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By Niels Hansen

Dispersion-strengthened sintered aluminum products are normally manufactured from surface-oxidized aluminum powder, SAP,' or from atomized aluminum powder.' The powder-blending technique consisting in mechanical mixing of the constituents has been used in the manufacture of numerous dispersion-strengthening alloys, but has never been successfully applied to aluminum alloys. This technique may, however, be applicable if it is possible to produce an unagglomerated mixture of the constituents in the form of fine powders, and the present study was initiated to test this assumption in the aluminum/aluminum oxide system.3 Table I lists the two grades of aluminum powder and the aluminum oxide powder used in the manufacture of the alloys. MD 105 A is an aluminum powder with an average grain size less than 5 IJ., which is isolated from the MD 105 powder by centrifugal separation in cyclohexanol. The aluminum powders and the aluminum oxide were blended in a high-speed blender and then subjected to cold compaction and hot compaction at 550" to 600°C. Subsequently the compacts were hot-extruded with an extrusion ratio of 15 to 1. The alloys were evaluated by tensile testing at room temperature and at 400°C, microscopic examination, and heat treatment at 500°C followed by tensile testing at room temperature. For the purpose of comparison, a commercial SAP quality supplied by Swiss Aluminium Ltd. was tested in the same manner. The tensile data at room temperature and at 400°C are plotted in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 as a function of the weight percent of oxide. The oxide content

Jan 1, 1964

Seventy-one delegates, representing 74 organizations with a membership in excess of 105,000, attended a conference of technical societies, in Chicago, Apr. 23-25. It was called by Engineering Council, and unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress to establish a Department of Public Works. This would include the services and bureaus having to do chiefly, with matters of engineering and architecture. Among the bureaus, services, and activities, which logically belong to a Department of Public Works, are the following: Bureau of Public Roads; the United States Reclamation Service; the Alaskan Engineering Commission; the Construction Division of U. S. Army; a Bureau of River, Harbor and Canal work, including such functions as are now exercised by the Mississippi River Commission and the California Debris Commission; a Bureau of Architecture; a Bureau of Surveys, including the Coast and Geodetic Survey; a Bureau of Mines; the Geological Survey; the Forest Service, at least until the same is divorced from the supervision of water powers and road building; and the Bureau of Standards. Later, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: RESOLVED, That this conference be known as the Engineers, Architects, and Constructors Conference on National Public Works; that it continue in existence until dissolved by its own action and that its officers and committees be empowered to further the organization and development of a National Department of Public Works. RESOLVED, That for the purpose of furthering the passage of a bill for the creation of a National Department of Public Works there be set tip by this Conference an Executive Committee, a Committee on Text of Bill, and a Campaign Committee. The Executive Committee shall have the power to create a Finance Committee and other committees and to add to its own membership or to that of its committees.

Jan 6, 1919

The regular activities of the Institute are financed mainly by income derived from members' dues, from advertising in MINING AND METALLURGY, and from the sale of publications to the public. In addition, collateral activities and special projects are financed each year by means of income from endowed funds controlled and administered by the Institute. In the aggregate, the principal sums of these endowments amount to more than $530,000. An active effort is being made to in¬crease the endowment funds of the Institute through a standing committee, of which H. T. Hamilton is chairman, and of which the other members are: W. H. Aldridge, George D. Barron, Cleveland E. Dodge, D. C. Jackling, Henry Krumb and J. V. W. Reynders. This committee feels that there exists a tremendous opportunity for the Institute to be of ever-growing service to the public, to the mineral industries, and to the profession. It welcomes suggestions as to names of men of means who are vitally interested in the mineral industries, and to whom the opportunity to make a contribution or bequest might appeal favorably if presented in the proper light by the committee.

