108 OIL FIELDS OF TEXAS-LOUISIANA COASTAL PLAIN, [bull. 212. 
accumulated especially at the time wheu the cells are existing under 
unfavorable conditions, as when they are contained in a basin of 
water in a room. When the water in the basin is renewed, and con- 
sequently the oxygen also, the oil is largely reabsorbed in the plasma 
of the diatom. 
"In a recent investigation Kraemer and Spilker" have suggested 
that in the oil of diatoms petroleum may have its origin. They worked 
upon some material to which the name ' Seeschilck' (sea slime, ooze) 
has been applied. The material occurs in Uckermark, a subdivision 
of Prussia, north of Berlin. It underlies a peat bog and reaches the 
depth of more than 40 feet. To the hand it has a somewhat fatty feel. 
The mass contains 90 per cent water, which dries out slowly in the 
air. The material is rich in nitrogen, containing more than 3 per 
cent; and it is used both for fertilizing purposes and for the extrac- 
tion of ammonia on a large scale. Under the microscope the ooze is 
seen to consist principally of diatoms, such, for example, as species of 
Navicula, Melosira, and Pleurosigma. Upon extracting the dried 
mass with hot benzine and crystallizing the material obtained from 
alcohol, a crystalline product melting at 75° C. is obtained. The 
residue, insoluble in alcohol, closely resembles paraffin oil obtained 
fro in certain petroleums. 
"By treating the ooze with 5 per cent hydrochloric acid (by which 
operation about one-half of the weight is lost as hydrocarbons, 
organic acids, etc.) and drying the insoluble portion, there was 
obtained on the average 3.0 per cent of diatom wax which could 
hardly be distinguished from ozocerite. It had a black color, a fatty 
luster, an asphalt fracture, melted between 50° and 70° C, and con- 
tained 0.97 per cent sulphur. Upon combustion it yielded 73.5 per 
cent carbon, 11.2 percent l^drogen, and some oxygen. By investi- 
gating various specimens of ozocerite Kraemer and Spilker found thai 
the diatom wax had closely similar properties and they argue a com- 
mon origin of the two. They suggest that the diatom is an agency in 
the formation of petroleum. The minute oil globules contained in 
the plasma of the diatom may be the origin of some T)etroleum. 
"The region where is found the mud yielding the oil is on the mar- 
gin of the Gulf of Mexico near Sabine Pass, immediately west of the 
west jett} r and about 3,200 feet from its landward end, at the point 
marked 'F' on the accompanying map. The mud is thick and black. 
It appears to be composed of thoroughly macerated organic matter 
mixed with grains of silica. The shells form only a very small part 
of the whole. By stirring the mud to a depth of 3 to 4 feet abundant 
globules of oil, 1 to 4 mm. in diameter, rise to the surface and there 
break. It appears that the number of globules increases as the depth 
of the mud which is stirred becomes greater. The strata of mud 
«Ber. Deutsch. chem. G-esell., vol. 82, 1899, p. 2940. 
