Peckham — Nitrogen Content of California Bitumen. 251 



tained the elements of food, and the presence of nitrogen was 

 inferred as an essential constituent of this variety of bitumen. 

 It was several years after this observation was made before 

 I had an opportunity to prove by analysis the actual presence 

 and amount of nitrogen. I used the ordinary sodalime process. 

 The amount indicated was so large that I was led to suspect 

 that possibly some source of error lay against this process, 

 when used for the analysis of this material. I duplicated my 

 results on the petroleum alone. I also found no difficulty in 

 duplicating results with one of the vegetable alkaloids, which 

 one I do not now remember. I also obtained the proper per- 

 centage when operating upon a mixture of petroleum and alka- 

 loid. I concluded that my results upon the petroleum alone 

 were correct. I found that the oils from the tunnels in Wheeler's 

 Canon on the south side of the Sulphur Mountain yielded an 

 average composition of : 



Hydrogen 11*819 per cent. 



Carbon 86*934 " 



Nitrogen 1-1095 " 



Total 99-8625 " 



The oil of the Pico Spring contained of nitrogen 1*0165 

 per cent and that from the Canada Laga spring contained of 

 nitrogen 1*0855 per cent. Maltha from the Ojai Ranche con- 

 tained of nitrogen 0*5645 per cent.* These localities lie in the 

 line of strike of the oil-bearing formation of Ventura Co., 

 which crosses the Santa Clara Valley in a generally east and 

 west direction and extends parallel with the range of the Sul- 

 phur mountain. The Pico spring is in the range that forms 

 the southern boundary of the the Santa Clara Valley. Several 

 miles to the west and across the valley is the east end of the 

 Sulphur mountain in which is Wheeler's Canon. Farther 

 west is the Canada Laga, and in the west end of the range is 

 the spring which furnished the maltha from the Ojai Ranche. 

 About two years later a second determination of the nitrogen 

 was made in the sample from Wheeler's Canon. The amount 

 obtained was less than one per cent but I have lost the notes 

 of the analytical work. The two springs above named were 

 the only springs of bitumen in Southern California that yielded 

 a green petroleum from natural sources. I have shown in my 

 reports to the Geological Survey of California that the oil of 

 these springs as well as that from the tunnels in Wheeler's 

 Canon, which are still yielding oil, issues from strata protected 



* Reports Geol. Survey Cal., Geology, II, Appendix, pp. 84, 89. Reports 10th 

 Census U. S., vol. z, Petroleum, p. 185. 