Jan 1, 1944

F. J. DE WILDE, Galena, Ill. (written discussion *) .-As it is impossible to spare the time for a lengthy discusson of this excellent paper, I am dwelling only on points where either the information is not clear or opinion differs radically from that of the authors. On page 1218, relative to oil rock, the authors state that the presence of oil rock is always taken as a favorable indication of proximity to ore. As thick, highly carbonaceous, oil rock has been found quite often in isolated patches outside of the district proper, the mere presence of oil rock is not always an indication of the propinquity to ore deposits. Regarding glass rock, I agree with the authors, that, generally speak-ing, sphalerite in the glass rock is spotty; however, they fail to mention that nearly all mines contain more or less ore in the glass rock, the usual location being near the toe of the pitch. On page 1220, they say that disseminated deposits are only found in, or close to, the oil rock. To refute this statement, I refer them to a typical disseminated deposit situated at the Adam and Eve shaft of the Frontier Mining Co. This deposit is located in the central horizon of the Galena dolomite, that is, in those sedimentaries containing flint nodules. Perfect crystals of sphalerite are found disseminated through-out the rock, and are commonly known by the miners as strawberry jack. I believe all top runs, or upper deposits as described above, should be classed as disseminated; physically the ore makes its occurrence in just such a manner.

Jan 11, 1919

The Institute makes liberal provision for inclusion of engineering students through individual Student Associate membership. Such members pay $2 per year, receive MINING AND METALLURGY, may purchase Technical Publications at reduced rates, have the privilege of attending all meetings and are furnished a distinctive badge in the form of a watch fob. Provision is also made for the affiliation of organized student societies in recognized schools of engineering, chemistry, geology and related sciences. In order to qualify for affiliation it is not necessary that all members of the society become Student Associates since the individual members of the society are not listed as members of the Institute. However, a large majority of the members of many of the societies are also Student Associate Members of the Institute. Among the things that the Institute does for the affiliated societies are the following: (a) A copy of each issue of MINING AND METALLURGY is furnished to the society; (b) Reports of the meetings and activities of the society are reported in MINING AND METALLURGY; (c) Assistance is given by the Institute in obtaining speakers for the meetings of the society; (d) The name of the society and of its officers is listed in the annual Directory and other publications of the Institute; and (e) Members of the society are given the use of the Engineering Societies Employment Service. Student organizations, desiring to be recognized as affiliated student societies of the Institute, should make application to the Secretary, giving particulars as to the nature of their organization, of their membership, and their officers. The accompanying list on page 21 gives the names of the affiliated student societies, their presidents and their secretaries, as of April 16, 1933.

Jan 1, 1932

By A. U. Seybolt

A. U. Seybolt (General Electric Research Laboratory)— As pointed out in an earlier paper,41 it appears to be very difficult to nucleate Si3N4 in Si-Fe of silicon content up to around 5 pet. Therefore, one observes, as did Pearce, that equilibrations with nitrogen gas yield only nitrogen in solid solution at temperatures above about 700°C, or, as Pearce found, 770°C. Evidently, the free energy of formation of Si3N4 only becomes high enough at -770°C to overcome the reluctance of Si3N4 to nucleate. However, as mentioned in Ref. 41, if some Si3N4 is first formed by a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen, one can then replace this gas mixture by nitrogen gas, and either increase or decrease the amount of Si3N4 present at any temperature by suitable adjustment of nitrogen pressure: that is, to equilibrate with Si3N4. In the equilibration experiments cited in Ref. 41, equilibrium was approached from both sides, and it was found that samples up to 944oC, at least, were in equilibrium with Si3N4. Higher temperatures were not employed, as this would have necessitated a redesign of the apparatus for using nitrogen pressures in excess of 1 atm. To summarize, the results of Pearce's experiments and those of Ref. 41 cannot be directly compared because two quite different equilibria were studied. Therefore, the statement by Pearce on p. 1398 indicating apparent error in Ref. 41 is unjustified. M. L. Pearce (author's reply)— There was limited evidence obtained in the current investigation which would indicate that excessive "supercooling" did not occur. A small piece of the same resulting from heat treatment No. 5 in Table III was subsequently held at 800°C for 16 hr in 95 pet N-5 pet H. Isotope-

