262 MAXUFACTUKES OF RUSSIA. 



a deep bucket or cylinder having a valve at the bottom, and which raises the naphtha 

 and water, and deposits into a g'litter on the surface, leading to a reservoir. The 

 dimensions of the buckets vary, but they are always large, bringing up as high as 

 te)i ponds at a time. In working upon this system, each well has its contingent of" 

 workmen, to the amount of not less than three per shift. More than four-iifths of the 

 naphtha is extracted in this manner. 



Fountains form an ordinary, if not a constant phenomenon in sinking wells^ 

 in the neighbourhood of Baku, and some of these fountains have given, and continue- 

 to give some hundred thousand ponds of naphtha per day. They are always accom- 

 panied by the evolution of gases, and throw off water and sand and sometimes stones, 

 which are often thrown up together with the naphtha to a height of 10, 20, and even 

 60 sagenes. 



The duration of the action, depending upon the pressure of the dissolved 

 gases, and the mass of tlie naphtha cast up, depends upon the depth of the well 

 and upon local conditions, but in general the deeper the well the more powerful 

 tlie fountain. The naphtha thrown up by the fountains is collected, with every pre- 

 caution against M'aste, by forcing helmets, or stopcocks, into the ends of the tubes, 

 lining the holes, and by this means directing the naphtha into reservoirs or 

 pits. Still, a portion of the naphtha cast up is borne away by the wind and rushes- 

 into the earth, and sometimes destroys the derricks erected for the boring and buck- 

 eting, and then it flows into special pits, or into the neighbouring lakes and low- 

 lands. The amount of naphtha collected in recent years from fountains is from 40 to> 

 50 million poud as indicated below : 



Naphtha obtained on the Apsheron peninsula: 



1889, by bucketing 77 per cent; by fountains, 23 per cent. 



1890, > 78 :> » 22 » 



1891, - 85 > -> 15 » 



Thus, the amount of naphtha yielded b}' fountains has begun to decrease during- 

 the latter years; it should be observed, however, that although fountains are of rarer 

 occurrence than before, still they are more abundant in naphtha than formely. In any 

 case, after a certain period of activity the fountains cease flowing, and then recourse- 

 has to be had to the bucket system. 



In 1891 the 554 dessiatines of naphtha-bearing land of the Apsheron penin- 

 sula were divided among 95 different firms. This area consists of 300 dessiatines of 

 private, and 194 dessiatines of State lands. However, only 77 of these firms carried on 

 •he actual exploitation of the naphtha. In 1891 there were 458 wells under 

 exploitation; in 1888, 239: in 1889, 278; in 1890, 356; while the total number of 

 wells in 1891 was 641. Out of the 458 wells exploited in 1891, 407 were situated 

 in the Balakhan-Sabounchinsk area, 25 in the Eomaninsk area, and 25 in the Beibatsk 

 field. During 1891, 28 wells were abandoned as being unprofitable, and out of those 

 newly sunk, 70 proved unfit for working, either oAving to their yielding no naphtha 

 at all, or because they gave so small an amount that it was impossible to work them 

 with a profit. Out of the 458 wells exploited in 1891, 308 were old and 150 new. 

 the average yield of the former was about 605,000 pouds in the year, and of the 



