48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
The reports for the year 1912 covered a total of 1660 wells, 
besides the oil wells of Allegany and Cattaraugus counties that 
produce gas as a by-product. 
Erie county has the largest output of any county in the State, 
but owing to the conditions obtaining there in the commercial dis- 
tribution of the gas, its product for 1912 can not be definitely stated. 
Its output, with that of Genesee county, 1s included under Allegany- 
Cattaraugus counties. These four counties together contributed a 
total of 5,294,478,000 cubic feet with a value of $1,503,274. The 
district east of Buffalo continued to be the main producer in Erie 
county, but the most important developments of the year took place 
in the vicinity of Orchard Park, town of East Hamburg, south of 
that city. The Orchard Park Gas Co. drilled the first well in April, 
which was followed rapidly by others put down by the same com- 
pany and by the Buffalo Natural Gas Co. Altogether 20 wells 
have been drilled, indicating a rather small but quite productive 
pool in that vicinity. The Iroquois Gas Co. of Buffalo took over, 
during the year, the interests and franchises of the United Natural 
Gas Co., one of the larger operators in the western fields, and also 
those of several of the smaller companies in Erie county. 
In Chautauqua county, the lake shore district maintained its 
activity and yield. New wells were drilled by the Frost Gas Co., 
near Silver Creek ; by the United Natural Gas Co. and its successors, 
the Iroquois Gas Co., in Arkwright township, and by other com- 
panies. 
Good wells are reported to have been brought in at Red House, 
Cattaraugus county, the yield having been around 1,000,000 cubic 
feet a day. 
PETROLEUM 
The year 1912 witnessed exceptional conditions in the petroleum 
fields of the State. In the face of steadily advancing prices, 
production fell to the lowest stage reached since systematic devel- 
opments were started in the Allegany county district about thirty- 
five years ago. Considered by itself, this seemingly discouraging 
situation might lead to the impression that the oil industry had 
nearly reached the end, so far as the local crude supplies are con- 
cerned; or at least that the latter were no longer capable of a 
sustained output. A study of the statistics of prices and production 
for the few preceding years, however, indicates that the decline 