Jan 1, 1964

By Walter Kauenhowen

Germany's crude oil production during 1935 totaled 3,007,711 bbl., an increase of 36.6 per cent over the 2,202,214 bbl. produced in 1934. The Nienhagen-Haenigsen field furnished 77 per cent of the total 1935 production. Cumulative production figures for Germany's two most important oil fields, Wietze and Nienhagen, show that during the period from 1872 to the close of 1935 the Wietze field produced 13,325,536 bbl. and the Nienhagen field 9,340,870 bbl. Table 1 gives statistics of German production since 1928, arranged both by fields and by oil provinces. Fig. 1 demonstrates the production of the various German fields since 1890. New Fields Discovered During 1935 five new fields came into production. The first of these, the Moelme-Hoheneggelsen field near Hanover, was opened up in April. This region has been sporadically drilled for oil since 1882, but not until 1935 was production on a commercial scale obtained. The oil comes from Mesozoic sandstones on the flanks of a shallow salt plug. Also during April, oil was found in commercial quantities in the Rhine valley at Forst, near Bruchsal. Tertiary and Mesozoic sandstones cut by faults of the Rhine Graben form the reservoir structures in this area. In July a wildcat well drilled on the Fallstein structure, a broad Triassic anticline near Halberstadt, came in as a producer from Permian (Zechstein) dolomite. In September commercial oil mas found at Gifhorn, near Braunschweig, in Wealden sandstones associated with a shallow, geophysically discovered salt plug. During the same month production was obtained at Heide, in Holstein, from the Permian Rotlie-gendes formation, in a structural high on which oil seepages have been known for years. Drilling Activities Published information indicates that during 1935 drilling totaled 574,000 ft., as compared with 436,000 ft. in 1934; 233,000 ft. in 1933 and 151,000 ft. in 1932. The German Government is subsidizing wildcat

Jan 1, 1936

By Frank C. Greene

The results of drilling in Missouri in 1938 are overshadowed by the leasing activity in northern Missouri, which began about the middle of the year. Nothing like it has ever been witnessed by the oil industry. With no production except a minor amount of gas, and with no drilling except in Clay, Platte and Marion Counties, a leasing campaign has embraced most of the counties north of the Missouri River and spread into southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas. It is reported that nearly all farms that could be leased without payment of a bonus have been leased, mostly on 10-yr. contracts, and at the end of the year a policy of bonus paying is in effect. Many of the major oil companies are leasing in the area and at least 15 of them are represented by scouts. Similarity to the Illinois Basin, low-priced leases and low drilling costs are among the reasons advanced for the leasing activity. Drilling activity in Missouri increased nearly two-thirds over 1937, with a total of 164 completions. The main activity was the extension of the "shoestring" of the so-called Bartlesville gas pool in Jackson County. It now seems that this sand is probably at the horizon of the Burbank sand. A new Squirrel sand oil pool was discovered in Jackson County. Cass County had five oil wells, with 63 bbl. initial production, four gas wells with 542,000 cu. ft. initial open flow, and 15 dry holes. Jackson County had three oil wells, with 24 bbl. initial production, 56 gas wells with 52,021,168 cu. ft. initial open flow and 57 dry holes. In Vernon County seven oil wells, with about 36 bbl. initial production, and two dry holes were completed. The oil production dropped off very quickly. In counties where wildcatting was carried on, new production was found. Clay County had seven dry holes, Hickory and Marion one each; Platte, four and St. Clair, two.

Jan 1, 1939

By Joseph C. Buchen

In principle, productiorl of salt from sea water is a simple operation. The sun and wind cause evaporation of sea water trapped in ponds, and what is left is principally salt. Commercial production, however, requires consideration of many factors. First is a high consistent annual rate of evaporation, as well as large areas of suitable low-lying ground close to economical shipping facilities. The south end of San Francisco Bay has these requisites. Large ponds are built, by using clamshell dredges to build up levees to a height of approximately 3 ft. on ground usually lower than sea level, so that the water may be taken in through tide gates without pumping. Ponds are divided into extremely large concentrating ponds and smeller crystallizing ponds. Approximately ten times more area is required for concentrating than for crystallizing. The concentrating ponds are irregular in shape and size but the crystallizing ponds are rectangular and fairly regular in size, to aid in harvesting. The ocean water is taken into the first of a series of concentrating ponds and gradually moved forward from pond to pond as it increase:: in density, reaehing the crystallizing area as a saturated brine. This brine is pumped into the crystallizer at the beginning of the net evaporating season, usually in May, and further evaporation causes its sodium chloride content to deposit on the bottoms of the ponds. The brine must be drawn off and a fresh supply added from time to time to prevent other undesirable salts from depositing with the sodium chloride. Harvesting usually begins near the end of August and now is accomplished almost entirely by mechanical means. After harvesting, the salt is stored in large sbockpiles until required for shipping or refining. The greatest amount is used for industrial purposes and is shipped without any processing other than screening, but all salt for domestic use produced by the Leslie Salt Co. is refined by the racuum process, giving a produet consistently testing over 09.9 per cent sodium chloride.

