along their axes, and by these two agencies, namely, fractures and faults, great accu- mulations of oil and gas have been made impossible. Such frac- tures give rise to a slow escape of oil, gas or mineral water, the latter often being characterized by temperatures above the nor- 402 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM mal. These prolonged escapes of gas and oil constitute most of the so-called ‘ surface indications ” of petroleum. The system of arches and folds above named, that find their chief development in mountain regions, and to which, in fact, the mountains mainly owe their origin, are the results of the contraction of the crust of the earth, apparently due to its cool- ing. In the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania, Claypole has calculated that the shortening in of the original crust has amounted to 88 miles out of 155 miles, the latter having been reduced to 65 miles. Heim has calculated that an original ex- tent of 203 miles in the Alps has been reduced by folding and crumpling to 130 miles. The arches seem to have resulted from lateral pressure exerted from the side of the ocean. Their axes are approximately parallel to the ocean boundary. Their slopes are gentle on the southeast side and much sharper on the north- west. The strongest folds, as a rule, he farthest to the eastward. Certainly they diminish in both hight and dip as they are fol- lowed westward. In western Pennsylvania, for example, the folds are so reduced that they do not necessarily form the up- lands of the region. They can be followed only by determining the elevation of some well-marked bed or stratum, as a seam of coal or sheet of limestone, or some persistent bed of red or blue rock, the peculiarities or the composition of which are well known. By such facts, the reality of the arch is demonstrated and their directions and angles of pitch can be determined. All the valuable accumulations of petroleum and its deriva- tive, natural gas, in Pennsylvania, are confined to these flattened and dying arches, the slopes of which seldom exceed two or three degrees, and which generally need to be read in minutes instead of degrees. No accumulations are known where the arches show angles of descent of five or 10 degrees or more. It would seem that the strata were cracked in the bending, thus allowing the escape of all mobile substances inclosed in the porous rocks of the series. Following the effects of the Appalachian revolution still farther westward, we come to the still feebler arches and mono- clines of Ohio. Numerous cases have been found during the last few years in which the elevations of even the summits of the PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 403 - arches have not been found sufficient to effect a separation of the petroliferous substances and the salt water. In the “Big Indian” oil field of Monroe county, Ohio, many cases have occurred ‘ in which three or four barrels of salt water are raised by the pumps for every barrel of oil. The latter is, however, frequently produced in amounts of hundreds of barrels in a day. The best defined monocline known is the Macksburg oil field of Noble and Washington counties, Ohio. In this case it has been demonstrated that the Berea grit has been checked in its uniform descent to the southeastward, at the rate of 20’ or 307 of a degree and that it lies nearly horizontal for the space of one mile. This horizontal portion has proved available as a store- house of oil and gas, and a petroliferous production of consider- able importance is distinctly referred to this structure, with gas on its western boundary and salt water on the east. We owe the determination of this monocline and the general facts of its productive power, to F. E. Minshall, of Marietta. Coming back to New York, we find that it was invaded by the Appalachian revolution with its mountain-making forces in very much the same way that western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio were affected. Through the southern counties of the state, low arches are produced, which lack the force necessary to make them recognizable as features of the present surface relief, but which, as exploration has proved, were ample for the separation of the oil and salt water that were tributary to its porous strata. All the extensions of the great Bradford oil fields into Catta- raugus and Allegany counties are examples. Of these the “ Rix- burg gas streak ” is one of the best. But while the eastern side of the continent owes to the Appal- achian revolution the great features of its relief, it has not been limited to the orogenic activities of this period. Contraction and necessary readjustments of the crust were certainly in operation long before the close of paleozoic time, and the earliest formed strata were left in an uneven condition. The steady growth of the continent from the Canadian protaxis southward is respon- sible for structural facts of great importance, specially for the prevailing southerly dip that affects the entire state and that 404 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM contributes so much to the completeness of the geologic column of New York. In these previous movements of the crust, more or less relief was given to the land surface or sea floors of the times in which they occurred, and many low arches and synclines resulted in this way; but no prevailing direction is thus far found in any of these ancient structures, aside from this southerly dip already named. It is not counted necessary in a paper designed specially for the general reader, to furnish proof of the statements already made as to the order of arrangement of the several substances contained in porous rocks. | It is enough to say that the facts from every oil field fall into line in support of these statements. Moreover they harmonize so well with the teachings of physics that they soon come to be counted necessary truths and no grounds are apparent from which attacks can be directed aga _nst them. Even the disposition to make such attacks seems to have passed away. The Trenton limestone field or northwestern Ohio, one of the latest oil and gas fields to be exploited, furnishes the most satis- factory and conclusive proofs on all these points. Five or six feet of relief have proved ample to keep gas wells dry for days and weeks, and wells drilled solely for gas and operated as such, have been slowly turned into highly productive oil wells, and, in multitudes of cases, have, at a later date, been overrun with salt water. Section 2 Origin of petroleum, natural gas, maltha and asphalt The readers of this paper will expect some attempt to answer the questions that human curiosity everywhere raises as to the origin of the bituminous series. The series has long been known to man. We find mention of it in the oldest records and tradi- tions of the race, but its real value and importance have been mainly developed in the present century and very largely in our own day. The bituminous series contains at least four well-marked ele- ments; namely, natural gas, petroleum, maltha or mineral tar, PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 405 asphalt. The probable order of their derivation is not the order given above. From petroleum as an original center the other three substances are seen to be easily derivable by natural and familiar processes. From deep-stored oil when brought to day natural gas is always given off. By the removal of the gaseous hydrocarbons, the gravity of the petroleum is increased and the process of oxidation sets in, the effect of which is to darken the oil and still further reduce its gravity. We advance but a little way along this line before we begin to withdraw the name of petroleum from the dark and viscous liquid that we find result- ing and give the substance the more appropriate designation of mineral tar. It is also called maltha, which is an ancient and somewhat technical designation. Now, if the mineral tar is still further exposed and oxidized, it loses its liquidity altogether and hardens into a black solid, dull or shining, as the case may be, called asphalt. Further, the petroleum from which the latter products are derived has itself a wide range in gravity. Some examples of it run as light as 55° B. while in other cases heavy oils of less than 20° B. occur. In the latter case it is always possible to explain the facts by the loss of the volatile elements as they approach the surface. All shallow oils, under which designation are included the occurrences of petroleum within one or two hundred feet of the surface, are heavy. Some of them are too viscous to flow freely and are well adapted in the natural state to lubricating purposes. Not only does the fact that gas, maltha and asphalt are easily derived from petroleum point to the latter as the original sub- stance, but the facts as to the chemical composition of oil and gas respectively lead to the same conclusion. Natural gas con- sists essentially of light carburetted hydrogen (CH _ ), while petroleum has a much more complex composition. The simplic- ity of the former points to it as the derived substance. It is therefore necessary to account for the origin of petroleum only. All its derivatives will be explained under the same head. The subject has proved a tempting one for consideration and as the economic importance of the series has increased it has commanded more and more attention, till there is at the pres- ent day a voluminous literature devoted to it. In regard to the 406 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM question, from what source and by what process did petroleum originate, we find many and discordant answers. A _ distin- euished German geologist, Prof. C. f? Zincken, of Leipzig, says that for this subject we can well adopt the inscription placed over a meteorite that fell, centuries ago in Germany. Multi multa; omnes aliquid; nemo satis. ‘These words can be thus trans- lated: “ Many men say many things; everyone says something; nobody gives a satisfactory account.” When we come to analyze the various answers as to the origin of petroleum the case is not as discouraging as this statement would lead us to conclude. There is one point of vital importance in the discussion, and in regard to this it may now be said that there is substantially an agreement among all geologists who have earned the right to speak on the question; and, what is equally to be desired, there is a rapidly growing accord among chemists who are pre- pared to apply first-hand knowledge to the discussion of the sub- ject. The vital point above referred to is the question whether petroleum is the product of chemical affinity, exerted on inor- ganic matter, or whether it is a result of the transformation of substances that have been built up under the agency of life. It is the latter line of answers that has come to be universally ac- cepted by geologists and it now looks as if there would soon be equal unanimity among chemists in regard to the same point. Section 3 Theories of origin a Theory of inorganic origu It has been claimed by a number of chemists, some of whom hold high rank in the scientific world, that the several members of the bituminous series can be referred to a purely mineral origin. There are several phases of this doctrine. One of them seems to imply that the elements, carbon and hydrogen, are combined in the interior of the earth through the agency of the high temperatures prevailing there. This phase of the doctrine matches to but few facts in nature and does not appear to be making progress. The most widely accepted theories as to the inorganic origin of petroleum are those that refer it to certain definite chemical PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 407 reactions. Two among these theories have obtained a wide circulation by reason of the high rank of their authors, but they can not be said to have gained an equally wide acceptance. In 1866 Berthelot, professor of chemistry in the college of - France, and distinguished by remarkable and epoch-making dis- coveries in organic chemistry, particularly as to the composition of alcohols and sugars and by the discovery of acetylene, ad- vanced the theory that the interior of the earth contains free alkali metals (sodium and potassium) and that these elements, when acted on by carbonic acid or carbonates at a high tempera- ture would form carbids of these metals, which, by the action of water, would form hydrocarbons analagous to those found in petroleum. In short, he proposed the theory that both liquids and gaseous hydrocarbons of the bituminous series would result if meteoric water carrying carbonic acid or earthy carbonates in solution should reach by infiltration the metallic masses above named at a white heat and under high pressure. The chemical reactions invoked under the conditions named are undoubtedly sound, and the bituminous series would unquestionably result if these conditions should be met. The recent production of calcium carbid by the electric furnace on a commercial scale and its common use in the production of acetylene gas as an illuminant have made the process familiar and have given to it an air of reality that it never before possessed. The theory of Mendeljeff, the eminent Russian chemist, is founded on altogether similar lines, but is relieved from some of the glaring improbabilities of Berthelot’s hypothesis. It was first announced in 1877 and has been revamped and restated by the author during the present decade. Mendeljeff is the author of one of the most remarkable generalizations ever made in the science of chemistry. It is known as the periodic law, and has given to the science the ability of predicting future discoveries, similar to that so long possessed by astronomy, and which is recognized by all as the crowning proof that a science has reached its perfect, though not necessarily, its completed stage. There is no higher name in chemistry today than that of Mendeljeff. His theory in regard to petroleum formation is briefly this. He supposes the interior of the earth to contain large masses of 