HELIUM, THE NEW BALLOON GAS 



455 



culties in the way of burning the gas 

 were overcome, and for years it was pro- 

 duced in large volumes and used as fuel. 



HEUUM GAS THE BANE OF HOUSEWIVES 



To light a gas stove in Dexter, how- 

 ever, was always a difficult feat, and it 

 became a matter of pride on the part of 

 every good housewife to develop the dex- 

 terity necessary to this operation. The 

 stove was first filled with crumpled news- 

 paper, which was set afire ; then the gas 

 was turned on, its flow being skillfully 

 manipulated, until by the time the paper 

 had burned out the gas had become hot 

 enough to take fire. 



About 7,000 cubic feet of this gas was 

 necessary to produce the heat of 1,000 

 cubic feet of the ordinary variety, how- 

 ever, and we who think of gas at a dollar 

 a thousand will pray that no such variety 

 is discovered in our own neighborhoods. 



Although the old Dexter field is ex- 

 hausted, there is favorable territory in 

 the vicinity in which further supplies may 

 be discovered, and about 20 miles east- 

 ward lies the Sedan field, which produces 

 gas carrying over 1 per cent of helium. 

 At present the actual production of this 

 field is small, but this is chiefly because 

 there is little market for the gas on ac- 

 count of its poor heating qualities. With 

 proper development, this area may be- 

 come the most prolific of all. 



The Geological Survey is preparing to 

 issue a detailed report on the helium- 

 bearing gas fields and a further descrip- 

 tion of them here would be tedious. 



The only promising source of supply 

 outside of the mid-continent area is lo- 

 cated in Vinton County, Ohio, about 80 

 miles south of Columbus. This gas oc- 

 curs in strata considerably older than 

 those in the Kansas and Texas areas and 

 contains only a third of a per cent of 

 helium ; but, on the other hand, there is 

 an enormous quantity available and it is 

 under high pressure. Whether it could 

 be worked at a profit by the present 

 methods is doubtful ; but if the new ex- 

 traction process materializes, it should 

 make this great supply available as a 

 commercial source of helium. 



The gases of Louisiana, Wyoming, 

 Montana, and California occur in strata 

 that are much younger than those of the 



mid-continent area, and I think there is 

 little prospect of locating a helium supply 

 in those States. 



The fields already described, however, 

 are capable of producing, if necessary, a 

 quarter of a billion cubic feet of helium 

 a year for the next three years, and there 

 is an excellent chance that further sup- 

 plies will be discovered in northern 

 Texas, northern Oklahoma, and southern 

 Kansas. 



NO OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE DISCOVERED 

 RICH HEUUM RESOURCES 



So far as we know, no other countries 

 have any commercial supplies of helium, 

 though it would, of course, be foolish to 

 state that none will ever be discovered. 

 Great Britain, however, was thoroughly 

 searched for helium gases during the war 

 without success. 



In France there are some mineral 

 springs which emit gas rich in helium, 

 but the total volume per year is insignifi- 

 cant. Far larger volumes of helium are 

 contained in the "fire-damp" of French 

 and Belgium coal mines, but the propor- 

 tions are so small that there is little hope 

 of extracting the helium commercially. 



The return of Alsace puts France in 

 possession of an oil field in which some 

 gas is produced, but the normal variety 

 contains only a trace of helium. A deep 

 test-hole near Pechelbronn, however, 

 found in the older formations a little gas 

 which carries 0.4 per cent. 



In Italy some gas is produced" on the 

 northern flank of the Apennines, but two 

 analyses of this gas showed only very 

 minute quantities of helium. 



Germany produces a little gas near 

 Hamburg, but the helium content is only 

 0.014 per cent, and the Austrian gas pro- 

 duced near Wels contains even less. 



The only gas field in Europe which 

 compares in size with our American fields 

 is located in Transylvania, and several 

 analyses of this gas show less than 0.002 . 

 per cent helium. The Roumanian and 

 Galician oil fields on the Carpathian 

 front yield very little gas, and the Baku 

 fields of Russia are also primarily oil 

 producers. 



Some gas has been found in Russia, 

 near Samara, which carries considerable 

 nitrogen, and may possibly be helium- 