Jan 1, 1938

By Wm. Hamilton Merritt

With the exception of the Vancouver Island coal, all the western coal-fields owe their present development to the completion, in the autumn of 1886, of the Canadian Pacific railroad. While it could not be expected that a very great deal could be accomplished in three years, enough has been done to pretty thoroughly establish the coal-bearing areas and their correspondence with those which have been developed to the south of the boundary along the lines of the transatlantic railroads in the United States. This summer I visited some of the important developments in the coal areas of Washington Territory, largely with the object of being better able to appreciate the corresponding coal-bearing areas in British Columbia to the north. In Western Canada, coal-bearing rocks have been found in three zones: 1. In the plains to the east of the Rocky Mountains and in the eastern flanking ranges, the coal occurs in the Cretaceous formation (including the Laramie). 2. In the interior plateau of British Columbia, the coal is found in the Tertiary formation. 3. On the coast of British Columbia, Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks are found carrying coal, and on the Island of Vancouver the well known Nanaimo coal has been worked for years in the first named formation. In all of these zones, the coals vary from lignites up to higher grades, the factor determining quality being the amount of pressute to which they have been subjected. The intensity of this pressure is generally shown by the disturbance which the coals exhibit, and, in many cases, is almost directly in proportion to the distance of the deposits from mountain ranges. This seems to be also the opinion expressed by Mr. Bailey Willis in connection with his Census Report on the coals of Washington. It has been elsewhere stated

Jan 1, 1890

D. B. DOWLING,* Ottawa, Ont.-I do not propose to start any argument, but really there is a comeback to what Mr. Coste says.1 Geography is probably not geology, but geology is geography. You cannot regard structure as geography on the surface, but it is geology as soon as you get under the surface. In Canada, it is quite true that they went too close to the Rocky Mountains. When boring in the foothills, as Mr. Coste says, they were too close to the mountains where they got into a faulted area, and if there had been storage, it probably would have lost a good deal of the oil. The situation in the Calgary field is one that might be interpreted in many ways, but in front f the foothills there is a very deep syncline. The gas and oil that is recovered on the edge of the, foothills is of such a nature that we must assume that it is not the pure crude oil. It seems to be somewhat refined, or a condensation product. The solution, or at least the argument that appeals to me, is that as the deeper part of that basin is, say, 6000 ft. below sea level, there must have been some breaking up of the oil on account of pressure and of the heat, and we are getting gas, traveling up toward the surface in the foothills; and as it comes up, it probably condenses again, and is caught in folds on the edge of the syncline so that we have a natural condensing machine there. The oil is not found on the eastern side of the folds, it is found on the western side. On the eastern side and on the summit there is a little light oil, gasoline, we will say, blowing into the well once in a while; now that looks like a natural condensation of the gas and a storage behind the summit.

Jan 5, 1919

By A. B. Parsons

This YEAR BOOK, which is sent to every member, contains the roster of officers and the principal standing committees, brief summaries of the proceedings of the Annual Meeting and of the regional and divisional meetings, abstracts of papers published during-the-year, and a classified list of TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and CONTRIBUTIONS, as well as an index of all material published by the Institute in 1935 in these separate forms, in TRANSACTIONS and In MINING AND METALLURGY, the monthly magazine. The two volumes published for the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund are also represented by many items in the index. The necrology, which has appeared in the YEAR BOOK for two years past, will be pub¬lished in the. DIRECTORY, in the spring of 1936. Four volumes, 114 through 117, of the TRANSACTIONS are 1935 publications,-the subjects being, in the order named, Petroleum Development and Technology, Mining Geology, Iron and Steel, Founding and Metallography of Nonferrous Metals (Institute of Metals Division). The Mine Plant volume, which was authorized for publication by the Rocky Mountain Fund, and which was offered as an alternative to a TRANSACTIONS volume, was unavoidably delayed. It will, however, be published as a 1935 volume, and will be distributed as early as possible in 1936. The sixth volume in the A.I.M.E. Series, published under the auspices of the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund, is Coal through the Ages, by. Howard N. Eavenson; the seventh, Modern Uses of Nonferrous Metals,. which has twenty-two authors and was edited by Dr. C. H. Mathewson. Also, it was necessary in 1935 to have a second printing of the first Rocky Mountain Fund volumes, published in 1933-The Porphyry Coppers, and .Ore Deposits of the Western States (Lindgren Volume). The papers for the Iron and Steel and Institute of Metals Divisions have been issued as TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS distributed under the binding Of METALS TECHNOLOGY in the months of January, February, April, June, August, September, October, December. This plan of distribution will be continued in 1936 for these two groups.

