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By I. N. Knapp

Foreword I HEREWITH present some notes on the use of Portland cement to cement in the casing, and for plugging, to exclude water from oil and gas wells, and the methods employed. I have used my best efforts to make each step of the operation of cementing wells perfectly clear. The information is the result of actual experience and observation. The illustrations are from original drawings made especially for this paper. Portland Cement It is not necessary to discuss here the manufacture of cement. Any established brand of the slower setting Portland cements may be purchased with the confidence that it will harden, if properly used, and exclude water from and plug wells efficiently. Setting.-By the setting of cement is meant its initial change from a soft or plastic mortar to a friable solid. After the cement has become thoroughly set it is still very weak and can be readily pulverized in the fingers. Setting is thought to be effected by the crystallizing out of the silicate and the aluminate of lime, which are soluble in water in their anhydrous form. After dissolving in the water they pass to the hydrated state, in which they are insoluble, and hence are precipitated in a crystalline form.

Jan 3, 1914

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) Members and guests who registered at Institute headquarters during February: Paul S. King, Wilmington, Del. William Kelly, Vulcan, Mich. A. Del Mar, South Pasadena, Cal. F. H. Armstrong, Vulcan. Mich. T. D. Babbitt, Nampa, Idaho. Reginald E. More, Toronto, Canada. H. L. Williams, Newtonville, Mass. Tom M. Owen, Broken Hill, Australia. F. W. Bacorn, Pittsburg, Pa. Percy E. Barbour, Candor, N. C. Huntington. Adams, Mexico, D. F. Karl Nibecker, Youngstown, Ohio. Clifton B. Johnson, New. York, N. Y. G. A. Reinhardt, Youngstown, Ohio. W. Spencer Hutchinson, Boston, Mass. Herbert B. Cox, Boston, Mass. F. Louis Grammer, Leesburg, Va. E. C. Pechin, Buchanan, Va. H. C. H. Carpenter, London, England.

Jan 3, 1914

THE following paper has been prepared to meet a demand for a concise review of the California oil industry. It is based largely upon information secured during the course of the senior, author's professional activities, and upon data obtained during the course of investigations for the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines. Considerable information has been obtained from other sources, and to those who by publication or otherwise have contributed, the writers extend their thanks. GENERAL STATEMENT In 1912 the United States produced 63.25 per cent. of the world's production of petroleum, Russia, its nearest competitor, yielding only . about 19 per cent. The production in 1912 reached 222,113,218 barrels (or 29,615,096 metric tons), compared with 220,449,391 barrels in 1911. The average price per barrel in 1912 was nearly 74 c., as against nearly 61 c. in 1911. The total value, therefore, increased 22.20 per cent., or $163,802,334 above the value for the previous year. These figures of production include pipe-line runs, independent railroad shipments, oil piped direct to refineries, and the crude oil consumed as fuel in oil production. The production does not include oil in storage in the field which has not been sold.

Jan 3, 1914

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all weep-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 3, 1914

IRON AND STEEL COMMITTEE ALBERT SAUVEUR, Chairman A. A. STEVENSON, Vice-Chairman HERBERT M. BOYLSTON, Secretary, Abbot Bldg., Cambridge,- Mass. Guilliaem Aertsen, Robert W. Hunt, E. Gybbon Spilsbury, John Birkinbine, J. E. Johnson, Jr., J. S. Unger, William H. Blauvelt, Charles Kirchhoff, Felix A. Vogel, Charles A. Buck, Richard Moldenke, Leonard Waldo, F. D. Carney, Charles F. Rand, William R. Walker, James Gayley, Joseph W. Richards, William R. Webster, Henry D. Hibbard, . C. F. W. Rys, . Frederick W. Wood. Henry M. Howe, Messrs. Guilliaem Aertsen, C. A. Buck, and F. D. Carney have accepted membership on the Committee.

Jan 3, 1914

SALT LAKE CITY MEETING The One Hundred and Eighth Meeting of the Institute, for the presentation and discussion of technical papers, will be held at Salt Lake City, Utah, August 10 to 14, 1914. ALL PAPERS TO BE PRESENTED AT THIS MEETING MUST BE IN THE HANDS OF THE SECRETARY ON OR BEFORE MAY 31, 1914.