408 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM metallic iron and counts the formation of meteorites confirma- tory of this conclusion. He also considers the specific gravity of the earth, which is 5.5 against 2.5 for its surface rocks as render- ing it certain that the interior contains substances heavier than ordinary rocks. In these interior masses of metallic iron he supposes more or less carbid of iron to exist as in meteorites. Carbids of iron would also be formed by the descent of carbon- ated water as in Berthelot’s theory. Water infiltrating through fissures in the erust would be turned into steam at the depth supposed, and attacking the carbid of iron, would give rise to the petroleum compounds. The steam already invoked exerts pressure enough to force the petroleum vapors back toward the surface till they would become condensed by cooling and would be stored in all porous rocks capable of containing them. This is by far the most widely known and powerfully supported theory of the inorganic origin of bitumens. Mendeljeff expresses him- self as satisfied with it and declares that petroleum is as truly a product of chemical affinity as a veinstone or an ore. This theory seems to promise a continual production and thus an un- failing supply of oil and gas and is sure to be welcomed in every field that is entering on its exploitation. In like manner chemists who have given but little attention to the geologic facts connected with oil and eas further than that they occur beneath the surface, finding a theory at hand explain- ing the origin of these interesting substances on sound chemical possibilities, have naturally turned to this explanation with prejudice in its favor. Occasionally, also, a geologist has been misled by it, but, little by little, as the far-fetched and highly improbable assumptions of this theory have come to be consid- | ered and as a far simpler and more probable account of the origin of bitumens is at hand, Mendeljeff’s speculations have lost standing with men of a practical turn, both chemists and geolo- gists, till of late years no one has been found to champion it as if he believed it. To geologists, indeed, it sounds like an echo from the 18th century. It takes its place with the “ cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces” of the speculations of Werner’s time, 100 years ago. The latest vigorous defense of the theory in question was made in 1889 by Mr William Anderson, at that time president of the PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 409 mechanical section of the British association for the advance- ment of science, but this defense revealed such profound and surprising ignorance and misconception of the geologic facts as to the occurrence of petroleum that it necessarily lost weight with all who are familiar with these facts, and must have weak- ened rather than strengthened the theory itself. [For an exami- nation of this defense see Geology of Ohio, Annual report, 1890, p. 61.] A weighty consideration in this connection is found in the geologic distribution of petroleum and its derivatives. We can roughly divide the rocks of the earth’s crust into two great series, namely, those in which organic remains are more or less abundant, and those in which no traces of life are found. Their absence in the latter case may be accounted for either be- cause life had not been introduced at the time of their forma- tion, or by reason of metamorphic changes that have supervened since their origin, by which all such traces, if ever present, have been removed. In the last named division, neither petroleum nor any of its derivatives is ever found, and all its occurrences are confined to the fossiliferous division. While Archaean rocks do not cover as large an area as the vast series formed in the ages of life, they are by no means insignificant in extent. 2,000,000 square miles in one continuous body are referred to this’ division in the Canadian protaxis alone, and in the other conti- nental masses a like distribution is recognized. A single exception as to the absence of the entire petroliferous series from the Archaean rocks must, however, be made. In a few localities in the uppermost division of this series in On- tario, considerable deposits of an asphalt-like material, thor- oughly compressed and hardened, are found. It can be made to burn only under the most favorable conditions. That the sub- stance originated in petroleum is highly probable, but it is to be borne in mind that the rocks in which it is contained bear un- mistakable evidences of having been originally stratified. If stratified they may have contained the remains of life. But aside from this and probably a few other exceptional cases, petroleum and all the substances derived from it are wholly wanting in the Archaean rocks. There is not an oil field in the world in the rocks of this age. 410 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM This fact alone constitutes a weighty argument against the hypotheses already presented. If the real centers at which petroleum originated are to be found in the primeval crust, ac- cording to Berthelot and Mendeljeff, the carbonated water essen- — tial to the process would certainly have a shorter course in reaching these masses of uncombined elements or metallic car- bids by descending through the uncovered Archaean than by going down through thousands of feet of the stratified and fossil- iferous rocks that overlie this formation. Another fact that bears against the theory named above is the steady and notable increase in bituminous products that has seemed to go forward throughout geologic history. Their maximum production was apparently reached in Tertiary time. But the internal heat of the earth, which is an important factor in the theories named has been gradually reduced during these same ages. The results are thus directly contradictory to those required by Berthelot’s and Mendeljefi’s assumptions. We come, therefore, to another line of explanations. b Origin from orgame sources The reference of petroleum to an organic source stands in very different relation to familiar facts from the theories already re- viewed. Petroleum is a combustible substance and every other substance that we know in nature that can be burned is of or- ganic origin. Moreover we can produce artificially from vege- table and animal substances gaseous and liquid compounds that are closely allied to the bituminous series or even identical with them. The manufacture of illuminating gas furnishes a case in point. We obtain by this process not only the volatile combusti- ble, but the liquid coal tar as well, that is closely analogous to some of the petroleum compounds. Illuminating gas is ordi- narily manufactured from bituminous coal, but we can use all varieties of vegetable and animal substances for the same pur- pose. Even street sweepings and the ordinary refuse of a city have been by a patented process applied to the same manufac- ture. The occurrence of gas at the bottoms of ponds, produced from decaying leaves, or in boulder clay, from buried vegetation, are phenomena of common note. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK ‘411 In addition to these facts it has been definitely established within the last 30 years that the genuine and unmistakable mem- bers of the petroleum group, including illuminating oil, lubricat- ing oil, benzin and paraffin, can be obtained from the distilla- tion of fish oil. The demonstration was first made by two Ameri- can chemists, Messrs Warren and Storer, in 1867-68. 20 years afterward, Dr Carl Engler, of Carlsruhe, Germany, duplicated and extended their experiments. Based on these striking re- sults, several chemists have lately advanced the claim that petro- leum is altogether restricted to this particular origin, namely, to the fatty oils of fishes. That this claim is altogether untenable may be seen, among other considerations, in the fact that the Trenton limestone oil field of Ohio and Indiana, at present the most important in the United States, antedates by vast periods of time the introduction of fishes into the geologic scale of the country at large. Further, during the last year (1897) Dr 8S. P. Sadtler of Phila- delphia, read a paper before the American philosophical society in which he announced the very interesting and important result of having obtained hydrocarbon oils of the true petroleum type by the distillation of the glycerids of oils derived from vege- table seeds, thus duplicating Dr Engler’s results and confirming the charge of overhaste on the part of those who ascribe the origin of petroleum generally to products of the vertebrate sub- kingdom. ; To the general statement, therefore, that the bituminous series, petroleum, gas, asphalt, etc. are all derived from organic sources, it can be safely said that at the present time all geologists sub- scribe. Prof. C. F. Zincken of Leipzig has recently. said ‘“ Not a doubt any longer prevails as to the derivation of petroleum from organic matter.” It appears also that chemists are gener- ally coming to the same conclusion despite the brilliant but fanci- ful and unverifiable theories of Berthelot and Mendeljeff. It is entirely unnecessary to descend to the region of igneous fluidity to find the genesis of these invaluable substances because there is dlways an organic source nearer at hand. The law of “ par- simony of force ” is applicable to the ease. But though geologists are agreed as to the organic source of the petroleum series, when we inquire as to the probable mode 412 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM of their origin we find at once well marked differences of opinion and belief. One school declares that petroleum is the result of the primary decomposition of organic matter contained in the rocks under certain favoring conditions, while another and larger section holds that it is always the result of the secondary decom- position of organic matter, or, in other words, that it is due to a process of destructive distillation. : 1 Origin by primary decomposition. Of the first view the late Dr T. S. Hunt is the chief exponent and defender. According to this theory the decomposition of organic matter was mainly effected im situ; that is, in the strata in which the materials were stored, and the resulting product is therefore mainly indigenous to the strata in which it is found. This last feature is seized on in many popular statements and a theory of indigenous origin is made to include the various forms of theories of this class. Dr Hunt held that there was an accumulation of organic mat- ter in oil-bearing rocks that passed by a peculiar form of decom- position or decay directly into petroleum; in other words, these substances, instead of passing into the usual products of decay, namely, carbonic acid, ammonia, water, etc. were transformed directly into the bituminous series. This author also strenu- ously urged that as limestones are essentially of organic origin it is to this form of rocks that we must look for the chief source of the production of petroleum. He insisted on this view a score of years before a barrel of oil was ever drawn from the limestone beds of the country. In the light of the remarkable stocks of oil and gas that have been derived from the Trenton limestone with- in the last dozen years, Dr Hunt’s claims show great prescience and sagacity. He appears to very much better advantage in con- nection with this revolutionary discovery than any other geolo- gist of his generation. But does organic matter pass by primary or direct decomposi- tion into petroleum? Have we any examples of this process in operation in the world today? This is a fair and would seem to be a crucial question. If it is an actual process in the world it ought somewhere to be found in operation. Dr Hunt seemed to see this question in its true significance and lays a great deal of emphasis on the testimony of Messrs PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 413 _ Wall and Kruger as to the asphalt lake of the island of Trinidad. [ Proceedings, Geological society of London, 1860] These gentlemen declare that the organic matter contained in the shaly rocks in which the lake is included has undergone a special mineralization, producing bitumen in place of ordinary anthraciferous substances. ‘‘ This operation is not attributable to heat nor to the nature of distillation, but is due to chemical reactions at the ordinary temperature and under the normal con- ditions of the climate. The proofs that this is. the true mode of the generation of the asphalt, repose not only on the partial man- ner in which it is distributed in the strata, but also on numerous specimens of the organic bodies in the process of transformation and with the organic substance more or less obliterated. After the removal by solution of the bituminous material under the microscope a remarkable alteration and corrosion of the vegeta- ble cells becomes apparent which is not presented in any other form of the mineralization of wood.” [Quarterly journal Geolog- ical society of London, 16: 467]. If these claims were substan- tiated the question would seem to be settled, but unfortunately for them several later observers only fail to confirm them, but report distinctly different conditions. A few years since the late Dr O. Fraas of Stuttgart, Germany, announced that petroleum is in process of formation in certain coral rocks of the Red sea, as the result of the direct transforma- tion of the organic matter of the reef. If this statement could be proved it would also meet the demands of Hunt’s theory; but geologists recognize the fact that there are other possible sources of the petroleum that appears in the reef, and Fraas’s claims can not be counted as established till all such possibilities are ex- cluded. There are other similar cases, but none of them are decisive. On the whole it must be acknowledged that the crucial experi- ment remains to be brought forward that will establish the claim that petroleum is now in process of formation by the direct or primary decomposition of organic matter. There are multitudes of geologic facts that seem to be in harmony with this view, and it has never been definitely set aside or abandoned, but to 414 ; NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM meet the demands of science we ought to find somewhere positive - proof of its reality as a living force or process in nature. 