34 



TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Photo, C. R. Toothaker, Thila. Commercial Museum. 

 High Woods, Tbinidad. 



source of bitumen. Long before the asphalt was used on any industrial 

 scale, attempts to reach this and obtain petroleum were made. A com- 

 paratively shallow well was sunk not far from the lake, and a heavy 

 liquid asphalt was discovered, but the facilities available at that time for 

 sinking a deep well, and the lack of demand or means of utilizing this 

 material, caused development to be abandoned. Success has now 

 crowned the efforts to obtain this liquid asphalt in commercial quanti- 

 ties, and it is now available for road construction. It has proved to be 

 a most remarkable and unique form of bitumen. Primarily it is, of 

 course, a petroleum, being a liquid form of bitumen coming from a 

 depth of about 900 feet below the surface. Its characteristics as deter- 

 mined by the usual form of distillation proposed by Engler, and gener- 

 ally followed by oil experts, appears from the following data : 



Specific gravity at 60° F . .965 



Beaume at 60° F 15.1° 



Flash — open cup 95° F. 



