680 



PERU. 



PETROLEUM. 



of floating debt ; $77,469,923 of paper money 

 in circulation ($1,530,077 having been burned 

 and replaced by silver coin in April, 1888); 

 and $9,541,000 of Inca notes outstanding; to- 

 gether, $136,246,870. Of the proceeds of the 

 alcohol tax, 70 per cent, are to be applied to 

 paying the interest on the bonded debt, and 30 

 per cent, to the gradual withdrawal of the 

 paper money. 



As a measure of economy, the salaries of 

 Peruvian consuls have been discontinued by 

 decree of Aug. 25, 1887; by way of compensa- 

 tion, they are to be allowed to retain a part of 

 the consular fees. 



Army and Navy. The strength of the perma- 

 nent army, rank and file, is 7,371 men, includ- 

 ing a police force of 3,371, of whom 843 are 

 mounted. The fleet has been reduced to two 

 steam transports, registering 1,300 tons each. 

 In January, 1888, it was resolved to reorganize 

 the national forces by enrolling all Peruvians 

 between the ages of twenty-one to thirty years 

 in the active National Guard, in which they 

 are to serve for five consecutive years, and a 

 sufficient number of them drawn annually to 

 be incorporated in the permanent army for the 

 remainder of their term of service. 



In May a decree was issued organizing the 

 naval militia, under the law of Oct. 30, 1886. 

 A naval school was founded at Oallao iu Feb- 

 ruary, 1888. 



New Treaty. A treaty of amity and com- 

 merce between the United States and Peru was 

 proclaimed on Nov. 7, 1888. 



Communications. The number of post-offices 

 in 1886 was 230, which forwarded during the 

 year 2,254,434 items of mail matter, the re- 

 ceipts being 741,551 francs, and the expenses 

 798,976 francs. 



In addition to the 2,600 kilometres in run- 

 ning order, the Government, by decree, in No- 

 vember, invited tenders for the construction 

 and exploitation of a line from Lima to Pisco. 

 This line will open communication between the 

 capital and the fertile region extending between 

 lea and Islay, and will also intersect the nitrate 

 fields. A branch line is to connect Islay with 

 Arequipa. 



A decree of January 26 invited tenders for 

 the organization of communication by telephone 

 throughout the republic, the exclusive privilege 

 to extend fifteen years. 



In May, 1888, a new steamship line was es- 

 tablished between Antwerp and Chilian and 

 Peruvian ports. It is called the "Anglo-Bel- 

 gian Pacific Line. 1 ' 



Commerce. The trade between Peru and the 

 leading maritime nations has of late years been 

 as follows : 



The American trade with Peru presents these 

 figures : 



Before the war, Peru produced annually 

 60,000 tons of sugar; in 1888 the production 

 had decreased to 30,000 tons, half of the fine 

 machinery on the sugar-estates having been 

 destroyed during the war, and little of it re- 

 placed for lack of funds in the present impov- 

 erished condition of the country. The export 

 of silver from Callao during the first six months 

 of 1888 amounted to 4,936,876 kilogrammes, 

 the bulk of which was shipped to Hamburg. 

 Hitherto argentiferous lead bullion has been 

 shipped to Germany, but now a German com- 

 pany is smelting on the spot. 



A decree was issued in September, by virtue 

 of which coal is to enter Peru duty free. The 

 same privilege is extended to personal effects 

 the property of foreign diplomatic agents ; 

 steam fire-engines and all fire-extinguishing 

 apparatus ; articles imported for hospital use 

 and asylums: clerical church garments and sa- 

 cred vessels; school and university books and 

 apparatus. 



PETROLED! (Latin, petra, a rock, and oleum, 

 oil), rock-oil, is that form of bitumen which 

 lias an oily or etherial consistence. The lighter 

 varieties are sometimes called naphtha (Per- 

 sian, naftd). It rises with the water of springs 

 and through artesian borings. (The history of 

 the petroleum industry, down to 1875, is given 

 in the u American Cyclopedia," vol. xiii.) 



An examination of the relative position of 

 many of the most successful wells led C. D. 

 Angell to the opinion that the strata of sand- 

 rock in Pennsylvania, from which the oil issued, 

 extended northeast and southwest on certain 

 parallel lines of moderate lateral extent. This 

 led to the sinking of " wild-cat " or prospective 

 wells upon such lines, run by compass for long 

 distances in both directions over the hills of 

 that region, and resulted in the discovery and 

 development, about 1875, of the Butler and 

 Clarion County fields ; later, in an opposite 

 direction, to the Bradford or McKean County 

 field ; still later, to that of Warren County, 

 Pa., and Allegany County, N. Y. The enor- 

 mous volumes of inflammable gas that often 

 accompanied petroleum led, in 1885, to the 

 drilling of wells for natural gas over an area 

 extending from Michigan to Alabama, and 

 from the Alleghany to the Rocky mountains. 

 Not only gas but petroleum was discovered in 

 several localities where it had not been known 

 to exist. Most notable among these is the re- 

 gion around Washington, in southwestern Penn- 

 sylvania ; and in northwestern Ohio, around 

 Lima, Findlay, and North Baltimore, in Han- 

 cock, Wood, and Auglaise Counties. Attempts 

 had been made as early as 1860, and again in 



