Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-03-29

with sand or other debris at the bot.
tom of the well. The sand barrel is lei
down the well for the tailings about
three times every 12 hours.
There is a natural curiosity with
all as to the origin of petroleum. This
answer 1 gave in a measure at the
conclusion of a serial article on the
production of petroleum in the old
Roseburg Plaindealer a number of
years ago.
Origin Not Known.
1t is not the scope of this article to
enter into lengthy discussion of the
heretofore vexed question as to the
origin of petroleum, still it is in order
to give a short summary as to the
principal hypothesis by which the for
nation of petroleum has been explain
ed. The origin of petroleum has been
accounted for in three ways: BY the
chemical combination of inorganic
matter; by chemical change with or
without natural distillation of animal
matter; by chemical change with or
without natural distillation of vegeta-
BILE matter
The first of these hypotheses re-
quires that either petroleum must
have been originally produced by the
actual combination of carbon and hy-
drogen then existing in the "cosmical
matter" of which the earth is evolved,
or that it results from chemical reac-
=.
from the primitive elements, such as
the action of water on metallic car
bides The advocates of the first the
ory refer to the fact that hydrocar-
bons similar to those forming crude
oil have been found in the laboratory
by the action of water on metallic car
bides, notably that of steam on iron
carbide, also by the action of water on
calcium carbides.
According to the second hypothesis,
petroleum is derived from animal or
ganisms. Supporters of this theory
point out that it has been manufact7
ured in the laboratory from fish oils.
Also that it is found in lime stone rich
in animal remains, and that nitrogen
is constituent of many petroleums.
According to the third hypothesis,
petroleum is derived from vegetable
matter. The supporters of this theory
rely on the fact that petroleum has
been manufactured in the laboratory
from vegetables oils, from vapors aris-
ing from boiling varnish, and by the
1istillation of wood, and from decaying
from which air has been ex-
and that some petroleums are
rich in iodines.
Now, 1t is my opinion, formed partly
from experience, that the origin of Pc
.roleum was produced by the combina-
lion of the two last named hypothe- |
;es. And here is my reason for the con-
,lusion derived, which fact may be
new to former theorists on the ques- |
ion.
Here Is Authors Theory.
That there has been an alternate |
,hange from land to ocean, and ocean |
o land again, is a positive fact. Those |
changes have been constant, and have |
asted for hundreds of thousands of |
ears, and may continue to last for a
ike period, or longer.
1t is a well known fact that the
ocean is teeming with all kinds of salt
water life, some of 1t small insects
Iuch as the coral, and much of 1t so
mall that it is microscopic. 1t is also
/ we'll known fact that in the many
Millions of tons of earth that are
Washed by the rivers of the world into
he oceans each year, there are thous-
Inds of tons of animal and vegetable
organisms that go with 1t. Those
washes go to filling and leveling up
he bottoms of the oceans. thus rails
ng the waters of the oceans, so that
n many places they encroach on the
and, while the constant drainage of
he land diminishes the land height
nd size, so that in another period the
and will have become ocean again,
nd the ocean land.
1t is natural, therefore reasonable,
hat those series of sedimentary for
nations on the bottoms of the oceans,
with sea, animal and
egetable life. and washed land animal
nd vegetable life, all dead and chem
cally changed by natural distillation,
etroleum could be, and was, produce
d. That those naturally laid down
eds of sand which subsequently hard
ned into rock and other sediment that
-as metamorphosed into shales and
ther substances are rich in ocean and
md animal and vegetable matters, is
vident within itself. And that the
olcanic upheaval and the crumplIng .
( the earth by the contraction in it's
boiling has formed islands and con-
nents. is also self evident
In the sediments from the sand
ump we have found microscopic for
and diatomes, the skele-
ms Of which in some places are the
rinciple constituents OF stratas, hun !
reds Of feet in thickness. Distillation
animal and vegetable matter into !
stroleum in the earth is caused by -
70 agencies. volcanic temperature and
mperature from pressure Of un-
nOwn quantity.
Care In Choosing Location.
From my writing about some Of my
JDerienees In big gushers in the oil
Hts OF Pennsylvania. a test well OF
.gulatiOn derrick. engine. boiler.
,pe and tools was drilled in this
,unty. But ] was not consulted in It's
cation. No oil was found. A test well
as drilled in jackson county. No oil.
visited the well while Il was being
-illed. and before reaching the der
ck, I saw that IL was located near a
.ry ancient crater that had been
'oded and otherwise drffted over. OF
'urse no oil could be found In that
cation
During that year I put my hand in
my pocket and with the expenditure
over see visited the McKittrick.
akerEheid. New Hall and Los Angeles
} producing belts. to drlfm capital
ID experienced men. including drill
= and tool dressers to cone TO this