PecJcham — Bituminous Deposits of Cuba. 41 



which has been obtained resembles the oils of Russia, hence 

 may be easily manufactured into commercial articles. 



Remarks on the Same 

 By S. F. Peckham.. 



Having carefully read this paper upon the Bituminous 

 Deposits of Cuba, and while expressing the fullest confidence 

 in what is said therein, I am prepared, in consequence of my 

 experience with such indications in California and elsewhere, 

 for that reason, to make the following statements. 



Until a sufficient amount of work has been done by parties 

 personally interested in this property, to demonstrate beyond 

 question the existence upon or under it of actual value, these 

 surface indications, though exhibited on a large scale and over 

 a wide area, are not in any manner in themselves a source of 

 prospective wealth but are rather only an incentive to cautious 

 and very careful prospective drilling. The wells that have 

 been drilled, while demonstrating that oil can be procured by 

 drilling, have been very moderate producers and extremely 

 short-lived and are, therefore, quite as largely indications to 

 extreme caution as a stimulus to even experimental outlay. It 

 is doubtful if, in view of the enormous production which 

 recent developments in Texas and Indiana promise, there is at 

 present any encouragement for even experimental drilling in 

 Cuba. 



It has long been known that very extensive deposits of 

 asphaltnm exist in Cuba, but I have never seen a sample that 

 I was sure came from there, that was of such quality as to 

 compare well with varieties upon the market from other 

 localities within the borders of the United States. 



