66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



Recently Zaloziecki (Ber. der deutsch. chem. Gesellsch., 1894, p. 2081) has 

 separated from the sulphuric acid extract of Galician oil, bodies which he con- 

 cludes indicate the presence in the crude oil of the terpenes or allied substances. 



On chemical grounds it seems reasonable that changes in organic bodies 

 during long periods of time with exclusion of air, under enormous pressure, are 

 sufficient to explain the formation of petroleum. The modifications that have 

 been observed in various forms of chemical reactions under high pressure would 

 seem to indicate that organic bodies should be affected quite differently than 

 under ordinary conditions. I have in view some experiments on the beha- 

 vior of organic matter under continued high pressure, fifty to one hundred tons 

 per square inch, for the purpose of ascertaining what changes, if any, may 

 result. 



