170 
MAURICE G. MEHL 
for a gas well, for instance (fig. 1, d), has been used in published 
reports alone to indicate fully a dozen different conditions such 
as ^^Gas well/’ Abandoned gas well/’ Water sand/’ ^^Oil 
well spoiled/’ Stopped above sand/’ etc. 
Any set of symbols, if it is to be universally adopted, must 
satisfy certain strict requirements. Most of these qualifications 
are obvious, but certain of the more important are reviewed 
herewith. 
SIMPLICITY OF DESIGN 
Simplicity is undoubtedly one of the most important con- 
siderations. In the first place, to be most useful, the symbols 
must involve the fewest possible number of lines. A compli- 
cated design will not permit the reduction that is often neces- 
sary or desirable. When it is realized that there are occasion- 
X ^ m A 
d. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. J k. 
Fig. 2 
ally over one hundred wells within a square mile, and that it is 
not uncommon for maps to be reproduced on a scale of one inch 
to the mile or less, there can be no doubt but that many designs 
in common use are not well fitted for all scales. 
Even though the maps are reproduced on a sufficiently large 
scale, the designs are often so complicated as to appear very 
similar and are, therefore, readily confused in a cursory glance. 
Designs that depend for their distinctness on the difference in 
length of component lines or the addition of a ray to a many 
rayed figure are not desirable. Clearness of design is closely 
associated with the numbers of lines involved. 
To obtain clearness of design some have adopted a set of 
distinctive figures such as circles, squares, crosses, pentagons, 
etc. While such figures stand out conspicuously for the most 
part, they are far from mechanically simple. As a rule they 
involve ^Trregular angles” and a large number of operations. 