2 Origin by secondary decomposition or distillation. That organic matter stored in the rocks can be converted by heat into the petroliferous series is amply demonstrated by the practical oper- ation of the process referred to as the manufacture of illuminat- ing gas and paraffin from coal, bituminous shale and organic waste. In the primary decomposition or decay of organic bodies no extraordinary force is needed to produce the result. The - instability of the chemical elements involved is adequate. Through the agency of life these elements were temporarily com- bined into the complex atoms which constitute organic bodies, but as soon as the principle of life is withdrawn the elements tend to resume the simpler combinations out of which organic bodies were constructed. | In what is called the secondary decomposition of organic kodies the agency of unusual heat is called in. Just what the lowest temperature is at which this process goes forward has not been determined but probably no one would claim that it comes into operation below 400° F. and the usual temperature of the arti- ficial process that we employ is probably twice this or such as is represented by a low red heat. This secondary decomposition is also called dry or destructiwe distillation. From the organic substances to be acted on, the atmosphere is excluded, and, by the application of heat, as above indicated, the atoms of the body are rearranged in the shape of hydrocarbon compounds, gaseous and liquid, and there is also left over from this process a carbon residue or coke. These two facts, a temperature of not less than 400° F. and a carbon residue are indispensable accompaniments or conditions of what we call dry or destructive distillation. That this process or rather some modification of it which re- tains all its conditions is effective in nature there seems no reason to doubt. When molten rock is forced upward through a series of strata, some of which, as for example, carbonaceous shales, are loaded with the remains of animal or vegetable organ- isms, the conditions of a gas retort are practically reproduced. The exclusion of the atmosphere, the high temperature, the organic matter, the pressure, are all here, and we can not wonder at the appearance of hydrocarbon compounds essentially like the PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 415 products of the gas retort. The production of gas and petroleum in connection with volcanic agencies is of frequent occurrence and does not excite our wonder. It is easily explained in accord- ance with the principles above noted. In such cases the strata that are traversed by molten rock show the effect of the unusual heat to which they have been subjected by unmistakable trans- formations. There seems therefore no reason to doubt that destructive - distillation gives origin to some occurrences of the substances whose origin we are considering. But there are several strenu- ously urged and widely accepted theories that put this agency in the front rank and in reality make it the great source of petroleum. Two of these theories may be named in this con- nection: those, namely, of the late Dr J. S. Newberry and of Prof. 8S. F. Peckham. Newberry’s theory was the first to be fully and elaborately stated and was propounded at the right time, viz, just when petroleum was coming to its first full recognition. It seemed to match well with many familiar facts of observation and was accordingly received with something like enthusiasm, as giving an intelligible and rational answer to questions that everyone was asking. It was first published in a paper on the rock oils of Ohio in the Ohio agricultural report for 1859. He says: ‘“ The precise process by which petroleum is evolved from carbonaceous matter contained in the rocks which furnish it is not yet fully known, because we can not in ordinary circumstances inspect it. We may fairly inier, however, that it is a distillation, but generally performed at a low temperature.” Again he says: “ The origin of these two hydrocarbons (petroleum and gas) is the same, and they are evolved simultaneously by the spontaneous distillation of carbonaceous rocks.” [Geology of Ohio, 1: 192] In Dr Newberry’s view the great black shale of Ohio (Hamilton, Portage, Chemung) is the main source of the petro- leum of the oil fields of western Pennsylvania, New York and eastern Ohio, which these shales underlie. Prof. S. F. Peckham has furnished another statement of the distillation theory but has recognized the necessity of higher than normal temperature and has added a source of heat to 416 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM account for at least the Pennsylvania petroleum. This source of heat he finds in the rise of temperature attending metamor- phism and developed by the elevation of-the Appalachian moun- tain system. He says: “ Bitumens are not products of the high temperatures and violent action of volcanos, but of the slow and gentle changes at low temperatures, due to metamorphic action on strata buried at immense depths.” Both of these theories are open to the objection that they use the term distillation in a different sense from that which it regularly holds. It is a technical word and has a definite meaning, but this meaning is ignored by both of the authors named. Newberry speaks of “low temperatures”, evidently im- plying conditions either normal, or not far from normal and as still in progress. Peckham declares that “it is not likely that the usual form of destructive distillation as illustrated in a gas retort has obtained anywhere in the operations of nature.” [Proceedings, American philosophical society, 1898] To speak of distillation as going forward without a coke resi- due and at low or ordinary temperatures is pure assumption. For such a process we find no warrant in science. It isa matter of inference pure and simple. We find certain rocks with oil and gas which closely resemble the products of the dry distilla- tion of organic bodies and we infer that the latter are due to a process that we choose to call by the same name, and we talk vaguely of time being exchanged for temperature as if the main- tenance of a temperature of 100° for thousands of years could be made to do the work of a temperature of 1000° for a shorter time. All this may be true but there is no scientific demonstration of it. This distillation theory stands on very much the same basis as Hunt’s theory of the primary decompo- sition of organic matter into the petroliferous series. The sup- posed facts adduced in support of it do not appear to stand examination. ? The great difference between these two classes of theories ‘seems to be that they assign very different dates for the origin of the petroleum found in the rocks. Hunt’s view would refer it to the date of the formation of the rocks, the organic matter of which would be at once transformed into the permanent shape which we find in petroleum. | PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK AIT The distillation theory allows that the organic matter of the rocks passed for the time being through the anthraciferous state, in which it could remain indefinitely. Peckham’s original theory referred the oil of Pennsylvania to the close of the Appalachian revolution, but his later statements seem to imply that he no longer considers this date of special importance. Newberry held that the process of petroleum production was in constant operation, but he recognized that the world is old and that vast periods of time have been open to the action of this process. What geologists would be glad to find in nature as matching to and harmonizing with the facts with which they are obliged to reckon would be.a process in which the products of the organic world are transformed into mineral oil at ordinary temperatures and with complete consumption of the substances acted on, so that no carbon residue would be left behind. They would also expect the transformation to be accomplished while the organic matter still retained essentially its original character. The point of greatest importance is the ultimate source of the bituminous series. In regard to this, as already implied, both geologists and chemists are coming into full accord. Both find in the organic matters which the rocks contain or have contained in their past history a source at once abundant, everywhere at hand and competent to meet every demand. ‘The oily substances escaping from the waste in gas manufacture naturally float on the surface of the water into which such waste may be conducted, but the fine particles of clay in the water unite with the oil and settle with it to the bottom. This represents a very important fact in nature and meets the objections that Mendeljeff and others have urged to the effect that petroleum, unless confined in the rocks, would rise to the surface of the sea and be at once wasted by exposure to the atmosphere. On the contrary we see that clay, the second substance in abundance in the crust of the earth, absorbs and protects the petroleum. To this statement we can add another, namely, petroleum seems to be, when thus protected from the air, one of the durable forms that organic matter can assume. There seems no reason to believe that it is less permanent than coal. Stored in the rocks in the morning of the world it can apparently remain in this condition through the vast and indefinite ages of geology. 418 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM One qualification, perhaps, needs to be added; namely, that petro- leum as stored in the rocks may be transformed there into the inflammable gas that belongs in the same chemical series and which may be even more stable than the oil, by as much as it is simpler in composition. It may even be that the oil would be entirely converted into gas in the process of the ages. It seems altogether probable that the oil and gas which we find in the rocks are of widely different ages, corresponding to the ages of the formations in which they are stored. Thus we may have Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carbonifer- ous, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary petroleums. The facts of geology seem to show that it is exceedingly im- probable that gas or oil have been transferred in a large way from one formation to another in the geologic column. This statement requires qualification. That there has been some transfer of petroleum and gas in the rocks is beyond question. They are associated with water and gravitation will always raise them to the highest point in the stratum in which they happen to be. If the reservoir was fractured at the summit of an arch these mobile substances will follow the lines of escape to the surface, if the latter extend thus far, and must certainly diffuse themselves through any porous beds which the fracture crosses. With such escapes of oil and gas we are familiar. We eall them “surface indications ” and they often lead us directly to the storehouse from which they have issued. In like manner a porous rock is often found stored with petro- liferous products evidently derived from a stratum or bed directly underlying it. The most common form of such occurrence is a sandstone overlying a carbonaceous shale. When such a series rises to the surface the porous rock is often charged with maltha, resulting from the oxidation of the original petroleum. If the sandstone is in demand for building purposes, the tar is often found exuding from it, even for years. Tar springs, so called, have a like origin, the escaping water of the porous rock carry- ing out some of the inspissated petroleum. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 419 CHAPTER 2 GEOLOGIC SCALE OF NEW YORK, AND ITS RELATION TO OIL AND GAS The geologic scale of New York is more symmetric and complete than that of any other state of the Union. A greater number of changes in the conditions of the sea in which the suc- cessive deposits that compose the great part of the state were laid down is registered than is to be found elsewhere and many of these deposits obtained here their full development ‘as far as both lithologic elements and fossil contents. are concerned. We go to New York for the typical representation of most of the elements of the geologic scale of North America. In other words, the New York column is the typical column. When it is added that the systematic study of the geology of this country was begun by the state geological survey of New York and that the geographic names drawn from localities in that state are fixed on all the leading formations, and farther when it is remembered that the state survey has expended a large amount of money, in the description and representation of the fossils of its several divisions, it is easy to see that the geology of New York must, on all accounts, be regarded as the standard of the eastern side of the continent. In the northern prolongation of the state known as the Adi- rondack highlands a considerable area of Archaean rocks is ex- posed. This area is now being studied, subdivided and mapped, and much light is being thrown on it by the work now in prog- ress. But leaving these old bottom rocks, unmistakably a part of the protaxis of North America and representing the most ancient foundations of the continent, we come to the great column of stratified rocks which constitutes one of the finest geologic series of the world, in which the progress of life is recorded as dis- tinctly and with as few interruptions as perhaps in any other single section; as far, at least, as the base of the Carboniferous system. The New York column is essentially a paleozoic column. All the great divisions of the paleozoic system are displayed in it except the Carboniferous and Permian and the latter are not alto- gether without representation. 