1918] on The Romanoe of Petroleum 339 



that the only conclusive test is that of the drill. Some months ago 

 Lord Cowdray publicly announced his belief that oil may be found in 

 commercial quantities in Great Britain, and stated that his firm were 

 prepared to spend £500,000 on exploration and development if 

 certain areas were reserved to them. 



Even if we should be unsuccessful in finding free oil, we knc'W 

 that we have abundant stores of bituminous minerals from which oil 

 can be obtained by destructive distillation. 



For centuries petroleum has been raised from hand-dug wells in 

 Burma, Roumania and Galicia. In the days when King Theebaw 

 reigned in Burma the winning of petroleum by hand-digging in the 

 Yenangyaung district was an important source of revenue. This 

 model, constructed in Burma by native workmen, represents a scene 

 in the oil-field, and it will be observed that women were largely 

 employed in the surface operations. It ought to be liljerally sprinkled 

 with crude petroleum to make it realistic. Here, imce Rudyard 

 Kipling, East and West have met, in the use of the American kero- 

 sene cans for the transport of the oil from the wells. Some of the 

 wells are excavated to a depth of no less than 300 feet, which is the 

 more surprising when it is borne in mind that owing to the presence 

 of petroleum vapour even a young and strong man cannot continue 

 the work for more than about five minutes. The diggers are lowered 

 into and raised from the well by means of the windlass shown, and 

 here is one of the implements which they use in loosening the earth 

 overlying the rock in which the oil occurs. It consists, as will be 

 seen, of a stout \^'ooden staff, shod with iron, the end of the shoe 

 being notched. To break up hard rock when encountered an angular 

 mass of iron is dropped into the well. The detritus is shovelled into 

 baskets and raised to the surface by means of the windlass. The 

 next slide (Fig. 2) represents a scene at the mouth of a well. In 

 the foreground is a digger, with his mouth open, who has just com- 

 pleted his short spell of work in the well and is recovering from the 

 asphyxiating effect of the vapour. On his right is a digger about to 

 take his place, with his eyes bandaged, so that he may be accustomed 

 to the dim light at the bottom of the well and enabled to begin work 

 at once. AVhen the oil-bearing formation has been penetrated the 

 petroleum is brought to the surface in spherical earthen pots, the 

 hauling being done by the women, who run down an inclined plane. 

 The petroleum is carted from the wells in bullock-waggons, one of 

 which forms a prominent feature of the model, to the river-side, 

 where it is poured into the holds of Burmese sailing-boats, of which 

 a model is on the table, and is thus conveyed down the River 

 Irrawadi to Rangoon, where it is refined. The photograph shows a 

 fleet of these boats moored in readiness to receive the cargo. 



This primitive system of production has been superseded by the 

 introduction of modern methods of drilling, in which steam-driven 

 machinery is employed. The system most largely adopted in. the 