Jan 1, 1936

By L. D. Godshall

The extreme difficulty of obtaining a short and, at the same time, exact method for the determination of gold and silver in copper-materials has been well illustrated in "Assays of Copper and Copper-Matte," and its discussion, by Dr. A. R. Ledoux and other leading authorities on this subject.* Two general methods were used by the numerous assayers who took part in the symposium initiated by Dr. Ledoux, and whose results are given in the paper and discussion. One of these is the dry or fire-method, consisting of scorification and cupellation, the former being repeated if the percentage of copper is very high, all slags and cupels being assayed and the results so obtained added to the ordinary assay; and the copper retained by the silver buttons being determined and deducted from the combined weight of the buttons obtained from the assay of the original material, the scorification-slag, and the cupel. The other is the wet or combination-method, which, while not involving so much work, requires a longer time. Briefly, it is as follows : The material to be assayed is dissolved in nitric acid, the solution is diluted, and the fine undissolved gold is collected by means of sulphate of lead, formed by the addition of lend acetate and sulphuric acid to the solution, After standing from 12 to 24 hours, the precipitate is filtered off, and the silver in the filtrate is precipitated as a chloride or bromide, and collected by means of sulphate or bromide of lead. The solution containing this precipitate in suspension is again allowed to stand until the precipitate has settled. It is then filtered; both precipitates, containing the gold and silver, are dried, ignited and scorified, either separately or together, and the result is cupelled in the usual way.

Jan 1, 1901

By Walter Kauenhowen

Germany's crude oil production during 1935 totaled 3,007,711 bbl., an increase of 36.6 per cent over the 2,202,214 bbl. produced in 1934. The Nienhagen-Haenigsen field furnished 77 per cent of the total 1935 production. Cumulative production figures for Germany's two most important oil fields, Wietze and Nienhagen, show that during the period from 1872 to the close of 1935 the Wietze field produced 13,325,536 bbl. and the Nienhagen field 9,340,870 bbl. Table 1 gives statistics of German production since 1928, arranged both by fields and by oil provinces. Fig. 1 demonstrates the production of the various German fields since 1890. New Fields Discovered During 1935 five new fields came into production. The first of these, the Moelme-Hoheneggelsen field near Hanover, was opened up in April. This region has been sporadically drilled for oil since 1882, but not until 1935 was production on a commercial scale obtained. The oil comes from Mesozoic sandstones on the flanks of a shallow salt plug. Also during April, oil was found in commercial quantities in the Rhine valley at Forst, near Bruchsal. Tertiary and Mesozoic sandstones cut by faults of the Rhine Graben form the reservoir structures in this area. In July a wildcat well drilled on the Fallstein structure, a broad Triassic anticline near Halberstadt, came in as a producer from Permian (Zechstein) dolomite. In September commercial oil mas found at Gifhorn, near Braunschweig, in Wealden sandstones associated with a shallow, geophysically discovered salt plug. During the same month production was obtained at Heide, in Holstein, from the Permian Rotlie-gendes formation, in a structural high on which oil seepages have been known for years. Drilling Activities Published information indicates that during 1935 drilling totaled 574,000 ft., as compared with 436,000 ft. in 1934; 233,000 ft. in 1933 and 151,000 ft. in 1932. The German Government is subsidizing wildcat