120 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Its main elements are of Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian time, with some representation, as indicated above, of the Subcarboniferous series. The divisions are given below in descending order. Devonian ... ; 4,. < Middle Devonian. eae y Coal measures.... Millstone grit Saas Se, See Mauch Chunk | ( { Catskill | Upper Devonian... { Chemung | | l Portage Hamilton Corniferous ..... § Corniferous: ( Schoharie [PO sriskcainiy 3o3 5 eases Oriskany | { Lower Helderberg Lower Helderberg | Waterlime Paleozoic Silurian. .... | Onondaga 7a. eeer eae | [ Niagara | INiaoa Tae cence 4 Clinton | [ | Medina ( Hudson river | | renton cere { Utica ' Ordovician . - 4 | Trenton ! Oanadian ee | RS Rr ee ven Calciferous | (CU per ae ree Potsdam [Cambrian ...4 Middle ......... Acadian [ Cie Georgian Of these several elements eight or 10 or more are sandstones. The best characterized sandstones are named below in ascending order. Potsdam, Hudson, in part; Medina, Oriskany, Portage in part; Chemung in part; Catskill, Pocono, Millstone grit. Sandstones are the chief representatives of porous rocks and as such are the main repositories of underground waters, fresh or saline, and of petroleum and gas. All the strata named above serve in one or more of these several offices at some point within the limits of the state. | PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 4?1 There are still other strata in the column which may contain water, oil or gas. Dolomitic limestones that have had a particu- lar history are sometimes as porous as the coarsest sandstone. True limestones also in some of their phases show considerable storage capacity for gas and occasionally for water. Porous dolomites seem to have resulted from the replacement of their rock substance. The first stage is pure limestone. Then by some change in the character of the sea water, magnesia is supplied in such quantity that it replaces one half of the lime- stone atoms, transforming the rock into a true dolomite. But the atom of magnesian carbonate is demonstrably smaller than the atom of calcium carbonate which it has replaced and if the original rock volume is maintained, vacant spaces must be left in the mass. Not all dolomites are porous. It is conceivable that dolomites originating in a different manner from that men- tioned above may be compact and close grained rocks. Concerning the reservoir qualities of limestones, we have not as good means of judging as of the rocks already described in which the porosity is a natural consequence of their physical state. Where limestones act as reservoirs there must be vacant Spaces between the layers or beds of the stratum. That they are not true reservoir rocks is evident from the fact that they do not as a rule contain fresh or salt water in large volume. It seems probable, however, that the structural features of the strata contribute to the storage of gas. 422 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM CHAPTER 3 PRODUCTION OF GAS FROM THE LOWER FORMATIONS OF THE STATE MEDINA, UTICA, TRENTON, POTSDAM The discovery of petroleum on a large scale in this country was made at Titusville, Pa. in 1859. During the next few years explorations were eagerly carried forward and the geology of petroleum began forthwith to take shape. It was soon estab- lished that the great reservoir rocks of this region were sand- stones or conglomerates that belonged to the Devonian age. The prompt but premature conclusion was at once reached by many of those interested in the subject that the natural home of petro- leum was in the upper Devonian rocks of the geologic scale. But other horizons were developed as explorations proceeded and it was found necessary to include Subcarboniferous and finally Coal Measure sandstones among the sources of oil production and also to go lower in the scale and take in the middle Devonian as well. With the geologic range as thus defined, namely from the middle Devonian through the Coal Measures, the drillers of west- ern Pennsylvania and adjacent regions in New York, Ohio and West Virginia were content. Not an oil well was known outside of these limits and it came to be everywhere recognized as en- tirely practicable to determine on such a basis the regions in which the search for petroleum could be undertaken with fair prospects for success as well as the regions into which it would be folly to introduce the drill. This limit was practically in one direction only, namely, in descending the geologic column, for in eastern North America the Coal Measures are the latest formed and so the highest strata of the scale, with a few insignifi- cant exceptions. But when Silurian or older rocks constitute the surface such territory was at once condemned, on the basis of the generalization above described. The overthrow of this premature generalization came from northwestern Ohio in 1884-85 by the discovery of gas and oil in large amounts in the Trenton limestone. An immediate exten- sion of the possible range of these substances was effected by this ‘Gaed Ul) YOK MON [RiQUID JO deur YoI0yS abrbe joyuag ue - 0 A einen o2rKayy\ iy ne z bai ET Sa aay * 5 av , a: x Pas, , é ie F e 2 . “i a: c J Me ae 2. . ‘a ‘ 7 4 sb = ‘ 2 ' E ae Sats ‘ 43 s, a = tp >> ¥ i ‘ ce ‘i " s - i + ow r Bar éL " pada . e . . ~ Sy Saale PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 423 discovery. It is true that an oil field of somewhat doubtful horizon and of rather insignificant production had already been developed in northwestern Ontario. The productive rock had been referred by Dr T. 8S. Hunt to the lower Devonian, and though this determination was questioned, the doubt was directed to a lower rather than a higher horizon, but no great weight was assigned to this oil field, so that the inclusion of the Trenton limestone among the productive oil rocks of the country came with a shock of surprise to both the scientific and the practical men interested in this question. The discovery carried the pro- ductive horizons of oil down several thousands of feet in vertical descent and enlarged the superficial area of possibly productive . territory many fold. In fact, it transformed almost the entire area of the eastern United States into possible oil territory, so. far as its range of rocks is concerned. The only regions excluded would be the Archaean district of New England, the Adirondack highlands, and the eastern or Blue Ridge portion of the Appa- lachian mountain system. — The Trenton limestone is by far the most widespread of any of the great sheets of stratified rock that make up this side of the continent and when it was recognized as a possible oil rock it carried over almost the entire country into this category. Since 1884-85, the date of the discovery above named, one of the most important gas fields of the United States has been developed in the Trenton limestone of Ohio and Indiana, in re- gions where it lies 900 to 1200 feet below the surface and in the same region at a slightly greater depth one of the most important oil fields of the world has been brought to light, a field in which scores of six inch wells have each produced more than 100,000 barrels of oil, while single wells have passed the 200,000 barrel mark. The production of flowing wells has in many cases been at a rate of 10,000 barrels a day, and gas has flowed out from wells of the same size to the measured amount of ten, twenty and even thirty million feet a day. Entire farms have yielded oil to the amount of several thousand barrels to the acre. The initial rock pressure of the gas was between 400 and 500 pounds to the square inch in certain por- tions of the field. A total production of fifteen to twenty million 424 NEW YORK STATH MUSEUM barrels of oil a year has been obtained in the Ohio and Indiana fields combined, in spite of determined attempts on the part of the Standard oil company to curtail production by depressing the price of crude oil below the point at which ordinary wells could be operated. When the Ohio and Indiana fields were first studied, certain facts were brought to light in regard to the Trenton limestone that seemed greatly to restrict the promise which the announce- ment that this limestone is an oil rock would carry. It was found that the petroliferous production was entirely limited to the uppermost -beds of the formation, generally to the first 50 feet and never to more than 100 feet. It was farther learned that the beds in question had suffered in their history a change from true carbonate of lime to magnesian limestones or dolomites, and that the porosity of the limestones as attested by its holding gas, oil cr salt water, was altogether dependent on this chemical change, beginning where it began and ending where it ceased. In other words, the dolomite corresponded ex- actly to the “ oil sand ” or “ pay-streak ” of the great petroliferous sand rocks in which we had hitherto found the principal stocks of oil and gas. The explorers of the new field all came from the old field and the identification referred to was universal. In composition the oil rock was in many instances found almost typical dolomite. That the dolomite was not the original substance of the rock but a product of replacement was made evident from two lines of facts, namely: first, small insulated areas of true carbonate of lime that are sometimes found in the midst of dolomite districts; and, second, fragments of the oil rocks brought up by the explo- sion of torpedoes which show it to have been originally acrinoidal limestone. A stratum of this character must necessarily have been at the outset a true lime rock. Farther, it was soon found that the productiveness of any por- tion of the field could be gaged with fair accuracy by knowing the thickness of the dolomite. It was also established that the areas within which the change had been accomplished were com- paratively small and exceptional and that the great bulk of the Trenton limestone remained in its normal state, having a compo- PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 425 sition fairly represented in the following analysis (Trenton limestone—northern Michigan). Care ameee,, Otis ya rate Or: oor s ssc 2 Wed Be oad a as 82.00 Carhonmaver Ol gMIAGMeSIAs.. wert. s kia eee heh Shek es Sees 3.00 Heals oy NE ESIC a ean ae ee Or are a od eee ae 14.50 The composition of the dolomite, on the other hand, is shown in the following figures (Findlay gas rock). aa OMe Ome LINO ay iv een eeu a een eg Se Tc 53.50 CA OMmaie c Ol, MACMOST Ae ee parle Gen ties alg dG = 43205 iersolublescesiGuer*) fe cas cor eee es ites he hes 2.96 Where the composition of the rock corresponded to the first table there was nothing to justify the application of the term oil rock to the Trenton limestone. It was seen that the dolomitic metamorphosis had taken place in only those portions of the lime- stone that were originally exceptionally pure in composition. The conclusion seemed therefore justifiable that the storage quality of the Trenton limestone could be safely determined from its chemical composition. This conclusion applied to its great petroleum fields, namely, Ohio and Indiana, without qualification and holds good with respect to Michigan and Illinois as far as facts from these states have come in. But subsequent observations and specially those to be recorded in the present report show that the conclusion must not be made general in its terms. It appears that the Trenton limestone holds considerable petroliferous accumulation in the form of natural gas in regions where no trace of the dolomitic replacement has occurred. In such districts it does not appear to be a true reser- voir rock. It contains but little salt water and no continuity is apparent in such occurrences of the latter as are found. Nor does the water give indication of artesian pressure as in the oil fields of Ohio and Indiana. Two principal modes in which gas is stored in rocks come into view in this connection. It is either stored in porous rocks, as sandstones, conglomerates or dolomites, in conjunction with other fluid, in which case it can be styled reservoir gas, or it is held in small spaces intervening between the leaves of shale or 426 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM limestone and then it may be designated as shale gas. The latter accumulations are quite likely to be found in pockets or distinct and unconnected areas that appear to be capriciously distributed. Reservoir rocks follow geologic horizons closely. Salt water is found in such strata at certain points. Contiguous wells gen- erally show approximate or exact equality of rock pressure and in them salt water rises to approximately the same level. The salt water is seen to be under artesian pressure. Shale gas follows geologic horizons only in a general way. That the several bodies of gas or oil in a shale rock are not directly connected is evident from the fact that adjacent wells differ widely in the matter of their rock pressure. If salt water is found in them it occurs in small quantities only. The discovery of the Findlay gas and oil seemed at first sight to turn almost the entire country into territory in which such pro- duction might reasonably enough be expected. The farther dis- covery of the dolomitic character of the really productive portion of the Trenton limestone seemed on the other hand to sharply restrict such possibilities. The last discoveries here to be de- scribed, do away to a considerable extent with the dolomitic limi- tations, and do something toward restoring the promise that the discovery in northwestern Ohio seemed at first to establish. Section 1 Oswego county Among the earlier explorations for the petroliferous series in this county are those which have been made during the last 25 years and notably within the last five years at Fulton. Search was also begun in 1888 in Sandy Creek, and in Pulaski soon after- ward. The experience that has been gained at these different points will be briefly described in the order named and reference will afterward be