PUENTE HILLS: UTILIZATION OF THE OIL. 
135 
The Union Oil Company owns all the longer pipe lines in the dis¬ 
trict, with the exception of the 13-mile 3-inch line of the Puente 
Oil Company from its property to its refinery in Chino and the 3-inch 
line of the Murphy and 4-inch line of the Central oil companies 
from their wells in the Whittier field to Los Nietos, 3 miles 
farther west. The Union lines comprise 17 miles of 5-inch pipe 
from San Pedro to Norwalk; 15 miles of 4-inch (some 5-inch also) 
from Norwalk to Los Angeles; 12 miles of 4-incli from Norwalk to 
Brea Canyon; 3 miles of 4-inch from Brea Canyon to Olinda, and 
4 miles of 4-incli from Whittier to a junction with the Norwalk-Brea 
Canyon line. 
The oil is shipped from Olinda and Los Nietos over the Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and the Southern Pacific Company 
has connections at Whittier and Los Nietos and also at the Puente 
Company’s refinery at Chino. The LTnion Oil Company is the only 
one shipping oil by water from this district, its loading point being 
San Pedro, which, as already mentioned, is connected by pipe line 
with Norwalk and thence with all the fields of the Puente Hills. 
UTILIZATION OF THE OIL. 
Much the larger part of the oil produced in the Puente Hills is used 
in southern California. Some of the product, however, is exported 
and shipments have been made to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Ari¬ 
zona, New Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, and even to Chile. In 
Alaska the oil is used principally for the development of power for 
mining purposes, while in Washington it is coming into direct com¬ 
petition with the local coal, which it is supplanting for purposes of 
gas production and as a fuel. The chief uses for oil in Arizona and 
New Mexico at present are in connection with mining. In the 
Hawaiian Islands the oil is used principally for fuel in the refining of 
sugar and for the development of power needed in the irrigation sys¬ 
tems on the great plantations. In southern California it is used for 
the following purposes, named in the order of the amount consumed: 
Fuel, illuminants, the direct development of power in gas engines, 
oiling roads, and lubricants. 
A new use for oil that has been developed during the past five years 
is for the purpose of road dressing. California is virtually without 
rain for two-thirds of the year, and as a result the subject of dusty 
highways is one of paramount importance. It has been found by 
experiment that the heavy oils not only settle the dust but, if prop¬ 
erly applied to the road, produce a springy surface which closely 
approaches that of asphalt paving. . The usual method of application 
is to scratch or break up the surface of the road to the depth of an 
inch or more, sprinkle on the oil by means of certain mechanical 
devices, and finally spread a thin coating of sand over the whole. 
