THE NAi'llTA INDUSTKY. 255 



this measure. But nevertheless it was delayed and has not yet heen realized, owing 

 chiefly to the three following- reasons: .1. The pipe line would necessarily decrease 

 the transport of naphtha goods along the Transcaucasian Kiiilway, which was at 

 first guaranteed by the Government, and has now passed into the hands of the Crown, 

 and was partly constructed for the purpose of transporting naphtha goods ; 

 2. The centre of the naphtha industry, which is now at Baku, would be transferred to 

 the shores of the Black Sea at Batoum and Poti, and this would revolutionize the 

 existing order of the industry ; 3. The Volga region and works in the interior of 

 Russia would be deprived of naphtha refuse, which is an indispensable fuel in these 

 localities. Although these arguments are evidently insufficient for solving the ques- 

 tion, nevertheless for the time being they have taken the upper hand, and the pipe 

 line still remains a question of esseutial importance. In speaking of this, one cannot 

 but mention that : a. although the production of naphtha at Baku increases every 

 year, still it becomes more difficult, and the wells have to be suuk deeper, and 

 to be more numerous, and therefore the conditions of the greatest advantage of the 

 pipe line have become modified ; b. that the naphtha refuse, which could be used in 

 manufactures with great profit on the coasts of the Black Sea, is now consumed as 

 fuel ; c. that the extended consumption of naphtha refuse in Eussia retards the development 

 and growth of the coal industry, especially in the Donets and Urals. The absence of 

 a pipe line between Baku and Batoum forms an evident want in the development of 

 the Eussian naphtha industry; and its results will certainly reflect themselves upon 

 this business, which in all other respects is a model industry in Eussia. Thus, for the 

 last twenty years, the production of raw naphtha in Baku has outgrown the means 

 existing for its distillation into valuable products, and the existing conditions of trade 

 in these products. In a word, here as elsewhere, the production of the raw material has. 

 notwithstanding the evident commercial successes, taken the upper hand, or outstripped 

 the manufacture and trade, and this is chiefly due to the richness of the natural pro- 

 ductive forces of Eussia. The Caucasian naphtha wealth can be best likened to the 

 wealth of North and South America, of Chili and Bolivia, in copper and silver. One 

 discovery is followed by another, only that portion is taken which is most easily 

 gained, the prices fall, the conditions for the extension of the production decrease, a 

 portion of the enterprises ceases working, and yet the total production increases to 

 such an extent that the general prices of the products fall, and the universal demand 

 in respect to quality increases. Such an order of things must lead to an extension of 

 the demand for like mineral products, and the discovery of means for covering the 

 losses in value by increasing the production. 



In order to clearly state the present position of the Eussian naphtha industry 

 it is necessary to consider : a. the division of the Baku naphtha into different prod- 

 ucts, and more particulary the composition of this naphtha and the possibility of its 

 entire utilization ; h. the importance of naphtha refuse as a fuel; c. the conditions 

 of the exploitation of the naphtha deposits. 



The Baku Naphtha Products. 



Although the area of the immediate Baku naphtha bearing district is rather 

 uniform and very small, about 554 dessiatines, or 6.3 square kilometres, although the 



