44 FASCOE: GEOLOGICAL NOTES ON MESOPOTAMIA. 



which here breaks through the hills, tarry bitumen and bituminous 

 earth are seen along the road and on the banks of the stream, these 

 and the exploited oil seepages north-west of the stream occurring 

 close to the line of the anticlinal crest and a little north-east of it. 



South-east of the stream and north-east of where the crest line 

 should be, is, an oval patch of flat bare ground, evidently once a 

 shallow pool, from which emanates sulphuretted hydrogen in consi- 

 derable quantity. This gas has been at some time ignited — prob- 

 ably artificially as I doubt whether there is any spontaneously 

 ignitable constituent — and perpetual fires now burn there. The 

 rocks beneath have probably become so hot, that it would be diffi- 

 cult to extinguish the flames in the ordinary way. I visited the spot 

 the morning after a violent storm of wind and rain, and found 

 the fires unextinguished. Whether there are traces of phosphoretted 

 hydrogen or some other spontaneously combustible constituent or not, 

 the bulk of the gas is sulphuretted hydrogen and the product of its 

 combustion sulphur dioxide. It cannot be used as an illuminant for 

 two reasons. In the first place the flame has scarcely any illuminat- 

 ing power, and secondly, the fumes of sulphur dioxide would be 

 overpowering. The first difficulty, of course, could be remedied by 

 using incandescent mantles, but the second is decisive enough. 

 For the same reason the gas could not be used for cooking purposes 

 except by some special contrivance. But it might be used as a 

 Bource of sulphur. I have already suggested such a use for the 

 Fame gas at the confluence of the Greater Zab and Tigris, and it 

 would, 1 think, be possible to develop the Kirkuk gas occurrences in 

 a similar way though on a much smaller scale., provided no one can 

 be persuaded to bore for oil in this area. This proviso is made since 

 boring would probably commence within 1| miles of the gas-evolu- 

 tion, and might possibly affect the gas-supply. If not thus inter- 

 fered with, the supply for all practical purposes may be looked upon 

 as perpetual. 



There are two or three other similar bare patches in the immediate- 

 neighbourhood and also north-west of the stream, some of which 

 smell faintly of sulphuretted hydrogen, and most of which contain 

 slighuy bituminous earth. 



Prospects of Boring. — The seepages are of some importance and 

 the constant evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen is not an un- 

 fa vourablr sign. On the other hand the structure is not ideal, 

 and it will be my endeavour to point out as succinctly and impar- 