Jan 1, 1936

By F. M. Lewis, J. F. Meyers

In the mining and handling of sulphide ores, some degree of oxidation takes place on the sulphide surfaces, which are exposed to the atmosphere. It is, moreover, well known that the oxidation compounds formed are a factor when such ores are subsequently treated by flotation. Modern operating technique and reagents are capable of contending with this condition to a major degree, provided that the proportions of the reagents used are varied correctly. This is particularly true at the Tennessee Copper Co., where the ore treated contains pyrrhotite in addition to other sulphides. A number of soluble salts, some of which are unstable, can be formed during the oxidation of the sulphide ores. Those unstable salts, whose oxygen requirements are unsatisfied, are constantly changing to more stable forms because oxygen reacts with them during the crushing, grinding and other operations of ore preparation. We add no chemicals of any kid to the ore pulp in its preparation for flotation feed. Consequently the only compounds that are present in the flotation feed are those produced by the natural oxidation of the ore in the presence of air and water. The Tennessee Copper Co. ore is composed of from 60 to 70 per cent sulphides and from 40 to 30 per cent non-sulphide material. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the nature of these various oxygen-sulphur compounds nor their effect on flotation, but to describe a method for correcting the effect. Suffice it to say that we have found that the reducing sulphur and oxygen salts have a depressing action on our bulk flotation process.' From long experience we find that the best means of correcting for this variation in our work is to increase or decrease the quantity of xanthate, the promoting agent, as the quantity of the reducing salts increases or decreases. It was, therefore, very desirable to provide the operators with some quick and

Jan 1, 1947

E. S. MOORE (author's reply to discussion*).-I have read with much interest Dr. W. F. Smeeth's criticism' of my article on the air blasts in the Kolar Gold Field, India. However, before answering the questions he asked, I should like to suggest that possibly the phrase "difference of opinion" might be substituted for the word "misapprehension" when applied to my statement that the matrix of the conglomerate resembles a hornblende schist. This conglomerate is certainly regarded as a metamorphosed sediment. Dr. Evans, who has had wide experience with metamorphic rocks, has regarded this as a clastic rather than an autoclastic rock and mentions it as a probable glacial deposit2 and similar to the Lower Huronian conglomerate of North America. I was greatly impressed by the similarity between this rock and the bands of Huronian conglomerate in the United States and Canada where metamorphism has rendered the matrix of the rock schistose. It was scarcely intended that the word basal, as used in my text, should be extended to the Kolar field, although possibly it may be equally applicable there. The word is so frequently used on this continent for the Lower Huronian conglomerate, which in many places is the basal formation of the predominantly sedimentary Proterozoic group, overlying the more largely igneous Archeozoic rocks, that it was inadvertently used without special stratigraphic significance for the Kolar area. In reply to Dr. Smeeth's question as to how the conglomerate indicates a syncline, it would seem that if there is present in a closely folded area a band of sediment that is younger than the surrounding rocks, it must be in a syncline in those rocks. As to an apparent contradiction in the statement on page 693 regarding the compressive stress, it does not seem that such contradiction exists; I think every one will take the same meaning as Dr. Smeeth has taken, which is exactly what was intended.

Jan 12, 1918

RUfUs J. Foster, Scranton, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*) :—In answer to one of the inquiries made of Mr. Conner, and as a matter of historical record, I beg to say that the idea of supporting the strata over worked-out areas in coalmines by flushing the openings full of culm originated and was put into actual practice by the late R. C. Luther, a former member of the Institute, at that time Chief Mining Engineer, and later General Manager, of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. In the early 80's the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. purchased from Messrs. Hecksher & Co. the Eohinoor colliery, situated in the western part of the borough of Shenan-doah, Pa. On taking possession of the colliery the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. made a conlplete resurvey of the mine-workings, giving an absolutely correct map which showed not only the plan of the mine-workings, but also every improvement on the surface over the workings, and the marked features of the surface of the ground. Tidal elevations were shown at every eurvey-station in the mine and on the surface, so that, as is the case with all the maps of the company, contour-maps of either the surface or the bottom of any coal-seam, or geological cross-sections, could be constructed directly from the information on the mine-maps. In a cornparatively short time after the company took possession of the colliery, the workings which extended under the western portion of the borough of Shenandoah began to cause trouble and damage dwellings and other buildings in that section of the town. The lots in this section had been sold, in many cases, to individuals by the Gilbert & Shaefer Estate, owners of the coal-lands on which the colliery was located. In

