22 Kansas Academy of Science. 



into organic matter. ... If one will put himself into a position which 

 makes it necessary to give a reasonable account for the whereabouts of all 

 this vast quantity of organic matter, animal and vegetable, which has been 

 engulfed in the masses of stratified rock, one will find that the quantity of 

 oil and gas now available is all too small, rather than too large, for such 

 accounting. ' ' 



Even though the study of the chemical constituents of petro- 

 leum is in its infancy, attempts have already been made to detect 

 among them specific optically active substances which may defi- 

 nitely and with certainty reveal their origin. The substance which 

 has received the greatest consideration from this standpoint is 

 cholesterin, the optically active constituent of many animal fats, 

 or phytosterin, its vegetable equivalent. Cholesterin, when dis- 

 tilled, yields products which closely resemble the distillation prod- 

 ucts of petroleum. Furthermore, the optically active petroleum 

 distillates usually give the same color reactions as are given by 

 cholesterin products. 



Chemists are inclined, however, to view color reactions with 

 suspicion, and demand more positive methods of proof of identity 

 than the supporters of the cholesterin hypothesis have been able 

 to furnish. On the other hand, the amino-aoids and numerous 

 other decomposition products of albuminous material, as well as 

 the remains of balsams, resins, terpenes, tannins, etc., must all be 

 looked upon as contributing to the optical activity of the organic 

 remains which may retain them. The time is ripe for the study 

 and solution of problems of this nature. 



The knowledge of the nature of the substances contained in 

 petroleum which is to be revealed through the instrumentality of 

 their optical properties may be put to practical use in the develop- 

 ment of methods for extracting them and utilizing them for indus- 

 trial purposes. The output of petroleum refineries in the past, 

 even though enormous in quantity, has been restricted almost en- 

 tirely to the extraction and clarification of products which exist 

 ready made in the crude oil. The various grades of gasoline and 

 naphtha, illuminating oil, lubricating oil, paraffin, fuel oil and road 

 oil are all marketed in a low-developed stage in the art of manu- 

 facture. The coal-tar industry, on the other hand, which utilizes 

 a crude material closely resembling petroleum, and not a bit more 

 inviting, has reached a high stage of development, in that its 

 products are completely transformed into an almost infinite variety 

 of costly dyestuffs, fl.avoring matters, medicinal preparations, and 

 other articles which have contributed to our wealth, our comfort. 



