THE EARTH OK ROCK OILS OF AMERICA. 245 



produces on coal in a gas retort — it separates the coal into an inflammable 

 gas (carburetted hj'drogen), and an inflammable liquid (tar). On the slate 

 it is decomposed into marsh gas and bitumen, or Seneca oil, as it is some- 

 times called, from its being gathered off the lake. On the surface of Seneca 

 lake a large quantity of naphtha or rock oil floats at different periods of the 

 year. This Seneca rock oil is derived from the bitumen escaping out of the 

 shales, which are very carbonaceous in the middle counties of Western 

 New York. The shale beds dip south and a little west under the waters 

 of the lake, and where the opening of the seams meets the water at the 

 bottom of the lake, the bitumen oozes out and rises to the surface. There 

 are many other localities on the American continent where native naphtha 

 or bitumen is found. It is met with abundantly in Kentucky. Any highly 

 fossiliferous shale, which is dark coloured, from the large quantity of 

 vegetable matter contained in it, and which also contains pyrites dissemi- 

 nated throughout, generally affords naphtha. Native naphtha boils at 

 201° Fahr. 



Mr. Horace Wilkins, of Cleveland, Ohio, thus speaks of this oil : — In 

 November, 1859, in the State of Pennsylvania, wells were sunk for the 

 purpose of pumping petroleum, or rock oil, and have been vigorously 

 continued up to this time, many of the wells producing from ten to fifty 

 barrels of oil a day, and some even more. In July, 1860, in the State of 

 Ohio, fifty miles from this city, oil was discovered, and, in the short time that 

 elapsed, more than fifty wells have been put in successful operation, yielding 

 from ten to sixty barrels, and at this time hundreds of wells are being put 

 down. This oil is being refined for illuminating purposes, for which it is 

 excellent, surpassing in brilliancy the best sperm oil, or any other article for 

 light known on this continent, at the same time being half the price of 

 sperm. The oil, in its crude state, is an excellent lubricator, and many of 

 our railroads use it, as well as other departments requiring a friction oil. 

 The product bids fair to be very great, but the demand exceeds the supply, 

 and the amount of money invested is now large, and is being increased 

 daily. 



The Philadelphia Inquirer states that the number of oil wells bored on 

 Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, is 345, that the average production daily of 

 twenty-nine wells is fifteen barrels, and that the oil has been sold as low as 

 ten cents per gallon on the spot. No less than 145 wells have been bored 

 to a considerable depth without obtaining oil. Persons are cautioned 

 against being too enthusiastic about the profitable character of such wells. 



At a place called Union Mills some working men a year or two back 

 observed a quantity of dark oily matter floating on pools abounding in that 

 district. Subsequent experiments led to the discovery that the oil is 

 highly adapted for illuminating purposes ; and that, by sinking wells to the 

 depth of from 70 to 500 feet, it can readily be obtained throughout a very 

 extensive area. The proportion of oil in the liquid pumped up is about 

 one-third, and the process of separation is very simple. Land in the locality 

 has become exceedingly valuable, and the business is rapidly increasing. 



