PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 483 

 Characteristics of the Rome gas field 



The last of the Trenton limestone gas fields of New York as at 

 present developed has now been described. No metes or bounds 

 can at present be assigned to it. A half dozen wells have been 

 completed within an area of not more than one square mile and 

 all have secured more or less gas. Most of the gas was derived 

 from a depth between 800 and 900 feet; or in other words, from 

 200 to 300 feet below the uppermost beds of the Trenton lime- 

 stone. By comparison with the preceding records it will be seen 

 that the largest production of all the districts comes from this 

 central portion of the Trenton series. 



The highest rock pressure reported thus far is 450 pounds. The 

 largest measured volume is 500,000 feet a day, but the esti- 

 mates of the " blowers " when struck credit them with at least 

 1,000,000 feet a day. No advantage has thus far been found in 

 drilling wells more- than 1000 feet in depth. As a rule the fresh 

 water can be excluded entirely from the well by a casing of not 

 more than 200 feet. But little salt water has thus far been en- 

 countered. Drive pipe to the extent of nearly 150 feet is required 

 in the old valley that passes through the town, but in the imme- 

 diate neighborhood the Utica shale has surface outcrops and in a 

 good deal of the surrounding territory the deposits of drift are 

 very shallow. By competition the price of drilling wells will 

 doubtless be brought down to 75 cents a foot or even to lower 

 rates. No reason is apparent why the one square mile within 

 which the drilling has been confined holds any more buried fuel 

 than any other square mile of the vicinity. Wells, some of them 

 better and some less productive than those described, can un- 

 doubtedly be found throughout the region. Occasional "blowers'' 

 and occasional failures will be met. 



Section 5 

 Proper use of natural gas 

 Natural gas is the best fuel known to man. No advance be- 

 yond it is possible, but to secure the best results some scientific 

 knowledge is required in regulating its combustion. Since it is 

 the perfect fuel it admits of application to almost every purpose 

 to which fuel can be turned. The principal exception is in the 

 manufacture of iron from its ores and in other similar metal- 

 lurgical processes. In the working of iron in rolling mills, forges, 

 and foundries, and in the production of steam for all its multi- 



