Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-06

drilling area was enlarged and important
additions made to output. The average
/ daily production, which in 1888 had
! declined to As, 700 barrels, rapidly in
creased until it touched $4,000 barrels
This largely arrested the continuous drain
upon stocks, although down to the close of
last year the daily supply was never quite
equal to the demand.
The immediate effect of the discovery of
petroleum was to check the progress of the
paraffining oil trade in Scotland. To drill
well for petroleum was much easier than to
sink a pit for shale. The American pro-
ducer had also the advantage of obtaining
his oil distilled; while his Scottish rival was
required to erect costly retorts and do in an
imperfect manner what nature in America
had already done in her secret laboratories.
In the early days of the trade, high prices
were obtained for lamp OIL In 1865 crude
petroleum realized IS per barrel. In De-
cember, 1886, the market value had fallen
to little over 81; and in 1889 it was under
81. As American quotations controlled
the price all over the world, Scottish
manufacturers found it necessary to
reduce the cost of production or
retire from the contest. It has been long
and sometimes apparently hopeless struggle
Overwhelming OuuS. LII pdrlS Ol
Midlothian and Linlithgowshire the land
is covered with mounds of rubbish on which
scant patches of grass and weeds are trying
to find home. They are the ruins of what
were once brilliant hopes and the memen-
toes of wasted effort. But still the trade
survives; and while the conflict is not yet
over, the future is fuller of hope than at
any time since 1886.
The Russian Oil Industry.
Second only in Importance to the
American oil wells arc those of Rus
sia Long before the rich deposits of
PENNSYLVANIA were discovered, the
naphtha springs of Baku were known and
worked Marco Polo, who visited Armenia
about the end of the thirteenth century,
tells Of fountain "whence rises oil in such
abundance that a hundred ships might
be at once loaded with it. 1t
is not good for eating, but very fit
for fuel, for amounting the camels in NAL
for which reason people came from great |
distance for it, and nothing else is burned |
in all this country" At first the oil was
put in goatskins and carried on the backs |
of camels to the villages in the interior At |
4 later date barrels were used, and in them |
the oil was shipped from the port of Baku |
to the towns on the shores of the Caspian |
Sea- The exploitation of the American |
oil fields had the effect of infusing some |
life into the primitive workers on the |
peninsula of Apsheron, and of mildly ag-
itating the phlegmatic rulers of Russia. 1t |
was not until 1873 that, mainly through the |
efforts of Mr.. Nobel, energetic measures
were. taken to utilize the enormous |
deposits known to exist in the country. |
In 1880 the output was $3.50, 600 |
barrels; and two years later it, was
8, 600, 900 barrels. From that time progress
has been great, and during recent years
production has nearly equaled that of
America Some of the wells have yielded
supplies far in excess ofthe richest ''gushers"
ever drilled in Pennsylvania. From one of
them it is estimated the flow was $4,000
barrels in "a hours. But this was not
long maintained, and ultimately it
ceased altogether From Baku to Ba-
las been constructed across the Caucasus
l distance of about 900 miles-and by means
If it the refined oil is conveyed for ship
nent to Europe on the one hand, and to the
Instant East Oh the other. A pipe line has
,een recently laid portion of the way, and
IN its completion the cost of transit will be
much reduced.
England Wants Safeguards.
The greater part of the petroleum ex-
ported from America and Russia is carried
n tank steamers. This method was only
dopted a few years ago, and is found to be
nuch easier and cheaper than the barrel
ystem. The ocean steamers exclusively
ngaged in the trade number 20; and 100 ad-
Iitional are employed in the Caspian Sea-
The larger vessels carry from 5000 to 5000
ons. When a steamer arrives in port, the
ii is pumped into tanks on shore. The
anks are usually underground, and
vhen properly constructed reduce
he danger from fire to a minimum.
still, the absence of regulations
S to their situation and construction is con-
idered unsatisfactory by those responsible
or the public safety, and the London County
jouncil and other public bodies have petit
ioned the Government to frame suitable pro-
-isions for dealing with the industry. The
of the Home Secretary is the in
liquids bill, and he is desirous of |
aying it referred to select committee, who |
Tould be empowered to take evidence, and |
D remove provisions which were shown to |
e unnecessary, or which would press with
ndue severity on any section of the trade.
The Lamp Oil Industry.
AS illustrating the extent of the business
l lamp oils, the following figures, which
eal exclusively with the United Kingdom, ,
Iay be interesting. The importations of
etroleum and petroleum spirit or naphtha
uring the years 1888, 1889 and 1890 were:
Petroleum Oil in Barrels.