Lesley.] 190 [December. 



Stress has been laid by some geologists of note upon a supposed 

 genetic connection between the accumulation of Petroleum and 

 anticlinal axes. But there are no anticlinal axes in the Pennsylvania 

 oil region of the French and Oil Creek wells, nor in the Pennsylvania 

 and Ohio Oil region of the Beaver River, nor in the E. Kentucky 

 oil region of the Sandy and Licking waters. The only well-defined 

 anticlinal among oil wells is a mere upsqueeze crossing the Ohio 

 River near Marietta, bringing the oil rocks near enough the surface 

 to be tapped, and thus only effecting the finding of oil. There is no 

 apparent connection between the petroleum of the Alleghany River 

 salt wells above Pittsburg, and any of the anticlinals which separate 

 the great coal area into basins, to the east of them. The asserted 

 east and west anticlinals of the Enniskillen oil region in Canada 

 West, are very problematical, their places being covered by a peculiar 

 mud drift of local character; and their existence has been rendered 

 still more doubtful by the recent discovery by Prof. James Hall, of 

 Genesee Slates on Lake Huron, and at points between it and Lake 

 Erie. This goes to show a north and south synclinal just across the 

 supposed lines of east and west anticlinal. The true relationship of 

 petroleum with surface springs seems to be one of simple hydrostatics. 

 Every natural oil-spring is an artesian spring, without regard to the 

 existence of anticlinals or profound earth-crust faults. 



Dr. Wirtz has recently published a remarkable and important re- 

 port upon the West Virginia petroleum vein, and its mineral matter, 

 which, he says, is not Alhertite, but a new compound, which he calls 

 Grahamite. He has admirably well discussed the selvage structure 

 of the vein. But the geological evidences of the generation of this 

 mineral from the petroleum, which is obtained by the borings of that 

 region, must outweigh any mere chemical reasoning on the composi- 

 tion of the mineral itself; especially when we recollect how infinitely 

 varied are the characters of the products of different oil wells. Dr. 

 Wirtz is wrong in ascribing to Mr. Lesley any idea of connecting the 

 asphaltum of this vein with the Marietta anticlinal or any other. 

 The vein crosses the Marietta upthrust (it is no anticlinal in the 

 ordinary sense) nearly at right angles. 



The following is a record of about 950 feet of the Babcock and 

 Adams well, now going down, on the property of the Clarion Coal & 

 Oil Co., three or four miles north of Buena Vista, in McKean County, 

 Pa., given by Mr. 0. N. Adams, of Chicago. 