made to other localities in the county that have carried forward exploration by the drill in the search for the Same source of wealth. Geologic scale of Oswego county. The lowest rock that takes part in forming the surface of the county is the Trenton lime- - stone, but its part in this office is very small. It is confined to fo) ™m a) 7 py fab) am a (>) SY a WY 2A! of — mm ete 2e) a eB) fal feof 4b) reals eb) fa wou) a3) a yi 4 pa hive MAP OF | | OSWEGO COUNT ONONDAGA COUN ~~ PHTROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 427 a few square miles in Sandy Creek township and belongs to the uppermost beds of this great stratum. Above the Trenton the Utica shale and the Hudson river series appear in the regular order over which in due succession to the southward the Medina sandstone is found. The latter is perhaps the best marked element in the geology of the county. Above the Medina, the Clinton in strong force and the Niagara in feeble development, are added in ribbon-like bands around the southern edge of the Medina. But little of the surface rock of Oswego county is to be credited to the Niagara. _ The two principal formations are the Hudson river and Medina groups. Over the rock floor the glacial drift is spread in an ir- regular sheet. Strong morainic features are shown in several parts of the county. | The rocky floor is dissected by the rivers that cross the surface of the county, affording fine exposures of the geologic series. The Oswego river affords a good section of the Medina at Fulton while the Salmon river gives a splendid exposure of the Pulaski or Lorraine shales, and the Oswego sandstone is well shown near Lake Ontario. The Oswego is a fine and steady stream that carries the waters from the Finger lakes of central New York to Lake Ontario. It has a rapid fall but is always clear, the lakes acting as settling basins for the inflowing streams. a Fulton. Explorations of a random sort calledattention tothis region as a possible source of gas more than twenty years ago. A well was sunk partly on such expectations, on the Van Buren farm in the valley of the Oswego river, four or five miles north of the village of Fulton, for the purpose of a test. Surface indi- cations had long been noted here, consisting principally in the bubbling of gas through the water in boggy spots. The thin accumulations of bog iron ore that cover with an iridescent film the pools of standing water were possibly counted among the surface indications. The latter have no possible significance as leading to valuable stocks of gas or oil and the bubbling referred to can in many instances be well enough accounted for by the decomposition of vegetable matter which is always going on in such locations. But a shaft 4 feet by 4 was sunk to the rock, which was reached at 18 feet. The drill then descended into the rock, 428 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM namely, the Medina sandstone, a few feet. The well filled with surface water, but gas still bubbled through it. The bubbles were caught in an inverted butter tub, the bottom of which had been provided with a jet from which the gas, in this case prob- ably derived from the Medina sandstone, was lighted and burned. The experiment stopped at this point, but it had given its testi- mony and this took effect on the minds of some of the more observant members of the community. Hight or ten years thereafter the excitement over the wonder- ful discovery at Findlay, O., recalled this experience and led to the formation of a company of some of the more enterprising citizens of Fulton. T. D. Lewis was president of the company and J. H. Case, secretary, and these two gentlemen took the leading part in all the subsequent development. The company proceeded to make a thorough test at the same point where the first well was sunk, availing itself of the 18- foot excavation previously made by Mr Van Buren. The drillers employed were naturally skeptic as to finding gas in this un- known series and did not use any precaution as to the exclusion of fire, such as would have been employed in a known gas dis- trict. Light flows of gas were however reached at various hori- zons and one of them was accidentally ignited from the forge in the derrick. This latter structure took fire thus and was destroyed. The derrick was rebuilt and the work resumed. The several formations of the region already noted were passed in due order and the Trenton limestone was struck at a depth of between 1300 and 1400 feet. At 1727 feet, well down in the last named stratum, a gas vein of considerable volume and force was reached. Drilling was continued to the depth of 2020 feet, or about 650 feet below the top of the Trenton. The company had demonstrated the presence of significant accumulations of inflammable gas in the rock foundations of Oswego county, but had found nothing thus far that could be turned to economic account in repaying them for the consider- able outlay they had already made. ; Meanwhile exploration was going forward around them. The villages of Sandy Creek and Pulaski had already found gas in the Trenton limestone and were proceeding to utilize it. | PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 429 The experience of these villages suggested to the Fulton com- pany a new line of action. To recover if possible the losses al- ready incurred, Messrs Lewis and Case and other members of the old company organized a new company to drill wells and supply the village with the new fuel. The necessary franchise was obtained from the village council, options were taken on 14,000 acres of land lying near the village, and new wells were at once begun. | The first well was located on the Vogelsang farm about one and a*half miles southeast of the village center. The section as reported was found as follows: EMI SAMOS TOMCE Aten aside assole sire abana! ol latace« 400 ft Oswego sandstone and Pulaski shale................. 880 TONER SIDR IS, 28 Se ata ak oa rn ec eae ea a 120 Trenton limestone, upper surface at................. 1400 These figures are approximate but they serve well as a general statement. This record was well supported by carefully saved samples of the drillings. The latter were kindly placed at the disposal of the survey by Mr Case, secretary. Gas was struck in the red Medina and at various points in the Trenton. The largest supply was reached at about 1700 feet, the rock pressure of which was enormous. To determine this point an expert was brought on from Bradford, Pa. He found the pressure to be 1240 pounds. The well was left to blow wide open for one hour and when the valve was closed, a pressure of 500 pounds was regained almost instantly, and in 102 minutes 1075 pounds were registered. On being deepened a few feet the pressure is said to have run up to 1525 pounds temporarily. The total depth of the well was not far from 2500 feet. The cost of drilling was $1.25 a foot. The well was at first tubed with two inch pipe, but the company was advised to replace this by three inch pipe. In making the change, a considerable body of very strong salt water, which had seeped in from various horizons outside the pipe was released and lay on the gas rock for 36 hours; but the original pressure was practically regained. As soon as gas was struck the company set about piping the town. The work was done in haste and in September 1895, 164 consumers were put on the line. But this demand proved beyond the capacity 430 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM of the single well. The supply was short and the pressure fell rapidly away. | Well no. 2 was located on the R. K. Sanford farm, which ad- joined the Vogelsang farm. This well is about 2000 feet from well no. 1, and is due east of the village center. It was drilled to a depth of 2383 feet. Gas was found as in well no. 1 through- out the Trenton limestone and its yield was steady from the first. It was at once turned into the village line and relieved the demand of the consumers for the time being. Well no. 3 was located on the Palmer farm and was due south of the Sanford well. It was drilled about 2000 feet deep and furnished a moder- ate amount of gas. By this time the fortunes of the company had come to be so promising in the eyes of the business world that competition was introduced. The first exhibition of it was made by a company that called itself the Oswego river gas company. A trial well was located and drilled in the river valley at the north end of the village, but it found very little gas and the company gave up the search with this one unsuccessful trial. A more important attempt to establish itself in what was com- ing to be counted a new gas field was made by a body of petro- leum producers and drillers called the Eastern oil company of Buffalo. This company secured a lease on the Hoff farm and located a well not more than 500 feet from well no. 1 of the Fulton company. The well proved successful and the Eastern oil company thereupon offered the home company one and a half dollars for every dollar it had invested in the field. The offer was declined and the Fulton company bought instead the new well and connected it with its village line. This well will be counted as no. 4. 3 Well no..5 was located on the same farm on which the first well was drilled and but 600 feet distant from it. This well proved a complete failure. It was practically a dry-hole. The company now had five wells on its village line, but it had taken on new consumers as it increased the number of its wells. From the first it had been obliged to overtax its entire supply. Each well had been drawn on to its full capacity, and the serv- ice of the company had for this reason always been unsatisfac- PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 431 tory. The amount of gas steadily declined and on the whole rather rapidly, till after a few months it was no longer a safe reliance in domestic heating. Its inexpressible convenience led many to retain the use of it in cooking stoves, even though great inconvenience attended the short supply. For light also it con- tinued to be largely used. Things have gone on in about the same way from that day to this. The valves of all the wells are opened wide to the pipe line. Every foot of gas that can be se- cured has been in sharp demand from the beginning. The company has expended more than $38,000 onits plant. It lost its one opportunity, not only to recoup itself but to secure a handsome reward for its courage and enterprise, when it rejected the offer of the Eastern oil company referred to above. Its first wells cost about $3000 each, but after a little the com- pany purchased a set of drilling tools and employed its own drillers. By this arrangement the cost of sinking wells was re- duced to 60 cents a foot, or less than one half the price first paid. The company has on hand a plant of fair equipment and char- acter for the distribution of gas. The village is enterprising and prosperousand gaseous fuel has already established its reputation there so that a large and promising market is assured if only an adequate supply can be furnished. It is refreshing to find that in the location of the wells above described there was no recognition of any “theories” whatever, as men engaged in this line of business love to style their crude spec- ulations and vagaries. There was no “ northeast line” on which they depended, but they had leased a considerable acreage con- venient to the village and the wells were located on these tracts solely as commonplace and intelligible considerations dictated. It is true that after drilling several wells the company began to consider that a line joining two of the best must be the line of promise, but nothing came from this crude conclusion. In locat- ing well no.:5 the company, in urgent need of gas to supply its clamorous customers, thought to avoid all risk of failure by lo- cating the new well not only close to no. 1, which was then their best well, but even between it and another producing well. No.5 was the only well of the list that was an absolutely dryhole! In the Fulton wells gas was found all through the descent, namely, in the red Medina, in the Oswego sandstone, the Pulaski 432 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM shale and the Utica shale, and mest of all in the Trenton lime- stone. In the latter formation it was confined to no particular horizon except that the greatest stock was found 200 to 300 feet below its uppermost bed. Each minor accumulation of gas seemed independent: of the rest. In one well 22 distinct acces- sions were recorded in a single day. Neither sandstone nor dolomite are found in the section and salt water was struck in but a single instance in the entire ex- perience of the Fulton company. There is practically no differ- ence in the conditions of the gas, whether found in the Utica shale or in the underlying Trenton limestone. The rock pressure of the gas is, however, enormous. In shale gas this element generally ranges low, though pockets are occa- sionally found in all the shales in which high figures may be ‘reached. 200 to 300 pounds make a limit that is not often over- ‘assed. In the Fulton field the pressure ran up to the maximum ! 