Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-07

France, which was burning at the time Of
Julius Cesar.
The first recorded discovery Of a natural
gas well in the United States of America re-
suited from borings made within the present
limits of the city of Charleston, S. c., in
1915, but in tbs case the gas does not ap-
pear to have been put to any use. In 1921
natural gas was discovered issuing from a
spring at Fredonis, in New York State.
From the dawn of history petroleum has
been known to mankind. This was true in
the ancient cities of Egypt, Persia and
Mesopotamia. There is also strong evil
dence that it was known in Peru before the
Spanish conquest, as a mummy Of date
prior to that event, now in the Peabody
Museum of Harvard University, has been
prepared with it.
The Indian tribes dwelling in the vicinity
OF our great lakes called the attention of the
earliest explorers to petroleum in 1929. In
1850 the French commander OF a fort in the
oil regions OF Pennsylvania wrote thus to
General Montcalm: 1.-THE surface of the
stream nearby is covered with thick scum.
which, upon applying torch to it, bursts
forth into flame.
THE SLIPPERY FLUID.
While petroleum, or rock oil, has been
found to exist in various parts of the world
the bulk of it, as is well known, has beer
obtained from wells in Western Pennsyl
vania and the region about Baku, in Russia
Prof. Lesley, in recently published ar
ticle, says: II take this opportunity to ex'
press my opinion that the amazing exhibi
tion Of oil and gas which has characterized
the last 80 years, and will probably charac-
ter1ze the next 10 or 20 years, is, neverthe
less, geographically and historically, van
lshing phenomenon, and one which young
men will live to see come to its natural end
And this opinion is the result of active and
thoughtful acquaintance with the subject
as have been professionally familiar with
it ever since Colonel Drake sunk the first
we'll on the plains of Titusville. The
science of geology may well be abandoned
as guide if such production as our sta
tistics exhibit can continue for successive
generations. This can not be. Our chill
dren will merely, and with difficulty, drair
the dregs.'
Directly opposite views are taken BY
Hon. Lerin Blodgett, who has also giver
great attention to the subject. He says: 81
venture to assume that long period viii
elapse before the supply of oil and natura
comes to the surface is great, yet is uniform
alone can create.
ELECTRIC LIGHTS.
The electric arc was first discovered ant
commented upon by Sir Humphrey Davy a
the Royal Institute in London, in 1908, OF
which occasion he made his famous expert
ments with battery of 2, 900 pairs ofplates
In some early experiments by this sam
man he speaks of heating to luminosity Ger
tain wires, which principle forms the basi
of incandescent lighting.
The possibility of economic lighting By
electricity is due to the fact. discovered b.
Faraday in 1881, that the motion of a mag
net, in relation to a conductor, would de
velop current of electricity in the latter
and in this way electricity might be devel
oped by the expenditure of mere mechani
cal energy. Thus coal burned under
boiler to generate steam, which steam wa
to be used in turn to generate electricity
became in that way direct rival to Goa
placed in retort to produce gas.
From the wonderful improvements made
in the system of arc and incandescent light
ing within comparatively few years hav,
sprung the electric lighting business as W,
see it to-day, and its practical development
and constant and rapid growth give evi
dence that both of these systems have a grea
future, before the close of the first century
in which they have been known to man
kind,