The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-07
NEW DISCOVERIES IN OIL
Scientists Discuss the Real Source
Of This Commodity.
Some Contend That 1t Is Produced
by Animal Fnt. While Others Ar
que That Vegetable and Mineral
Properties Are Responsible for IT.

The recent discoveries of oil in Texas.
Wyoming and California are regarded
with compIacence at the United States
Geological Survey. not only because they
VIII add millions to the Visible wealth Of
the country. but because they furnish adj
ditionaI fields for investigation into the
source and origin of the various grades
Of oil
1t IS not unprecedented at the Survey Blu
Teau that the new discoveries will lower
the price of ell or the value of the stand
ard oil stock a fraction. 1t is believed
The product Of the new field viii be alb
sorbed largely by neighboring localities
and that with the ever-increasing demand
and the constantly widening field for the
consumption Of both crude and refined oil
the prices of the oil viii be maintained
steadily. unless there should be some
great new field in the oil fields of Penn
syfvanIa or the Middle States. The oil
wells Of Texas and Wyoming will draw
new populations, which. in turn, viii be
supported by the oil wells and these dis
coveries viii benefit the State in popuEa-
ton, Is well as in wealth. a market will
he found near the Texas field for
much of its product. Hitherto the South
ern Pacific Railroad has been burning
| coal brought at great expense from the
/ coaIfe1ds Of Alabama and Arkansas No
4 coal deposit is found along its route. But
/ oil at 90 cents barrel. or therea bouts.
/ is much cheaper fuel than coal hauled
from distant fields. so tanks are being
| erected all along the line for storing the
/ OIL and soon the locomotives on that road
VIII burn oil, as they have been doing for
some time in Southern California
/ The oil IS carried in the tender like
/ water, and is forced by steam under the
boiler tubes in a fine spray mixed with
/ compressed air The fame is several feet
/ from the nozzle and the flow can be reg
/ lated as easily as that Of gas. There being
( perfect combustion there is no dirt, refuse
/ OF smoke and the duties of a fireman be
/ come almost nominal. Although America
/ yields now less than half the petroleum
product of the world it leads the world.
] as its oil Is Of so much superior quality It
/ IS said the Russian oil producers. whose
/ fields are as productive as those Of this
/ country, are making overtures to the
/ Standard Oil Company 30 absorb them, so
that an oil monopoly Of the world may be
/ a possibility within the next few years
( There is no fear Of failure Of the supply
/ of oil. as the present fields appear to be
/ good for many years to come. and it is OK
/ pected new fields viii be opened from time
I to time as the old ones are exhausted
/ With all the study and original research
! which has been going on for many years in
/ connection with petroleum there is much
/ ignorance on the subject Where 1t can be
/ found. whence it comes. and its origin are
/ all unanswered questions When a g2lsher
Is struck it spouts a black fluid known as
/ oil" This may be a compound Of 50 or
/ TO different oils. which have to be sePa-
/ rated as far as possible before being mar
keted. The qualities and characteristics of
LII
( often IN the same well. the yield from one
/ stratum being different from that Of an
I other lower down. The oil OF the United
/ States IS entirely different from that found
in Russia, Java. or Peru. which fact sub
stimulates the theory that the several oils
have different origins.
one Of the theories as to the source Of
oil is that it comes from the fat Of animals
or Ezh which had been squeezed out or
distilled through countless ages TO be col
lected in the oil sands
Experimenting on this line in an effort
to verify the theory. Warren and StOreT
took menhaden oil and, through dIstiIIa-
( ton. produced d kerosene which they
/ marketed without its artificial nature be
ing discovered IN 1855. Engier distilled
under pressure half ton OF menhaden on,
from which he obtained petroleum dlSJii-
. IaLeS- The distiliate WIS brown but HuOr-
. esceut Sixty per cent consisted OF Satu-
( rated hydrocarbons, from which ne $50
Z lated and identified number OF oils US
uaIr contained in the products OF certain
! oil fields He also purified the product s.nd
{ made good kerosene oil NOT Satisiieg
/ with this he went further and showed
I that other fats as Olelu- VIII EleId petTo-
J IefIrD so that fish oils are not essential
Ordinary fats, through simple heating
break up so that the oxygen unIteS with
} part Of the hydrogen TO form water, ieaF-
ing the carbon and part OF the hydIos -
. in about the proportion to form paTafuL
. oils Considering the ease with WiIfch pc
+ treIeum oils can be obtained from idlS
/ and the plentiful supply OF such tatS IN
. the animal remains of which there IS eVi-
dpDCp in many oil rocks, il is not SuTprlS-
/ ing that the opinion has gained ground
I favoring the animal source OF the line
: stone oils OF Ohio Indiana ana tsitls'it
Another theory that the oil Is from veg
[ etabIc matter is apparently sustained IN
/ the case Of the Russian fields. where the
oils contain a substance similar TO the d3s-
ffIlar5on products Of coal tar, SuCh as ben
zoIe Decay wing vegetable matter leaves
an ever increasing layer at the bottom OF
/ q peat bog. which growing cenSeT, gives
! an r1nbroken graduation into all Kinds OF
coal This method Of storing up tuet SuS-
/ eyests the proba bility that some form OF
similar vegetable decay mas also SleioeH
There are scientists who discard both Of
these theories and ascTIbe the origin OF
oil to chemical causes entirely nose az
. herring to the vegetable and animal tat
theories are largely gcologists, while the
advocates of mineral and chemical origin
DTlUEfrdiiE tIltlIlt1NsS- - - 49,
with hydrocarbons have resulted in OBJ
tanning a gas closely related to petroleum
T3etheI0r claimed our petroleum hydrocar-
hons were made originally by either car
homie acid or caTbOnatcs at a red heat
I coming into contact with alkah metals
This he claimed produced caTbides- and
I then these reacting with water gave by
/ drocarbOns: or. perhaps simply by water
+ charged with carboniC acid hltering into
the region Of aIkaH metals, both reactions
. took place at once. It has been found
that iron or suIphide of iron. acting on
water containing carbOuic acid, VIII give
( an oiI-like petroleum. as viii carbide
. Of iron when treated with sulphuric or by
/ dr0chIoric acid. or even boiling water
| The theory has been advanced as to the
/ origin of the Pennsylvania oil fields that
the petrOIeuns Of PenLsg lvania owe their
I origin to the effect Of heat upon the un-
( deriving IimestOnes and shales of the Sifu-
/ rian age 1t is claimed that the same
/ force which caused the Appalachian chain
/ to t1vIiFt. passing through the limeStoneS
and shaICS Of the SiluTiaH age at a modi-
( fed temperature, distilled the oil already
I contained in these shaleS and cOnglomer-
ate sands Of the DevOnian age. where 1t
was condensed and filtered, and found its
/ home in the open, porous congl0merites
which characterize the Catskili, Portage,
( and Chemung PERIODS Of the DeVCnian
/ age
| II therefore, seems to be an open queS-
( ton as &c whether oil is of mineral. Vege-
| table or animal origin, and it VIII doubt
less remain open for some time TO come
Roanoke Wants the Convention.
| ROANOKE. Va, May Roanoke wants