1525 pounds, 1200 pounds being noted for some weeks in a ‘ingle well. The amount of gas from the wells of this series is compara- tively small. Ag is well known, there is no relation between the rock pressure and the volume of wells. Wells of very small. volume may reach very high figures in pressure. None of the Fulton wells proved themselves able to withstand the steady | drain of the pipe line. Volume and pressure declined at once when the draft was put on them. The question at once rises as to what use the gas discovery of Fulton could have been turned that would have brought profit to the company. As it is, a great deal of time and business energy and $40,000 in cash have been expended in the development and there is nothing whatever to show for it, so far as assets are concerned. The pipes buried in the earth could be recovered, it is true, but they could only be sold as junk. Practically the whole amount expended by the company can be counted as lost. Besides the expenditures named above a considerable amount has been expended in piping and equipping the dwellings of the town for the use of gas. Is there any possible use of the discovery that could have given to the community good returns in money value? PEHTROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 433 A well could have been drilled at public expense that would have furnished an ample stock of gas for lighting the streets and residences of the village for several years. So far as the streets are concerned the light would be so far inferior to the electric light in brillianey that the change would not have been welcome to the people, even though a great saving in expenditure could be assured thereby. Furthermore the system of distribution by which gas can be used for illuminating is already established in the village under private ownership. There could be no true economy in dupli- cating this system, and it would probably be impossible to secure the existing plant for the actual amount used in its establish- ment. If the coast were clear and electric light and gas com- panies were not already in the field .a profitable use of the gas discovery could have been made by the village in the direction named. For one use the way was open, namely, for domestic use, and that was naturally the line of service adopted by the new com- pany, and in which it has lost its investment. Could this loss have been avoided? In the light of present knowledge the com- pany can easily see how it might have followed a course that would have led to financial success instead of failure. If but one tenth the outlay in piping the town had been incurred and only one or two streets had been opened for this purpose and 20 or at most 40 consumers had been supplied with fuel, instead of 164 (the number on the line when the first well was finished) and if the gas had been sold by meter instead of by mixer rates, at a price commensurate with its value, the results might have been altogether different. Under these circumstances the wells would not have been overdrawn. Opportunities for resting them would have been found, and Fulton would still be rejoicing in a limited supply of the best fuel of the world. The villages of Oswego county are not the only villages of the state to find natural gas within their precincts. Many discover- ies of this kind are likely to be made in days to come. To learn by one’s own mistakes is always hard and costly, but it seems possible so to record the facts in a case like that now under con- sideration that they can serve the interests of other communities that may find themselves in the same general situation, 134 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM No disinterested person with adequate knowledge of the ex- perience that has been so abundantly accumulated within the last 15 years would advise such a course as the Fulton company pursued. It is possible to indicate a policy that would have returned the money invested and would have given to some hun- dreds of people the inexpressible advantages of gaseous fuel for several years. | 3 Still another possible use of natural gas, viz, manufacturing use, is reserved for discussion in connection with the experience of other localities. : b Sandy Creek. The village of Sandy Creek is located in the township of the same name in the northwest corner of Oswego county. There are two sections of the village with an interval of about one mile between them. They are known as Sandy Creek and Lacona, and in earlier times went under the name of Wash- ingtonville. By a disastrous fire that visited the village 10 or 12 years ago, its one manufacturing interest, viz, a large tannery, was de- stroyed and nothing was found to take its place. The more en- terprising of its citizens felt that something must be done to arrest its discouragement and decay. The Trenton limestone excitement that began with the ex- perience at Findlay, O., in 1884, was already under way and, as surface indications, probably of the bog gas variety already referred to, were found here, and as drilling though unsuccessful had been undertaken at Watertown, in the county north, it was determined in 1888 that a test of the rock should be made here. A company was formed under the name of the Sandy Creek oil and gas company, limited. It comprised the best citizens of the village and took in also many of the more intelligent farmers of the neighborhood. The capital of the company was placed at $5000 and the stock was sold in shares of $10 each. There was a large number of subscribers and the burdens of all were light. O. R. Earl was elected president and Gilbert N. Harding sec- retary. The company bought the drilling outfit that had just been in unsuccessful operation at Watertown. It also entered on the leasing of land on quite a large scale. At first an annual rental of $5 an acre was paid till drilling should be undertaken on the PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 435 premises. For each completed well, if successful, a rental of $25 a year was to be paid. About 13,000 acres were taken up, but the rate of rental was soon reduced to $1 an acre annually and has since been cut down to still smaller figures. The first well was located in the valley of Sandy Creek between the two villages. The rock at this point is overlaid with only a very shallow covering of drift. A little gas was struck when the rock had been penetrated a few hundred feet, but presently the drilling tools got fast and the ‘company, being dissatisfied with the contractor, shut down the work. The next year, 1889, operations were resumed under a new contractor. The tools were got free and the drilling was carried deeper. More gas was struck as they descended but the rock pressure was compara- tively feeble, reaching only 80 pounds to the square inch. Sev- eral pockets of gas were struck as the drill went down, in which much higher pressure was shown. At times water froze around the tools, owing to the rapid expansion of the released gas. The village was forthwith piped and the utilization of the gas was begun in the same year. The use of the new fuel has gone forward without interrup- tion to the present time and this first well has played an impor- tant part in the supply. In August 1897, its pressure was found to be 60 pounds, a fall of but 20 pounds in eight years of large but not constant use. Its pressure has sometimes been higher than when the well was first opened, suggestive of the idea that it may be borrowing gas from other areas of rock near by. The highest figure that has been noted is 100 pounds. When the well is steadily used the pressure declines, but by resting, it is usually restored. This well has proved an excellent supply. It is good for 30,000 to 40,000 feet a day. The company has drilled 18 wells in all, and so far has discarded but one as without value. Salt water has been found in but two of the number; in one of them at 900 feet and in another at 35 feet below the top of the Trenton. Well no. 2 is located one half mile down the creek. It was drilled to a depth of 1080 feet. In its early history it met with a misfortune by which its value has been impaired. The casing collapsed and the well was flooded with fresh water for some time. It has not proved as valuable a source of gas on this ac- 436 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM count as no. 1. Well no. 3 was located one half mile directly east of no. 2. It was drilled to a depth of 1100 feet and proved a fairly successful well. It has been on the line for the last seven years. Well no. 4 was also drilled to a depth of 1000 feet, its location being one half mile directly east of no. 1. It had 40 pounds of rock pressure when completed. It was never tubed but was packed in the casing. It holds its original press- ure, after being shut off from the line for a few weeks. Well no. 5 is one of the two deep wells of the company, having been drilled to a depth of 1265 feet. It bas proved a fair source of gas. Its initial rock pressure was 50 pounds. Under the steady draft of the pipe line in winter the pressure falls to 25 or even to 20 pounds, but when rested a few weeks it regains its old figure. Well no. 6 is three fourths of a mile south of no. 1. It is also a fair producer. Its initial pressure was 70 pounds. Well no. 7 is one and a half miles south of no. 3 on the Pulaski road. At 900 feet salt water in large amount was struck at the level where gas is found in many other wells and both products were delivered by the tubing at the same time. Its rock pressure was 250 pounds. Its usefulness was interfered with by the presence of the water, though, of course, a separation of the products is possible. Well no. 8, one half mile southeast of the village center, had an initial rock pressure of 40 pounds. Well no. 9, one half mile east of the village center, had 105 pounds initial pressure. Well no. 10 is one half mile east of no. 9. It was counted a good well when completed, but it does not seem to have the staying prop- erties of many of the other wells. It is obviously losing ground under use, its pressure not rising above 20 pounds at the date of observation in 1897. Well no. 11 is three quarters of a mile south of no. 1. It met with bad fortune at the outset. A pocket of gas was struck which was under a high pressure. The drill- ing tools were blown out of the well and the cable cut by the fly- ing chips. The well was packed in the Trenton limestone in- stead of in the overlying shale. It has never been equal in pro- duction to the best wells of the company. At the end of one and one half years of use it shows, however, a rock pressure of 50 pounds. Well no. 12 is located in the valley of Sandy Creek, PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 437 va one half mile northwest of no. 2. It has proved an average producer and now holds a pressure of 70 pounds. Well no. 13 was one half mile west of no. 2. It has proved a fair average of the series to which it belongs, and holds a rock pressure of 70 pounds while in use. Well no. 14, one half mile northeast of the village center, is but 900 feet deep. It reached the top of the Trenton at a depth of 600 feet.. A pocket of gas was struck, the tools were lost, and the casing blown out. The well has proved a good one but is losing volume at the present time. Well no. 15 is 1000 feet deep. It is located one half mile north of no. 1. It has proved one of the best wells of the series. It has been an important contributor to the supply of the line for two years, and when rested, promptly recovers at least a large part of its original pressure. Well no. 16 is 1000 feet deep. It reached the Trenton at 400 feet and has proved a fair well. Well no. 17 has recently been completed. It shows a rock press- ure of 100 pounds. It reached the Trenton at 385 feet, and shows a good volume of gas. One well that was drilled by the company produced so small a quantity of gas that it was never connected with the pipe line. It would have completed the list of 18 wells, above given. Throughout this region the drift is shallow, not more than 10 to 25 feet of drive pipe having been called for in any instance, and in the valley locations the superficial deposits are often less than five feet. The wells are all located within a circle two miles in diameter, the farm lands contiguous to the village having been generally leased for this purpose. They do not appear to draw on each other, and probably the number could be considerably increased within the limits named. The uppermost member of the rock series is the Pulaski shales, under which the Utica shales are found. The latter are 250 to 300 feet in thickness. The thickness of the Pulaski shale varies greatly according to the altitude of the surface, which declines rapidly to the westward. In some instances there is less than 100 feet to be credited to this division. The Trenton limestone, when shallowest is found at 385 feet, and when most deeply buried, at 600 feet. The wells are generally finished at 1000 feet. The only deeper wells were carried down to 1200 and 1265 438 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM feet respectively, but no advantage was gained by drilling the last 200 feet. In the 1200 foot well, the last thing struck was a very gritty rock, but underneath it limestone again appeared. There is no definite relation between the gas volume and the rock pressure of a well. A well with low pressure may contri- bute to the line steadily and well through a long period. Of the daily production or capacity of the wells no record has been kept, but the superintendent counts 100,000 cubic feet as the unob- structed production of a good well for 24 hours. Gas is not found in definite horizons, but is mostly confined to the Trenton limestone. It is likely to be found in small amounts when the drill has sunk but five or ten feet into this formation. From the surface downward till 600 feet of the series have been traversed, there are innumerable accessions of gas, the best of the flows being found in the lower part of the formation. The dip of this stratum is strongest to the southward. Ona southwest line of six miles between Sandy Creek and Pulaski the surface of the Trenton falls 150 feet, or 25 feet to the mile. In the last year the metered output showed the production of the wells to be 17,280,000 cubic feet of gas. Probably enough gas was used or lost outside of the meters to make the total 18,000,000 feet. The gas is sold at the nominal price of 35 cents a thousand, but a discount of 10 cents is allowed for prompt payment of bills, so that in reality the price is 25 cents a thousand cubic feet. The use of the gas is exclusively confined to house service. In the severest weather there is occasionally a temporary shortage in the morning hours, as the mains are but three inch pipes, but on the whole the supply is eminently satisfactory to all the patrons of the line. For the last three years: the service has been nearly perfect. In the location of the wells the aim has been to keep them approximately one half mile apart, but no theory whatever has affected the location and no “lines” or “belts” have been de- veloped by the experience of the company thus far. In this respect, as in all others, the gas conforms exactly to the char- acters of shale gas. