38 KANSA8 ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



ON THE COMPOSITION OF A NATURAL OIL FROM WIL- 

 SON COUNTY, KANSAS. 



By F. B. DAINS, State University. 



During the last few months some very successful experiments have been 

 made in the vicinity of Neodesha in boring for oil and gas. Nine wells have 

 been drilled in Wilson county, and the work of prospecting is still going on. 

 A wealthy capitalist of Pittsburg, Pa., has become interested in this new 

 field, and already at least $30,000 have been expended in the work. Of the 

 nine wells bored, one about 16 miles north of Neodesha and another about six 

 miles southwest have proved worthless. Five of the seven productive wells 

 are oil wells and two are gas wells. 



The Norman well is about 800 feet deep; has yielded as much as two 

 barrels of oil per hour, and with constant pumping for several days at the rate 

 of 18 to 24 barrels per day. 



The Demoss well, 842 feet in depth, had about the same capacity as the 

 above, but the oil gushed at intervals of 30 minutes. 



In the Pierce well, an oil rock was struck at about the same depth as in 

 the others, but the boring was continued to a depth of 1,000 feet in order to 

 find a thicker oil-bearing stratum. At this depth the so-called flint was 

 struck. 



In the Haag well gas was struck in great quantities, so that it was pro- 

 nounced by experts to be the greatest gas well west of the Mississippi. 



The Hopkins well struck a different kind of oil. It is much thicker and 

 heavier. After shooting the well an abundance of salt water came up, so that 

 now it is a salt-water artesian well. 



The Shoemaker well is a good gas well. 



The Moulton well seems to strike the same rock-bearing stratum as the 

 first three mentioned. 



There are three wells now in the process of boring. Much of the work 

 that has been done has been with the object of finding definitely what the 

 limits of the oil-field are. The rock is from 10 to 25 feet in thickness and of 

 finer structure than the Pennsylvania rock. Some prospecting has been done 

 at Thayer, where a well 1,000 feet in depth was abandoned after proving that 

 nothing of value could be obtained. Further down the valley, in the vicinity 

 of Pasons and of Cherryvale, and also at Liberty, considerable interest is 

 manifested, and the land is being used for boring puposes. At Cherry- 

 vale, as is well known, the gas that is obtained is used in the streets, stores, 

 and residences. It is a cheap fuel, and with the Welsbach, or some other in- 

 candescent lamp, it produces a beautiful, clear, steady light. I am indebted 

 to Mr. Wm. Hill, of Neodesha, for many of the facts above stated. 



A sample of the oil from well No. 1, the Norman well, situated near the 

 Verdigris bridge, has been received at the chemical laboratory of the state 

 university, and has been examined by fractional distillation. 



The crude oil is of a greenish-brown color, and has a specific gravity of .850. 



The oil was fractionated, with the following result: 



