Tebruaky 12, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



251 



stantial headway during the later part of the 

 year. 



At Grosny, in northeastern Caucasus, ex- 

 tensions of productive area yielded a grati- 

 fying increase in production. At Maikop pro- 

 duction decreased in spite of significant oil 

 strikes in the Bladijenskaia district, north- 

 west of the developed portion of the field. 



In the relatively new TJral-Emba or Ural- 

 Caspian area the Dos Sor field attracted the 

 greatest attention, but minor activity was evi- 

 dent in some forty other fields scattered over 

 an area of 300 square miles east of the mouth 

 of Ural Eiver. A refinery at Bolshaia Eaku- 

 sha, near Guriev, commenced operations in 

 January. On the east side of the Caspian Sea, 

 in the Ferghana Valley, Turkestan, develop- 

 ments in the new Sel-Rokh field resulted early 

 in the year in a production which surpassed 

 that of the old Tchimion district, Turkestan. 

 Developments in Tcheleken Island were 

 nominal. 



Roumania. — Despite the increasingly active 

 drilling campaign which characterized 

 Eoumanian developments in the early part of 

 the year and resulted in notable western and 

 southwestern extensions in the Bana-Moreni 

 district and in the discovery of deeper-lying 

 productive strata in the same area, the net 

 production of the country registered a decline. 

 This decline, which was not in any sense due 

 to the exhaustion of the productive fields, re- 

 sulted in part from interruptions incident to 

 the mobilization of the Eoumanian army but 

 chiefly from the conditions of overproduction 

 arising from restricted markets and low prices 

 consequent on the European war, which in- 

 volved the countries that bound Eoumania on 

 all sides. Notwithstanding these retarding 

 influences the later part of the year recorded 

 slight increases of productive areas in the 

 Baicoi-Pebatori and Eazvadlaid districts. 



Austria-Hungary. — In the Galician fields 

 active development early in the year resulted 

 in establishing a southern extension of the 

 Boryslaw field which clearly indicates the ulti- 

 mate connection of that field with the develop- 

 ment at Mraznica. Operations in the oil 

 fields during the later part of the year were 

 much curtailed as the adjacent territory be- 



came the theater of conflict between Russian 

 and Austrian troops. 



In Hungary the discovery of oil was re- 

 ported in the village of Morvaor, district of 

 Szenice, ISTyitra county. 



Spain. — ^Promising surface indications of 

 petroleum in the area about Cadiz, in southern 

 Spain, were examined at the expense of the 

 Spanish government. In northern Spain, 

 near Santander, petroleum in small quantities 

 was discovered in a boring made for salt. 



Turlcey. — ^Plans for the active development 

 of the imperfectly operated oil fields in the 

 Tigris and Euphrates valleys, in the vicinity 

 of Mosul and Bagdad, were postponed by the 

 European war. 



In Palestine prospecting was active at Ma- 

 karim, in the area between the River Jordan 

 and Deraa adjacent to the Hedjaz Railway, by 

 the Turkish Petroleum Co., a successor in in- 

 terest to the Syrian Exploration Co. 



Persia. — Interest in Persian developments 

 was greatly stimulated by the decision of the 

 British government, announced May 22, to 

 acquire a majority interest in the Anglo- 

 Persian Oil Co., and thereby secure for the 

 admiralty undisputed access to valuable oil 

 lands adjacent to the Persian Gulf. The effect 

 of the European war on this agreement was not 

 apparent at the end of the year. 



India. — Operations in the Tenangyaung, 

 Singu and Tenangat districts, in Burma, were 

 nominal, the search for deeper sands in the 

 first two districts furnishing variable results 

 not altogether satisfactory. Wildcatting in 

 Burma resulted in the opening of a promising 

 new field at Indaw, Kindat Township, in the 

 upper Chindwin district. 



China. — ^Under the terms of an agreement 

 entered into by the Chinese government and 

 the Standard Oil Co., of New York, a joint 

 investigation of the petroleum resources in and 

 near Autin-fu, Shensi, Chengte and Chihli was 

 undertaken. 



Japan. — Interest was centered in the Akita 

 oil district, on the west coast of Nippon, near 

 the north end of the island, where on May 25 

 and September 1 gushers credited with flows of 

 several thousand barrels daily were brought in 

 by the Nippon Oil Co. In 14 other known oil- 