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 439 It is of vital importance to use the wells alternately. A well kept on the line for months without relief loses pressure and volume, but a few weeks rest is generally effective in restoring both. The original capital stock of the company, as has been said, was $5000, but this amount has since been raised to $15,000 and the company has considerable debt besides, but it is paying its obligations as far as possible out of its income, which latter is about $4500 a year, and all of which is used on the plant. No one looks for any return of the amount originally invested. The experience of this village has been highly satisfactory. The community has now enjoyed for nine years the inexpressible convenience and luxury of natural gas for fuel and light. To every household using it there has been a distinct increase of the comforts of life, and a distinct diminution of its discomforts. There has also been for all stockholders in the company an annual reduction of the cost of fuel and light that will go far toward repaying them for the original investment. It is hard to see how the fortunes of the village could have been improved by any different management. All the work has been carried on soberly and sagaciously and without illusions or self-deception or “booms” of any sort. The example of Sandy Creek in its use of natural gas may well be taken as a model for all communities similarly circumstanced. The character of the gas as shale gas is unmistakably displayed in the record above given. The lack of definite horizons, the frequent occurrence of pockets, the absence of salt water, the want of agreement as to rock pressure in the various wells, even in those nearest to each other, are all marks that admit of but one interpretation. c Pulash. This village was inspired to undertake the search for natural gas by the successful experience of the neighboring village of Sandy Creek, above described. It had also grounds of encouragement of its own. “Surface indications” had long been known in the form of escaping gas. The best known lo- cality was a small but picturesque island in the valley of the Salmon river, adjoining the corporation. Many outcrops of the rocks occur on this island, and from some of the natural joints it has long been known that gas was escaping and could be 440) NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM lighted. The island is used as a park and is known as Island erove. The surface rocks of the region belong to the lower por- tions of the Hudson river series. One of the names assigned to this division by the New York state geologists in their first sys- tem of nomenclature was drawn from this very locality, namely, the Pulaski shale. Another name proposed for the same section was the Lorraine shale. This designation was drawn from the fine exposures of this rock in the town of Lorraine, Jefferson co. where the series has been dissected by the gorge of Sandy Creek. The Salmon river section of the Pulaski shale is 40 to 50 feet in thickness, within the village limits. It is made up principally of sandy and calcareous shales in which the characteristic fossils of the formation are well and abundantly displayed. There is very little material in the section that can endure exposure to the weather. Occasionally .a layer is found that does not im- mediately disintegrate and such are used to a considerable ex- tent in unimportant masonry. Farther up the stream a much longer and finer section is to he seen at the falls of the Salmon river in Orwell township. The Medina sandstone oceurs in force in this township, and possibly the Oswego sandstone also. The sandstone is best seen in what are called the Grindstone quarries. The mantle of drift is nowhere of great thickness and it adapts itself in a general way to the topography of the rocky floor on which it was deposited. The general level of the town is some- what more than 100 feet above the level of Lake Ontario. A company was organized in the spring of 1891 made up of | public spirited citizens. Louis J. Clark, president of the First national bank, was made president of the exploring company. The first well was located on Mill street. At a depth of 559 feet a flow of salt water and gas was reached. The water was thrown above the derrick in a milky shower which continued for about 24 hours. At 980 feet a blower of gas of great force was struck, in the night. It not only lifted the drilling tools but carried out the casing and tubing as well and packed the cable so closely in the casing that it was necessary to use an axe on the latter in getting it free. The salt water that had been found at a higher horizon accumulated on the lower gas rock and nearly ruined its production. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 441 The well was, however, recased and retubed and it still sup- plies an insignificant amount of gas, barely enough for the de- mands of the single residence with which it is connected. ) A second well was at once located about 300 feet east of the original location. In this well no salt water was encountered and at 980 feet, the horizon of the pocket in well no. 1, only a small puff of gas was found. The drill was kept at work till a depth of 1500 to 1600 feet was reached. Small additions of gas were made from day to day as the tools descended, but the total yield was small, only enough, as the event proved, to supply the single family of the farm on which the well was drilled. This well was cased at 125 feet, but not quite low enough to exclude the fresh water altogether. It was found necessary to blow out the well every few months, and in wet seasons, oftener. The drilJ was stopped in this well at a depth of between 1500 and 1600 feet and, as was learned by later ex- perience, had been carried almost to the granite. By the drilling of these two wells, it had been demonstrated that gas was to be found in the rocks underlying Pulaski, but there was naturally some hesitation on the part of the company in undertaking the additional expense required for the utiliza- tion of its discovery. At this point one member of the company, | namely, Mr Charles Tollner, grew impatient with the delay and determined to carry the work forward at his own expense. He accordingly bought out the stock and franchises of the old com- pany and proceeded forthwith to pipe the village for the use of gas, even in advance of farther tests. He took drilling options on a large area, (15 to 20,000 acres) surrounding: the village: The limit of the option was 10 years and for every well accepted, $50 a year was to be paid. Mr Tollner was a manufacturer who had established a large and successful business in Pulaski. He had accumulated a hand- some fortune for this region by his energy and sagacity and was beyond question the leading business man of the community. He had something of the idealistic temperament as well and the idea of turning to practical service a stock of power buried beneath the surface, of which he was one of the discoverers, ap- pealed strongly to his imagination. 442, NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM In piping the village no expense was spared that was counted necessary to the most satisfactory service. In the size of the pipe, the quality of the connections, the regulators, etc. the best rather than the cheapest were in all cases selected. It will be remembered that though two wells had been already — drilled, there was not a large quantity of gas that could be depended on. The first well was a failure and the second well imperfectly cased, but both had proved the region to be gas-producing territory. To fill the pipes now laid in the streets of Pulaski new wells must be drilled, and Mr Tollner next set about this part of the work. He undertook it in the same spirit in which he carried on the piping of the town, paying full price for all the work, and neglecting to avail himself of the economies which competition would have insured. When his first well was completed, the gas found in it was at once turned into the village lines and utilized by householders who had prepared their dwellings for it. Mr Tollner drilled 20 wells and bought one that had been drilled by outside parties (the Eastern oil co. of Buffalo) within the territory which he occupied. The driller in charge of all of his later work was Mr W. O. Potter who came in from the Pennsylvania oil fields. From him and from other drillers and from the samples of drillings saved in the process of the work, the following general section can be taken as embodying the principal facts as to the Pulaski wells. The same section will serve for. muth of Oswego county. Pleistocene ...... AB Aue ON a at wren Meer en | O- 96 ft (Taulesiceshiaile se oe Se 200 = 20) Onde nee | Wicd shales 0 ee 100— 250 Erenton;hmestome,.- 2 20 600 [ Calemterous’: 3. 6 0 ee 200 { Greenish sand (Potsdam?) 2) 2 10-5 40 Camas ; Black limestone (called * black | | granite” by some drillers).... 20- 49 Greemichtsand (0 2) 5) 1h aes 5— 10 ATChaean) =) ey Red (orthoclase) granite struck at 1400-1500 The Trenton limestone is struck in this field at an average -depth of 550 feet. Most of the Pulaski wells are drilled to a depth of 1000 feet, but enough have been carried to the granite PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 443 to establish the general order of the several strata that underlie the Trenton limestone. The first gas is sometimes found in the Pulaski wells only a few feet below the top of the Trenton lime- stone. Beginning at 20 feet in this formation, accessions are often found every‘10 to 15 feet for the first 100 or 200 feet. This is called the first vein. Below this depth, larger and more per- sistent veins are found and they are liable to be struck through much of the remaining portion of the Trenton section. This-is called the second vein. It is generally reported at about 1000 feet. | The initial rock pressure of the Pulaski wells ranges between 165 and 650 pounds. But a single example has been noted in which the highest figure was reached. The pressures of the sey- eral wells when first completed were as follows: 170 lb., 250 Ib., 600 lb., 400 lb., unproductive, 325 Ib., 400 lb., 165 Ib., 250 Ib., 400 Ib., 890 lb., 609 1b., 400 Ib., 170 Ib., 650 1b., 600 Ib., 500 lb., 170 Ib. No figures were obtained as to the daily gas production of a new well, and no opportunities for measurement were found, but a few tens of thousands of cubic feet will cover the production of all except the very largest wells. A brief account of the Tollner wells, 20 in number, will here be given. - Well no. 1 was located on Island grove already referred to, of which Mr Tollner was the owner. This well was begun on July 4, 1893. The well was drilled by O’Donnell & Rick, experi- enced Pennsylvania drillers. The Trenton was struck at 550 feet. The largest gas vein was not reached till a depth of 1050 feet had been drilled. A rock pressure of 170 pounds was observed at this point. The well was not carried to a greater depth. Well no. 2 was located one half mile northeast of no.1. It was drilied to a depth of 1100 feet, when a pressure of 225 pounds was reached. Two main veins of gas were found, one at 800 feet and the other at 1000 feet. Of these veins the last was the stronger. The Trenton limestone at the point where the drill was stopped, was black, a phase which it takes on at the typical locality, Trenton Falls. Well no. 3 was located on North street, one half mile due north of well no. 1. It proved much more productive than either of its predecessors. Its first strong vein was found at 700 feet 444 | NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM and its second at 1100 feet. It was drilled to 1150 feet in depth. Five hours after it was packed it showed a rock pressure of 500 pounds, and in three days 600 pounds were registered. When the gas was turned into the village line there was some water in the pipe which was frozen by the rapid expansion of the gas. In thawing the pipe fire was accidentally communicated to the well, and a considerable demonstration followed. It was some time before the well was again brought under control. Its rock pressure never rose above 400 pounds thereafter. In the winter of 1896-97 the pressure was drawn down to 35 pounds, but though subjected to a long-continued and steady draft, it did not fall below this figure. Well no. 4 is located one half mile north- west of no. 1. At 650 feet a powerful gas vein was struck. The cable was cut by flying chips and the drilling tools were lost. The gas showed a rock pressure of 400 pounds and the well was not drilled deeper. In the winter of 1896-97 the pressure did not fall below 40 pounds. Well no. 5, located to the southeast of no. 1 was drilled to a depth of 1200 feet but only an insignificant amount of gas was found there. It was the first example of a dry hole in this field. Wells of this character are popularly and jocularly known here as * post-holes.” If the well had been tubed, possibly gas enough for a single residence could have been obtained from it. Well no. 6 is located one and one half miles from no. 1, and directly north of the village center. At 700 feet, gas enough for the drilling engine was struck, and at 1150 feet a powerful vein was found. It raised the tubing, but the clamps struck the cas- ing and thus were stopped there. The tools were left in the well, which was packed at 600 feet. 300 pounds rock pressure was noted when the well was renewed. Well no. 7 is three quarters of a mile due north of no. 6. At 650 feet it found gas enough for the boiler of the drilling engine. A second vein was reached at — 1000 feet and this grew steadily stronger till 1150 feet was reached, when a pressure of 450 pounds was registered. Under steady use it is drawn down to 50 pounds, but the impression among those