Jan 3, 1914

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the month of February, 1914: Members ASANO, KOSAKU, Vice-Mgr..: Ashio Copper Mine, Shimozuke, Japan. BIRD, FRANK H., Constr. Engr E. 417 Sixteenth Ave., Spokane, Wash. COLES, HENRY 0., Chem Copper Queen. Cons. Min. Co., Bisbee, Ariz. COLLEY, HYLTON H., Met Copper Queen Cons. Min. Co., Douglas, Ariz. DALEY, MITCHELL J., Mill Supt Utah Apex Min. Co., Box 753, Bingham Canyon, Utah. FISHER, GEORGE EDWARD, Director, 3d Vice-Pres., Grasselli Chemical Co. 1551 East 115th St., Cleveland, Co. FRASER, EVERETT L., Mill Supt Tightner Mines Co., Alleghany, Cal. FRASER, WILLIAM L., Min. Engr North Star Mines, Grass Valley, Cal. FROLLI, ALBERT W. Min. Engr 216 North Main St., Salinas, Cal. GEARHART, FRANK B., Chief of Smelter Dept., N. J. Zinc Co., 405 Columbia Ave.. Palmerton, Pa.

Jan 3, 1914

By Franklyn Oatman

IN order that the conditions which obtain in an oil well may be readily understood, a brief description of a typical California well and. a number of the phenomena accompanying same will be given. That the necessity for the exclusion of water be realized, the effects of water intrusion, a description of methods of prevention, and a discussion of causes of failure will be presented, followed by a summary and recommendations. Fig. 1 shows a section of a typical well which illustrates the relation of oil sands to overlying strata. It indicates a deep water sand separated from the oil sand by shale, and the proper place for the final shutting off of water. In this well a comparatively thick stratum of compact shale protected the oil from overlying water so that the operation of landing the water string was a simple matter. In some wells the protecting stratum may be only from 3 to 5 ft. thick and very careful operation is necessary in order to land the water string of casing properly and not puncture through to the oil sand. The cases just cited are common, but occasionally, after excluding overlying water, productive oil sands are drilled through in the expectation of finding more productive underlying sand, and a water-bearing stratum is tapped. In this case the problem is the reverse of the normal; water must be prevented from ascending rather than descending. A discussion of well-drilling methods is not within the scope of this paper, except such operations as pertain to shutting off of water. A brief outline of the several conditions which may accompany drilling follows. Some or all may be present in any particular case. The direct relation of these to prevention of intrusion will he discussed in detail further on. In drilling, the hole. becomes more or less irregular in shape, and rough, and as the casing follows the bit into the well it does not fit snugly against the walls. As a result, water may descend between the casing and walls of the well. If a circulation pump is not used during drilling, the hole is simply punched through and the pulverized material removed from the well by means of a bailer. If circulation is maintained there is a continual flow of water down inside the casing and up around the outside between the pipe and the walls of hole. This keeps an open. space around the pipe.

Jan 3, 1914

PRESIDENT BENJAMIN B. THAYER,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. PAST PRESIDENTS JAMES F. KEMP,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. CHARLES F. RAND,2 NEW YORK, N. Y. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT SIDNEY J. JENNINGS,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. TREASURER GEORGE C. STONE1 NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY EMERITUS ROSSITER W. RAYMOND, NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY BRADLEY STOUGHTON NEW YORK, N. Y

