The morning call., 1891-06-26
NOT WATER GAS.
Something AbOut the Natural Gas
That Supplies Stockton.

Under the heading of Natural Gas For
Power" the Independent Of last Wednes-
day morning contained an editorial article
on the advantages of natural gas to Stock
ton, its supply, ETC., which in the main was
correct. 1t contained a few errors, how
ever, as the information for the article evil
IDENTIFY was obtained by observation by the
writer of gas enterprises here and from local
alleged gas experts.
The writer speaks OF Stockton gas as
water gas and that of the East as dry
gas" as though they were two different ele-
ments and derived from different sources
That is a mistake, says the Stockton Record.
The gas strata underlying this city is the
same as that underlying the Eastern gas dis
tricts; the Trenton rock which overays the
porous gas-bearing rock in the Eastis found
here everything the same kind of porous rock
carrying dry gas, just the same as in the
East But when that cry gas strikes the
water of course it becomes water gas"
The Independent falls into the error of
asserting that the sinking Of gas wells here
is less expensive than In the East. The
contrary is the case. In the great dry gas
districts Of Ohio the average depth OF the
wells is less than 400 feet though one at
Toledo is 300 feet But at Finday. only
twenty-five miles south, and for distance
of forty miles in all directions from that
place the wells are but 1900 and 1900 feet
deep. There is no arteSian water to con-
tend with, neither is there any quickSapd.
First a strata Of limestone rock is encOun-
tered and then gravel beds and clay until
the Trenton rock is struck Here the casing
is stopped and the water shut off, when
boring proceeds dry. When the gas-bear-
ing rock has been penetrated about thirty
feet dynamite cartridge of sixty or one
hundred pounds is exploded in the bottom
of the we'll and the flow of gas by this
means Is in some Instances more than
doubled, and instead of being measured as
here by thousands OF feet it is done by
millions. None but screw casing-water
tights used.
When the gas-bearing rock in that region
is passed through, salt water is encountered,
the same as here, ana the we'll is either filed
up TO the gas strata or abandoned, as the
salt water destroys The gas.
In none of our gas wells has the flow been
increased by depth Of boring. after the gas
bearing rock has been passed. neither will
it ever be done, unless another strata of gas
bearing rock is encountered
AL the gas was originally in the porous
formation beneath the Trenton rock, and
when that rock is once passed and salt
water flows up the pipe, the well is injured.
The gas which is found In the first strata of
arteSian water is always weak as il has
been forced ND through seams in the rock to
that position, and as boring progresses each
successive stream Of water contains more
gas, until the porous rock where the princi-
pal supply is found is penetrated
Exactly the same conditions obtain in the
Eastern gas-felds, only there they have no
artesian water or quieksand to contend
against.
That there Is a heavy pressure Of gas be-
meath the surface in this city is evidenced
by the fact that it is forced up into all the
streams Of water for hundreds of feet above
and when the times come that a company OF
capitalists take hold of the matter and go TO
work in the right way from the start, gas
will be led up to the surface In its dry state,
and instead of being neulralZed or DESTROYED
by contact with salt water. Its full force
will be made available in supply similar
in magnitude to that of Eastern wells and
the Record predicts that within the coming
year the experiment of shutting off the
water and testing the gas bearing strata in
its natural dry form will be made with the
bappiest Of results.