JANUARY 20, 1923] NATURE 89 
A few days after that event, I suggested at the meeting | one at Petrolia. The plants at Fort Worth used the 
of the American Chemical Society in Kansas City that | Linde and Claude systems respectively. The plant at 

Fic. 1.—Helium production plant, Fort Worth, Texas, operating at the present time. 
helium could be, and should be, extracted from natural | Petrolia was equipped with the new Jefferies-Norton 
gas, and the project was afterwards taken to the U.S. | system of refrigeration. ; 
Army by Col. G. A. Burrell and myself. Col. Chas. De F. During the preliminary stages of the work, Col. 
Chandler in charge of the lighter-than-air branch of the | Burrell acted for the Bureau of Mines, but shortly 
Air Service, was immediately interested. The Army and | afterwards I was assigned by the director of the 
Navy jointly asked the Bureau of Mines to undertake | Bureau to take general charge of the three plants. 
" ie 

z the war. Inside a compressor building 
Fic. 2.—Experimental plant No. 1 (Linde system) built and used du 
the experimental development of the project, and three | Others who were connected with the work in the early 
plants were built in Texas in connexion with the supply { stages were Dr. Van H. Manning, director of the Bureau 
of natural gas derived from the Petrolia, Texas field, | of Mines, Dr. F. G. Cottrell, assistant director, and 
used in the cities of Fort Worth and Dallas. Two of | Commanders A. K. Atkins and H. T. Dyer, and Mr. G, 
NO. 2777, VOL. I11] 