Jan 3, 1914

By E. T. Dumble

PROF. EDWARD ORTON, in his Report on the Occurrence of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Asphalt Rock in Western Kentucky, thus clearly states his ideas of the universal dissemination and rare accumulations of the bitumens:1 " We need to bear in mind that the various members of the bituminous series are abundantly and almost universally distributed among the unaltered sedimentary rocks of the earth's crust. The valuable accumulations of these substances are rare, it is true, but one can scarcely go amiss of petroleum, asphalt or gas, at least in small quantities, among the stratified rocks that retain their original structure." Speaking of the Ohio valley, he adds: "A fifth of one per cent. of petroleum, if distributed through a, thousand feet of rock, would make a total to the acre, or square mile far , beyond any production that has ever been realized from the richest oil field, and percentages of this amount are not only not rare to find, but are even hard to miss." Dr. F. W. Clarke in his Data of Geochemistry (Bulletin No. 491, U. S. Geological Survey, 1911), discussing these views of Orton with similar views of T. Sterry Hunt and Szajnocha, says that they "lead to the conviction that the formation of bitumens is a general process and by no means exceptional. Wherever sediments are laid down, inclosing either animal or vegetable matter, there bitumens may be produced."2 The organic origin of the bitumens, including petroleum, has long been an accepted fact with nearly all geologists, but the method, place, and time of the transformation into petroleum or other bitumen is still under discussion.

Jan 3, 1914

NEW YORK LOCAL SECTION Executive Committee Louis D. HUNTOON, Chairman ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Vice-Chairman THOMAS T. READ, Secretary, Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. E. MALTBY SHIPP, Treasurer GEORGE F. KUNZ W. DE L. BENEDICT Meeting, Jan. 16, .1914 A meeting of the New York Local Section of the American Institute of Mining Engineers was held at the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th Street, New York City, Jan 16 1914 the Chairman, -L. D. Huntoon, presiding. Forty members weld present. In the absence of the Secretary, C. A. Bohn was appointed Secretary pro teen. N. H. Darton, Geologist of the U. S. Geological Survey, delivered an address on. The Occurrence of Gas in Coal, illustrated by lantern slides of charts, curves, and tables showing various features of gas occurrences. J. W. Richards, J. T. Beard, W. L. Saunders, L. D. Huntoon, and Mr. Darton participated in the discussion which followed the address. THOMAS T. READ; Secretary.

Jan 3, 1914

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES OF LOCAL SECTIONS New York LOUIS D. HUNTOON, Chairman. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Vice-Chairman. THOMAS T. READ, Secretary, Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. E. MALTBY SHIPP. Treasurer. GEORGE F. KUNZ, W. DE L. BENEDICT. Boston ROBERT H. RICHARDS, Chairman. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Vice-Chairman. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. TIMOTHY W. SPRAGUE, HENRY A. WENTWORTH. Columbia F. A. THOMSON, Chairman. GEORGE W. RODDEWIG, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. R. S. McCAFFERY. S. H. RICHARDSON.

Jan 3, 1914

POSITIONS VACANT (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons.) A copper company in Arizona desires a young engineer to assist the superintendent and take charge of the surveying, sampling and assaying. A graduate mining engineer with a few years' experience in mine surveying and sampling preferred. Salary, $125 to start. No. 10. A company in Quebec desires a metallurgist familiar with copper smelting to remodel an old plant and carry on experimental work to determine whether its ore can be smelted profitably in the district. No. 11. A foundry making a specialty of medium and light weight. steel castings of high grade waists a competent man as assistant manager capable of taking complete charge of production in the absence of the general manager. No. 12.

Jan 3, 1914

LIST OF REFERENCES COMPILED BY ENGINEERING SOCIETIES LIBRARY FUEL POSSIBILITIES IN STEEL MAKING. Iron Age, November 6, 1913, p. 1056-1059. Paper read before the American Iron and Steel Institute, by William Whigham. The author discusses the use of pulverized coal as a fuel for open-hearth furnaces. IMPROVED PULVERIZED FUEL FEED DEVICE. Iron Age, November 6, 1913, p. 1024. Brief description of the Dunn apparatus, especially intended for cement kilns, but used also in the nodulizing of iron ore. WIDER UTILIZATION OF PULVERIZED COAL, H. R. Barnhurst. Iron Age, October 23, 1913, p. 906-908. Part of discussion of paper by James Lord on The Use of Pulverized Fuel in Metallurgical Furnaces, read before the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania. POWDERED COAL FOR OPEN HEARTH FURNACES. Iron Age, October 16, 1913, p. 855. Abstract from the "Coal and Coke Operator." USE OF PULVERIZED COAL AS A FUEL FOR BOILERS, R. C. Carpenter. Sibley Journal of Engineering, December 1913, p. 85. COAL-DUST FIRED BOILER. Indian Engineering, November 29, 1913, p. 301. PROGRESS IN FUEL UTILIZATION. Mining and Scientific Press, October 25, 1913, p. 638. BUFFALO GRAIN-ELEVATOR DUST EXPLOSION. Engineering News, July 31, 1913, p. 223-24. Reprinted in the National Fire Protection Association Quarterly, October, 1913, p. 149-151. Mention is made of the danger of explosions in connection with the burning of powdered coal. POWDERED FUEL AND EXPLOSIONS. Railway Age Gazette, July 18, 1913, p. 53-84. Letter by W. D. Wood. USE OF PULVERIZED COAL IN METALLURGICAL FURNACES, James Lord. Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, Proc., October, 1913, p. 363-371; discussion, p. 371-417. With bibliography.