Jan 1, 1912

By H. W. Imholz

Considerable stimulation was given to the interest in the lower producing zones of the North Central Texas area when several wildcat wells developed production in these formations. The Iron Mountain and Humble-Olander well in sec. 196, B.B.B. and C. survey, Jones County, Texas, had a potential of 7500 bbl. (after a 3000-gal. acid treatment) from the Palo Pinto limestone encountered from 3238 to 3250 ft. This well heightened the prospects for oil in commercial quantities in the Canyon, Strawn, Bend and Ellenburger formations in the adjoining counties of Shackelford, Haskell, Throckmorton and others. The Hickok-Van Parmer well in sec. 477 S.P.R.R. Co. survey, Eastland County, Texas, was good for 1040 bbl., natural, from the Ellen-burger limestone, encountered from 4024 to 4033 feet. The Hal Hughes-Cook and Jordan (Poindexter) well in sec. 350, block 6, S.P.R.R. Co. survey, Callahan County, flowed 890 bbl. in 9 hr., after acid treatment, from the Ellenburger limestone, encountered from 4369 to 4388 feet. Both of the Ellenburger wells apparently are maintaining the pressure and volume of their original potential tests, and will no doubt open up considerable area in the adjoining counties for prospecting to the Ellen-burger limestone. Production increased in the district from 12,081,871 bbl. in 1936 to 15,384,500 bbl. The increase was due to developments in Jones and Jack Counties. Jack County production increased from 896,680 bbl. in 1936 to 3,117,063 in 1937, while Jones County increased from 1,596,743 bbl. in 1936 to 2,289,322 in 1937. The remaining counties of the district showed a slight decrease in the amount of oil produced.

Jan 1, 1938

By Frank C. Greene

The results of drilling in Missouri in 1938 are overshadowed by the leasing activity in northern Missouri, which began about the middle of the year. Nothing like it has ever been witnessed by the oil industry. With no production except a minor amount of gas, and with no drilling except in Clay, Platte and Marion Counties, a leasing campaign has embraced most of the counties north of the Missouri River and spread into southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas. It is reported that nearly all farms that could be leased without payment of a bonus have been leased, mostly on 10-yr. contracts, and at the end of the year a policy of bonus paying is in effect. Many of the major oil companies are leasing in the area and at least 15 of them are represented by scouts. Similarity to the Illinois Basin, low-priced leases and low drilling costs are among the reasons advanced for the leasing activity. Drilling activity in Missouri increased nearly two-thirds over 1937, with a total of 164 completions. The main activity was the extension of the "shoestring" of the so-called Bartlesville gas pool in Jackson County. It now seems that this sand is probably at the horizon of the Burbank sand. A new Squirrel sand oil pool was discovered in Jackson County. Cass County had five oil wells, with 63 bbl. initial production, four gas wells with 542,000 cu. ft. initial open flow, and 15 dry holes. Jackson County had three oil wells, with 24 bbl. initial production, 56 gas wells with 52,021,168 cu. ft. initial open flow and 57 dry holes. In Vernon County seven oil wells, with about 36 bbl. initial production, and two dry holes were completed. The oil production dropped off very quickly. In counties where wildcatting was carried on, new production was found. Clay County had seven dry holes, Hickory and Marion one each; Platte, four and St. Clair, two.

Jan 1, 1939

By P. Martignan

THE year 1923 has seen new developments in the only French wells, i.e., those of Pechelbronn, Alsace. The output of the two pits now in operation totaled more than 75,000 tons, although there was a two months' strike. It is expected that 1924 will see an output of 85,000 tons; and 1925, 100,000 tons. A new pit has just been put in operation (fourth pit; the third not being in operation). The oil and the oil sands are extracted at a depth of 350 meters. Special attention has been given to the development of the distillation and refinery plants, particularly the manufacturing of lubricating oils. The present output of the lubricating-oil factories is approximately 20,000 tons neutral oils; 20,000 tons spindle oils, together with 2000 tons of paraffin. Engineers are introducing the most modern American processes of refinery and distillation. The company has 3000 employees. The capital of the company has just been increased from 45,000,000 francs to 81,000,000 francs. Some other drilling has been done in the Auvergne and Landes districts, and some oil has been found, but in too small quantities for commercial operation. Great hopes, however, are entertained of finding large quantities of oil, and the French Chambers have voted a special fund of 20,000,000 francs for investigating oil in France. Much work has also been done in the Colonies but without much success; oil is found in different districts of Tunis, but in relatively small quantities. In Morocco, drillings have not been successful. A prospecting mission recently returned from Madagascar gave an optimistic report concerning the oil conditions on the Island. Prospectings are being made also in French Indo-China. The present domestic yearly consumption is about: Gasoline 750,000 metric tons, kerosene 70,000 metric tons, automobile lubricating oil 75,000 metric tons.

Jan 3, 1924