Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-02-23

leading experts ~ tho world on fis
fuensuofocni of deep veii fcmpcfaLnrQ
aud bis methods snd results are rtgsr,s4
by nclcntssia na most reliable
ftis experiments were conducted cbiea-
in the Lake ar1d GoT wells ~ West Fir-
vIfaa tho two deepest wells sn the world.
and q source II gfest pride o. American
scientists Until the Col well N Harrison
county West Flreinin, atss sunk CrIehcr~
in hibc heart If The Sisossn coal fialds. in
Gcrtnany. enjoyed Tho undispited DE-
tinciion of possseaing the deepest well IN
ihe world Tho German driIlefs sucooedcJ
in reaching depth u 73ss fcst al grnai
expense and after many year. ~ Wvrt.
The expense and length ~ tifne required
to drifl the CruebOw we'll, served o.
sffcotuai dotarrants to other oil 8sd coal
men from attempting 30 break The record
for deep we'll drilling. and for many yrarE
the German record was undigpificd.
But petroleum and natural gsss hnve q
compelling lure for the on rnyoD ard Btlet-
tist, lure that leads both ~ th m ~
dclvc deeper and deeper INTO tbe earth's
crust with vigivns ~ unlold wealth and
know ledge 30 lead thcfn on.
For many year.. Dr. / g. White, STATE
peolopist Of Wes; Virginia, snd his bYUthet
scientists. had eoniepded that thc rich
oil-hearina sands If OHIO. kuown o. thc
Clinton sands. could be found In Wcei
Niiginia AZ n depth ~ about 800 feet
Encouraged by Dr white and anxiuE
20 break The record held sD long by tlt
Cz1irhow well in Germany. John g. PeT.
president and general manager q ~
Hope Natural C,sg Company, determined
20 make an attempt ~ reAch these Bandg
The result If hrs ambition was thc tinf
well, located about eight miles out Oi
ClarkShurg. West Virgins This well
when operations were completed, bld
reached a then unheard ~ depth a 2 81
feet breaking the CrtichDw record ht
~ feef, but fsiling - produoe any ogi-
When The GofT wen Rad tecn COMPUTED
and the Czucbow record broken, the Hop
Natural Gas Company L.igii have bern
exniaed frtrn any further sttempt g.
reach The Citation sands. hui after VI
Pew had resigned, hig suooosr dc
ferrnined To try fer q new record. bcifrvrug
his efforts wonld bc amply repaid u M
iongcd for Clinton sands could - rcsrhc1.
RncouD DErrH srruvEp.
Tic nrv pros dent ~ the oorrpsr- VA
John B Corrfn an oil rrrsu n many year
syr,crlencc who knrv The btlsipess fhor
ourhIy. He sriccted as the field ~ hg
venture The Lake farm. fer uriis~ out ~
Fairrnont West Virgiuis. The boring of
this well continued until depth ~ z ,l57H
had been reached the doerseSt holc cvef
driven into the s,rrfsoe of the earth. tho
nearest man h.d ever bcorrae to The hear
Of the world
The scientists and ofl r--r -s-r en-
thnsisxt,o. their Objective vss only ~
feet away, the Ciiutp, sands ~ West
Virgins seemed sfsout IN t>r t0rfrsef but
at the moment when victory Heerned a.
most within their grasp, the s,des ~ Tho
wei eaved 10. covering the to-ole - TIE
bottom ~ the shaft and bresk,rg t7e
steel cable ~ p point ah-ouf 80 feef
below the de-rick fl1rr. TINS effestusliy
puttine an end N The drilling.
MIR Corrin believes that had the wsiis
been lined with pipe, there ~oHsd have
been little difficulty IN carrying the LAKE.
well 20 an ultimate depth of 9,oo or even
10000 feet.
OH men estimate that it costs anywhere
from FL 20 81 foot TO drill - well. ~
was on similar figures that Parsons bas'S
his estimate Of s2.5oDO. coo for bls prop.os-
ed twelve-rnile shaft, but both the Cor
and lake wells were drilled for = much
smaller sum
In recent statement. Mr. Corr7n
estimated that the Lake xsli, the deepcS'
in the world, had cost less than slA,S'b
while the Croff we'll bad cost about $4,000
Depth. therefore does not figure par
ticulariy in calculating the cost of drlinc
a we'll as a 3. go foot well in the Hanger
Oh fields of Texas cost $4,000
From the view point Df tho oil men the
Csoff and Lake wells were failures, a. they
failed 10 reach the coveted Clinton sand.
but to the scientists the wells have been Of
incaIeulable interest and value, enabling
them 70 conduct experiments nearer the
center of the earth than ever before
Probably the results Of the scientific In-
vestIgatIons conducted IN the wells Vtu
so far exceed the value OF the on they
might have produced that the drillers viii
feel amply repaid for their venture.
REACHING BOILING POINT.
Most valuable OF the experiments con-
ductcd SO far have been those 81 DR.. Van
Orstrand of the United States GeOiogicat
Survey. According To his Investigation
the Temperature IN both wells at about "
hundred feet Is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. thr
heat gradually increasing with the eddeU
depth until in the Goff well at = depth 81
1910 feet it reaches 1888 degrees fahreI-
heit. In the Lake well. however, % 9,'uu
feet the temperature Was only lost de-
grees Fahrenheit, Whlle at 81 feet ~ thc
Czuchow well it reached lS2. degrees.
These results convince DR.. Van pr-
strand that the temperature 1t the SAINT
depth in diffepnt localities varies, though
ne believes the boiling point IN each of tne
American wells could be reached st l0O0u
feet. In volcanic regions. of CotTsc, thu
boiling point would be much nearer the
surface rs IN LardarellO and IN Alaska
where a temperature Of 2i2 degrees can b.
found in certain wells at 8 little more than
60 feet.
II Mr.. Van Orstrand IS correct N his
belief that the boiling point hes only 10000
feet below the surface, then natures vas
resources Of energy lies Just at hand, wait
ing to he tapped for the benefit Of man
kind Through its Use the vast auanutlcs
of coal now burnt in generating steam for
motive power would nc saved, and tht
coal fields Of the world given a much long
er lease on life.
The source of the enormous quantity Of
heat stored in the center Of the earth D
not known, some scientists holding % d
due 10 the disintegTation of radium IN the
rocks, while others believe the earth IS
cooling globe. radisting heat developed
during condensation from the origins
nebuls. Still others contend that II Is du,
10 other causes, such as radiCactivity