who have the care of the line is that no. 7 supphes a larger volume than any other well of the field. Its production has been estimated at 100,000 cubic feet a day, but the grounds on which the estimate is based are not understood. PHTROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 445 Well no. 8 is seven eighths of a mile due north of the village. It is 1200 feet deep and has furnished but little to the pipe line. Gas was found at 650 feet, but not enough for the boiler of the drilling engine. A second vein was struck at 1100 feet, the pres- sure of which rose to 165 pounds. Well no. 9 proved the second dry hole of the series. It is located three eighths of a mile north of no. 3. Well no. 10 was drilled by the Eastern oil co. of Buffalo and was bought in by Mr Tollner. It is one half mile north of no. 4. The first important vein of gas in this well was struck at 609 feet. The well was finished at 1050 feet. It behaves differently from any other well of the series in respect to rock pressure. On one day it will show 125 pounds, and on another, perhaps but 25 pounds, and there is nothing apparent in the condition to explain this difference. Well no. 11 is three fourths of a mile north of no. 4. At 650 feet, gas enough for the boiler was found. At 1000 feet an uncommonly good vein was struck. This well showed a pressure of 400 pounds, after being shut in four hours. Well no. 12 was drilled to the granite, which was struck at 1425 feet, It also was destitute of gas, the third in the series thus far. At 180 feet in the descent a strong vein of slightly mineralized water was struck. It continues to flow from the - well mouth as a spring. Well no. 13 is located on the bank of Salmon river near the lake, three fourths of a mile from no. 11, with the record of which it is in close agreement. In fact, the records of the two wells as to horizon, pressure and apparent volume are nearly identical. They rise and fall in pressure to- gether and it would appear that they have some underground ~ connection. They are both among the good wells of the line, making an important contribution to the supply of winter gas to the town. They are rested by being shut off from the line five months in summer. Well no. 14 is the fourth dry hole out of the 20 wells drilled by Mr Tollner. It is 13800 feet deep and no account whatever is taken of it. Well no. 15 is three eighths of a mile west of no. 4. It lies between nos. 4 and 11. It was drilled in 1895. The first gas was struck at 600 feet and the last at 1100 feet. It shows a pressure of 400 pounds and apparently has good vol- ume. Well no. 16 is another of the good wells of the circuit. 446 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM It showed a pressure of 600 pounds when the lower gas vein was struck at 1175 feet. Well no. 17 is found to be affected by a considerable dip of the strata to the westward. It is a half mile west of no. 16 and is 1200 feet deep. The main gas veins were struck at 700 and 1175 feet. The lower portion of the Trenton limestone was black, as in one case previously reported. This well shows 170 pounds maximum pressure, but its mini- mum pressure thus far has been 130 pounds, even under steady use. ? Well no. 18 is three eighths of a mile west of no. 17. It is one of the good wells of the series, holding its pressure under severe use better than any other well of the line. Its maximum press- ure is 650 pounds, and at the end of the winter it does not fall below 260 pounds. The first gas was found at 650 feet and at 1175 feet the volume and pressure were so satisfactory that drilling was suspended there. Well no. 19 is three eighths of a mile still farther west than no. 18. It is 1150 feet deep and got its first gas at 675 feet or 25 feet lower than no. 18. Its full pressure is 600 pounds and thus far it has never been reduced below 300 pounds. Well no. 20 is still farther west three fourths of a mile beyond no. 19 and on the lake shore. The westward dip of. the strata carries all the horizons a little lower. The well has good volume and good pressure. It is 1325 feet deep and obtained its last flow of gas at 1300 feet. It has a final pressure of 500 pounds and after being shut off the line continues to gain for a full month. It is a good gas producer as compared with the other wells with which it is associated. Well no. 21 is located near the original group of wells east of the village. It is situated northeast of no. 2. The Trenton limestone was struck at 575 feet and at 650 feet a blower of great force was struck. The well was carried to a depth of 1075 feet but all of the lower portion of the Trenton proved unproductive, no second vein of gas being reached. The price for drilling these wells was $1 a foot. It could have been considerably reduced by inviting competition. Of the 20 wells drilled by Mr Tollner, four were dry holes, as has been shown in the preceding records. : The wells farthest from town are four miles distant. The near- est are just outside or even within the corporate limits. The PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK. 447 plan pursued has been to keep the nearest wells for winter sup- ply, but various causes come in to modify this practice. Every well is expected to give at least one month’s service in a year. The gas is used exclusively for domestic purposes and is all sold by meter at the rate of 25 cents a thousand feet. There are approximately 250 residences depending on the line for fuel and in many cases for artificial light also. The supply has been from the first adequate and satisfactory, barring the severest mornings of the winter, when the pipes are liable to be overtaxed for a few hours. Gas has displaced other fuel in town largely. The price of wood has fallen from $2 to $1.25 a cord: There are four regulators on the system, set at the four cardinal points. The north regulator receives the gas of four wells; the south and the east regulators each receive the gas of two wells; the west regulator takes the gas from all the western wells which include the most productive of the series. The amount of gas consumed in each of the winter months is about 4,000,000 cubic feet or an average of 133,333 cubic feet a day. There are about 300 meters in use. The amount of gas paid for from Aug. 1, 1895, to Aug. 1, 1896, was 25,000,000 cubic feet. This gas was all supplied by the first 11 wells. For the year 1896-97, the amount of gas used was 35,000,000 cubic feet. The price of the gas, 25 cents a thousand, is certainly much below its intrinsic value. It is cheaper, all things considered, than wood at $1.25 a cord, but the people had no reason to com- plain when they were obliged to pay $2 a cord and be at the ex- pense of cutting it besides. Counted on this basis, the price should be 35 cents a thousand. Mr Charles Tollner, the founder of the Pulaski plant, died in the summer of 1897. He has invested between $50,000 and $60,000 in this business. Some of his heirs declare that the investment from a financial point of view was a mistake. The gross income, it is true, is a little more than 10% on the money invested. But new wells are required to maintain the supply, and supervision, rentals, repairs and other necessary expenses leave nothing to be returned to the Tollner estate. If the price of the gas were increased 50% or 100% there would be a possibility of some return as interest on the money invested, but even then it would be necessary to face the fact that the cost of maintaining the plant 448 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM would be constantly increased and that at no very distant day the gas supply will be exhausted. When this time comes, the $60,000 invested in the field will be an almost total loss. As long as the supply is maintained at present prices, the Tollner estate may be considered as donating the interest of $60,000 annually toward paying the fuel bills of two or three hundred of the most prosperous citizens of Pulaski. It is deemed proper to call attention to these points, for the example and experience of Mr Tollner are often so quoted as to make his case seem wise and sagacious from a business point of view. Other deep wells have been drilled in various parts of the county, under the impulse that has already been described. No results of economic interest have been reached by any of these explorations but geology finds something of value and interest in their record. d The Stillwater well. A well was drilled in 1897 in the south- eastern part of Orwell township. It was located on the west bank of the Stillwater creek, by which name the Salmon river is known above the falls. The well site is higher than Pulaski by a little more than 500 feet. The record of the well is as follows: PLIVE AIP Sige s Es Geko e epee ce toe aes See geet eae eae 37 ft Sand and shale, (cased at this depth).................. 255 OsSWegO SANGStONe) 2) a eee ce ee ee ce 90 Pulaski shales icc ieee ce Ne te ee ante ie gee 530 Wires shale ie Maree ie te tei eee ee eee 113 Trenton limestone, struck ate -. oe ee PP are SID White Trenton, och Se ts eitcvete cere Cane ee toe 300 Dark Trenton’. 2 tec Sa eee gee eee 370 Sand and SHAlES si rec ee as Ned ene ene Reet ea AO Sand,.creen and: whitern <5 yom ets no erect omen aol gaye 25 Black ‘limestone tio yo ace eho aie em weer ee etna 6 Red and white sandstone, calcareous.................. 18 Granite, Struck ate eee ces ee ee on co oe ae oh eee 1 697 The granite was drilled into for five feet. This record shows but 772 feet between the top of the Trenton and the granite. In other sections 100 feet more has been found for the same interval. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 449 The record below the Trenton in this well was specially inter- esting and valuable. Good sized fragments of the greenish white sandstone and also of the black limestone were brought up by the sand pump. The limestone was examined microscopically by Dr J. M. Clarke of Albany, who reports it as a true brecciated limestone carrying a little phosphate of lime. Fragments of shells of OboleUa and Lingulella are recognizable in it and, more doubtfully, fragments of trilobite crusts. The fossils named agree with the stratigraphic position of the limestone, which is of Cambrian age and not far removed from the Potsdam sand- stone. Probably the sandstone overlying it belongs to the last named formation. | At 45 feet in the Trenton, namely, at 970 feet, a light vein of gas was struck and a slight increase was noted also at 1045 feet, but beyond this there was no sign. This well was drilled under the direction and inspiration of C. W. Vroman, who has had much experience in the oil fields of Pennsylvania and Ohio and who has been prominent from the first in the test wells of central and northern New York. The Orwell well was located in part on a theory. A little amber oil is said to have been found, emerging from a bed of sand which is the source of a spring in the township of Greig, Lewis co. The oil was believed by those who reported it to be native to the location. The sandy drift © was 40 feet thick, but whether derived from a sandstone disin- tegrated in place or from glacial deposits has not been made clear. The first rock formation beneath this sand is the granite of the region. A well was drilled here over 800 feet into the granite. This little show of oil has made a great impression on several of the drillers who have been at work in this region and has led to the spending of many thousands of dollars. It will scarce- ly be believed, but such is the fact, that this light surface indi- cation, which may be the result of a deliberate attempt to de- ceive and not.natural at all, has been counted the evidence of a new geologic horizon of oil which it may be worth our while to investigate. Lines have been drawn on maps of varying scale and having indefinite degrees of inaccuracy, connecting this little spring in the North woods with the great oil fields of Pennsyl- _vania and a charm has by some been supposed to lie in points 450 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM that are found on such a line, when its direction is half way between north and east. The geologic absurdity of all this it is impossible to over- state, but such is the natural desire of the mind for rational guidance, or at least for the semblance of such guidance, instead of mere guess work, that men intelligent enough in other respects have taken up the 45° and 224° lines as if they could give a clew to the accumulations of oil all the world over. The fact that a sand rock overlying the granite was struck in several wells of. the county and that in one of these to be described hereafter it held a considerable supply of gas, is also to be taken into account. The location of the Orwell well is best explained by the statement of these facts. The Potsdam sandstone is unquestionably a widespread stratum in the underground stratigraphy of this portion of New York, but thus far no petroleum has been reported in any of its unmistakable occurrences. The Stillwater well gave new data for the measurement of — the dip of the strata. The descent of the Trenton from this well to Pulaski is about 124 feet to the mile in a due west direction. The southward element of the dip is much stronger. e Mexico. Another deep well was drilled at Mexico, a dozen miles southwest of Pulaski. The Trenton was found at 1027 feet, and the well was carried to granite at something less than 2000 feet. Small gas veins were struck at 1300 and 1400 feet but no economic value was attached to the discovery. f Parish. An immensely interesting record has been obtained from drilling in this town. aN 7 ns) ie ee ee wens mn eS P* ASS fe TaN beams 1 ieee” NR BAAR RAR foe ae ee “ e y Se Oe OS) lal ee te OD OPA x Oe a Pa lait VARINA? . a " ate a fa a Peat Ne Ree RS Anal Vv ARAEY ale SRR ON Oe Rak Ane ROAARAD Aaa nan, A OR ARM AAR KAR aR Aas a Un AAANANAAN AAR aa ine Bak ye ©) ie Va P / At se pa ie af f 4 ° f AANA r w ; ’ ar Bj \ARA@ me \ eae rr WAia a nial) AMARA ARRAN GANA! VFM ta TTT AAAADARRARAA a: Rana 7. 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