Jan 3, 1914

By F. L. Sizer

THE mining regulations of British Columbia and Mexico present some features which might well be copied in the United States, if we are to have a complete revision of the laws governing mining titles. 1. First and foremost is the "square" location, which would mean the abolition of extralateral rights. This is a condition in both of the countries above named which has seemed to work no hardship upon any one, and certainly the limitation of underground rights by vertical planes through all lines makes a locator's rights clear. In view of the long and costly litigation which has involved so seriously many of our most important mining districts, it would seem to be the part of wisdom to avoid a repetition of similar trouble on titles of lode mining claims, by the enactment of a law similar to that in force in British Columbia. Objections have been raised by representatives of English companies to the investment of large amounts of money in mining operations in the United States, because of the insecurity of title under the present apex law; and the statement has been made to me personally by one of the largest English operators, that he would never again consent to the purchase of mines in the United States, preferring Mexico with all its revolutionary troubles to the danger of encroachment upon his underground rights by an unscrupulous neighbor. Without going into further argument as to the desirability of the "square location," it should be sufficient to say to those who are inclined to "let well enough alone." and still stick to the "law of the apex" that there have never been any serious objections raised to this feature of the square location in either British Columbia or Mexico. There are well founded and logical reasons for abandoning the doctrine of extralateral rights since it is so difficult of interpretation; the most natural substitute being a law similar to that of British Columbia, giving to each locator an area 1,500 ft. square.

Jan 3, 1914

By C. W. Washburne

THE waters of many oil fields have been regarded as buried sea water which has been retained in the sediments since the time of their deposition. The preservation of connate water through geological time has seemed improbable to only a few geologists, but there is room for doubt that buried sea water could remain in the strata during their periods of deformation and during the many subsequent epochs of. the circulation of meteoric ground-water. Some have even suggested that the calcium chloride water in the deep mines of the Lake Superior region is ancient sea water buried in the Algonkian lavas, but it is hard to understand how such water could be derived from the highly sodic and sulphatic water of the sea. It would seem more plausible to connect the calcium chloride with the highly calcic magmas of the greenstones in which it is found. Chemical analyses of waters associated with oil differ widely from the composition of sea water, requiring extensive alteration of the latter, if the former is truly its derivative. The first notable difference is the general absence of sulphates from oil-field waters, but this has been explained satisfactorily through reduction by hydrocarbons and organic matter. Oil reduces sulphates with the production of hydrogen sulphide (or sulphur), water, and carbonates (or carbon dioxide). The second striking difference is in the high ratio of chlorine to sodium. An examination of the analyses of chloride waters from oil fields shows that they contain a large relative excess of chlorine over that in sea water. Moreover, there is difficulty in finding chemical reactions that are probable in nature, by which sea water could be converted into anything like the chloride waters of oil fields. In the latter a large part of the chlorine occurs as calcium acid magnesium chloride. This condition might be produced by the removal of sodium carbonate, which; however, cannot be precipitated in the presence of much calcium or, magnesium.

