The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-06-07
The Scotch Oil Mines.

! William Findley of West Calder.
! Scotland, which is the ancient oil Shale
/ region of that country. has been MAX
a tour of the Pennsylvania petroleum
! fields during the last few weeks, and
was in New York this week.
Il am more than amazed" said he,
sat what have seen. The petroleum
of Scotland is mined like coal, and al
though had read of the oil wells of
America, was not prepared for such
vast difference in the methods of oil
production. The Scotch petroleum is
not in the fluid state, but in a shale
formation. The extracting of this
shale was for many years most i'm
portant industry, and is quite an ex-
tensive one yet; but the American oil,
both illuminating and lubricating, is
now set down in our markets cheaper
than the Scotch oil can be produced, and
how long our oil production will last
is only a question of how long national
pride will resist considerations of
economy.
The Scotch oil shale is black, and
lies at depth of about 400 feet be-
meath the surface. The shale produc-
| ing regions are all between Edinburgh
and Glasgow, and are known as the
oil fields of West Calder. They are
very extensive and inexhaustible. That
is one hope we have. The fluid oil of
this country will undoubtedly become
exhausted or greatly curtailed in pro-
duction some time in the future. 1t
would not be kind in me to say that
hope so, but-well am interested in
West Calder. When your fields cease
to pour out quantity of oil that en-
ables you to refine it, export it, and
sell it in Scotland at less figure than
it costs us to extract the oil from the
shales at the very threshold of Scotch
markets we will come to the front with
our oil mines again, and know what
ever happens they can't be exhausted.
When the oil fields of West Calder
were being operated to full capacity
the shale refinery there known as the
| Addiswell oil works, and which cover
seventy-iive acres of ground, gave en-
! ployment to over 2,000men. In various
parts of the field there are shale crush
ing works, not unlike your coal break
ers, where the shale is run on being
taken from the mines. 1t is broken
up into small pieces, and the crude oil
extracted at the crushers. What we
call crude oil you would call tar over
here. The retiners take it in that con-
dition, and from it extract illuminat-
ing and lubricating oil, ammonia, and
wax. The latter is called paraffine in
the oil trade of this country. The tar
from ton of shale will yield fourteen
gallons of Illuminating oil. This is
subjected to four different acid dis
tillations, each one much heavier than
any the American fluid petroleum re-
quires. The result is a clear, white
high-hash illuminant as good as Ameri-
can kerosene, but four times as expen-
sive. If the American product simply
| came in competition with our illumina-
| ting oil, the effect on our trade would
not be of much consequence, as in that
branch of the Scotch oil business is not
where the profit lies. The lubricant,
| the ammonia and the wax are the pro-
| ducts which make the shale mines
valuable. The American lubricating
oil is cheaper, and those who use it
say better than any. The latter Alto
| gether l can't agree with. OF course
| the American oil does not interfere
| with our ammonia products, nor with
our wax trade, but we can't afford to
| produce kerosene and lubricating oil
| to throw away in order that we may
! get at the ammonia and wax that the
shale contains. l am forced to say,
therefore, to use an Americanism, that
the Scotch oil business is not booming
at the present time.