THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY ICH2 49 



may be explained rather by economic considerations than by the 

 failure of the natural resources. 



As a matter of fact, the oil pools long since reached their max- 

 imum capacity for production, but by continued redrilling of the 

 proved territory the yield for the last two decades has been fairly 

 well maintained. The oils are mostly of superior quality with 

 a paraffin base, characteristic of the Appalachian fields, and bring 

 the highest prices in the market, so that under normal conditions 

 the industry is remunerative, even though the yield for each well 

 is very small. 



The average output until recently has remained nearly constant 

 at a little over a million barrels a year. Fluctuations have depended 

 mostly upon the state of the market. A severe slump in the latter 

 took place in 1910, the prices declining steadily from month to 

 month until the reduction amounted to over 50 cents a barrel. This 

 practically put an end to development work, and pumping operations 

 at many of the less productive wells were stopped. The effects 

 of this depression were noticeable to some extent in the returns 

 made for the year 191 1, but the full force of it became manifest 

 in last year's total. 



With the falling off in yield which affected the Appalachian dis- 

 tricts generally, prices began to strengthen and from the low point 

 of $1.35 a barrel in January advanced steadily throughout the 

 remainder of the year, reaching the price of $2 a barrel at the 

 close. This was higher than New York crude sold for previous to 

 the decline of 1910, so that development work should once more 

 resume its normal course. An improvement in the productive in- 

 dustry may be anticipated for the current year, unless conditions 

 show a sudden reversal. 



The output of oil in the State during the last two decades is 

 given in the accompanying table. The figures for the years 1893- 

 1903 have been taken from the annual volumes of " The Mineral 

 Resources " and those for the following years compiled from re- 

 ports rendered by the pipe-line companies and shippers who operate 

 in the State. The list of these companies is as follows : the Allegany 

 Pipe Line Co., Columbia Pipe Line Co., Union Pipe Line Co., and 

 Fords Brook Pipe Line Co., of Wellsville ; Vacuum Oil Co., of 

 Rochester ; New York Transit Co., of Olean ; Emery Pipe Line 

 Co., Kendall Refining Co., and Tide Water Pipe Co., Limited, of 

 Bradford. Pa. 



