4 RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE. 



where it is worth while to drill, nor those where it would be 

 useless to expend money. 



On the other hand, the geology of most parts of our country 

 is so well known that the geologist, even in territory that has 

 never been drilled, is able to tell where there is no chance for oil 

 and gas, where there is a good chance for one or both, and 

 where the chances though not first class, would justify drilling; 

 and no one should undertake the* expenditure of the large 

 amount of money necessary to drill a prospective well, without 

 the advice of a competent geologist. Only be sure that he is 

 competent. Such a man will give good advice in regions where 

 the surface criteria and his knowledge of the rocks beneath 

 are such as to enable him to form an opinion. Where there 

 are no surface criteria and he has no knowledge or but limited 

 knowledge of the rocks beneath, he will frankly say so. It is 

 then, and only then, that prospectors are justified in taking 

 their own chances. 



In connection with what was said about the lucky strikes of 

 oil and gas without geological advice, it should be said that while 

 the public hears a great deal of such, the knowledge of the dry 

 holes so put down, neither travels far nor lasts long ; and their 

 number is many times greater than the successful wells. It 

 is only fair here to state that not all wells located by geologists 

 are successful, by any means. All that a competent geologist 

 would claim would be the ability to designate the areas where 

 there is little or no chance for the products, from those others 

 where there is a possibility of finding them. In this way, he 

 does his clients great service by saving them money that would 

 be spent in hopeless territory, and in reducing their chances for 

 loss by locating wells in the parts of the areas that give prom- 

 ise of responding to the drill. 



CONDITIONS FOR OIL AND GAS. 



In discussing the oil and gas conditions of the Central Basin, 

 it might be more satisfactory to the reader, briefly to have 

 given the general conditions under which oil and gas occur. 

 These are well known among geologists, and may be stated as 

 follows : 



1. There must be a source for the oil and gas. 



2. There must be a reservoir to contain them. 