Jan 3, 1914

By Alexander Bowie

IN many places throughout the Western mountain plateau regions of the United States coal beds in place have been burned over very extensive, areas, the fire evidently originating on the nakedly exposed outcrop of the coal bed and gradually burning its way into the bed for considerable distances under very heavy cover. . The surface evidences of the burned-out coal beds are seen in the calcined and discolored rocks overlying the places of the outcrop. The greater the mass of the burned coal the higher the results of its combustion can be seen in the overlying strata. I have noted many instances of this condition in the States of South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. In the lignite fields of Dakota and Wyoming I noted stretches of level country many square miles in extent where the surface rocks were roasted and vitrified by the burning of a great bed of lignite lying nearly level and with a light cover; this is probably the most favorable natural condition for the burning out of a coal bed. The less the depth of the rock covering overlying the coal bed, the better the .chance for a continuous supply of air to the fire; but when the coal bed clips heavily into the ground, or even if level, if it, passes under a hill or mountain which gives the bed a heavy covering of strata, the fire has more chances of being extinguished from natural causes than in the first condition described. The distance which, a crop fire may extend into a coal field is very much influenced by the dip, the thickness of the coal bed, and the nature of the rock covering immediately overlying it.

Jan 2, 1914

By H. W. Turner

THE axis of the middle portion of the Ural mountains is made up chiefly of highly compressed igneous and sedimentary schists, considered of Devonian age by the Russian geologists, with large areas of serpentine (peridotite originally) gabbro, etc., intrusive in the schist series. In addition there are large areas of probably older granitic and gneissic .rocks. The nickel deposits referred to in this paper are found in the Devonian schists and their associated igneous rocks. The gabbro-peridotite intrusions probably took place in late Devonian or early Permian time, inasmuch as the Permian and Carboniferous beds lie at gentle angles on the Devonian series on the west slope of the Urals. Perhaps the first attempt to work a nickel deposit in the Urals was made about 1866 in the Revdinsk district, which is situated southwest of Ekaterinburg. I was informed by a Russian that a wet method of extracting the nickel was tried but was not a commercial success. This deposit has been described by Müller,1 Foullon,2 and Karpinski.3 Beck4 gives an abstract of these papers.

Jan 2, 1914

By C. M. Weld

The southeastern coast of China, from Ning-Po to .Macao, represents an element in the continental mass of Asia which has at practically all times in the remote past exhibited a tendency to rise rather than to subside.' This strip of land, 1,000 or more miles long by perhaps 150 miles wide at its widest part, has in fact stood above sea level since at least early Cambrian times, while the great basins to the north and west were receiving their massive accumulations of Sinian (Cambro-Ordovician), Carboniferous, and later deposits. We find, .therefore, a coastal fringe of metamorphic and igneous rocks bordering the huge expanses of sedimentary rocks which occupy the interior. Hong-Kong is situated toward the southwestern extremity of this fringe. Hong-Kong is an island of approximately 30 sq. miles, on the north shore of which is situated the city of Victoria, with its 325,000 inhabitants. This island was ceded to Great Britain in 1842. In 1560 the peninsula of Kowloon (about 5 sq. miles), being that part of the mainland lying directly across from the city of Victoria, was added to Hong Kong. Thirty-eight years later, in 1898, a stretch of territory, including the mainland behind Kowloon and. numerous adjacent islands, was leased to Great Britain for 99 years. This last addition is known as the "New Territory of Hong-Kong" and comprises 376 sq. miles in area. A map of Hong-Kong, Kowloon, and the "New Territory" is shown in Fig. 1. My studies of this total area of over 400 sq. miles were devoted primarily to an investigation of the mineral resources. Systematic mapping of the immensely complex exposures of rocks was not possible in the time at my disposal. However, observations in, this. direction warrant a few generalizations.

Jan 2, 1914

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES OF LOCAL SECTIONS New York LOUIS D. HUNTOON, Chairman. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Vice-Chairman. THOMAS T. READ, Secretary, Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. E. MALTBY SHIPP, Treasurer. GEORGE F. KUNZ, W. DE L. BENEDICT. Boston ROBERT H. RICHARDS, Chairman. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Vice-Chairman. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. TIMOTHY W. SPRAGUE, HENRY A. WENTWORTH.

Jan 2, 1914